Treated like crap at Turner Motorsports today
 

I know I don’t post much but I would like everyone’s opinion on this matter.

Here’s the story, I am a pretty competent mechanic and I have always repaired and modified all of my BMW’s. I recently purchased a second 318ti that I am in the process of making a track car. The price was great but it needed to have the front passenger swaybar replaced due to rust. I purchased the bracket for both sides and called Tuner Motorsports to schedule an appointment. I was quoted two hours per side and was told that the car would be ready Friday. Friday I called and I was informed that the car was ready at that the total was $530. A little more that I was quoted but you get what you pay for (so I thought). So I have a friend drive me from Worcester to pick up the car. When I arrived I was told that everything went fine and that the car is all set. I pay in full and grab my keys. Once I’m inside the vehicle I see a brand new bracket for the drivers side sitting on the passengers seat. I return inside to inquire about the why the mount was installed. At first the tech looked puzzled and then I was told that the other side must have been fine and didn’t need to be replaced. I said that I understood that but I bought the bracket and wanted it to be installed just to be safe, and then it happened. I was told that if I wanted the other side repaired it would be an additional $530. The tech told me because they had to remove the A/C compressor it took them an additional 3.5 hours (remove and evac the A/C and reinstall without a recharge). Then I was told that the previous quote for 2 hour was incorrect because the tech thought that I wanted the rear replaced even though I clarified that I wanted both fronts replaced. We came to an agreement that the tech would eat the cost (all labor) to repair the other side. After the weekend I decided that I didn’t want Turner to work on my car any longer even though the work that they did was top notch I felt deceived and uninformed about the whole deal. Here's why:

1. I was never contacted about the error in the original quote.
2. I was never asked for any authorization to repair the vehicle for substantially more money (almost 3 times the cost).
3. The invoice that I received was written up for another BMW that I own and didn’t detail what was actually repaired (it just says shop labor and misc. materials).
4. When I showed the driver side bracket to the tech he didn’t know that it had not been replaced.
5. When I asked for a partial return for the labor not rendered the tech said “what you don’t think that the work we did is worth $530”, and continued to insult me by insinuating that I was cheap and maybe couldn’t afford to have my car repaired by them.

So in the end I received $230 from the $530 that I originally spent. Tuner Motorsport has just lost a customer. The reason that I drove from Worcester was to talk to the tech face-to-face and to also buy about $1500 worth of performance parts.

What has happened to being courteous and tactful regardless of the situation?

I really thought that the tech I talked to was a really good guy in the beginning. I can’t believe that his demeanor drastically changed when I requested a partial refund.

Has anyone else have any poor experiences with this shop or any others in the area. Needless to say I am looking for another local shop that can install a roll cage and swaybar bracket.

Dan

(sorry for the spelling and grammar)

So you had the front swaybar mounts replaced? As in this procedure: http://www.318ti.org/forum/showpost....22&postcount=4 ?

It took me 5-6 hours to do one side. $530 per side seems like a fair deal, considering the shop.

Did you remove the A/C and did you have a lift. I really wouldn't have had a problem with the price if they would have contacted me. They also painted and sealed the mount.

Talk to the service mananger, I think the guy's name is Kevin (or was, last time I talked with them).

Seriously, maybe somebody had a bad day. We all do, and a single occurrence is too isolated to really judge the company as a whole. While begrudgingly, they did kind of make right in the end it seems.

Right. They are supposed to call you if there are more charges or procedures than originally discussed. Period. What they did is not the way a shop I would call professional would do. Finding independent mechanics that know what they're doing can take some time, but they're out there - good luck.

That's the guy that I talked to. What was your impression of him?

It was several years ago, probably in 2001-2003 somewhere. He seemed competent, but maybe a little too much ego.

There is a good shop in Natick I've used before; the guy is primarily Porsche but it's kind of all the same sheet metal. I'll have to look up the name though.

This procedure is boarding on body/frame repair so I'd consider looking into frame shops for this, not a high-end BMW tuner. It's a sh1t job.

Dan, I've heard that Tuner's customer service is not the best these days. There are quite a few threads on other BMW forums complaining how they handle things badly when the shop isn't making $$ or just selling products. Yes I understand that we all don't have millions to spend to build a full race car but we are the every day customer that buys BMW products to keep the shop in business. All shops including dealerships suppose to call you ahead of time for your approval before charging extra labor charges. It's the principle to give customer especially good paying customer the respect and customer service they deserve. I agree that you should think twice before going back there and spend your $$ or get talked down to. :frown:

Well it sounds like the attitude you were given was probably inappropriate. They should have called you when the quote changed. Did you sign a form when you dropped off the car stating what the quoted work was? In Florida there is a standard form that you sign that lists the quote and you check a box that you want to be called if the work is going to exceed that amount.

But ultimately, it sounds like they made the situation right even though their attitude may have sucked. They reimbursed you the money and told you they would do the other side at no additional charge. That is less than what you would get from a BMW dealer.

I know at least two people who had to go back for major rerepairs.
These people seem to accept it too.

its no way to run a business and as time goes by if they continue to treat their customers badly they will lose lots of business.

people have bad days. butt if you are running a business and you want customer gratification you dont let your bad day show to your customers.

haha. There was a turner motorsport advertisement at the bottom of this page when I was not logged in. The problem with Turner is they know they will keep customers because of their involvement in professional motorsport. People have a certain expectation that they are the best because of what they do, and in a lot of cases, that is probably true. But they obviously admitted they made a mistake, taking that out on the customer is not called for.


If I live closer to them I would love to use companies such as RRT, TCDesign, TCKline, or Bimmerworld. They seem to have very high customer loyalty, and you only get that by treating customers right.

I know all those places and I think the difference is they haven't forgotten their roots. I mean, I see Barry Battle and James Clay all the time. Pete at TC Klein has always given me as much help as I've needed.

If you are close to NH you should try VSR ( Vintage Sports and Racing) in Bow, NH.
They owner Mario is one of the best BMW specialist in New England and he is very honest, polite and treat you like a friend. I got my Ti from him.
You can visit the website www.vsr1.com and take a look.
But if any of you knows a good shop in or around Fairfield, CT pelase let me know.