OK, I'm really rippin' right now so I'll try my hardest to be nice...

When I did my turbo install, I also had a Stillen VB upgrade performed. After the installation, the engine was running fine, but the transmission didn't feel right. After discussions with Stillen, the turbo installer decided that the break-in on the VB must be the problem. After 50 - 100 km, it was still the same. He took the trans out and handed it over to a transmission shop. They took it apart and found some damaged bearings and a broken sprag. They did a complete rebuild and gave the transmission back to turbo guy to put back in the car. He did and then gave it back to me. I drove it to the corner and realized that it was still no good. I took it back to the trans shop. They took it apart again. Same sprag blown again but no other damage because I stopped right away. They replaced it again and started looking into the VB.

Long story short (too late) after discussions between Stillen and the trans shop, measuring pressures in the VB, Stillen said to ship the VB back and they would fix it right away and send it back for Friday morning.

Here's the good part... Stillen received the VB yesterday (Wednesday) at 10am. I called today and they said they wouldn't have time to look at it today - sorry! WTF??? They advertise 48 hour turnaround for the initial sale, you would think a damaged VB would rate a higher priority. I paid the big bucks to get it there overnight and they let it sit on the bench for 2 days before they look at it.

So, what has this cost me so far:
$ 695 for the Stillen VB
$ 1100 for transmission removal/installation
$ 850 for troubleshooting/diagnosis of trans problem
$ 2,200 for transmission rebuild
$ 90 per day for over 2 weeks for car rental
$ ? for air transport to Stillen

And they figure they'll get to it whenever they get a chance.

Thanks for the after sale support Stillen!

 

that blows ... smh stillen ..

 

IMHO Stillen doesn't know VB from VD. They probably had to freight it back to whomever does their valve bodies. Then they will play dumb until they get it back and send it to you

 

+1

I highly doubt they do these in-house. Stillen's support has always sucked. It's better if you buy direct from them but still sub-par.

Hope this works out quickly for you.

 

wow...that totally sucks

 

So what discussions have you had about them covering some of the costs since it was apparently their defective part that caused the damage? $90/day car rental? I hope it's a Z06 or something. Good luck with everything, I would pretty furious at that point.

 

damn I was even considering their valve body upgrade...now I gotta take my business else where. Also, their supercharger is a joke, so overly priced and puts down too little power. The free disneyland trip thing isnt much incentive for me to buy it either lol.

 

I just got word that they are shipping it out to me today. When I asked what was wrong with it, the guy just said that he didn't know.

I won't ask them about covering the cost of all the damage until it gets back in the car and everything works properly. I'm still holding my breath...

 

Good luck bro. I hope it works out.

 

I just got a call from Stillen (yeah, they called me!). The rep said that the two guys I was talking to yesterday were mistaken. My VB had been sent out to the shop that does that stuff and they received it back today. They also said Stillen would call Monday or Tuesday to discuss what happened. It looks like the email to my usual sales rep made some difference. They may be talking compensation - I'm hoping...

 

It's almost impossible to rent a car in Victoria (BC) in the summer. I called four places and took the first thing I could get - a Subaru Outback. Completely gutless, but it beats walking.

 

that totally sucks. I hope they take care of you. Have you talked to Chuck at Stillen?

 

wow - gay!

-Sean

 

I talked to Angel in customer service and Dean in sales. These are the two guys that told me they couldn't get to it on Thursday. I then sent an email to my usual sales guy (Andrew) describing the situation. He is the one who called me back and sorted things out. I did send an email to Steve Millen also, but I didn't get anything back from him.

 

Ya stillen's VB is a piece of ****. I purchased one too for my supercharger and once I broke it in it still felt like stock. I recently took it out and shipped it to SGP to get it redone and to find out that they over drilled and messed up big time where SGP was kind enough to replace the extra parts for free and just charge me their usual VB pricing. Props to SGP. I havent been able to test the new SGP VB out due to recent oil leaks from the rear main seals but I'm sure it's nite n day compared with the stillen.

I still cant believe u paid the tranny shop that much? Didnt they tell u an estimate about the cost? Is your tranny just rebuilt to handl stock pw or did they beef up your tranny instead? I know SGP has a fully built tranny for around 3g + core.