L.a.p.d. Don't Let Them Lie And Overcharge You Too!

[akanitro409]

Just Venting Here Because Of The Amount Of Time & Money Spent And The Results Are Not What I Was Promised, Nor Pricing Anywhere Near What Was Originally Estimated.
Today is exactly 1 year since I blew the engine in my 2004 Z06 and had it towed to Los Angeles Performance Division(L.A.P.D.) to finally bight the bullet and spend some money to make some real power. Going in and agreeing to spending about $16800.00 for a 402 NA engine, clutch, headers, dyno tune, everything under the sun so to speak: I was told I would be making around 520-530 SAE Rear Wheel Horsepower and around 500 lbs/ft or torque. Also that I had to pay $10,000.00 upfront and my time frame was going to be around 6 to 8 weeks max. Well, to start, I didn't initially get to pick up the car until May of this year and at a cost well over the original estimate and November 2007 to May 2008(you do the math). After picking it up there were so many problems with the tuning that I could barely drive it but they gave me a dyno chart showing 517/512 SAE Rear Wheel Numbers. When I got the first opportunity to bring it back to fix all the problems including overheating, stalling, idle hang at 2000rpm for 15-20 seconds after letting off the accelerator pedal, and a ton of other things to list, they did finish it in about 3 weeks, but still cost me another grand before I left due to things they didn't do the first time because they did not anticipate the issues(Where the F*&K is quality control and final inspection on peoples' cars?). Well when I picked it up then I still had all the same problems and to make it worse, they told me they de-tuned it to 498 SAE Rear Wheel Horsepower due to the fact they had given me a "RACE TUNE" initially(BULLSH*T). So 2 weeks later when I finally get another day off work to bring the car back to L.A.P.D., I call and they tell me not to bring it to them that to go somewhere else(I won't mention any names because he is a really nice guy) because they are closing the doors to move to a new facility. I told them, don't worry about it that I would wait till they were up and running at their new place and that I was just going to come by and pick up some of my things they forgot to give me the first few times. At that point, I was told not to come by because they would not be there any longer and just go to another shop they recommended(BULLSH*T AGAIN)! So I go to the other shop and teh gentleman drives the vehicle and states it is running poorly because my oil temperature is too high, which I complained about from the beginning. He drove it and put it on the computer and detued it some more now down to 472 SAE RWHP(WHAT THE HELL DID I PAY SO MUCH MONEY FOR AT THIS POINT?) until he had the chance to order and install an oil cooler for another grand. I said just order it please. It has to be done.
Well, last week I ran into Al & Doug(previous employees of L.A.P.D.) now owners and operators of D.T.S. in Reseda. Both of them long time friends of mine, took the car in at no charge to take a look at everything because they actually give a damn about friends(DON'T START, I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF OPINIONS OUT THERE, TRUST ME, I'VE HEARD THE STORIES) and found out the car was so out of wack that it was suprising that it was even running, which I was still telling them about oil temp, stalling, hanging idle, rough idle, hard cold start, etc., etc. Well, they took damn good care of me on the oil cooler, corner balanced and aligned the vehicle and wiped the program after finding the cam sensor was shut off, base idle was never set up, fuel/air ratios all over the place and many other things. In the end, they were never able to get the 517SAE RWHP back or even close which is another reason I am so pissed. Come to find out, when I initially picked up the car and L.A.P.D. gave me the original dyno chart, the dyno chart was not even from my car.
Well, the car is not what my expectations were due to false promise and under delivering of stated numbers, not to mention a hell of a lot more money spent, but at least the saga is over and I can enjoy my baby again and now running like it is supposed too. I want to give a personal thank you to Al, Doug & Jon at D.T.S. in Reseda. Al is still staying on top of everything for me and helping me out(AND NOT RAPING ME LIKE L.A.P.D. DID), Doug I am seeing is probably the best and most knowledegable tuner utilizing HP Tuners Software and Jon is probably one of the best hands on corvette technicians I know out here. One of the best things about all 3 of these guys, is they actually care about the client and that is rare these days. One thing I have always had a philosophy about is that you take care of your clients' like they are true family and care about them. That goes a long way and builds life long relationships where there are no lines that divide business and personal. Remember that the basic DNA of any successful businesss, relationship, friendship, etc. is an acronym spelled GAS:Give A Shit!

[gasboy]

that is a sad story.you sound like an easy to get along with customer and got screwed for it.when i picked up my Z after a ton of mods,they took me for a road test in it.we drove the wee out of it plus some city driving.he then asked me if i wanted to drive it.i said no,it seems fine to me.only then would they take my money.glad everything is good now.lesson learned.

[seamus2154]

That's alot of money for what you got or didn't get! Alot of these guys get away w/ murder. I do nothing on a handshake anymore. In writing, and held to the letter. I'd get a lawyer.

[YumaZ06]

Originally Posted by seamus2154

I'd get a lawyer.

People should be held accountable for their actions/inactions. Too many of these places around that screw too many people.

[UVETTYA]

Sorry to hear that, but glad it's straightened out. I know how you feel though. I was screwed by a shop here in Phx to the tune of about $8K. They sent me out the door twice with no oil in brand new transmissions, and hack sawed up my AIR system during a header install and trashed it - said I didn't need it. Literally everything they touched on the car they screwed up somehow. Good shops are hard to find. Glad you found one.

[-X-]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I'm going through pretty much the same scenario, as I blew a lifter and it took out my cam and shortblock. My new 418 LS3 motor just went in yesterday and should be fired up on Monday. I was referred to the shop doing the installation by my detailer and went with a semi-local builder that I researched on the 'net. He took a couple of weeks longer to finish the shortblock and assemble the longblock (with the heads I had the shop ship to him), but he told me something along the lines of "rushing only leads to mistakes."

Both places are geared towards racing (road and drag), so I felt like they would be straight with me. I've been very proactive in telling them what I want and bought much of the upgrades myself. I call the shop almost daily to get updates and the manager is very cool and doesn't dick me around. The tech and the owner are also easy going and professional. They are a Radical dealer as well, which is pretty impressive.

I could've taken it to the area 'vette shop (Tony's Corvette Shop in MD), but that's over an hour away from me and I could not have had nearly the amount of hands-on interaction as I do now. The shop is literally ten minutes from my house and from work, so I can drop in whenever I feel like it. It's also helped me build a solid relationship with everyone there, I told them I want all maintenance done there from here on out.

Glad you finally hooked up with the "good ones" and have your Z in better running condition.

[ZO6 AL-X]

Sorry to hear about the trouble. That same shope lied to a friend of mine about some work he wanted done. He never did business there and neither would I.

[AZZ061]

wow that sucks! I have done alot of reading on all the forums and have been very careful as to whom gets my car! Uvettya has shed so much light locally here in AZ we all have been cautious! luckily we have a new shop that cares!

Hope in the end having her back eases the screwing you got!

[Blue Blood]

+1 for Doug and Al. They've gone out of their way to take care of me as well. Even had me go to Al's home because they had left LAPD and weren't setup in the new shop yet.

[Eddie 70]

I hate hearing this kind of stuff. One of the main reasons I try to do my own work if I can. This way I can only blame myself. I would be so pizzed at LAPD and would probably be consulting a lawyer. That is a lot of money to not get what you were told you would be getting. Unbelievable.