[eman2289]

Hey everyone. I am new to this forum, and I do not have an STI but I feel the need to post this because no one should be ripped off or have to go through what I am going through. We all have a love for our cars, whether mustangs, STIs, supras, whatever!

My supra went to Broadway Performance on 3/4/08 for a 2jz swap. Prior to bringing the car, I had several conversations with John as to what would be done and the cost to do the job. John assured me that he had done this work before. The estimate was between $3,000.00 and $6,000.00. The estimated time that it would take to complete was a month to a month and a half. I know the estimate is a broad basis, but John told me that It would most likely be on the lower side of this estimate.
I had the car flat-bedded to Broadway Performance on March 4, 2008.

The car was assigned to a mechanic named Luis. It was to be his main project. The job seemed to progress nicely, and Luis and Iwent to JDM Motors Inc. to pick out the engine. In the meantime, 2 other mechanics, Danny and Steve, did some of the disassembling of the car. The engine arrived on or about March 7 and was checked out and cleaned up by the mechanics. All the seals were supposedly changed.
On March 21, I went to the shop (Broadway Performance) to check progress. The old engine and other parts to be replaced and/or repaired had been removed. Other essential parts were due to arrive any day. The estimated completion time according to John was 1 month. That would make the estimated completion date April 21.
On April 11, anticipating that the car would soon be finished; I gave John a check for 3,000.00.

I found out shortly thereafter that all 3 mechanics who had been working on the car had left. Danny had left on April 4, Steve was fired on April 12, and the lead man, Luis left on April 14.
Numerous times, I went to the shop to check on progress and to find out why little or no work was being done. John always said there were “tons of little things” being done that he really couldn’t explain or show me.
Then I went there again and saw that the bumper support on the front had been cut and the fog lights had been removed. No one had ever discussed this with me. When I spoke to John, he was told that they had to do this to fit the intercooler into the car.
After researching online and speaking to other mechanics, I found out that this was not true. I again discussed it with John, who agreed to correct it, but as of June 27, it was still not fixed.

Almost every time I went to the shop, I would ask about the money and the price so far. John would always have a reason to not give me the bill, saying it wasn’t revised, or simply that he was not yet ready to discuss it.
There was still little progress on the project. Thinking that maybe money was the problem (John asked for money almost every time I went there) I paid another 2,000.00 on a credit card in May. That brought the total I had already paid to 5,000.00.

My mom decided that it was time for me to go to the shop to see what was going on. She had tried to stay out of it as much as possible, trusting in John’s self-professed expertise and professionalism. I called him to let him know my mom would be coming, and to choose a convenient time. John stated that he did not want to “deal with” my mom, and would prefer to deal only with me. On June 27, my mom decided to go there anyway. I also asked a mechanic named Joe who is a family friend to go with us.
When we arrived my mom was greeted by John telling me that he had gotten the car washed to “keep Mom happy”. This was not what I wanted to hear. My mom asked numerous questions, and never got a straight answer. When my mom repeated the questions for the third or fourth time, she was told that she was being disrespectful, and that if she didn’t “back off” John would wash his hands of the whole thing, and just keep the car locked in his shop. I and Joe were equally unable to get any straight answer from John. The closest we got was when Joe asked for the third time for an estimated completion date. John’s answer was “It will be done when it’s done.”

We ended up leaving without any information. Before we left, I had asked John to fax a bill with 3 parts.
(A) Total price for labor
(B) List of parts with prices
(C) A statement as to whether the price on this bill is the current price, or the completed price.

It was virtually impossible to decipher what he sent us, and still doesn’t give the simple information we requested. Numerous phone calls from me to John did not get any results. Finally, my mom faxed a letter on July 3. She said she understood it was a long weekend. I had still not heard from John by about 2:00 on July 7. I called John, who told him that the fax I had sent “wasn’t very nice”. Then he told me that information about pricing wasn’t something he could fax, but could only discuss it over the phone.

The car is still in pieces, although they had it running.

The bumper support is ruined, the intercooler is still not fixed, and the fog lights are not back in.

The entire front seat of the car is full of car parts that need to be reassembled.

In speaking to the new mechanics, I found out that none of them are trained technicians. The one I have seen working on the car told me that he has “general automotive knowledge”

The estimated time has gone from 1 to 1 ½ months to over 4 months.
The estimated price has gone from 3,000.00 to 6,000.00 estimated to over 10,000.00, and it is still not completed.

John gave me a price for a new turbo of about 1,500.00, including the water and oil lines. Now he is charging separately for the lines, adding $350.00 to the cost.

Please note that the engine and all major parts, excluding the turbo, were purchased and paid for separately.

We have run into a stalemate. I have no problem paying for the work to be done; however, this is totally outrageous. When I did question the price, John’s response was simply that he would lock the car up and “wash my hands of the whole thing” Therefore, he is simply holding the car for ransom.

It is fairly simple to see what happened. In April, when the 3 qualified mechanics left, John had no one to work on the car. Instead of doing the right thing and telling us so that we had a choice in what to do next, he simply complicated the matter, and now expects us to pay for his internal problems.

In fact, when Joe was speaking to him about the work being done, John stated that he had never done this particular job before. This is exactly the opposite of what he told me before we brought the car up there.

There have been a few back and fourths in this, now legal, battle. But the only thing John has offered is to finish the car and we pay him the rest of the money. I refuse to pay him another cent.

Sometime last week, John called my cell phone from a restricted number. I answered and he said that he would like for us to go back up to his shop and have a sit down and figure out what to do about the car. I neither agreed nor disagreed.

I recently found out that John is trying to sell his business: http://newjersey.craigslist.org/bfs/829030570.html

After all of this, I posted a thread on Supraforums.com about it and it "magically disappeared". I reposted the thread a total of 7 times and they have all been deleted. It turns out, John has a friend on the site who is a moderator. This moderator just deletes anything bad that is said about Broadway Performance. If you have any more questions, feel free to email me at eman2289@aol.com

You can also see more current news here: Broadway Performance. My story. - Supra411 Forums

Thanks for reading. Please help spread the word.