Castro Motorspots, you would have to be high as hell to go here...

[dvck]

It's hard to type something up without sounding like a dick.

If you're going to go to a shop, drop off the car say what you want/need and pick it up when its done; if there are issues contact the shop to correct them.

Not only is it good practice and manners but it's common sense.

It's hard for shops to work with DIY'ers, hell I wouldn't do it. Not in todays society where everyone thinks that they can tackle something because they saw a youtube video. Chris continues to do it for the love of the cars, culture and people around these cars.

If you want to do something yourself, do it, but do it all the way.

Think about the times you try to install a stereo and have to try to figure out what the PO did, and untangle the mess.

Not only for Castro Motorsport but every other independent shop, It's too easy to go online now and yelp or blast on the forums, way too easy.

[IRON-E]

The car is now totaled. There will definitely be an empty place in my heart for the rest of my life for that car but Im glad to be leaving the scene and happy to never have to deal with situations like these anymore. Good luck with everything Chris.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=371822

Hahaha, differences in totaled.

[pandaboo911]

I could fix it myself for a couple hundred

[Farbin Kaiber]

What happened to the car

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=371822

[semaj4712]

What happened to the car

+1

Did you just post that here to try and make everyone sorry for you or are you trying to hint that something Chris did to your car caused you to crash?

[Thizzelle]

Again, no. A sticking caliper doesn't cause a soft pedal, and a soft pedal is NOT a fault, but a symptom of another fault. Also, a sticking caliper is cause by nothing other than a seized piston or sliders. It is not possible for any of the 3 causes of a soft pedal to contribute to uneven brake wear.

Air in lines
Leak
Master cylinder.

That's it, nothing else will cause a soft pedal, and a soft pedal will not cause a caliper to stick.. What you are stating happened to you, didn't. You misdiagnosed your issue.


By giving the explanation that his sticking caliper had caused his soft pedal you are indicating that you have no idea how a hydraulic system operates. Either that of you were relying on the hope that the customer lacks the knowledge. This is kind of worrysome.

Edit for cleanliness.

As an engineer I approve this message

[efficient]

What happened to the car

[torqueflight]

The car is now totaled. There will definitely be an empty place in my heart for the rest of my life for that car but Im glad to be leaving the scene and happy to never have to deal with situations like these anymore. Good luck with everything Chris.

[CENTURION]

but but isn't the customer always right?

[mkcman17]

I haven't been up to the shop in a while now as cars have taken a backseat in my life, but every time I've dropped by unannounced Chris has taken care of me. It's not easy to be a paid mechanic of any sort on older+modified vehicles. Often times you're undoing shoddy work or taking blame for problems extracurricular to the actual servicing. He has always been understanding when money's tight and given me options, not just upselling the profitable parts or jobs. When I've heard of any issue with castro's the car usually touched several hands and/or stayed for an extended period. I can't speak for these. I've had Chris fab a custom trains brace, two full exhausts and replace two fubar rear wheel bearings in the past. Everything else I do myself, if only for the security that if something fails I know exactly what's been done. I'll be back for my 2002 trans brace, soon.

[goarmy]

I had a tech service my rear driver brakes as it was under their care as I bought the car from the tech and service was at no charge. I noticed he took the caliper off and noticed the piston dropped to the dirty floor..

I was already concern but you know, you don't say anything because you trust them. I see he couldn't put it back.. I told him I wanted a reman one! Later he told me he was going to autozonegetting another caliper. Later on he told me it was done and fine. I drove off.. later on, my brake pedal just went completely to the floor.. The car would not stop.. What happen?

It was on my way to work I noticed my pedal wasn't so firm.. I see kids about 80 feet in front of me with skates.. I proceeded to slow down to give them time to give me pass. I noticed that the small amount off pedal pump I usually do was not doing anything.. I proceeded to press again and again to create pressure and nothing It just immediadly went to the floor with ease.

It was a one way lane no left, had to run the car to the right and between the grass and the tree was what helped me to stop the car.

I checked the brakes myself and noticed brake fluid all over the wheels, mud guard, muffler and where ever the wind drag took it. I noticed also it was the same caliper..

Personally I lose all respects for someone that could have caused a life to be taken away.

Anybody can be well respected, but respects go beyond the person having knowledge. It's character, people in my neck of the woods love me and respect me for my work ethics, kindness, honesty not just for my knowledge or what I do for them : /

[castros]

I feel like I need to just make a quick comment about something, I have noticed this is becoming a common trend as of late, somebody has a problem with Castros and turns to R3V to vent their frustration.

Now not having any idea to the legalities of the claims that have been made, and I am not about to take sides on a he said she said argument, plus I have my own experiences with Chris to take into account but that is for another day.

Castro's and Chris in particular is a highly respected member of the southern California BMW enthusiast scene. Many longtime BMW enthusiasts have gone to his shop with nothing but positive things to say and many have worked with Chris and had nothing but positive things to say.

However, the fact that about once a week or once every few weeks somebody posts about their experiences at Castro's and how they feel they were not treated fairly has to have some sort of validity at this point. Too many people have had issues, and I am not talking about a small issues, I am talking about large issues where people have major issues with the work or experience they had at Castro's. So much so they have to come to r3v, time and time again to express their problems. There is at-least three already in this one thread.

Chris, I am sure you do not like to come on R3V on a weekly basis to defend your work and your shop. You know you do good work and have one of the most reputable shops in SoCal.

So my word of advice comes as such, look at each customer, regardless of budget, knowledge, or desires the same way. If somebody comes in to get an oil change, treat them the same way as you would Frank Ocean. If you build a working relationship with someone, they will come back, they will spread positive reviews of your work, and what a pleasure dealing with you was. A guy coming in today for an oil change may be the guy next year coming in with a crazy turbo s54 swap. You never know.

Again this is just my 2 cents, take it or leave it, but something in the way you are dealing with customers is leaving them to take to the internet, and that is never good for business.

I completely agree about treating everyone equally, many may think that we are snotty just because we've worked and built cars for a few particular customers. However I'd much rather be working on small projects and tending to routine maintenance, rather than big long tedious projects. I work side by side with my guys at the shop but sometimes am driven out with the business aspect of things, but I love building relationships with all the people who come into the shop. Many may think all I wan't is the high paying customer but frankly their is way more stress involved working with those particular customers. I make mistakes, but all my intentions are true and sincere. I thank those who come to my shop and keep my doors open, those who've had bad experiences with my I truly apologize, and those who chose not to come to my shop have all the right to do so.

[semaj4712]

I feel like I need to just make a quick comment about something, I have noticed this is becoming a common trend as of late, somebody has a problem with Castros and turns to R3V to vent their frustration.

Now not having any idea to the legalities of the claims that have been made, and I am not about to take sides on a he said she said argument, plus I have my own experiences with Chris to take into account but that is for another day.

Castro's and Chris in particular is a highly respected member of the southern California BMW enthusiast scene. Many longtime BMW enthusiasts have gone to his shop with nothing but positive things to say and many have worked with Chris and had nothing but positive things to say.

However, the fact that about once a week or once every few weeks somebody posts about their experiences at Castro's and how they feel they were not treated fairly has to have some sort of validity at this point. Too many people have had issues, and I am not talking about a small issues, I am talking about large issues where people have major issues with the work or experience they had at Castro's. So much so they have to come to r3v, time and time again to express their problems. There is at-least three already in this one thread.

Chris, I am sure you do not like to come on R3V on a weekly basis to defend your work and your shop. You know you do good work and have one of the most reputable shops in SoCal.

So my word of advice comes as such, look at each customer, regardless of budget, knowledge, or desires the same way. If somebody comes in to get an oil change, treat them the same way as you would Frank Ocean. If you build a working relationship with someone, they will come back, they will spread positive reviews of your work, and what a pleasure dealing with you was. A guy coming in today for an oil change may be the guy next year coming in with a crazy turbo s54 swap. You never know.

Again this is just my 2 cents, take it or leave it, but something in the way you are dealing with customers is leaving them to take to the internet, and that is never good for business.

[goarmy]

+1

+2

[KIRIEIW]

again, no. A sticking caliper doesn't cause a soft pedal, and a soft pedal is not a fault, but a symptom of another fault. Also, a sticking caliper is cause by nothing other than a seized piston or sliders. It is not possible for any of the 3 causes of a soft pedal to contribute to uneven brake wear.

Air in lines
leak
master cylinder.

That's it, nothing else will cause a soft pedal, and a soft pedal will not cause a caliper to stick.. What you are stating happened to you, didn't. You misdiagnosed your issue.

By giving the explanation that his sticking caliper had caused his soft pedal you are indicating that you have no idea how a hydraulic system operates. Either that of you were relying on the hope that the customer lacks the knowledge. This is kind of worrysome.

Edit for cleanliness.

+1