My "Pre" experience with Ron at SpeedOracale

[otoro]

Didn't want to resort to this, but this guy (Rob? Ron?) is really getting out of control. This wouldn't be in the vendor reviews, since luckily, I didn't send my car off to him. He's basically pissed that I wouldn't agree with his services and price, for that he finds the reason to PM me every single day. I want to voice this publicly so he'll stop.

CLIFF NOTES:

• Started this: thread looking for "Acura" dealership recommendations for my waterpump/timing belt service.
  
  

• I asked what would be included
• Decline his offer and said his services would be close to what a dealer charges.
• Lots of unprofessional comments ensued. A lot of which is very unnecessary.
• Non-stop PMs from RON98 - (STOP IT ALREADY!)

<removed>

Than I check my PM today and got four more from RON98, luckily there's that select all and delete function.

RON98, if your reading this.. STOP SENDING ME PMs.

----------------------------

All PMs removed. But do E-Mail if you'd like a copy :biggrin:

 

[KooLaid]

Damn, $1400 for a complete TB/WP job AND valve adjustment, that's a killer deal! Especially if he's willing to throw in a free rental car. Local buddy of mine made the near 5 hour trip last year to get his service done, completely happy. He even had Ron do just about every other regular service item. If I had the need and extra money, Ron would have done my car already. Other than Ron, I'd prob have Shad work on my car.... that's really about it actually.

Oh it seems like you guys just kept pushing each other's buttons, push came to shove. Don't make it sound like you didn't do your part in pushing buttons right back.

I'd have to agree with the comment made about having your car potentially being made a guinea pig by SOME other dealerships.

 

[NSXEXY]

mine only cost me around $400-500 out the door, and done in my garage:smile: gaskets/seals, used low mileage waterpump, main radiator hoses, belts, plugs,tranny oil change, motor oil, had to buy the crank pulley holder and torque wrench. DIY its alot of fun! threw in some topspeed headers while i was at it too, also did valve clearance.

 

[RON98]

lol

how long did it take you to screen shot everything? you must really love me. I'm flattered you find me so important to screen shot, crop, upload every single pm. We haven't even had a face to face yet.

its been very entertaining. :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

shoot myself in the foot for offering this guy a good deal.

it all started when he said he is going to bring it to an Acura Dealership because my 1400$ price range was close to what he was quoted ( higher lower, i dont know )

Hi Rob,

I haven't had the time to shop around and exhaust my options. It's just that $1400 seems pretty close to what a dealer would charge; thus my hesitation.

the jist of my next pm was

being helpful, i advised that he better not risk it since 99.999% of most dealerships dont see even 1 nsx a year and that he is taking a risk that the tech will be "LEARNING" on his car. Then i told him if he has any troubles, he can always bring it to me to get it done right the second time.

ok, good luck with your search.

personally i deal with nsxs on a daily basis and own 2 turbo nsxs. I know these cars like the back of my hand.

a dealer will see 1 nsx a year if that. they will give you car to an inexperienced mechanic who will LEARN on your car. would you like your car to be a test subject?

for the same money im hands down the better deal.

if you fail to see that, you can always bring your car back to me if you have any problems with the dealer.

thank you.

i think the above is pretty darn good advise.

The next pm i get is this person just completely blasting me saying how the master techs at Cerritos Acura does TB's day in and day out and that my i was rude and egotistical in the previous message and how they wont be "LEARNING" on his car. My playful word of caution was taken by this person as egotistical.

Rob,

I wouldn't go as far a calling my car a "test subject" for dealers; Cerritos Acura has a constant supply of NSXs on a daily basis.

I'm sure you're work is just as good as the name it comes with. But in brute honesty, the price your charging@1400 is close to what I'll be paying at the dealer. The incentive just isn't there. Besides, other than dealerships, there ARE other options.

I think your last PM was rather rude and obnoxiously biased. For this reason, you'll be making my decision much easier.

if he said Cerritos Acura instead of i quote " Dealership", i would have recommend them 100% They do good work from what everyone on the forums says.

and if he thinks 1400$ for a complete tb job with tb, wp, new belts, valve adjustment, clutch flush, brake flush, coolant and a rental car is a bad deal.... um... hey thats his choice.

however he did not say Cerritos Acura, he said dealership.

since the difference in this case between a generic acura dealership and CERRITOS ACURA night and day when it comes to TB.
CERRITORS = good choice
generic dealership = no no.

silly me for giving him a word of warning since this person already knows everything on the matter.

from there i was bored, finished my work for the day and pmed him back to see what would happen and he just got more and more excited and animated. :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

sure thing Jerry.

i never mind going the extra mile. go search speedoracle in prime. my customers speak for me.

i'll work on sundays till 1 am to get a customer home. I have had customers drive down from SF, up from SD and west from Colorado so i can service their nsx.

im sure there are lots of places that will over charge, give you less service and charge you for every little single nut, gasket and second spent on your car.

For penny pinchers, i rather other shops deal with them since they are always more of a liability. I can break my back and they just cant be pleased.

enjoy :smile:

i never said he was a penny pincher. lol

I'm "penny pinching?" Given these times, I'm sure you have a lot of $1.4k jobs lying around and that's how you find the time to keep pestering me.

Your services are over priced and it's just that; Live with it and deal with it like a grown man. For about the same price as an ACURA CERTIFIED dealer service, who in the right mind would rather take their cars to a private mechanic? I DONT care if you work till 1am, 2am or 3am - I don't know you, have never dealt with you (good thing) and personally find all your remarks very unprofessional.

lol i played along and of course being as excited as he was, he stated that he is sending all my PM to his "crew" and that i'll be losing business because of his pm. :biggrin:

LOL! Are pigs flying today? You have to be the saddest most pathetic mechanic I've known. With all the "given", "said" line of cars you have to work on, how do you find time to still cause drama on the internet?

Really goes to show what a "great mechanic" you are and that mysterious line of Acuras (now Ferraris) you have to work on.

I am lost for words for your nonchalant babbling to potential (lost) customers and my entire local NSX crew. That's another handful of NSX owners that WON'T be going your way, just because you can't deal with reality when it bites you in the ass.

Btw, if you like to snub noses with your "I own this and I own that," why are you still doing what you're doing? Oh that's right, your must be a mechanic by choice and not to make a living right? It all makes sense now, none of this (getting new customers) matter, hence your frustration for losing business and sublime, moronic excuses to why your not getting my business.

Have fun and keep me entertained. I'm I'll be sure to let EVERYONE know how great of a person you really are.

Apples are good, you like oranges? :biggrin:

the rambling of a man who loves it when pigs fly and apples are good and wants to know if i like oranges. HAHAHA

the awesome insults aside, can anyone figure out the

"Apples are good, you like oranges?" remark?!!!??!?!?

i do like apples and love oranges Jerry. Do you like bananas?

i advised him that i do automotive repair because i love to and i can thus dont need to charge crazy rates. That just blew his mind, just completely floored him!!!

lol yes i am a mechanic by choice. lucky me that i get to do what i love.

my parts business pays for all my bills and my toys and its doing great. Its going to be the best year ever and transit prices and parts prices have dropped 20% of peak prices last year because of high gas prices.

i love cars, have too many to fit in my garage and thus i need to shop to put them + a place for me to enjoy my hobby. Also have a 80K dyno too... where would i dyno tune my cars? im my condo complex?

i cant exactly park the ferrari, 2 turbo nsx, turbo supra, turbo s2k, turbo mr2 and my boat, car trailer, dyno trailer on the streets can and tune in my complex.

so yes, im very lucky that i work hard and play hard and i AM a mechanic by CHOICE.

even with zero customers, the bills for the shop is easily covered by the parts business and im more then happy to do so. Also where would i keep my parts??

doing something for the love of it is something beyond your grasp. it seems like your only doing your job because you have to. sad.

im getting great entertainment from our conversion. that's why im here... because after i put in my 2-4 hours a day at my parts business. the rest of the day is ALLL MINE! No set hours, no bosses to answer to. LIFE IS GREAT.

Actually i been watching TV all day and posting on prime to trouble shoot people's problems.

tell your local "CREW" i say hi. :biggrin:

he could not believe that i was doing ok and that it is my CHOICE to be a grease monkey.

In his defense, i was done with work by 10am today, tv was boring, didn't feel like building my motor and he was entertaining me! I went with the flow.

im a button pusher. yes i did push the buttons. lol :tongue: :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

besides trouble shooting vehicle problems here on prime, i also entertain. book me for your next event.:smile:

Jerry, for the last time, i don't need your $1400. good luck with your nsx and yes, i do like apples and oranges and most other fruit. I like beef, bacon, hamburgers. Oooo ooo i LOOOVE JAPANESE FOOD too!

if you have any questions in regards to your nsx, please PM me, i would love to answer any questions you may have in the future about your nsx or my fruit of choice.

ok ok ill stop

no hard feelings buddy? take your car to cerritos, they are great people and will take great care of you and your nsx.

btw Jerry, you have PM.

warmest of regards

Rob:wink:

 

[RON98]

mine only cost me around $400-500 out the door, and done in my garage:smile: gaskets/seals, used low mileage waterpump, main radiator hoses, belts, plugs,tranny oil change, motor oil, had to buy the crank pulley holder and torque wrench. DIY its alot of fun! threw in some topspeed headers while i was at it too, also did valve clearance.

danger danger! used water pump. :biggrin:

 

[RON98]

Damn, $1400 for a complete TB/WP job AND valve adjustment, that's a killer deal! Especially if he's willing to throw in a free rental car. Local buddy of mine made the near 5 hour trip last year to get his service done, completely happy. He even had Ron do just about every other regular service item. If I had the need and extra money, Ron would have done my car already. Other than Ron, I'd prob have Shad work on my car.... that's really about it actually.

Oh it seems like you guys just kept pushing each other's buttons, push came to shove. Don't make it sound like you didn't do your part in pushing buttons right back.

I'd have to agree with the comment made about having your car potentially being made a guinea pig by SOME other dealerships.

missed the coolant, brake, clutch fluid flush... or did he leave those out? :biggrin:

for the record i offered.

WP, TB, TB tensioner pulley, tensioner spring, new WP cover, new belts, valve adjustment, coolant flush, brake and clutch fluid flush AND free rental car for $1400 out the door ALL NEW OEM HONDA PARTS of course. He sounded like he was tight on money and i know the economy is bad and tried to help out a local prime member.

silly me, i forgot the cardinal rule. try to help out, get the shaft. what was i thinking?!?!?:tongue::tongue:

don't get any ideas, this is a Jerry is such an awesome guy for showing me so much love before we even meet face to face hook up price.

 

[otoro]

You know Ron, I had the decency to go back and remove all the PMs (which sokudo88) already read. Figure posting all this BS was unnecessary and rather childish? But not it seems that MUCH more amusing?

If you really want to tell the story, why not tell the ENTIRE story, quote for quote, with both sides of the PM? I've highlighted what supposedly "I did not say" in blue (color of the sky).

I'm sure that PM is still in my Inbox somewhere.

In all honesty, I'll give you points for the entertainment factor.

And back by popular demand, here's what really went down.

Here's my PM quote word for word. Grab a popcorn and take a seat please.

On 01-13-2009, 16:37
RON98 sent me a PM soliciting his service/charges

timing belt
hi

If your looking for a shop to do the timing belt on your vehicle, I can do 1400$ out the door for your timing belt job

thanks.

I've asked around the SGV crew (local owners) and that price seems to be similar to what a dealership would charge.

Originally Posted by otoro
Hi Ron,

Is that quote for timing belt only? If not, please let me know what else might be included.

Thanks,

Jerry

Originally Posted by RON98
Hi Jerry

it includes what is recommended to be replaced during the timing belt job.

new timing belt, new water pump, new timing belt tension pulley, new tensioner spring and new coolant.

nothing else is part of the timing belt service.

thank you

Rob

So I pretty much left it at that. Haven't had the time to call around or visit any dealerships. A local meet was coming up so I figure its best to ask around before I decide.

On 01-25-2009, 19:39 about a week later, RON98 sent another PM. And this is where most of it all started.

Originally Posted by RON98
Hi Jerry

have you made a decision on what to do with your timing belt?

thank you

Rob

Originally Posted by otoro
Hi Rob,

I haven't had the time to shop around and exhaust my options. It's just that $1400 seems pretty close to what a dealer would charge; thus my hesitation.

- Jerry

Originally Posted by RON98
ok good luck with your search.

personally i deal with nsxs on a daily basis and own 2 turbo nsxs. I know these cars like the back of my hand.

a dealer will see 1 nsx a year if that. they will give you car to an inexperenced mechanic who will LEARN on your car. would you like your car to be a test subject?

for the same money im hands down the better deal.

if you fail to see that, you can always bring your car back to me if you have any problems with the dealer.

thank you.

I should've left it as just that. His reply should've been,"Ok, if you do decide to use my services than I can be reached at....." But, I couldn't stand why anyone would be so arrogant as to call "inexperenced mechanic who will LEARN on your car. would you like your car to be a test subject?" And "if you fail to see that, you can always bring your car back to me if you have any problems with the dealer."

So, naturally I tried to explain that he's not the only person in CA that can do this tb/wp service.

Originally Posted by otoro
Rob,

I wouldn't go as far a calling my car a "test subject" for dealers; Cerritos Acura has a constant supply of NSXs on a daily basis.

I'm sure you're work is just as good as the name it comes with. But in brute honesty, the price your charging@1400 is close to what I'll be paying at the dealer. The incentive just isn't there. Besides, other than dealerships, there ARE other options.

I think your last PM was rather rude and obnoxiously biased. For this reason, you'll be making my decision much easier.

Thanks,

Jerry

Then I got a lesson on the "great oracle" and the 1001 reasons why I should use his service.

lol sure thing Jerry.

im willing to throw in extra free of charge like a valve adjustment and clutch, brake flush also i provide a free rental car too for big jobs like clutch and timing belt.

i never mind going the extra mile. go search speedoracle in prime. my customers speak for me.

i'll work on sundays till 1 am to get a customer home. I have had customers drive down from SF, up from SD and west from Colorado so i can service their nsx.

im sure there are lots of places that will over charge, give you less service and charge you for every little single nut, gasket and second spent on your car.

For penny pinchers, i rather other shops deal with them since they are always more of a liability. I can break my back and they just cant be pleased.

enjoy

My rant, obviously agitated at this point.

Originally Posted by otoro
I'm "penny pinching?" Given these times, I'm sure you have a lot of $1.4k jobs lying around and that's how you find the time to keep pestering me.

Your services are over priced and it's just that; Live with it and deal with it like a grown man. For about the same price as an ACURA CERTIFIED dealer service, who in the right mind would rather take their cars to a private mechanic? I DONT care if you work till 1am, 2am or 3am - I don't know you, have never dealt with you (good thing) and personally find all your remarks very unprofessional.

Why do you bother to tell me how great everyone thinks you are? Did I ever question your reputation or are you just feeling minimalist, self-conscious for bad times and your FAILURE of luring new customers?

Again, I'm rather tired of echoing what I've already said. Your insignificant and egotistic remarks really shows your character. Who care's if I think your services are overpriced and not worth it? You have your fan base(how?), so why not pester them instead? If you just want to get the word out on what you do, I'll be sure CC my PMs to every local club members for what a great person you are.

I'm know times are slow, but resist(Read: STOP) sending me nonconstructive PMs, its not any better than unsolicited junk mail (Read: SPAM) and plus, don't you have any NSXs to work on? Thats a rhetorical question :SHOCKER:

Either way, this is definitely not the right approach to attract new customers; and you have lost my interest with ANY of your services indefinitely (READ: $1,400 out the window).

Cheers.

1400$ out the window?

1400$ big spender.

you can keep it wont deal with a customer like yourself for any amount of money.

last thing i need to worry is having another know it all penny pincher.

i have a hard enough time between choosing to drive my Ferrari 355, 2 turbo nsx, my turbo supra, my turbo s2k, turbo mr2 and running my parts business.......

business has been great. not everyone is hurting like yourself.

maybe you can help me out. which one of my vehicles should i drive today?

btw your a real character for forwarding PMs to other people. like a gossiping little girl. deal with it like a man.

Did I not mention Cerritos Acura in my replies above? (Its highlighted in blue, just in case your reading this Rob)

Originally Posted by RON98
also if you said Cerritos Acura instead of "ACURA DEALER" i would have recommend them to you since lots of people take their car to them and they do great work.

instead you used generic Acura dealership 99.999% of which do not have Cerritos's experience.

tired to warn you in a round about way and you get bent out of shape.

with any other acura dealerships, your car would be used to "LEARN" on what i said was 100% valid.

if times are tough, your not making money, go do something else that does. chill out, enjoy life.

cheers

And after all this? I've decided to take my car to Cerritos Acura, Thanks RON98! Enjoy them apples or oranges, or whatever else you like to you eat.

 

[RON98]

Did I not mention Cerritos Acura in my replies above? (Its highlighted in blue, just in case your reading this Rob)

lol sure you did. after you lost your cool blew your lid by the 3rd message. :biggrin:

after that, i was just pushing buttons :wink:

===============
Originally Posted by otoro
Hi Rob,

I haven't had the time to shop around and exhaust my options. It's just that $1400 seems pretty close to what a dealer would charge; thus my hesitation.

================

you clearly stated dealer at which time i advised you not to take a risk with you car at a generic dealership since they will LEARN on your car. God for bid you take it to a generic place where you screw your TB and have your valves kissing your pistons. I tired helping you make a more informed decision and you get bent out of shape given me the 3rd degree on my character. Cerritos was NOT mentioned before my message about your car being a learning tool. After i pmed you that, you BLEW your lid ! :biggrin:

I didn't blow up, you did. I did not start this thread, you did. I didnt send your pm to any prime members, you did. I did not take a screen shot of ever single PM , crop, upload and post (btw im flattered that you spent hours on me), You did. I did not "gossip" about it with anyone like you did with your "CREW" (who uses crew anymore, its worse than possie, do you have a crew? are you the crew leader?). I did not bad mouth you to anyone.... you did, need i say more? Im above and beyond it. If your going to post, im stepping up.

Don't get excited again cause your going to pop a blood vessel and i would feel bad that your getting all worked up at 5am in the morning because of little old me. U posted the PM FIRST i only responded to defend.

You know Ron, I had the decency to go back and remove all the PMs

I sure do know, if you had decency, you would not have posted PMs on a public forum. Get off your high horse and come and play in the mud that you made. lots of room for you and I to frolic together.

btw i day trade, market opens at 6:30am. whats your reason for being up at 5am talking smack? :biggrin:

what on earth did you mean about the apples and oranges?

dude im goggling it and im at a loss. :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

please, im racking my mind on the wisdom of .....

"Apples are good, you like oranges?"

wait wait.... did you want to pull a 1 liner and sound cool from Good Will Hunting?

"how do you like them apples?"

you must think your the "CREW" leader like Matt Dameon :tongue:

you slaughtered that one. real original also.

i got another hour to kill before the market opens and i'll have to ignore your posts for 6 and half hours to do battle with the market.

that will give you lots of time to go google another one liner that someone else made up so you can sound original and hip in front of your CREW.

stop editing your post, removing pm and things you said in the heat of the moment. Let the real Jerry out. Since you don't have to decency to keep PMs private, man up and at least have the the jewels to keep them there.

you let me know when your finished with your little thread. K Jerry?

 

[RON98]

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

im waiting for the reply so I can kick it up a notch with this gossip queen

 

[chado]

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

im waiting for the reply so I can kick it up a notch with this gossip queen

Rob common weren't you the one who was just talking about how slow prospeed must be...

There's no need for this, why not just find something more productive if you're bored??

people are funny.

 

[RON98]

There's no need for this, why not just find something more productive if you're bored??

people are funny.

yep, people are funny and you just answered your own question. Im bored, this is entertaining, thus productive.

people run their mouth, then run. they start something they don't intend to finish.

Do i tell you how you should spend your off time?

let me be the judge of how i should spend my off time.

if you like taking it laying down when someone is running their mouth about u and your business, that is your choice. Where you lay down, i step up.

thanks for your advice on what is productive or not. I'll pass.

 

[enkrypt3d]

I have never had any problems with Rob at all... I took my car to his shop about 6-8 months ago (car runs fine now - but need to bring it back for more work soon ROB!)

I had the following done to mine:

Timing belt, water pump, valve adjustment, cam seals and plugs replaces, injectors balanced, o-rings replaced, valve cover gaskets, coil replaced and all related gaskets, oil change, sway bar install, clutch master & slave cylinder replaced and system bled, transmission flush and refill with new synchromesh....

Everything he did was perfect and the car runs like a champ! I never had one single complaint (well maybe for the fact that I can never get a hold of him! lol) :wink:

I dont have time to read 30 pages of PM's... nor do I care to... Rob is a stand up guy and he stands behind his work and his prices. Period. If you want to take your NSX to a stealership, and have some junior tech that gets paid $7 per hour to work on your car, then by all means go ahead.

 

[RON98]

well, some dealerships are great. there are always exceptions to the rule. Lets not get side tracked on dealership vs stealership.

well lets end this on this note.

I guess Mr Jerry wont be posting any time soon, probably gossiping with his CREW or googling up a 1 liner.

Hopefully next time when he decides to have a moment of weakness when it comes to common decency, this will be a reminder. PMs are Private for a reason.

prime is at peace again. :wink:

enkrypt3d, leave me a msg i always call back.

 

[otoro]

I guess Mr Jerry wont be posting any time soon, probably gossiping with his CREW or googling up a 1 liner.

Going away? Its called work and responsibilities. You should try it out sometimes, quite rewarding.

I'm not going to second guess as to all of your available time hawking over this thread and in sending me another THREE PMs within four hours? Didn't know you'd missed me this much, but I don't swing that way; Sorry.

06:15 RON98
01-29-2009 Re: timing belt


04:14 RON98
01-29-2009 go read


02:45 RON98
01-29-2009 Re: timing belt

The deal is this Ron. I'll put this in bullets so it's easier for you to understand:

1. You spam Prime members with your services, well knowingly I have asked for a Acura Dealership recommendation.
2. Your tb/wb service pricing offers no incentives as oppose to taking my car to the dealer.
3. If I wanted to go with a private mechanic, there ARE other options: AutoWave, Greenlight, SP, Nigel, etc.. all of which would have preference over your shop. Your not the only guy in town that knows how to wrench a NSX.
4. Stop SPAMMING me with PMs.
5. I do not want any of your services.
6. Last reason? Someone secretly sent me SpeedOracle's shop guidelines
   
   
   
   

If your not too concerned with attracting new customers, why not spend the time making your existing clientele happy and spend this time to finish up someone's car. Unless of course, your garage is empty and you have no cars to work on?

//END

 

[chado]

yep, people are funny and you just answered your own question. Im bored, this is entertaining, thus productive.

people run their mouth, then run. they start something they don't intend to finish.

Do i tell you how you should spend your off time?

let me be the judge of how i should spend my off time.

if you like taking it laying down when someone is running their mouth about u and your business, that is your choice. Where you lay down, i step up.

thanks for your advice on what is productive or not. I'll pass.

Well now its easy to see why you are so bored... good luck with your business.

 

[KooLaid]

mine only cost me around $400-500 out the door, and done in my garage:smile: gaskets/seals, used low mileage waterpump, main radiator hoses, belts, plugs,tranny oil change, motor oil, had to buy the crank pulley holder and torque wrench. DIY its alot of fun! threw in some topspeed headers while i was at it too, also did valve clearance.

The used water pump part scares me lol. Especially when in my mind I'm thinking you used a 15+ year old water pump with 7000 miles on it lol. Might be ok, I don't know. I just know that the price for a new water pump isn't that expensive. I've 2nd lots of parts myself but the water pump thing makes me worry. Congrats on the skill and determination to do that service, it's alot of work doing that TB/WP, my service is coming up in....... 40k miles.

missed the coolant, brake, clutch fluid flush... or did he leave those out? :biggrin:

LoL, actually I left those out because I couldn't remember exactly what he told me. I do remember he said he decided to do it all up while he was there for the weekend anyhow. So lots of more stuff added to the list.


See what I'm saying? You guys just push each other's buttons back and forth. Then a 3rd party steps in to do some shoving. Bicker Bicker Bicker. I still like Ron though just like I still like Batmans and Vance. I'm just weird like that though.

 

[RYU]

Regardless of who's to blame or at fault or whatever, it's still quite shocking "Vendor" behavior. I can understand a primer taunting and what not but then again... maybe Speed Oracle doesn't need any extra business in this tough economy.

 

[nbuch001]

A while back I asked Ron for a quote for a major. He was polite, professional and answered my questions. It sounds like you guys got off on the wrong foot.