Blake's Automotive Performance

Review: I brought in a set of heads and intake to [redacted] at [redacted]'s Automotive Performance to be fully ported using a flo bench and to cut the heads to fit the bigger valves & springs. This was the only work authorized and the only work that needed to be done. This was a written quote and hand shake for $500. It was said this may take a few weeks to be done. I told him that worked as I did not want him to do a rush job. Later we find he would not work on the heads or intake we had (they had been partly ported)(he did not call to tell us that was a problem, we found out when we stopped in to see if the job was in progress), we brought another set of heads and intake in. He then told us the work would be done by the end of the month, but now he wanted $1000. I said no waay. At the end of the month he told us for the umpteenth time about having spent longer working on another project and hadn't done the work we had hired him to do. When I said I did not care about the other job, I cared about the job I hired him to do, he then told me he was no longer willing to do this job and that I would need to pay him $150 for the work that he had already done. He had sandblasted the powder coating off of the heads and replaced the valve guides with better ones. Neither of these things were necessary to do the work that I had requested be done. None of the work I had authorized him to do had been performed and now he is telling me that unless I pay the $150 for the unauthorized work, he will not return any of the parts that I own, that I paid for, and that I brought into his shop. In addition The written estimate was for $500 and while at a point I verbally agreed to pay $800, he never wrote anything of that conversation on anything. He has told the [redacted] guy(yes I filed a complaint with them) that I had verbally authorized this additional work to be done. This was very false as I had no reason to remove the factory powder coating from the heads and there was nothing wrong with the guides that were in the heads broughtDesired Settlement: I want my parts that I brought into his shop returned. I want both sets of heads, my intake, all of my valves, springs, the seals, retainers, keepers, my cam card with very important information on it, and anything else that I brought into his shop returned returned to me. I should not be required to pay him a single penny as none of the work performed was work that I had authorized to be done. Not in writing, and not verbally either.

Consumer

Response:

My issue with [redacted]s Performance Automotive has been partially resolved thanks to the Bureau of Automotive repair guy. He was able to get [redacted] to release most but not all of my property. We told the BAR guy that we were willing to allow [redacted] to keep the heads that he had performed the unauthorized work on if that was what was necessary to have all of our other property released to us. I do not feel that [redacted] should be allowed to keep my other set of cylinder heads just because he did work on them that I did not authorize. I should not have to allow a machine shop to keep any of my parts simply because he did work on him that he was not authorized to do and then tried to get me to pay for it or I could not have any of my belongings back. I think that this type of thing is illegal and it was like I was being forced to either give him a set of cylinder heads or allow him to keep 2 sets of cylinder heads and numerous other parts. I still want my cylinder heads that he has kept returned to me in the same working condition as in which I dropped them off, which means with valve guides installed. It is not my fault if he removed my guides and put in new ones without approval of any sort. In my simple opinion, him keeping them boils down to theft.