Sadly I am forced to write this which will inevitable turn into a major 'pissing contest' but I simply cannot allow this to happen to anyone else.
I have known Ross for 3 years now, liked him, though he was enthusiastic but off-putting at times with his inexplicable tirades. Now my opinion is that he is nuts with some kind of serious psychological disorder. His reaction to the issues he has caused is so unprofessional and insane that it defies logic.
Here is the story, I am not fabricating anything, all described as it happened. My car is a 2000 T (bought it in 2007), bone stock mechanically, never touched by a technician, no oil leaks or drips anywhere. The car was in an accident with a motorcycle in 2002 which resulted in some cosmetic damage and floor pan dents- nothing mechanical. The only thing modified was a full exhaust which i installed 6 months ago (and while doing so I applied anti-seize to all O2 sensors to prevent seizing- remember this).
I've been talking to Ross about maybe trading some parts etc at which time I have mentioned that I am looking to do a timing belt, water pump, valve adjustment job as a simple maintenance- car has 61k miles and ran like a champ, no issues whatsoever. As you have read, he has been advertising such service on Prime for $800 labor cost plus parts. I have repeatedly asked him who would be doing the job and he said he would have a former employee of Mark Basch come in and do the job- an experienced mechanic. I wasn't quite relieved but he was reasurring and getting upset that I dare to question his abilities: "we know what we are doing, man". I am quite mechanically inclined as well and have done numerous timing belt jobs (have few vintage cars) but could not afford to have my daily driver tied up by me tinkering with it for a week- it needed to be done by an experienced tech in 2 days on a lift. "Don't worry man, we will have it done right and quickly" came the response. Since Ross needed NA2 headers for his exhaust fitups we settled on $600 cash plus complete NA2 headers and I threw in the stock muffler to help out with his fitups- fair deal, $50 bucks per hour with no tax for a 12hr side-job for the tech (assuming an experienced tech that has done this before) plus exhaust for Ross. This pricing came from him, I did not chew him down and paid in full up front (I knew him for a while so had no reservations). I supplied timing belt, water pump, ac and alternator belts, valve cover gaskets, new coil seals, spark plugs, Acura MTF, oil and coolant. I also supplied the tool I made to hold the pulley nut in place. All the parts are OEM and there is nothing here that is 'extra' work outside of timing belt/valve adjust job. Once again, please remember the stipulations we agreed on- experienced tech, done in few days without having to drop the engine. We have made an appointment two weeks prior for the 24th.
Friday night I drop the car off so it can cool off for next early morning's work. By 2pm Saturday, the guy just started to work on the car. Few hours later I stop by out of curiosity and am introduced to a kid from Florida wrenching on the car- not quite Mark Basch employee (strike one). It is now apparent to me that the car will not be done in few days. Ok, I say, take your time to get it done right- "no problem etc." came the assurances. I am also informed that they will drop the motor to make it easier on them- I am not too enthusiastic but at this point have no choice, the suspension pieces are everywhere already, exhaust is off and O2 sensors are removed and hanging by the wires (they came out easily, remember this as well). At this point I have to share a car with my GF, rent one or drive my classics which I hate doing in daily traffic.
Monday comes, I go into the shop. The kid has the motor back in and is going to town on everything with an impact gun- I cringe. Then I see him with a humongous wrench hammering on the O2 sensors, ask him to take it easy, kid gets pissed off, I walk away and go home.
Tuesday mid day car is together but won’t start- “it is probably some ODBII bullshit or it is your alarm messing with us” is the explanation (I have dealer-installed original alarm). I go home again.
In the evening the car is done. I am happy to go get it. We can't find my K&N filter i dropped off after cleaning and oiling but Ross gives me his used paper one for now. I shake hands, smile, jump in and start driving. Within 100 yards I know the cam timing is off- car won't rev cleanly and basically runs like crap. I turn around and go back just to get blank stares-"ooookkk, we don't think so but lets us check". I say that it sounds like the rear cam is a tooth off from what I read on Prime. Ok, I say, call the GF for a ride.
Wednesday I call in- the answer i get is that "we have to make few calls". Ok, I say, let me know whats up but am puzzled why an expert has to ask someone how to align cams on cars they work with on daily basis (supposedly).
Thursday- same thing.
Friday- "we figured it out, the rear cam is a tooth off". Really? They start working on it. Since they had to repeat the procedure, I asked them to replace the rear header gasket with a new one I just supplied since the old one was leaking- no extra work here either, right?
Saturday Ross says the kid quit. Please, I plead, bring someone who can fix it quickly, I am bumming rides and this is turning into a hassle. "Don't worry, you are good, no problem, we will give you a front stabiliser bar as a compensation". I reply that he doesn't have to, I just want the car back.
Monday i stop by- car is still on the rack untouched. "i am waiting for Jon Martin to call me back".
Tuesday- "I am taking care of it myself" Ross says. Ok, I say, call me please.
Wednesday comes- I get the car. It will not hold the idle but the cam timing seems to be ok. Ross says it is just an old fuel filter- Ok, I say, I'll get a new one. Also, He gave me a free plastic trim that covers wires on the glass hatch ("i have several and will never need them" he states). Also, "I gave you a free O2 sensor as the ones you have got ruined by your cheap headers"- thank you, I say while I am puzzled, the kid had them off the first time without any problems then re-installed them with a breaker-bar and no anti-seize- what really is a problem here? As I drive home i notice strange squeek or chirp coming from the left side of the rear anytime I go around right-turn corners or engage clutch in low gears. I call Ross- "it is just a loose axle nut- happens on my car all the time". I am puzzled yet again. I barely get the car home, it stalls several times. I check anything I can see- I find few missing bolts, misrouted and unbolted harness but nothing apparently major. I also discover the headlight pop-up button does not work, neither is the trunk release. I text Ross, he starts getting defensive- "I gave you a free O2 sensor, free trim piece and did all this extra work you requested for free" he says. "you are unappreciative, cheap and a hater". i begin to boil a bit but regain composure and write him an email explaining how i paid him in full the price he asked, pointed out that stripped out O2 sensors were probably caused by the kid with the impact and how the little free plastic piece does not compensate for the job being done incorrectly. i explained how I still like him and did not ask for anything beyond the scope of the original service. I ask him to not reply to the email because it was just to clarify my position, not to start a war.
Thursday- i install a new fuel filter- the car still runs like crap, stalls everywhere, rear-end chirping gets worse. I text Ross asking him whats next- the response is "bring it in". I tell him that unless he gets someone to come in to take care of this once and for all, I can't afford my car to sit on his rack for another few weeks until he gets coached over the phone how to fix it (he has 10-million projects going on at once and I know that at this point he considers me a nuisance). Shit hits the fan- once again i am cheap, a moron, unappreciative, should have done the job myself. i am getting pissed and our texts to each other get ugly. He says that since I wrote him a hate-mail, he is no longer responsible and nobody cares anymore. he wants me to quit being a girl and drop my ‘keyboard manhood’ (yes, really) and stop by his place- i ask him if he is prepared to disrespect me in person, if thats the case I will stop by, otherwise he is wasting my time. no matter what we may think about this, I outweigh him by 60lb so getting physical would be stupid and unfair, no challenge here- he does not respond and i ignore him. I contact Larry Bastanza with few questions to try to clarify things, he advises me to take it to SOS.
Friday- I bring the car to SOS in the afternoon. They reset the drive-by-wire and idle circuits (or whatever needed to be done), find few minor wiring issues on the firewall, the car seems to idle ok at that point- we think that is fixed. They retain it to go over everything on monday.
Monday- here is the list (remember, the car was bone stock and untouched- everything was there) besides the idle issue:
-mixed-up hardware everywhere
-missing large washers on structural studs of the suspension/cradle assembly (these are actually important as they spread the loads)
-all the seals are missing on the timing belt covers, only 2 bolts are holding them in place (at this point to get those replaced correctly is $140 in parts plus 4 hrs at least)
-all the O2 sensor brackets are missing, 2 sensor wires are resting on cats getting fried and shorted out.
- wire harness brackets on valve covers are missing, as well as ODBII plug bracket.
-rear engine mount is finger- tight (!!!)
-left engine mount is completely loose- it is 2 threads away from coming apart and causing serious failure while driving. (explains the ‘chirps’) (!!! Again)
-the a-arm retaining bolts are not torqued at all, almost loose, as a matter of fact, nothing was torqued to spec
-right axle boot has a crack on its very top, next to the metal clamp, where it would get hit by the shock during assembly or something. It is not cracked on the ‘bellows’ where they usually do but it is obvious mechanical damage- grease is spraying everywhere now and it will be another $300 to fix that
-under the dash the wiring harness was disconnected- upon plugging it back together my pop-up switch came alive as did the trunk release. The immobilizer wires are cut but I do not know if that was done now or before but you know my opinion.
SOS did what they could right away to make sure the car was safe to drive. I took it away with some relief.
Today, Wednesday- driving to lunch, car starts to stall again. Finally it quits running in the middle of the intersection in 110 deg heat. I push it around by myself, call SOS for towing advice. SOS guys are on the spot within 15 minutes in Chris’s car with the technician Jeff, just to make sure that the car really needs a tow and I am not going to spend money needlessly. Upon inspection they find throttle circuit and relay going nuts again. Check engine light is dimly flickering indicating a short. The verdict- possible ECU failure due to shorts in the harness. Right now car is being examined more in depth.
So far, while SOS had been more than responsive and helpful dropping what they were doing, this fiasco will cost me additional $1000 minimum, on top of what Ross already collected (paid in full and up front) and likely the car will never be the same.
SUMMARY
STMPO makes few decent product (the braces etc) - keep in mind that these are made by few skilled fabricators to Ross’ order- this is not his handywork as he is purely a salesman (you want to see his work look at the bodywork he sells that contains 50 pounds of fiber, resin and bondo per fender or the carbon overlays done with garbage bag vacuum chamber, wavy weave and pockmarked, orange-peeled finish)- if you want to buy those, you may not have issues at all and he should stick to selling shiny welded tubes. that said, stay away from his shop for any technical work beyond middle level of expertise as he will lie to you to the point of no return (i understand that few guys he hires to come in are quite professional, too bad his 'mechanic' wasn't and the owner isn't). if he can do it, you can do it, trust me, just another part swapper that has to be guided by others over the phone and as long as you pad his ego you will be ok by him- the minute you realize you got lied to and that he is in WAY over his head, you are the devil. Ross is one of those people that regurgitates what he hears elsewhere as his own experience, if you ever saw his personal car you would know how he learned the little bit he does know about the nsx- if I was a business owner I would be embarrassed to show it to people as proof of my handywork.
I gave Ross several chances to make things right, today included, when I said I would accept some products (which he gets at cost and would cost him much less than what I already have to spend) as compensation for my added expenses since he has cashflow issues (I wonder why). He told me to go to hell and “bring it on, he is ready for me and will print out all the emails”. Well, no matter how big of an asshole customer I might be (which I am not), nothing warrants lack of professionalism and general knowledge when you claim to be an expert and flame everyone who says otherwise. I am completely sure he will respond to this ‘in force’ with edited emails and text messages making irrelevant connections, statements and emotional accusations. Like I said, lets assume I am an asshole and you never want me back in your shop, nothing, and I mean NOTHING warrants the crazy, psychotic exchanges that followed my initial, tame signals of displeasure- how I ever became responsible for his lack of expertise and workmanship is beyond logic after the 2-day job transformed itself into 2.5- week nightmare. He downright endangered my life, had i driven one more day that engine mount would have fallen apart. He is a hack- stay away. I am sorry I even thought of questioning SOS’s expertise based on his lunatic opinions. Lastly but perhaps most importantly, STMPO is unable to obtain business insurance so anything he screws-up or whoever you kill when your engine assembly falls out of the car- you are on your own.
EDIT:
like i said, no matter what idiotic accusations this post will generate, its ONLY purpose is to keep anyone else from repeating my mistake. take at as you want, i am not asking you to go on a crusade.
EDIT II:
would the moderator please move this tread to the 'vendors' section. I apologize for incorrect placement.
I have known Ross for 3 years now, liked him, though he was enthusiastic but off-putting at times with his inexplicable tirades. Now my opinion is that he is nuts with some kind of serious psychological disorder. His reaction to the issues he has caused is so unprofessional and insane that it defies logic.
Here is the story, I am not fabricating anything, all described as it happened. My car is a 2000 T (bought it in 2007), bone stock mechanically, never touched by a technician, no oil leaks or drips anywhere. The car was in an accident with a motorcycle in 2002 which resulted in some cosmetic damage and floor pan dents- nothing mechanical. The only thing modified was a full exhaust which i installed 6 months ago (and while doing so I applied anti-seize to all O2 sensors to prevent seizing- remember this).
I've been talking to Ross about maybe trading some parts etc at which time I have mentioned that I am looking to do a timing belt, water pump, valve adjustment job as a simple maintenance- car has 61k miles and ran like a champ, no issues whatsoever. As you have read, he has been advertising such service on Prime for $800 labor cost plus parts. I have repeatedly asked him who would be doing the job and he said he would have a former employee of Mark Basch come in and do the job- an experienced mechanic. I wasn't quite relieved but he was reasurring and getting upset that I dare to question his abilities: "we know what we are doing, man". I am quite mechanically inclined as well and have done numerous timing belt jobs (have few vintage cars) but could not afford to have my daily driver tied up by me tinkering with it for a week- it needed to be done by an experienced tech in 2 days on a lift. "Don't worry man, we will have it done right and quickly" came the response. Since Ross needed NA2 headers for his exhaust fitups we settled on $600 cash plus complete NA2 headers and I threw in the stock muffler to help out with his fitups- fair deal, $50 bucks per hour with no tax for a 12hr side-job for the tech (assuming an experienced tech that has done this before) plus exhaust for Ross. This pricing came from him, I did not chew him down and paid in full up front (I knew him for a while so had no reservations). I supplied timing belt, water pump, ac and alternator belts, valve cover gaskets, new coil seals, spark plugs, Acura MTF, oil and coolant. I also supplied the tool I made to hold the pulley nut in place. All the parts are OEM and there is nothing here that is 'extra' work outside of timing belt/valve adjust job. Once again, please remember the stipulations we agreed on- experienced tech, done in few days without having to drop the engine. We have made an appointment two weeks prior for the 24th.
Friday night I drop the car off so it can cool off for next early morning's work. By 2pm Saturday, the guy just started to work on the car. Few hours later I stop by out of curiosity and am introduced to a kid from Florida wrenching on the car- not quite Mark Basch employee (strike one). It is now apparent to me that the car will not be done in few days. Ok, I say, take your time to get it done right- "no problem etc." came the assurances. I am also informed that they will drop the motor to make it easier on them- I am not too enthusiastic but at this point have no choice, the suspension pieces are everywhere already, exhaust is off and O2 sensors are removed and hanging by the wires (they came out easily, remember this as well). At this point I have to share a car with my GF, rent one or drive my classics which I hate doing in daily traffic.
Monday comes, I go into the shop. The kid has the motor back in and is going to town on everything with an impact gun- I cringe. Then I see him with a humongous wrench hammering on the O2 sensors, ask him to take it easy, kid gets pissed off, I walk away and go home.
Tuesday mid day car is together but won’t start- “it is probably some ODBII bullshit or it is your alarm messing with us” is the explanation (I have dealer-installed original alarm). I go home again.
In the evening the car is done. I am happy to go get it. We can't find my K&N filter i dropped off after cleaning and oiling but Ross gives me his used paper one for now. I shake hands, smile, jump in and start driving. Within 100 yards I know the cam timing is off- car won't rev cleanly and basically runs like crap. I turn around and go back just to get blank stares-"ooookkk, we don't think so but lets us check". I say that it sounds like the rear cam is a tooth off from what I read on Prime. Ok, I say, call the GF for a ride.
Wednesday I call in- the answer i get is that "we have to make few calls". Ok, I say, let me know whats up but am puzzled why an expert has to ask someone how to align cams on cars they work with on daily basis (supposedly).
Thursday- same thing.
Friday- "we figured it out, the rear cam is a tooth off". Really? They start working on it. Since they had to repeat the procedure, I asked them to replace the rear header gasket with a new one I just supplied since the old one was leaking- no extra work here either, right?
Saturday Ross says the kid quit. Please, I plead, bring someone who can fix it quickly, I am bumming rides and this is turning into a hassle. "Don't worry, you are good, no problem, we will give you a front stabiliser bar as a compensation". I reply that he doesn't have to, I just want the car back.
Monday i stop by- car is still on the rack untouched. "i am waiting for Jon Martin to call me back".
Tuesday- "I am taking care of it myself" Ross says. Ok, I say, call me please.
Wednesday comes- I get the car. It will not hold the idle but the cam timing seems to be ok. Ross says it is just an old fuel filter- Ok, I say, I'll get a new one. Also, He gave me a free plastic trim that covers wires on the glass hatch ("i have several and will never need them" he states). Also, "I gave you a free O2 sensor as the ones you have got ruined by your cheap headers"- thank you, I say while I am puzzled, the kid had them off the first time without any problems then re-installed them with a breaker-bar and no anti-seize- what really is a problem here? As I drive home i notice strange squeek or chirp coming from the left side of the rear anytime I go around right-turn corners or engage clutch in low gears. I call Ross- "it is just a loose axle nut- happens on my car all the time". I am puzzled yet again. I barely get the car home, it stalls several times. I check anything I can see- I find few missing bolts, misrouted and unbolted harness but nothing apparently major. I also discover the headlight pop-up button does not work, neither is the trunk release. I text Ross, he starts getting defensive- "I gave you a free O2 sensor, free trim piece and did all this extra work you requested for free" he says. "you are unappreciative, cheap and a hater". i begin to boil a bit but regain composure and write him an email explaining how i paid him in full the price he asked, pointed out that stripped out O2 sensors were probably caused by the kid with the impact and how the little free plastic piece does not compensate for the job being done incorrectly. i explained how I still like him and did not ask for anything beyond the scope of the original service. I ask him to not reply to the email because it was just to clarify my position, not to start a war.
Thursday- i install a new fuel filter- the car still runs like crap, stalls everywhere, rear-end chirping gets worse. I text Ross asking him whats next- the response is "bring it in". I tell him that unless he gets someone to come in to take care of this once and for all, I can't afford my car to sit on his rack for another few weeks until he gets coached over the phone how to fix it (he has 10-million projects going on at once and I know that at this point he considers me a nuisance). Shit hits the fan- once again i am cheap, a moron, unappreciative, should have done the job myself. i am getting pissed and our texts to each other get ugly. He says that since I wrote him a hate-mail, he is no longer responsible and nobody cares anymore. he wants me to quit being a girl and drop my ‘keyboard manhood’ (yes, really) and stop by his place- i ask him if he is prepared to disrespect me in person, if thats the case I will stop by, otherwise he is wasting my time. no matter what we may think about this, I outweigh him by 60lb so getting physical would be stupid and unfair, no challenge here- he does not respond and i ignore him. I contact Larry Bastanza with few questions to try to clarify things, he advises me to take it to SOS.
Friday- I bring the car to SOS in the afternoon. They reset the drive-by-wire and idle circuits (or whatever needed to be done), find few minor wiring issues on the firewall, the car seems to idle ok at that point- we think that is fixed. They retain it to go over everything on monday.
Monday- here is the list (remember, the car was bone stock and untouched- everything was there) besides the idle issue:
-mixed-up hardware everywhere
-missing large washers on structural studs of the suspension/cradle assembly (these are actually important as they spread the loads)
-all the seals are missing on the timing belt covers, only 2 bolts are holding them in place (at this point to get those replaced correctly is $140 in parts plus 4 hrs at least)
-all the O2 sensor brackets are missing, 2 sensor wires are resting on cats getting fried and shorted out.
- wire harness brackets on valve covers are missing, as well as ODBII plug bracket.
-rear engine mount is finger- tight (!!!)
-left engine mount is completely loose- it is 2 threads away from coming apart and causing serious failure while driving. (explains the ‘chirps’) (!!! Again)
-the a-arm retaining bolts are not torqued at all, almost loose, as a matter of fact, nothing was torqued to spec
-right axle boot has a crack on its very top, next to the metal clamp, where it would get hit by the shock during assembly or something. It is not cracked on the ‘bellows’ where they usually do but it is obvious mechanical damage- grease is spraying everywhere now and it will be another $300 to fix that
-under the dash the wiring harness was disconnected- upon plugging it back together my pop-up switch came alive as did the trunk release. The immobilizer wires are cut but I do not know if that was done now or before but you know my opinion.
SOS did what they could right away to make sure the car was safe to drive. I took it away with some relief.
Today, Wednesday- driving to lunch, car starts to stall again. Finally it quits running in the middle of the intersection in 110 deg heat. I push it around by myself, call SOS for towing advice. SOS guys are on the spot within 15 minutes in Chris’s car with the technician Jeff, just to make sure that the car really needs a tow and I am not going to spend money needlessly. Upon inspection they find throttle circuit and relay going nuts again. Check engine light is dimly flickering indicating a short. The verdict- possible ECU failure due to shorts in the harness. Right now car is being examined more in depth.
So far, while SOS had been more than responsive and helpful dropping what they were doing, this fiasco will cost me additional $1000 minimum, on top of what Ross already collected (paid in full and up front) and likely the car will never be the same.
SUMMARY
STMPO makes few decent product (the braces etc) - keep in mind that these are made by few skilled fabricators to Ross’ order- this is not his handywork as he is purely a salesman (you want to see his work look at the bodywork he sells that contains 50 pounds of fiber, resin and bondo per fender or the carbon overlays done with garbage bag vacuum chamber, wavy weave and pockmarked, orange-peeled finish)- if you want to buy those, you may not have issues at all and he should stick to selling shiny welded tubes. that said, stay away from his shop for any technical work beyond middle level of expertise as he will lie to you to the point of no return (i understand that few guys he hires to come in are quite professional, too bad his 'mechanic' wasn't and the owner isn't). if he can do it, you can do it, trust me, just another part swapper that has to be guided by others over the phone and as long as you pad his ego you will be ok by him- the minute you realize you got lied to and that he is in WAY over his head, you are the devil. Ross is one of those people that regurgitates what he hears elsewhere as his own experience, if you ever saw his personal car you would know how he learned the little bit he does know about the nsx- if I was a business owner I would be embarrassed to show it to people as proof of my handywork.
I gave Ross several chances to make things right, today included, when I said I would accept some products (which he gets at cost and would cost him much less than what I already have to spend) as compensation for my added expenses since he has cashflow issues (I wonder why). He told me to go to hell and “bring it on, he is ready for me and will print out all the emails”. Well, no matter how big of an asshole customer I might be (which I am not), nothing warrants lack of professionalism and general knowledge when you claim to be an expert and flame everyone who says otherwise. I am completely sure he will respond to this ‘in force’ with edited emails and text messages making irrelevant connections, statements and emotional accusations. Like I said, lets assume I am an asshole and you never want me back in your shop, nothing, and I mean NOTHING warrants the crazy, psychotic exchanges that followed my initial, tame signals of displeasure- how I ever became responsible for his lack of expertise and workmanship is beyond logic after the 2-day job transformed itself into 2.5- week nightmare. He downright endangered my life, had i driven one more day that engine mount would have fallen apart. He is a hack- stay away. I am sorry I even thought of questioning SOS’s expertise based on his lunatic opinions. Lastly but perhaps most importantly, STMPO is unable to obtain business insurance so anything he screws-up or whoever you kill when your engine assembly falls out of the car- you are on your own.
EDIT:
like i said, no matter what idiotic accusations this post will generate, its ONLY purpose is to keep anyone else from repeating my mistake. take at as you want, i am not asking you to go on a crusade.
EDIT II:
would the moderator please move this tread to the 'vendors' section. I apologize for incorrect placement.
Last edited by a moderator: