XKR

iTrader: (1)

Jorge.....i agree .... If he had to pay for a rental and so on.... I don't see an issue with him getting that.... Because of the bad job done on his car... I would not see an issue with him getting the transport funds returned....

As for iPad.... You know I am a sucker for new stuff like this. I have 14 days to trade it in for the wifi/3G version coming out in 10 days


Elperuano......

IMO.... Sharif should fix everything an offer a warranty.... That's my opinion.... I did not see an issue for him to give the car back to FP to fix... It's not like FP does not know how to do it the right way. All eyes are now on FP... So he would get the same VIP treatment as I get.... J/k

it's too late now ... So Sharif and GTM has to work out that bill. Sharif could remove all labor charges... D@mn ... So many things ge could do

I feel for the OP... Don't get me wrong....

As far as the lawyers go.... Once they get involved only they will win.... Both lawyers!!!

Cass007

iTrader: (34)

I know a bit about what happens when involving your atty with shop disputes and there seems to be some confusion on what really happens.

1. The OP does NOT have to allow FP a chance to rectify the mistakes made. The condition of the car/kit speak for themselves and any reasonable person would be hesitant to return the car to a shop that did that work.

2.If the OP really wanted to persue legal action, letting GTM disassemble to document issues is fine, but the car should not have been completed after that was done and the legal process would begin at that point.

3. If Sharif's atty contacted anyone involved, I'm sure it was only to remind parties involved that IF they posted something on a public forum it had better be completey accurate to the truth and provable in court. Otherwise this could be considered libel and Forged could sue for loss of revenue resulting from the false statements.

This is not anyone being an a$$hole, this is an atty doing his/her job.

4. Since the OP (and others) appear to be located out of state, the case gets kicked into the Federal Court system because there are multiple states involved. Upside - things move faster, downside - you are in the major leages now and costs add up quickly.

The end result here is most likely a cocked hat at best, only the lawyers win. It is questionable that Forged could use its insurance to cover this loss since no actual failure occured and I'm sure the insurer would question if intentional negligence on the part of the shop voids any claim (the beat pipes is what I'm speaking of here). Items 1-4 I'm solid on as I covered all these points in conversations with my atty, the last paragraph is based on my time spent as a claims adjuster for a large insurance company.

OP, fwiw my advice is to reach the best arrangement you can with both Forged and GTM regarding your bills and just move on. Believe me, I know how you feel here and it completely blows, but chances are you're playing a zero sum game at best. The most satisfaction you may get out of this whole process is a fast car and knowing that posting your experience shed light on bunch of FAIL.

GAMERMODZoCOM

iTrader: (5)

You open a shop and warranty a vehicle that someone wanted FI that was made for NA. See how long that lasts!

Tokugawa1973

Wow, I'm glad I saw this post. I was going to take my car there at the end of the month for some work. I won't be anymore.

danisr1

iTrader: (5)

I see you were saving that first post since 2007, good one!

GAMERMODZoCOM

iTrader: (5)

Here is my opinion. Again, just an opinion.

Based on what we know about GTM and Sharif, they do a lot of business together.

We all have heard of fitment issues with GTM kits. That's old news but seems easily overlooked here.

I think Forged had to do a lot of "massaging" to this kit to get it to fit. The problem here (again from what I have read), all of this should have been explained to the customer (and maybe it was but do to the pending lawsuit the customer "forgot"). At any rate, the missing bolts, clips, etc were something that should have been caught. No excuse for that and Sharif has admitted that. Again, just an opinion.

Now since Forged and GTM do so much business together maybe they kept fitment issues "hush hush" so GTM didn't get any or anymore bad rep about it. The problem is now that all these other little things Forged messed up on (missing bolts, clips, etc) it now looks like it wasn't bad fitment of the GTM kit but that it was ALL Forged's issue. Again, just an opinion.

Since Forged and GTM are no longer doing business together you see GTM blaming everything on Forged. I think this is because there is enough evidence of poor work on the customers car (missing clips, etc) to blame everything on Forged. They have nothing to loose now and can protect their name with little effort. Why not right? Forged decided to stick their neck out and keep fitment issues with the kit from the customer and since the customer is going after Forged, they can just add to the fire. Again, just an opinion.

As a business owner I see why Sharif probably stood his ground on this. The customer filed a chargeback with his credit card company for the build. So the customer had $8,000.00 or more of actual "merchandise/product" on the car but yet attempted to get their money back! We aren't talking about the "service" which by the way is never refundable by a credit card company. Either way, Sharif had no choice but to respond and fight the chargeback because you can't just tell the credit card company "Go ahead and refund his card for 50% of the purchase. It's all or nothing. Again, just an opinion.

While you can't make everyone happy, all the time, you still see that Forged has one of the best reputations of all performance shops. I feel that this situation could have been handled better by the customer and by Forged. Again, just an opinion.

Once again, based on all the information we know about Forged's work and GTM reputation on kits, I have to believe Forged is taking the fall for the entire thing instead of just missing clips and stuff. Again, just an opinion.

This is my opinion of this situation and I hope anyone that reads this post and thread can keep an open mind.

danisr1

iTrader: (5)

Products/completed ops? split liability

ttg35fort

iTrader: (2)

Chris, overall, a good post. One clarification, though.

"A case also may be filed in federal court based on the "diversity of citizenship" of the litigants, such as between citizens of different states, or between United States citizens and those of another country. To ensure fairness to the out-of-state litigant, the Constitution provides that such cases may be heard in a federal court. An important limit to diversity jurisdiction is that only cases involving more than $75,000 in potential damages may be filed in a federal court. Claims below that amount may only be pursued in state court. Moreover, any diversity jurisdiction case regardless of the amount of money involved may be brought in a state court rather than a federal court." Emphasis added.

http://www.uscourts.gov/understand03/content_4_0.html

One more thing, a plaintiff sometimes can file suit in the Court system of their own state, depending on the language in their state's "Long Arm" statute, assuming that one exists. I am not sure if this would be applicable to the OP since appartently he transported his car to FP. One would need to research the Long Arm statute in the OP's state to really know, but it might be a bit of a stretch. By researching the statute, I don't mean just reading the statute, but also researching the corresponding case law. The interpretation of a statute that is reached by the Courts oftentimes differs from the lay person's interpretation.

JAM3Z

iTrader: (17)

Thanks for the info. I'll be able to rest easy knowing that someone I've never even heard of won't be going to a particular shop.

XKR

iTrader: (1)

James and Danisr1...... Lol.....

go-fast

he was waiting because he was saving up for a kit........now we screwed it all up with this thread and had to share

danisr1

iTrader: (5)

ZRuggernDC

iTrader: (22)

Wow.. a long and messy process. I was at Forged when they had your car lifted in the air. They were definitly excited to be working on your car for you. Sucks that the end result was pretty horrible.

I am just sorry the OP is having to go through this. I have one question at the end for the OP though.

It says a lot when you have a shop that you can trust to handle your car with care and attention and things get done the way that invision them. It also says a lot when a customer is engaged with the shop that is doing work. Asking questions, reviewing the work in process, if its a long build. I tend to go to my shop and sit around and gab the jaws for hours because my job allows me some flexiblity in my schedule. Going F/I was a new one for me so I had a lot of questions: How does this work, what does that do, how do you maintain the car for max engine life, what to look for if problems arise, and etc. yes, the shop has insurance liabilities and people have jobs however, its your hard earned money and unless throwing away $15,000 is a weekly thing its important to most that they truly get what they pay for. There's a lot of lessons learned and the value of different approaches to spending your time and money. This could have been me in this situation, that's what I take away from this. Nothing is ever perfect in the aftermarket world. This I know from building show cars for many years. Another reason why I have questions and expect answers.

I have one question for the OP and a few people will get all diaper rashed at me but here it goes: Did you ask to see your car on the lift and for a walk through of the build process to show you what was actually done to your car once the car was complete and ready to be picked up or did you just pay the bill, shake hands and roll out?

XKR

iTrader: (1)

Btw ZRuggernDC..... I see nothing wrong with your question!!! When Sharif did the first build on my car... I was there every four weeks. Hell ... I spent more on Jet fuel than I did on the build!!... Omg... That's dumb now that I look at it

tiguy99

iTrader: (3)

I thought about this too

stormcrow

iTrader: (14)

Zee readings is fundamental.

Glex25

iTrader: (11)

^Stormcrow beat me to it

I believe he stated that he had asked for his car to be put on the lift and was denied as the reason being they were too busy

dpjones

Well, lets see.....explain again how other shops have posted on here saying they have had no issues with GTM kits. Explain how Modme installed his own kit on his G37 in his garage on jack stands....he has very detailed pictures every step of the way. Sorry, I don't see your sticking their neck out point at all.

As far as the Credit Card dispute goes, you need to re-read the post, and you are incorrect on the rules. The dispute was for having the wrong product on the car, and for the damage done as a result of the installation, which was also paid for with the card. They do allow (at least HSBC does) this to be disputed. They didn't rule in my favor because I didn't let Sharif fix the car.....again....read the post as to why they did this and what he told them in his letter (which I have a copy of). Also, they have their own rules about this stuff, and this was not the normal dispute they are use to dealing with, so they dropped the ball in my opinion...again...read the post. Fortunately, there are no such rules as to having to allow Forged to fix my car when it comes to the suit, at least not in Georgia.

Glad you think I could have handled it better.....I really doubt you took the time to actually read the whole post....I tried to get things resolved starting 2 months before I picked up the car...up through while I was at the shop.....even on my drive home. What should I have to do???? I also contacted Sharif long before lawyers were involved.....that got me no where.

dpjones

Yep, and don't forget the antifreeze flush they squeezed in for a GTR owner while I was there.

dpjones

Couple of points:

My car has not be assembled....only taken apart to see the full extent of the damage.

It can be handled in Georgia