Ever gotten money back from a machine shop?

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hosehead

hosehead

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i have a little WWYD scenario for you guys. Kinda long.
I had my 440 rebuilt by a shop I've used before. When I dropped it off four months ago, I was told it would take 6 weeks. I was also told that the owner(whose name is on the business) had sold the shop to his employee whom I knew from my previous build. New owner is a younger guy but he always seemed knowledgeable so I went with it.
During my 4 month wait, I would call the new owner and always hear how busy he was.
Also, part of that time was waiting on back ordered Pistons, which I found in stock at 440 source. Kind of annoying.
Fast forward to Friday, when I picked it up. I was a bit disappointed as the damper wasn't installed, nor was the oil pump. New guy mentioned the distributor shaft bushing was "tight".
Long story short. When he pressed the old bushing out, he left part of it in. Then when he installed the new one, it wouldn't seat properly and distorted. My buddy and I had to drive an hour round trip to get another one on Saturday as most stuff was closed.
After we got that squared away, we moved forward to priming the pump. We primed forever but could not get any oil pressure. Finally, after discussing with my buddy who is an engine builder, we figured he might have left out one of the oil galley plugs. So after much cussing and still no oil pressure, I decided to tear the front of the motor off. Sure as ****, he left the plug above the crank out. And no slinger either. So we fixed all that stuff and fired the motor. Seems like it will be fine but we ran out of time to open the oil filter, etc. I'm going back Monday to my buddy's place to change the oil, run it some more and bring it home.
My question to you guys is: am I out of line for asking for a couple hundred bucks back? What I thought would take a few hours took twelve. I had to raid my buddy's stash for gaskets and other little stuff. We had to drive an hour and when we got to the machine shop charged me $20 bucks for the bushing. Pretty annoying.
I just want my engine to run good, which it seems like it does. But my time is definitely worth something and I went out of pocket for more parts AND I paid for an engine assembly.
Enough of my rant. What do you guys think? At least it sounds good, even though we finished up in the dark! Lol. Thanks for listening.
 
Yes I did,what happened to me was they wear trying to rip me off head work,so i pulled the heads off there shelf and to them to a mopar guy who rebuilt them at his speed shop,said i did not need all the parts the outhere shop said.They had the 360 block tho,but they said because i tool the heads i have to wait for it,so I took that from them,and finish it my self.Long story short lol,I ask for some money back,and they did.
 
I know all about that plug - a co-worker who assembled mine as a favor left it out.
 
hosehead said:
Haha, yeah, I'm pretty prepared to be told to pound sand. I'm just going to calmly let him know that I won't be returning as a customer.
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And tell everyone you know about your great experiences you had with this machine shop! Great advertising for him!
 
THAT'S BS!!
You completely saved that Builder from completely having to redo that motor if it didn't have any oil pressure. He ought to be damn near giving you complete money back for not costing him twice as much! On the other hand a builder like that would probably tear the motor apart see his obvious mistake and blame you for improper break-in or startup procedure. Just goes to show if you want something done right......
Now with the experience of slapping together that piece of crap 318 and having it run so goshdamn good, any performance or other motor that I have to rebuild will be done by me as much as I possibly can myself. From Now on a machine shop will only be used for Machining parts, possibly hanging pistons on rods but if I can find a way to do it myself.... and spin balancing.
It saddens me to think that we send our stuff away thinking it's going to get the utmost care and attention because of the money we put out but it's never treated like it's their own it's just treated as another piece on their production line that's just getting Moved Along.
My story from my one motor I had bilt was pretty much the same time wise 6 weeks turned into four months but I didn't have any of the Colossal problems like unplugged oil galleys! And then the end when it runs great and everything is badass you forget all about a lot of it and just start enjoying it.
In the end I'm like you and excited that everything's running good! And don't forget that drag race you promised me when you get that thing going....

hosehead said:
i have a little WWYD scenario for you guys. Kinda long.
I had my 440 rebuilt by a shop I've used before. When I dropped it off four months ago, I was told it would take 6 weeks. I was also told that the owner(whose name is on the business) had sold the shop to his employee whom I knew from my previous build. New owner is a younger guy but he always seemed knowledgeable so I went with it.
During my 4 month wait, I would call the new owner and always hear how busy he was.
Also, part of that time was waiting on back ordered Pistons, which I found in stock at 440 source. Kind of annoying.
Fast forward to Friday, when I picked it up. I was a bit disappointed as the damper wasn't installed, nor was the oil pump. New guy mentioned the distributor shaft bushing was "tight".
Long story short. When he pressed the old bushing out, he left part of it in. Then when he installed the new one, it wouldn't seat properly and distorted. My buddy and I had to drive an hour round trip to get another one on Saturday as most stuff was closed.
After we got that squared away, we moved forward to priming the pump. We primed forever but could not get any oil pressure. Finally, after discussing with my buddy who is an engine builder, we figured he might have left out one of the oil galley plugs. So after much cussing and still no oil pressure, I decided to tear the front of the motor off. Sure as ****, he left the plug above the crank out. And no slinger either. So we fixed all that stuff and fired the motor. Seems like it will be fine but we ran out of time to open the oil filter, etc. I'm going back Monday to my buddy's place to change the oil, run it some more and bring it home.
My question to you guys is: am I out of line for asking for a couple hundred bucks back? What I thought would take a few hours took twelve. I had to raid my buddy's stash for gaskets and other little stuff. We had to drive an hour and when we got to the machine shop charged me $20 bucks for the bushing. Pretty annoying.
I just want my engine to run good, which it seems like it does. But my time is definitely worth something and I went out of pocket for more parts AND I paid for an engine assembly.
Enough of my rant. What do you guys think? At least it sounds good, even though we finished up in the dark! Lol. Thanks for listening.
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Oh I almost forgot to answer your question LOL no! Actually yes. When we were tallying up my bill in the Machine Shop and I said I didn't need the block clearance ( and I told you that) because I used scat I-beam rods not h-beam. He asked- will You split the difference with me and I thought it was a nice compromise. They did the work and I have the work done in case I want stronger rods.
It'll definitely be the true test if you use them again and recommend them to someone else. We'll see if this guy is out for the buck or a lot of bucks and a good reputation?
 
That would be my prediction. Sucks tho! Always hope for the best but prepare for the worst. New owner doesn't want to start a relationship this way, but might just shrug shoulders.
Good luck!
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I don't feel like I'm being unreasonable. And, yes Jason, we did save his ***. Thankfully i had the foresight to NOT put the engine in the car and to have my friend Tom around. He is a very knowledgeable guy. He called the galley plug immediately. I'll keep you guys posted.
 
hosehead said:
Thanks for the replies guys. I don't feel like I'm being unreasonable. And, yes Jason, we did save his ***. Thankfully i had the foresight to NOT put the engine in the car and to have my friend Tom around. He is a very knowledgeable guy. He called the galley plug immediately. I'll keep you guys posted.
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Good luck. I had a machine shop totally ruin mine and short of a law suit, I'm out the money
 
This is why you should have a good machine shop perform all the machine work and you build it from the ground up. That way you check for oil galley plugs, make sure your block and pieces are clean and check all the clearances. As long as you have the ability to build an engine.
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
This is why you should have a good machine shop perform all the machine work and you build it from the ground up. That way you check for oil galley plugs, make sure your block and pieces are clean and check all the clearances. As long as you have the ability to build an engine.
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This is exactly what I tried to do. It's when the screw up the machining that's the problem
 
Good thing is you at least had an oil gauge to see a problem. When I did my 318 the only way I saw it was when the distributor bolt fell on the ground and I saw the puddle of oil. But glad you got it going, and hope you don't get any more frustrated. Good luck!!
 
IT REALLY SUCKS TO PAY TOP DOLLAR and get bad work done I must be an asshole magnet ....(watch out for elite vintage auto in melbourne fla) had to redo nearly all work he did... thousands of dollars..... thank god you where smart enough to catch it and save untold hassle time and big money lost
 
Speed O Motive screwed me almost the same way. Told me 6 weeks I got the engine in 7 months. My 496 lasted less than 20 miles.They installed the cam bearings wrong
 
grean meany said:
IT REALLY SUCKS TO PAY TOP DOLLAR and get bad work done I must be an asshole magnet ....(watch out for elite vintage auto in melbourne fla) had to redo nearly all work he did... thousands of dollars..... thank god you where smart enough to catch it and save untold hassle time and big money lost
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Is this the business run by Joe Balboa "Rumblefish" who was from New York?
 
If you wanted money, you should have stopped when it didn't prime and take him back and make him fix it. He would eat the gaskets and put the plug in.

I've seen many people forget a plug, not quite get the rear cam bearing back in...all kinds of stuff. If I put it together and I made the mistake, I want the chance to fix it. You get impatience, can't wait and do it yourself, you're not getting any money back.

That's the way it works.

BTW, how do you know that shop buys from 440 Source? Most of those people don't give th shops a price break. So the shop pays what you pay for parts. Then you have to mark them up to make some money, and because the shop is always responsible, have some buffer to cover your butt. Then the customer is pissed off because they can get the part for less.

Their is no free lunches. Warranties aren't free. Coupon clipping isn't the best way to build an engine.

So no, I wouldn't give you any money back.
 
I wouldn't give him a pass but heres what you might do. As a new business owner I'm sure he doesn't want to trash his new found reputation. Although he might not give you money back, you wouldn't be out of line to ask for an instore credit or gift card for the appropriate amount. Seeing as his machining and assembly skills are suspect I would only use the credit for parts. Also remember the internet can make or break businesses. Bad reviews are the new word of mouth times 10!!!
 
69conv said:
I wouldn't give him a pass but heres what you might do. As a new business owner I'm sure he doesn't want to trash his new found reputation. Although he might not give you money back, you wouldn't be out of line to ask for an instore credit or gift card for the appropriate amount. Seeing as his machining and assembly skills are suspect I would only use the credit for parts. Also remember the internet can make or break businesses. Bad reviews are the new word of mouth times 10!!!
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His skills are suspect because he left a plug out? Maybe the phone rang. Got in the habit of Turing the phone OFF when doing anything that required my full attention. Then, at the end of the David return the calls.


The OP should have given him the chance to fix it.
 
yellow rose said:
If you wanted money, you should have stopped when it didn't prime and take him back and make him fix it. He would eat the gaskets and put the plug in.

I've seen many people forget a plug, not quite get the rear cam bearing back in...all kinds of stuff. If I put it together and I made the mistake, I want the chance to fix it. You get impatience, can't wait and do it yourself, you're not getting any money back.

That's the way it works.

BTW, how do you know that shop buys from 440 Source? Most of those people don't give th shops a price break. So the shop pays what you pay for parts. Then you have to mark them up to make some money, and because the shop is always responsible, have some buffer to cover your butt. Then the customer is pissed off because they can get the part for less.

Their is no free lunches. Warranties aren't free. Coupon clipping isn't the best way to build an engine.

So no, I wouldn't give you any money back.
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I didn't go into the situation wanting money from the guy. I just wanted what I paid for and didn't get it. That's all. Not looking for and "free lunches" either. Lol. Those are your words, not mine. After we discovered the first of THREE basic mistakes, I discussed with my friend(who is obviously more experienced in mopar engines than the builder), we concluded that if I went to the trouble of packing the motor back up, taking time off work, driving across town, etc. he would probably fix the mistake and send me on my way. We felt that we could fix it, then and there with the same end result.
Also, as I stated before, they built a 340 for me last year when the original owner was still in charge. We have mutual friends, etc. and have discussed many parts options, so 440 source was one of those things. He uses 440 source at times as it is nearby.
Also, there was no "coupon clipping". I bought an expensive set of pistons and paid the going rate for the short block. He also checked and installed a set of trick flow heads.
I'm not a wealthy guy and work all the time, so my being busy was a factor. This is why I had a shop build the engine. Next time I will probably try and do it myself but I'm not an experienced engine builder. I guess we can agree to disagree but I don't feel like I got what I paid for. One mistake is one thing but after three, I'm saying something to the guy tomorrow.
The new owner/builder is a good guy. He just made too many mistakes, in my opinion.
I respect your opinion, we just happen to disagree. Cheers, Cory
 
Had a ( malfunction) with a machine shop years ago. Not auto related. Explained to owner the problem. He listened without a word, and replied " wait a minute " and left the room. When he returned he handed me the check that was made for payment and explained "when something leaves our shop you shouldn't have to mess with it , you owe nothing". I tried to at least pay for the materials involved ( not labor) , but he said "no".
Absolutely the best shop experience that I have had.
Yote
 
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