Do not take your car to castros!

[ST1G]

Perhaps OP doesn't understand how much work/time/money it takes to properly overcome hurdle after hurdle in what is now a well documented swap? Perhaps OP should had done the work at home or just bought a swapped car that is already running?

Art Degrees teach you a lot about real life. People are pretty bad about understanding the costs associated with things.

[castros]

Hello everyone, this is Chris Castro speaking. First off there is more to the story than the OP has shared. About 9 Months ago the he reached out to us inquiring prices and information on having us complete his swap, after giving him quotes and discussing what he'd like done, he towed the car over. Soon after I discovered that he was towing it over from GSR Motorsport. Once receiving the car I caught on as to why they didn't want to compete his 75% completed swap. I was asked by the OP to complete finish his brake system, wire the harness in, and fix an oil leak, well his so called 75% done swap needed a laundry list of work/parts before the car could even turn over. We soon discovered that the car was more like 20% complete, which included items such as incorrect engine harness, wrong sensors, wrong air flow meter, wrong intake boot, no fuel lines, improperly installed injectors and rail, 6 out of 7 cooling hoses were missing from the cooling system, brake booster was installed incorrectly, master cylinder to abs lines were all loose, no engine ground strap, no motor mount nuts, missing all breather and vacuum lines, pedal box had one nut holding it, front calipers weren't installed (sitting in the trunk), missing dip stick seal, 60% of all electrical connections from under the dash were disconnected, bad starter ( which OP decided to go with a used starter), missing exhaust port block off plates (required with OBD2 manifolds), no exhaust, and that is just to name a few of the issues we ran into with this so called 75% done swap! The OP and myself emailed back and forth about all the issues, talked over the phone multiple times, gave the OP my professional opinion as to what he should and needed to do to complete his swap properly. OP refused to follow my guidance and approved us to only do a certain amount on his car. I will not deny me saying "why waste my time on someone with a small budget. I'm running a business not a charity" because after multiple conversations,and suggesting to the OP to follow my guidance he just kept asking for information as to how to complete his car without my help, after days and weeks of dealing with the OP, the car was costing me more time and money than I was actually getting compensated for, even though I am a so called ghetto shop I still have a ton of overhead and many mouths to feed. The prices I gave the OP were no different than those I give to all walk in customers, I could break down why my BAR exhaust seemed so expensive to the OP, catalytic converters $400 ( may be less expensive online but I do not buy them online), resonator $80, Muffler $180, tips $40, V-band $30, Hangers $35, exhaust piping/materials $225, labor $400, not including tax which we all pay for in California. My shop labor rate is $95 an hour and used to $75 an hour, but do to inflation we all suffer the price. I'm sorry we can't be in a very fancy, clean, $1,000,000 shop, we , make due with what we have, and if anyone has seen some of the cars we have previously worked will see that even though the OP thinks my shop is ghetto and dirty, our work is self explanatory. Those who may know me personally know that I love what I do and love helping those seeking our help and knowledge, The OP states I robbed him of $1000, but those who know me know that it isn't worth dealing with things such as this one to make a quick buck and ruin our reputation. Op states my attitude changed when he didn't want to purchase our exhaust, my mood changed when I discovered that the OP wanted us to work and deal with his car for free and store his car. Anyone who has worked at a shop knows that if a car is simply sitting in a bay, it is costing you money. OP also states that I threatened him with storage fees, I did tell him after the 5th time of flaking to pick up his car that I was going to start charging him storage, because I had already given him plenty of time to come and pick up his car, those of you that have seen my shop know my parking is very limited, and I don't know of many shops who actually don't charge storage. We catered to the OP as much as we could by allowing him to delay the process of bringing his own parts, discussing different options, and trying to help him get the car done. I have no control over anyone's budget, but why start something you don't have the funds to complete then blame us for everything you did not want to do that we had suggested you to do!? If the OP hadn't touched his car we would have saved so much time actually getting the car operational, rather than sitting there and correcting some one else's mistakes. Attached is a copy of the invoice of what was done and what was charged to the OP. This could carry on and on but there is no reason to continue unless OP wants to continue pointing fingers as to why his car is costing him more than he is willing to spend. You will all see what was actually done to the car, and how much of that was actually to even be close into starting the car.
[IMG][/IMG]
Regards,
Chris Castro

[Best_name_available]

Hello everyone, this is Chris Castro speaking. First off there is more to the story than the OP has shared. About 9 Months ago the he reached out to us inquiring prices and information on having us complete his swap, after giving him quotes and discussing what he'd like done, he towed the car over. Soon after I discovered that he was towing it over from GSR Motorsport. Once receiving the car I caught on as to why they didn't want to compete his 75% completed swap. I was asked by the OP to complete finish his brake system, wire the harness in, and fix an oil leak, well his so called 75% done swap needed a laundry list of work/parts before the car could even turn over. We soon discovered that the car was more like 20% complete, which included items such as incorrect engine harness, wrong sensors, wrong air flow meter, wrong intake boot, no fuel lines, improperly installed injectors and rail, 6 out of 7 cooling hoses were missing from the cooling system, brake booster was installed incorrectly, master cylinder to abs lines were all loose, no engine ground strap, no motor mount nuts, missing all breather and vacuum lines, pedal box had one nut holding it, front calipers weren't installed (sitting in the trunk), missing dip stick seal, 60% of all electrical connections from under the dash were disconnected, bad starter ( which OP decided to go with a used starter), missing exhaust port block off plates (required with OBD2 manifolds), no exhaust, and that is just to name a few of the issues we ran into with this so called 75% done swap! The OP and myself emailed back and forth about all the issues, talked over the phone multiple times, gave the OP my professional opinion as to what he should and needed to do to complete his swap properly. OP refused to follow my guidance and approved us to only do a certain amount on his car. I will not deny me saying "why waste my time on someone with a small budget. I'm running a business not a charity" because after multiple conversations,and suggesting to the OP to follow my guidance he just kept asking for information as to how to complete his car without my help, after days and weeks of dealing with the OP, the car was costing me more time and money than I was actually getting compensated for, even though I am a so called ghetto shop I still have a ton of overhead and many mouths to feed. The prices I gave the OP were no different than those I give to all walk in customers, I could break down why my BAR exhaust seemed so expensive to the OP, catalytic converters $400 ( may be less expensive online but I do not buy them online), resonator $80, Muffler $180, tips $40, V-band $30, Hangers $35, exhaust piping/materials $225, labor $400, not including tax which we all pay for in California. My shop labor rate is $95 an hour and used to $75 an hour, but do to inflation we all suffer the price. I'm sorry we can't be in a very fancy, clean, $1,000,000 shop, we , make due with what we have, and if anyone has seen some of the cars we have previously worked will see that even though the OP thinks my shop is ghetto and dirty, our work is self explanatory. Those who may know me personally know that I love what I do and love helping those seeking our help and knowledge, The OP states I robbed him of $1000, but those who know me know that it isn't worth dealing with things such as this one to make a quick buck and ruin our reputation. Op states my attitude changed when he didn't want to purchase our exhaust, my mood changed when I discovered that the OP wanted us to work and deal with his car for free and store his car. Anyone who has worked at a shop knows that if a car is simply sitting in a bay, it is costing you money. OP also states that I threatened him with storage fees, I did tell him after the 5th time of flaking to pick up his car that I was going to start charging him storage, because I had already given him plenty of time to come and pick up his car, those of you that have seen my shop know my parking is very limited, and I don't know of many shops who actually don't charge storage. We catered to the OP as much as we could by allowing him to delay the process of bringing his own parts, discussing different options, and trying to help him get the car done. I have no control over anyone's budget, but why start something you don't have the funds to complete then blame us for everything you did not want to do that we had suggested you to do!? If the OP hadn't touched his car we would have saved so much time actually getting the car operational, rather than sitting there and correcting some one else's mistakes. Attached is a copy of the invoice of what was done and what was charged to the OP. This could carry on and on but there is no reason to continue unless OP wants to continue pointing fingers as to why his car is costing him more than he is willing to spend. You will all see what was actually done to the car, and how much of that was actually to even be close into starting the car.
[IMG][/IMG]
Regards,
Chris Castro

nice, never believed op anyway

[Blake B]

Check mate....

[MrSlacker]

Invoice looks decent... Things add up quick

[CarsonE30]

And that's the end of that.

[ZM Blue Devil]

I'll be there at the end of the month. Can't wait to roll around on your shop floor just so I can pick up some Castro love and bring back to east coast. Keep doing what you are doing buddy.

[castros]

I'll be there at the end of the month. Can't wait to roll around on your shop floor just so I can pick up some Castro love and bring back to east coast. Keep doing what you are doing buddy.

Can't wait to have you buddy, has been a very long time since you've been around these parts of town.

[rcsoundn1]

chime in OP. I do not know your shop, but from what I see here you have been up front about this situation. Yes there are many bad mechanics out there, it doent mean they are all bad.

[reelizmpro]

We must be talking about the black M tech 2 car that the OP has been trying to sell with the incomplete swap. Seemed like a decent deal and I wondered why it hadn't sold if it were "almost done" as the OP claimed. Hmmm.

[e30polak]

OP sounds like most cheap E30 bastards, with big dreams and empty pockets.

Chris didn't steal your money, he just runs a successful shop and values his time accordingly. OP, have you ever thought that knowledge and experience is worth money? These days advice isn't free. If you're too lazy to research and find out the right answers yourself, than you pay someone else for that knowledge and experience (this is how any service oriented business works).

Also, as far as pricing is concerned, everything has a cost vs. benefit argument. A known and trusted shop is able to charge what they do, because they have customers coming in all the time, and they get the rate they charge from each person. If you don't like the price of the exhaust, then go to a muffler shop, spend $700-800 on a poor quality system, and regret it later.

[kronus]

:popcorn:

[sultan_e30]

Sounds like another kid that got talked into buying an e30 and then got talked into swapping it, without critical thinking.

So You go to a reputable (one of the most reputable in SoCal in e30s) shop, you doubt his advice, you question his business managment skills and then bash him online because you didn't have it your way? Lmao

Chris is far from any of your inexperienced labels. (not that he needs me defending him or anything.) And his labor rates are on par with the quality he and his team push out of that shop. I've dumped weight of cash there, but what mechanic do you know that'll stay at work til 3 am to fulfill his promises to customers' (sometimes outrageous) needs and deadlines.

He had every right to treat you the way you got treated, and you definitely deserve to be feeling the way you feel. And if you're still unhappy for not having it your way ... Exit victory west, pass whitsett and Burger King will be on your right hand side.

[2mAn]

I'll be there at the end of the month. Can't wait to roll around on your shop floor just so I can pick up some Castro love and bring back to east coast. Keep doing what you are doing buddy.

please clean your inbox! I tried to send you a PM but it wouldnt let me.

are you coming for the SoCal Vintage show?

back on topic:

People typically feel this way when they only spend their time reading about how a 24v swap takes a weekend but dont understand exactly whats involved in doing the swap.

link to the ad of the OP selling his car???

[castros]

We must be talking about the black M tech 2 car that the OP has been trying to sell with the incomplete swap. Seemed like a decent deal and I wondered why it hadn't sold if it were "almost done" as the OP claimed. Hmmm.

Barry I don't think it's the same car? This car is a stock 325 i that needs a ton of love.