300zx Drift Car Update

Always the way Greg

Just today, sold a set of ARC bov's to magic mike.
Anything else, just let me know mate.
Cheers
John

 

heres my another 2 cents

It has been clear on many occassions by the concerned parties that communication is a problem from UAS. I for one have experienced it, so i have the right to comment.

I for one prefer to be proactive in my communication with the workshop. i would rather be the pain in the arse to the workshop and ENSURE i get the relevant comms during the course of works rather then set myself an unrealsitic expectation of cost as per the UAS website.

I am sitting on the fence with this one. I can see both sides of the story and to a certaing degree support both. BUT as a matter of customer satisfaction and good reputation i feel that an agreement should be met OFFLINE with no more user intervention, and as dare i say it GENTLEMEN to have this issue closed out.

2 companies here have the capacity to elevate their names within the industry as it seems they are both specialists. So at the end of the day why not make amends and just make it work.

JP/Greg.... As mentioned take this one offline without the intervention of FORUM members. enough damage has been done.. This way you will reduce the influence of others and make a decision on your own accord.

Another 2 cents to the tally..

Regards to both and good luck

Tezza - Terry or whatever the hell yo want to call me today haha :zlove: :zlove: :zlove: :zlove: :zlove:

 

Good one Marrs, oops Terry

but sometimes it is good to go public if you feel an impass has been reached.

cheers
me

 

Communication has never been a problem for me

Communication has never been a problem for me at UAS. Infact it is every other workshop I have been to that has a communication problem (drop the keys off and see you later attitude).

Admittidly I'm not mechancially minded, however John and the mechs will always take the time to explain things to me and show me things, and that all comes for FREE. Unlike anywhere else I also get phonecalls and emails. (other places also seem to have a 'call us because we wont call you' attitude.

This is not because I have spent money there, even my first visit was very positive and not a great deal of money spent on it either.

I have never been overcharged there either. I have been undercharged though. One time the carbon fibre bonnet was missing on the bill and another time the twinpass radiator was left out. Being the guy I am I pointed it out

Spending days at UAS it is extremely busy all the time. With the recent fire and now moving to another premises etc I cant begin to imagine how hectic it must be there right now.

I will still make the 300km trek to UAS for work done on my car. The customer service, communication, quality of work and honesty have been the greatest of any workshop I have ever been to.

I figured I would post what I did to show that positive experiences are still being met and have always been met by some people.

 

This reminds me of the movie "The Break Up"

as interesting as it is to see this played out from both sides, i cant help but feel I shouldnt be watching as this is - well should be a private matter. Xtreme ZX summed it up though.

* I feel Thunder should of got a firm and detailed quote before delivering the car. As should anyone.

That way if any works/repairs or extra labour or other need to be carried out other than what is requested/quoted then it can be explained put to the customer for authorisation.

This is proberly what should of happened regardless. Maybe moreso based on what has happened from both sides and the time and costs involved.

VTD as this nolonger concerns anyone not directly involved other than to serve as a warning to anyone to get a quote/estimate before having work undertaken. As most would of done anyway. If i am going to buy a new fridge i shop around for the best price. If i want services i sum up reputation and get qoutes and make an informed decision.

 

Whether I got a quote or not, the bill would have been the same and it would have been a lot higher than the quoted figure as a few unexpected things happened along the way.

Price isn't the real issue here, or even whether I got value for money - maybe I did.

The questions were raised about actual times on the job sheet as they don't add up, unless there was other work performed during those hours that were not listed. All I have to go on is the Job Sheet written out by UAS.

The other main issue is that after 2 months and $7115 I was told the car was ready to pick up. Naturally I assumed ready meant ready to drive and the fee for tuning the car meant that the car was actually tuned and able to be driven.

Picky little things have been found with the car and made out to be major issues, yet did not affect their ability to tune the car. These things have been fixed, yet a simple bracket to stop a turbo pipe popping out was not done and the tune became - Gameover, and the car was ready to pick up.

If we had known the pipe was going to blow off, we would have done something to fix it before it went to UAS, and then maybe the car would have been tuned properly. Everyone is wiser with hindsight. The engine had never been started until it went to UAS and there are always teething problems to overcome.

I am not a mechanic and I am a newby to the 300ZX so I don't know a lot about the mechanical side and how they work.

Give me an Exhaust and we can do nearly anything.

I thought giving a 300ZX to UAS would have been the same as giving us an exhaust to do. Some are more difficult than others, but at the end of the day it is still a 300ZX.

 

Sorry but that is way too simplistic

I really like John and the boys at UAS but trying to get a firm quote from anyone is like trying to get a pork chop into a synogogue

Geoff

 

the whole automotive industry has a lot to improve upon in terms of customer service, really pisses me off. not having time to explain stuff to customers etc is a crock of shit it means you don't deserve to run a business.

 

More info

The boost controller is set upright and supposed to have that barb fitting with nothing connected.

We did tune your car and probably your fuel system is the issue as we told you prior to picking the car up and when you picked up the car and fuel pressure changes. Plus probably and possible other issues as every time we put it on the dyno something else went wrong or came up with your car. We thought we had it sorted pretty much considering but possibly not.

Cresta my double talk may have confused again and people read into things and use it against us it seems. Adrian built the engine and apart form a tight spot which is all we noticed although a big concern it is the exterior of the motor and the installation which is the problem and to clarify HE DID NOT DO, and thought I explained this? Thunder hose blew off both water and turbo and we sorted these and had not blown off whilst doing final tune. If Ben left one hose lose whilst diagnosing things and only finger tight wit was not and could not have been tuned. Re price for labour I never discount labour as limited commodity and expensive mechanics and booked out all the time. I explained this to Greg but also forgot this it seems. Anyway I DID do very cheap prices on the parts less than trade on most parts and as I have always done even well prior to this zed coming to us as I wanted to help it get out to the track. Cresta you raised a point that actually amazed me. As Sureflo were going to charge me MORE than retail for their labour which I dragged out of them finally prior to taking the car to them and asked many times. This was missed by you and others or OK somehow??


Ben is back Monday and will ask him to clarify some things. He DID tune your car under immense frustration, pressure and danger.


EVil Twin I would go broke if I gave firm quotes working on zeds. They do and often unfold NOT due to bad work but worn out cars and worked on by those who shold not prior often.


Re fuel filters those bling alloy small things with in comparison staino mesh are not up to the job. They are too small ond only filter to around 60 microns and paper ones around 4 to 6 microns which is what I use two of on my car with threaded fittings. This is not your problem but rather the rather complex fuel pumps and plumbing system you have. Ben can explain this and what to do.

 

I still somewhat feel lost...

At the end of the day, what did $7100 plus what work was done to the Z (apart from a bad tune)?
I can see both sides, but if you had outside work done on your slot car, & told that your slot car was ready to be picked up. Then when you get there find out the car actually doesn't run, would you be happy?

 

BOV's

ARC make awesome intercoolers but not best in BOV department and they are small and may be an issue with flow with big hp zeds and often jam on zeds. Better to get much better flowing and much better made and work and last much longer brand being Turbo Smart.

 

Definatley not

If I had false expectations tha it had imagined all good. I may not have communicated it as sfirmly and properly and thoroughly as I could. I did explain that the water pump had to be reffitted properly and thought I explained the fuel system was bypassed and had to be redone, and water and turbo hoses all needed to be fixed. If all this was done and should be acceptable but we still expect it not to last long and also explained this or more boldly said it will probably fail in a big way or wear out what ever is tight as in bearings in crank or what ever is tight.

 

i sink eye nede chili's .....

... random generator translating algorithm to follow this thread ...

 

this is a legitimate question and not trying to take the piss, but if the fuel system had to be bypassed to be able to tune it, why tune it, then after it's tuned hook the crapped out fuel system back up? wouldn't it have to be tuned again from the very beginning when the dodgy fuel system was either fixed or replaced?
cheers

 

Naughty naughty

baz!

 

Mate, UAS is in question here not just some random place. Read the whole thread, it's worth the time and effort.

Lloyd probably summed it up best. It isn't possible to start afresh as the situation seems to have esculated too far. Having read both sides of the story, the only thing that can be done is to work slowly towards a resolve. I suppose both parties could just walk away bitter from the whole thing but that might slow things down even more to get the car running properly and all the money is basically down the drain. Thunder, all the best whatever happens from here. Had a look through all the pics and love to see what that Zed can do.

 

I was an electronic techo for a lot of years. One of my pet hates is working on items that someone else has started and not been able to complete.

Personally if I got a bill for $7000 I would be desparate about it especially if the car still didnt run properly.

I hope you guys can figure something out. I have had dealings with both Greg and John. I actually think you are both stand up guys who I have a lot of respect for.

I would really like a happy ending to this saga.

 

John

By UAS:"Cresta you raised a point that actually amazed me. As Sureflo were going to charge me MORE than retail for their labour which I dragged out of them finally prior to taking the car to them and asked many times. This was missed by you and others or OK somehow??"

Sorry John, which point did I raise that amazed you?

I can tell you this though, in regards to Sureflow charging more than retail,
if I felt I was being ripped then I would try and get some back however possible too. I honestly don't blame him for that. I think Greg's only mistake was actually telling you first. He should have done the work and then given you the bill.

If you had in fact looked after him, like you said you would, chances are, you would also have been looked after on your job.
IMO John,(from what I have read on both sides) Greg may aswell have stood outside on the footpath and given away $7000 because the result would have been the same...down $7k and still a Z that don't go.


By UAS: "Cresta my double talk may have confused again and people read into things and use it against us it seems."

Yes John, your double talk has obvioulsy confused me again. In most cases, I have trouble decifering your posts and people only use against you what you supply them to use.

This thread is becoming out of control with back and forth banter and it appears the concensus is that Greg was unfairly done by.

 

So you've noticed that too, ehh?

A few months ago JP was almost assassinated for mentioning a fictitious business in a thread.
Now we see business persons (not Greg) attacking UAS, without any outcry from the rabble.
This is, as you so correctly state, a dispute/disagreement between two business owners. I refuse to take sides (for personal reasons), but I believe my comments have been aimed at getting this solved quickly and sensibly, unlike many of the posts to which you refer.
It does seem as though any criticism of UAS or JP, is subject to a different set of rules/guidelines, no matter whether that criticism is warranted or not.
Maybe we just need to mention Religion, and then this will join the Dodo and other extinct creatures.