Hot Rod Shop USA in Whittier,Ca problems

Has anyone ever gotten anything done there? I took my 49 Merc there to get a new C4 ******, rearend and driveshaft put in. The owner charged me $3000 for everything. I took it there because the guy was cool and seemed like he knew what he was doing. He said it would take 1-2 months. It's been almost 4 months! What the hell? Does it take this long to get this done? Anyone else get disapointed from this shop?

 

you should have negotiated the price and got it in writing before you had the work done, and rule of thumb is to double whatever time frame they give you.

I agree sounds like BS, but don't be so quick to make this shop look like jerk offs

 

Sounds like a 1 week job to me.
1 - 2 months should have been a clue.
Did ya give him bucks up front???????

 

without any details I could see that being $3000.00. as for the time frame... well sometimes stuff happens.

did they do a good job?

 

I haven't gotten it yet. I don't mean to make them look bad. I just got the Merc. It's been my dream car since i was 16 so i thought I should do things right on it and not do mickey mouse jobs like i have with my other cars. i actually gave him 80% up front for the parts. I've been taking **** from my friends and car club.

 

A buddy of mine was talking about stuff like this the other day and suggested that an escrow type account be opened on these projects/cars...it seems every town has one or twelve shops where the guy gets the deposit and strings the guy along, needs more bucks...blah blah blah...every trade has guys like this...ya gotta get references

 

Whats his excuse for it not being done????

 

He said he couldn't find a rebuildable C4 transmission. Even though he had one on the floor.

 

I would think in that area (SoCal) you could go out and buy a rebuilt C4 or rebuildable core within a day or 2 of needing one.

 

Without a written agreement, time line, etc you are in a tough spot. Especially since you have given him too much $$ up front. If you pull the car out you may never see the $. Have you taken an experienced buddy with you that maybe has a shop that might be able to talk to this guy to help get you out of this mess? Hang in there, life is full of hard lessons.

 

If you still need one , I think I still have the C4 out of my 67 Mustang fastback . It's at my Dad's shop in North Hollywood , worked fine , I put a 5 speed in the car . Give me whatever YOU think it's worth . No I won't give it to anybody else or sell it cheap , I hate seeing people get stroked and I feel bad for you . PM me if you want it . I think 1 or 2 months is way too long , forget about 4 months . Rebuilt trans , driveshaft balanced , new u-joints and fresh rearend with all labor , $3000 is more than I would pay personally . I guess if you just want to drop it off and pick it up turn key done at a "professional " shop and drive it home , that must be what it costs .

 

well I'm in a car club where we do this kind of stuff all the time to our cars but I don't have the time to do it. That's why I took it to a shop. I thought It would be quicker than if I did it on the weekends. Jalopy Joker you're right, I'm always learning things the hard way. 38zephyr thanks but he said he got one and is rebuilding it. Then again that was 2 weeks ago.

 

Check with Jerry's Transmission in Norwalk to price it out and timeframe. Bet he will smoke the price and have it back within a week or 2 max..

 

Offer stands if you end up needing it .

 

If you gotta pay up front for work, your at the wrong place.


-Jason

 

I've been in Whittier for over 20 years and have never heard of them. Where is the shop located?

Sean

 

Been there done that. Makes you feel like a schmuck when this happens. Pull your car, get your money back and take it to someone else. Shops like this can string a guy along for a very long time.

 

Well if you do the math @ $40 hr x 40 hrs in a week thats $1600. If your $3000 included a used engine, ****** and a custom driveline and all ***ociated parts. $3000 should be reasonable. I think its a matter of taking too much time. Hopefully you and shop owner were on the same page for what you were getting for the money. You should probably try and firmly persuade them to finish the deal other wise you might not get what you thought you were suppose to get and it could get really ugly.
just my $.02!
good luck

 

I think he might mean Speed Shop USA in La Habra off of Whittier Bl near Beach Bl. I have heard a few good and bad things about the owner and what I recommend you do is to stay on him regularly to get it done.

 

Have you been there since you dropped it off? Is there a decent reason as to why it's not done? Is it a very busy shop? Seems like a pretty long time, but you never know. I would say let him know that you need it back asap, maybe get a little pushy. I've known people that have had their lawyers draw up something stating that if their vehicle isn't returned by such a date, with the agreed upon work done, that they will be looking at a lawsuit. Amazingly, the work was done very quickly after that. Good luck

 

so between your friends and car club members you took the car to someone you dont actually know? im not knockin you man but it just appears a little odd , over here i would have just bought the parts rounded up the redneck mafia scored some hotdogs , hamburgers , and about 6 cases of beer would have gottin the job done but then again perhaps things work different over there in your world..
btw the guys name aint nixon is it?

 

I say if it takes another month, pull your car OUT and get your money back and do it yourself.. cause its just gonna take LONGER and LONGER and LONGER.. trust me.. i know from experience..
-Anthony

 

While I would never let another shop touch one of my cars, I can understand where he's coming from. People ***ume that when someone does this stuff for a living, that they will get a much better finished product, and it will be done quicker. Unfortunately, most shops out there don't do anything different then the majority of the people on this board. No offense to anyone, I see lots of people that think shops perform "magic" (and the reality is that a select few actually do).

 

Hey S***, Did you ask about this place on the HAMB before you took your car to this guy ? That's the kind of question that should be asked here on the HAMB, I hope it all works out for you, you can't leave your ride at a place because the guy is cool !
Gook Luck !

 

Everyone knows cool guys won't rip you off.

 

OK, now it makes sense. I live down the street from them. I went there once in the late 80's. Saw the crazy high prices for the parts and they all had a layer of dust from sitting there. Never been back since and still surprised they are open, they must own the building or something.

Sean

 

Speed Shop USA on Whittier are ***HOLES!!! I wouldn't take my lawnmower to them! Get you car out of there and take it to the place Gabacho suggested. 3K is WAY too much for what you want done...
NEVER take you car anywhere that isn't recommended by a friend that you trust!

 

The work I had done on my 52 I pulled it out of one shop. That situation was really both of our faults. He was giving me prices that were too good to be true and he had another job...so my car was a lower priority and I wanted the car done NOW. I pulled it out of the shop.

With my house I am in a similar situation. The guy that is doing some of the remodeling on the house does this for a living at a job and does it on the side. My jobs are on the side so it takes longer to get done but the prices reflects that too. It is a lot cheaper. I just stay on him and it gets done.

only advice i have is...go there everyday if you can and ask to see the progress...they will get tired of seeing you and either finish the project quicker or pay you to stop coming there and get your car out of there.

 

They do decent work from what I've seen (I used to live in Whittier and went there a few times) but I've also seen that they are slow as mol***es...

Did you look at the other cars in the shop? Everytime I was there they had basically the same cars in the shop and there was a section of the shop that never looked like anything changed... For years... It looked like the Munsters house in that one corner...

The guy who does the work is a salty old dude that takes smoke breaks all the time and I bet if you pushed him, he'd never ever touch your car again.

I wouldn't bother trying to get them to finish it at this point... I'd give them another week or so and take a day off work. I'd just show up and hapily say, "I'm hear to pick up my car." All smiles... Don't offer an explanation unless they demand one. Then just tell them "My club is going to do it."
Just get it and if they haven't done **** on it, get your money back. Don't leave the shop untill you get the car and your money. If they say they can't get to the car right now, say "What can I do to help?"
From my experience, you want it all done in a day. You don't want to come back tomorrow, next week or whatever. You want to show up with a trailer, unannounced and just pick it up. Be polite. Don't bring "****o" with you as a threat... Having him in the truck might not be a bad idea though. Don't argue. But DON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER...
If they have done some work on it, then it gets stickier. But I say pay them what they want for the work... Within reason... And get your car.

 

If This is spped shop in La Habra I live right down the street from it as well and will never step foot in there. I too stoped in there in the late 90's with my 2 boys when I was building them a Chevelle. I asked for a price on a part and the guy says this is a big boys store you cant afford it! these where just some valve covers but I said ya your right I cant walked out and never been back since. Ill drive 100 miles before Ill go there.

Just my .02

Good luck!