I’d like to start out by saying that I’m being as honest as possible. Here’s how my experience went down at Vinny Ten Racing:

As everyone knows I tried installing my RTP’s myself and was unsuccessful and stripped my passenger’s side top bolt. I stopped there and figured it was a job for a professional. I called VTR and spoke to Brandon. I made an appointment for Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 9:30am.

Thursday comes by and unfortunately I couldn’t find my RTP’s. (I’m currently moving so everything is boxed up) I called VTR and explained I’d be late. I get there an hour later @ 10:30am. I tell the mechanic about the strip bolt. He attempts to remove the bolt and fails. VTR ended up sending me home (about 1 hour drive one-way) and re-scheduled me for today Monday, June 20, 2011 @ 9am. I was originally quoted $85 for the RTP installed but that changed to $125 since they would have to bolt-out the stripped bolt. I wasn’t upset with this at all since I was late to begin with and the bolt was stripped.

Monday comes by and I get there @ 9am to find only 1 mechanic and no Vinny nor Brandon in the building. We had a good conversation and chatted until they came in. My car finally gets on the lift an hour later around 10am. They start working on my car.

To make a long story short, it took VTR 6 hours to install my RTP’s. I came in and expected a 1-2 hour job as those on the forums have mentioned even with a stripped bolt. It turns out that the stripped bolt wasn’t even the issue. They had to extract both the stripped bolt and non-stripped bolt the same exact way! Yes, these bolts are notorious for not budging but by no means did I expect to stay there for 6 hours. In addition there is no waiting area or any chairs to sit down. I was not offered somewhere to sit and when it came to lunch time they had asked almost everyone in the shop what they wanted for lunch except me. I walked a few blocks and found a deli and had my lunch.

In addition to the six hours the mechanic had accidentally torched the rubber covering my fuel lines! It went on fire and the mechanic had to run for water to extinguish the flames. He insisted it was fine and that they are steel lines and there is nothing to be worried about. He went ahead and bandaged it up with heat tape. I took his word since he seemed honest.

After this grueling experience it’s finally done and I’m ready to pay and leave. I go into the office and I’m surprisingly told that I owe $350 for the work. Supposedly they are giving me a discount and charging me for fewer hours. I protested and stated that it’s unfair because I was never told it was going to cost me more than the original quote that was $125. If I had known it was going to take VTR 6 hours and it was going to cost me $350 for the install I would have never done it. I understand mistakes and new problems arise but the business must let the buyer beware. Unfortunately, Vinny and I had an argument about this situation. He had insisted that I should have known and it was my part to know that I will be charged per hour instead of the install cost initially agreed upon. I disagreed with him. For example, when a dealership realizes that a new problem arises or something needs to be done they give you a courtesy call stating the problem, giving you a new quote, and then finally asking for your approval to continue. I was more than willing to pay more than what I was quoted but it was the manner that I was approached with the issue is what frustrated me.

Has anyone else had this issue before? Have you ever gone to a shop agreed on a price and returned to a bill that is triple than what you expected? Am I supposed to just cough up the money and move on? I didn’t think so. That’s poor business ethics to me. If I was told ahead of time I would have most likely backed out or worked out a new price and then taken it from there. Vinny also stated that I was driving a $60,000 car and the money shouldn’t be an issue. I worked my *** off part time for 5 years and I’m currently unemployed as I am going for back to school for my MBA. What business is it how much money I have? If I drove a 99 Honda Civic you I have been charged differently? He also insisted that they used his method to remove the bolt and that he had invented it. Why did it take 6 hours to complete if they already had a method to remove these top two bolts? I know from personal experience and on the forums that many have successfully removed these top bolts (even stripped top bolts) in an hour or two. And that’s without a lift. It was also insisted that they were the best mechanics and much better than Nissan head techs. I even tried to tip the mechanic but unfortunately, Vinny came out running and forced the tip back to me and made a scene in the shop.

I can go on and on but I don’t want to turn this into a book. I would have been more than happy to fork up some money if it was handled differently. I had gone to VTR because of their reputation with our cars and I thought I was going to the best shop. I was willing to pay a little extra for knowing that I had the best shop working on my car. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as I had expected.

On a positive note, the mechanics and visitors were friendly and easy going. There were a lot of nice cars in the lot.

By no means am I trying to bash VTR or have any hard feelings. I’m just giving my feedback and my experience to the forum. I’ve heard good and bad stories about the shop and unfortunately, I didn’t have the best experience. Vinny did state that I am still welcomed to the shop but we’ll have to discuss the financials before any work was done. Honestly, after this experience I’m not too comfortable going back. After spending all that time there and seeing all the boosted cars I really had the urge to one day TT my car. It’s a shame that I had to experience this and I definitely didn’t want to leave on a bad note.

The day did not get any better. I did not expect to spend all day at VTR. I left around 4pm and I am my brother’s assistant coach of his baseball travel team. I had to have a friend pick him up and take him to the game. I arrived in the in the fourth inning. I’m also currently getting a CEL light with my GTM RTP’s. They did do a beating on the bolt to try to remove it. I’m going to reset the codes and hopefully the sensors are still good.

Didn’t mean to write a book but I just needed to vent. I’d appreciate and feedback. Good or Bad. This is my first time going through such a rough experience with a business.

Thanks

BTW.. I did leave paying the $125...

FYI: Since I left VTR my car is hesitating and throwing a CEL code p1148. It seems like the broke my header 02 sensor....


UPDATED-

As I had mentioned before I was going to keep everyone updated on my progress with VTR.

I am happy to say that everything has worked out and Vinny and I can finally put this experience behind us. My front o2 sensor was bad and he had placed an order for a new one and it arrived the next day. Thankfully, he covered the cost of the part and labor. Install of the new sensor was also very fast (about 10-15 minutes).

This issue should have not escalated this high. The day of the RTP install Vinny and I were both having off days and unfortunately we reached a disagreement. It is healthy to have disagreements and people will always disagree at one point. This disagreement led us both to be a little aggravated in which I made a thread about my experience at VTR. People make mistakes when they’re upset/frustrated/under the influence/etc. Instead of easing my mind and waiting to calm down and call VTR the next day I relied on the forums for support/opinions/feedback. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize at the moment that I was bashing VTR for their work. Even though at first Vinny and I had our differences I should have spoken to VTR directly before sharing my experience with the forums.

Gratefully, Vinny and I made up and both of us apologized for everything. I can honestly say that Vinny does run a nice shop and he does take care of his people. All his employees are all good people and do professional work.
You can even sit there and talk about cars all day. They are all knowledgeable and know what they’re doing. Vinny is constantly working on improving his shop. (He’s currently putting more money into his shop and adding more lifts) He’s truly keeping himself busy and he really loves what he does.

I hope we can all learn from this experience because I definitely did. I hope to attend all the meets, BBQs, track days, and all other events that VTR hosts. It’s nice to know that a shop not only works on your car but also has cars that participate in these events. We are all enthusiasts and it doesn’t get better than having another enthusiast work on your car.

 

Thanks for the long and detailed response with your experience. It is good to see this info out on public especially for people who are going all out and spending THOUSANDS on engine rebuild and turbo install. I would hate to get a quote on a big project and watch it increase 40%-50% if not more due to mechanic mishaps or project taking longer than shop expected. I understand in car modding business things always come up but as a shop they need to learn basic customer service and common courtesy.

 

I know how it feels man. I took my car to a reputable shop around my area and they managed to screw it up. I was expecting to pay for 2 hours of labor, but they stacked another hour and the price of a brand new 02 sensor. I'm still left bitter this day about.

The shop did notify me about what was actually going on, but in my opinion you break it you buy it. I called multiple shops such as GTM, Fast Intentions and Z1 and they said the same thing the 07 to 08 cats are a pain in the *** and through time will strip the sensors. My friend took his car to a MEINEKE and they didn't even strip the sensor. After hearing that it set me off on a rampage.

 

Hahaha dont hate. I told everyone that the Meineke is a great place to get stuff done at. As much as you dont think it is the guy over there knows me, my dad, and my grandfather whos office building is right next to meineke shop. But yea it was cheap but they did a great job. Even went out of their way to fix a gasket issue they had and they went and bought a new one for me.

 

Wow that is some horrible experience from sure and has got my blood pumping!! i am AMAZED at how your story does not really show any anger, usually when ppl are taken for a ride by a shop, their rant clearly shows anger, with yours its mostly disappointment in the lack of ethics these guys have portrayed in this case.

Its is TOTALLY wrong for any shop to charge you anything different than what they quoted you before the work UNLESS midway through when they realize the problem they let you know that it will take longer and more $$ which is normal and acceptable.

On my old car i needed to get a AT Flush and filter change and was quoted $60 for labor and i brought the fluid and filter. However once i left the car there i got a call an hour later saying that my car had the AT pan in the engine bay and not on the bottom like most cars so they would need to remove the radiator fans, support, pipes etc and would cost me an additional $50, followed by "Do you still want us to do the work?"

Since i was aware of that fact and believed that it did require more labor i was ok with it and I PERMITTED them to go ahead, however if i left the car there and came back to pick up expecting to pay $60 and am asked to pay $110, then i would not be pleased and not really sure what my reaction would be, since with me its less about the money issue than about ethics like you stated.

Anyways, everyone gets jacked at least once by a shop/someone and usually thats enough to learn your lesson and be more proactive in your approach, like i was cheated similarly by comcast when they told me a service visit to fix my cable would be free since its an outside issue but my next bill had $50 charge on it, i fought it off and from then on i ask the rep about 50x what the charges would be and urge them to make a note of it under my profile which usually pisses them off

I hope this helps you forget this sooner rather than later and NEVER go back to that shop no matter how good their work is, and which by the way seems very bad considering they almost blew up your fuel lines/car, charged you more without notice, showed attitude, created a scene and to top it off let you drive away when they most probably knew that they had damaged your O2 sensor....

Just get it fixed and move on with it

 

Also thanks for sharing cause no matter what happens im never going there or recommending anyone to go there either...

 

Actually had an experience like this to the dealership. I was in for a tranny flush and asked them if I could get the brake judder TSB done. They run through my records and say it's okay. I'm sitting in the break room for about 4 hours or so then they call me to the desk.

Service consultant informs me that i'm not paying $250 for tranny flush alone. He say i will be paying upwards to $400 to $500 because of the brake judder TSB, then he tells me that I was out of warranty and that is why that charged me more. Enraged I call them out for not informing me of this. The guy procceds to say that I should've known that my warranty was out, but i replied i didn't even know a TSB wasn't free after warranty and that he should've notified me of this.

I tell him that i have had experiences with multiple dealerships and performance shops before and they would ALWAYS inform me if anything important comes up before doing it. He then goes away for 10 to 15 to talk to his manager and then refunds my money. I get my money back and free work done.

 

As I had mentioned before I was going to keep everyone updated on my progress with VTR.

I am happy to say that everything has worked out and Vinny and I can finally put this experience behind us. My front o2 sensor was bad and he had placed an order for a new one and it arrived the next day. Thankfully, he covered the cost of the part and labor. Install of the new sensor was also very fast (about 10-15 minutes).

This issue should have not escalated this high. The day of the RTP install Vinny and I were both having off days and unfortunately we reached a disagreement. It is healthy to have disagreements and people will always disagree at one point. This disagreement led us both to be a little aggravated in which I made a thread about my experience at VTR. People make mistakes when they’re upset/frustrated/under the influence/etc. Instead of easing my mind and waiting to calm down and call VTR the next day I relied on the forums for support/opinions/feedback. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize at the moment that I was bashing VTR for their work. Even though at first Vinny and I had our differences I should have spoken to VTR directly before sharing my experience with the forums.

Gratefully, Vinny and I made up and both of us apologized for everything. I can honestly say that Vinny does run a nice shop and he does take care of his people. All his employees are all good people and do professional work.
You can even sit there and talk about cars all day. They are all knowledgeable and know what they’re doing. Vinny is constantly working on improving his shop. (He’s currently putting more money into his shop and adding more lifts) He’s truly keeping himself busy and he really loves what he does.

I hope we can all learn from this experience because I definitely did. I hope to attend all the meets, BBQs, track days, and all other events that VTR hosts. It’s nice to know that a shop not only works on your car but also has cars that participate in these events. We are all enthusiasts and it doesn’t get better than having another enthusiast work on your car.

 

im glad it worked out... I have sent about 50+ people there for simple installs as a fog light, to huge built motor jobs.

People have bad days - I know I do at the dealership but I know Vinny's heart is in every car that comes in and goes out with his work on it.

At the end I told you things will be okay. Even in the auto business at the dealership, people will be very quick to write about bad experiences, and the ones who always get the best treatment will not write about it.