Man! Seriously!! I would go to that shop and punch holes in their ****en heads to get my car back!! How can they keep his car 'hostage', especially when he was going to pay the cash anyways? Yep, fly me back there so I can get Bizz his 360 back. Its been a while since I bashed some punks.
In your original post you stated they were well respected. Were they recommended to you. If they were i would give your referral an earfullllllll.
I retract my last post. Good to hear that they are covering the clutch replacement, well most of it anyways. Please be sure to tell ANYONE AND EVERYONE about the punks at that stereo joint!!
I hope only the clutch is broken. They could have easily done more damage. Don't settle for an amount until the work is done! You probably don't know the whole picture yet....
"respected" that I saw was based on the internet sites "Yelp" and the like. But, as stated, he admitted to me that his employees wrote most of those postings. I just got screwed, plain and simple. For clarity, he wouldn't release the car when I tried to pay with a credit card- he demanded cash. Once I paid cash, I got the tow truck over there and got the car out immediately. -joe
Man, I feel terrible for you...especially with your amazing attitude. I believe in karma...the people who did this to you will get what they deserve, at some point. I hope to see you driving around in the Bay when I get back in a few weeks. All the best. -Ryan
I think the problem with this now, he sees where you were going with it. By paying cash, he can claim you were never in the shop and this never occurred since there is no record of it unless you, "the customer fabricated it". I'm just playing devils' advocate, but I'm quite glad you got the car out and it is getting looked into.
Karma will get him.. dont worry.. I've seen many cases. TV repair guy over charged me to fix my TV by $500 years ago and it broke 2 weeks later and would do nothing(this was years ago when Big Screen Mitsu's were 3500+) He went bankrupt 1 year later.. Gotta look at the plus side.. at least your gonna get a new Clutch. Be sure to tell the Ferrari dealer to go ahead and add the extras this time. They always seem to find extra stuff that needs to be fixed or updated while they where in there. BTW, I never did hear your car is F1, right? or Manual?
Have the dealer check the wiring, and photograph everything. Get them a cheap digital camera to use during repair. Pressure plate may be smoked as well, and check handbrake. Did you get receipt for the 2k? That is a stolen/refusal to release propety without a mechanic's lien, and should be reported just for driving the car. BAR can try to nail them. Call OSHA and IRS. Former employees "worried about working conditions" often get heard by OSHA. Check with landlord of location. May have broken terms of lease. Karma's a bear, but who says you can't give it direction without much cost other than time. Sorry for this mess, but you should not get pushed around like this. 2K is above small claims court limit? Not counting clutch. GL. L
Yes, I did. He knocked down the labor to $85 an hour. So what do you guys think- should we invite Abdul to the discussion?
I think someone should start a new thread asking where to get a stereo installed and you could say " I just had mine done at ______________" they did a real "smokin" job for me. No slander involved. Any lawyers want to advise first? Dave
Doesn't look to me like there's any slander in THIS thread. Just the facts and how bizz responded to everything. And he has been WAY more forgiving and tolerant about the whole thing than most of us would be. Oh, and forgot to tell you, bizz, had a similar thing happen to me. When I was restoring a 62 MGB, the machine shop pressed the cam bearing in backwards so that no oil was getting to the head. When the engine was started and I fried the motor, they tried to deny that it was the cam bearings that were the cause. Eventually everything worked out, but it was quite a time. I rebuilt the engine myself, and it only cost me another $500 in parts, so nothing on the level of what you're dealing with here.
if this were me I would walk in with a spare key in one hand and a handgun in the other. I would then drive out with my car.
IMO you gave up too easily but they did have your 360 hostage so i can understand why you would want to get it back ASAP. the biggest thing is that you didnt sign anything up front. that alone pretty much gets you off the hook for responsibility. any lawyer should be able to tear him to shreds and get your money back (and possibly lawyer fees too). you likely would have to pay for the equipment but not labor as you didnt sign an estimate for work or labor. a lot of these scumbags do this cause they think 2 grand "isnt worth their time" so they keep pulling this kind of crap on ppl with nice cars. eventually they come across someone not willing to let **** slide and you dont see said scumbag ripping ppl off anymore.
My insurance company is going to pick up the tab, then they are going to go after Abdul like a rabid pitbull. The second part of the sentence is wishful thinking, but the adjuster has me pretty well convinced that this will be the case. I am going to get all of the points of maintenance wrapped up while it's in the shop- including a bad transmission mount and the 30K service. Should have a well sorted 360 in a few weeks - just in time for Monterey. --joe
I just started reading this tread today... from start to finish. What a roller-coaster. My blood was absolutely boiling at one point. While getting to the end must have been absolutely infuriating, looks like it's going to end well. Joe, as others have said multiple times, your attitude through all of this has been exceptional. When all is said and done, I hope bring us current... and then please let us know which shop this is. There are many of us who live in the Bay Area who'd love to know. Thanks, Frank
It sounds like the owner of this place needs to get his ass kicked. Plain and simple. This WILL change his business ethics
Google is your friend! http://www.yelp.com/biz/pacific-stereo-redwood-city (Owner reads yelp so feel free to provide "helpful" suggestions)
I like what Linda V. said on the review. "C'mon Abdul. I can't say I blame you but don't you think people are going to notice that all these great reviews are posted by you and your buddies?"
The issue isn't precisely slander, but rather, trade defamation -- -- which is anything that tends to hold a merchant's goods or services in disrepute. Based on what I've read in this thread, the stereo installer in question is a criminal and he will have no problem lying about what happened and suing our friend for damages resulting to his business from alleged trade defamation. I would urge everyone to not try and be "cute" with a second thread, etc. It will just lead to trouble. I think we've all been sensitized to the dangers of leaving our cars unattended with these types of businesses. I'm sorry about what happened to our friend, but (as I said earlier in this thread), when the smoke clears he will still be driving a Ferrari and bum installer will be crawling around under dashboards scraping his knuckles. Living well is the best revenge.
Bizz Your insurance company has a special hell reserved for those who seek to exploit them, as Abdul will soon learn. You're a nice guy who gets to get on with enjoying his car. You deserve it.
