bad shop experience

I posted one under Rossa. that limited those that could read my very bad experience. After the Evans Automotive Repair Columbus, Ohio problems that I can detail. now come a second. NJB, Columbus, Ohio. a long list of redo and undone and half ass. MAG was the worst of all.. details if any want to hear.

 

Talk to us about Evans, generally thought of as THE vintage Lamborghini garage.

 

I delivered three cars. Bora and two Merak SS. all had serious problems after. 'repair', at a local shop. the Bora got fixed. the Merak's went in with 5# hot oil pressure. came out with 5# oil pressure. I ask at the time(07) and got no answer. waited until this year(money and a lack of trust) to send it to another shop. Grandturismoautorepair. Alliston Canada.answer, oil passages plucked with crud. pan and filter nasty. called George Evans. his first response, 'I only wanted an oil and filter change'. I ask him to look at the job and call back. I still have the invoices. no word since. that is why I posted. I also pulled two 400ai and a 365GT4 2+2 when he would do nothing,

 

It's against the law to know how to work on cars in the town you mentioned.

 

Sorry to hear Mitchell. I would be interested to hear your story (recently) if you care to share with me. Thanks.

 

Alliston, Canada?

 

Have used NJB for the last 3 majors without a problem, they have been Outstanding to deal with.never a problem! They Always stand by there work.!

 

Gran Turismo | Ferrari and Maserati Service ? New and used parts sales

 

No.

 

NJB. very nice person. he has had some of my cars over the last year. I spent more than $100,000(guess). he is about my age(76). a little younger. lets start with a 550. I requested a major(16,000 miles) repaint and new dash + anything else it needed(a/c heat did not work) gave him my credit card(he always ask to charge). major done quick, dash done quick and paint done fast enough. sounds great. motor made more noise at idle than before. 'warm up'. paint had issues. window switches backwards, no a/c and other issues. sent it back. returned, paint issues, a/c not working, tiny scrap in drivers sun visor. all sticky buttons done, but center console hand painted! and climate panel bubbling up. Motor now silent. sent back. returned. sent back, paint issues, a/c. FIXED! 400ai coupe. it went back twice. Maserati 2002 spyder was there. it went back at least twice, maybe three times for various issues a/c and top function.(Jack said all those tops worked like mine, funny mine always worked). Jack took care of freight both ways. the QP3 went back for, you guessed, a/c, horn and other issues, at least twice. the 430 Maserati and 400ai convertible, I gave up, had enough. all home now. 550 works(everything). Maserati spyder, no a/c, top Effie. a/c compressor locked up, leak in condenser. QP3, replaced the HYVAC unit. now have a finished car. 400ai coupe, no lights, horn, turn signals and wiper and no spedo. ode.. a wire harness fell out of the top steering column, not connected. all worked when it left. 400ai convertible no a/c, LH window not working and giant gas leak! Maserati 430. No a/c. diff. and transmission leaking oil. drain plug not tightened. a/c now works but I have a switch problem. my memory is not the greatest but this is the list. enough?

 

Yikes! Sorry to hear there was all that back & forth!
I have used NJB for about 1.5 years now for my 360. Parts are usually the biggest problem but that's not under their control. They upgraded my headers & cats, did my brakes, and a major. A lot of other stuff too. There are a few known issues we have but they are minor and I'm no way detract from the enjoyment of my car.

 

02 Spyder. inside mirror fell off. they reglued it about three times while they had it. never cleaned old glue. now I have a hole in windshield! drove the QP3 for the first time this am in dark. NO LIGHTS!

 

Jack called. and started with, 'we did not do most of the stuff on your list'. I ask him to review and call back.

 

holy heck...this sounds like (1) poor quality Italian cars, (2) bad luck with stuff breaking, (3) less than good repairs. The trifeca!

Perhaps consider Braden since you have to send out of town anyways?

Good luck...sounds like a difficult situation.

 

It seems to be hit or miss. I've had a bad experience with one of the firms you mentioned. Yet others have had good experiences and continue to be a repeat customer. I swore when I first joined Fchat that I wasn't going to be one to use the forum to simply bash a person or an outfit because it was very apparent that at that time, there were a lot of people that were starting a 'They suck!' thread. I used one of the outfits you mentioned for an engine out when I first got my car. It went back to them 3 times for a gear shifting issue. They swore it was leaving their shop fine, but the very first time I tried it, it would miss the shift spot. A year later, I had a catastrophic failure dealing with the ignition system. It was determined that this shop didn't even change my spark plugs as part of an engine out. Two different companies looked at it and both actually swore the plugs were the original in a 25+ year old car. There was no way to tell if the above shop did something or if it was done prior with regards to the whole episode, but not only did 2 people say the plugs looked very old, but there was no charge, or even a mention, of spark plugs on my bill from the above shop, and I probably spent more than $10,000 on that engine out and other things they did. A complete engine out to change everything on a car that was only driven 1500 miles in the last 7 years and they didn't even change the plugs - shocking to say the least. I know they didn't do it for nothing. I know I'll never use them again or suggest them to others, but I've tried to refrain from bashing them because there are some that use them successfully.

I'll say it again. It'***** or miss. People use a well known shop in New York that we all know of from Fchat, yet I have a friend that had a bad experience. Right now I'm using a dealership. Other's have spoken bad about this dealership's pricing. Dealerships have been known to be expensive, but if they get it done in half the time and charge only $45 more per hour (I'm being charged $150 per hour for labor as opposed to another place I've used that charges $95) then I think, sometimes its worth it. Especially when it's Ferrari-specific. I guess you have to look around and find someone you like and trust. You can't always rely on other people's experience.

Regards,
Brian

 

we love Mitchell and always will,a real car guy to the core..maybe the fact he has problems with all the shops answers everything...As far as service we had 5 or 6 of his cars over the last year or so and watched as he went through some serious health issues but after talking to him today he seems to be on the road back which is great news..Not mentioned is all the things we DID do and if his $100,000 number is accurate that's a lot of work,good work..we bent over backwards on his cars as many were old,needy and challenging,except for the 550 which he says turned out fine..we had to deal with a lot of old wiring,corrosion,etc.and even though they may leave here fine there's going to be some failure rates down the road.. we only wish he had contacted us directly if issues and not the internet...We stand behind our work and reputation and always will...Jack

 

when it rains it pours..even though not mentioned we serviced this Mondial..the shifting issue which we thought to be an adjustment under the car (tricky to get right) turned out to be a moving slightly side to side shift gate on the console..it did not come back 3 times,only once....The plugs were platinum and at 30K had a lot of life left..this would not have caused your year later ignition failure anyway..Again,we stand by our work and reputation..Jack,NJB Automotive LLC

 

Good answer Jack. Respect the man but point out that working on anyone's old car is a risky proposition. People have become programed to think that everything is Chip Foose-easy, hey presto and instant reliability. Old cars are not such, and hearing about Detomaso-era Maseratis and chopped 400i makes me think "better you than me, sir". With a collection like that, it sounds like Mitchell needs a full-time mechanic on hand, a very symaptico, adept bloke at that, preferably old enough to know all the clever, chewing-gum type kluges needed to keep his beloved old POS's in fine fettle. Not what anyone wants to tell a beloved older man but maybe the best advice to Mitchell: sell everything except the 550, keep that and drive it like the wind, use the proceeds from the sale to live your remaining years in complete comfort, even decadence. Hopefully that's what someone will tell me when the time is right.
With respect for Mitchell AND Jack, I remain humbly yours, John in CT.

 

Certainly older cars present a problem with regard to "where do you draw the line," being that you could pinpoint a failure in a part, but there may be multiple other potential failures that could come to light in a short time, or even be affected by the replacement of a single part. Who knows, I have to confess that I almost look at these cars as a line of dominoes. The first one falls, and there may be successive other things which result.

Certainly my biggest issue so far with my car has been PARTS! These parts often have a long lead time, which stinks. Especially if your car is "out of commission" until a particular part can be had (this was my case when I replaced the exhaust headers and cats). Last year, she spent the better part of July waiting, and waiting, and waiting for parts!!!

 

good answer.

 

maybe I should post these finds once a week/month. but no, I need to vent this. 02 Maserati rear rattle. Jack said, 'LH rear muffler has loose baffle'. the real reason. there were NO bushings in the rear sway bar! to answer two good statements here on old cars and respect for customer(old geezer). all cars were at this shop for months, year? there was no limit to money. I just wanted these cars to work. I am having all the issues corrected here. I may be old but there is nothing wrong with getting what I pay for. please do not put me down because I want value for value. this shop did not do the jobs I paid for. plain and simple. they may be great at mechanical work but forget everything else. they do not check the jobs they farm out but are ready to make excuses that are pure BS.

 

02 Maser came in as a wrecked car repaired by an unknown body shop with less than stellar work..looked like they pulled engine to repair,and gave up on reassembly (why aren't they getting trashed on the internet) front suspension wrong,A/C lines crushed,wiring harnesses hooked up wrong,vacuum lines plugged into each other,motor mounts loose,oil lines backwards,no oil in engine,list goes on..car had no workable keys or fob so went to Maserati Cleveland for a month to get reprogrammed ECU's,then back to us ..It's amazing we got it as good as we did..Car left shop Safe,driveable and everything working..Farm out?..we only sublet paint and interior..we redid the interiors on the red 400 and the QP3..you said were beautiful..you are saying you paid for jobs that were not done,this is accusatory,inaccurate and wrong..and statements like that should be retracted and/or taken off forums like this..any issues with work should be handled directly with the shops involved (and you have named a few) and resolved professionally..we will stand by our work,surely you know me well enough to know that..i am not going to spend time defending bogus and incomplete statements on the internet..we stand by our 15 year great reputation ..Jack... BTW,the baffle IS loose in the muffler,have your new guy hit it with his hand.

 

Oh now what good would the internet be if you couldn't make baseless claims and do a little good character assassination?

 

Bundas: it's time to step away from the keyboard, sir. You seem to rant, them forgive, then forget that you've forgiven and start ranting all over again. Someone recommended you try Bradan...I can only imagine that those fellows on Long Island are PRAYING you don't send any of your collection to them. John in CT.

 

I feel your pain. It's a welcome relief to find someone who properly rectifies what was done before, however long it takes.

I'll leave it at that.