Never take your car to Zfever in Tampa!!!

[myS13wantsaVQ35]

This is how it all started; I found the number and information for Z fever on line and gave the owner, Doug, a call. I asked him about doing a motor swap: 2004 Nissan 350z –VQ35DE in my 1990 Nissan 240sx S13. He said it would be easy. We talked about it for a little while and he told me that he had done them before. He said there was an S13 in his shop at that moment with the same swap done with a twin turbo set up that he put on himself. We talked about all of the parts needed to do the swap and he said he would use all of my stock parts to include the ECU, throttle body, wiring harness, and dash cluster. He said that his shop would custom make all of the other parts needed to do the swap. Then we talked price; he said that it would not exceed $2500. The last thing we talked about was time frame to do the job; he said he could have it done in three weeks. We set a date for me to drop off the car.

I took the car, motor, transmission, and all of the extra parts I have for the swap to his shop one day late of my appointment. I had already called and said I was running late and he said to bring the stuff in the morning of the next day. We got there to drop off the stuff and Doug is not at work and no one there knows a thing about my car or that I am dropping it off. I unload all of the parts and unload the car. I spoke to an employee named Major until Doug showed up. Major told me that they had never done that swap before. Yet when Doug got there he told me they had done one before. I tried to show Doug where all of the parts were, but he tells me that Major already knew. Again, we talked about price and he told me that it would not go over $2500 and that he would have it done in three weeks. I pay Major $2000 in cash, which is what Doug told me to bring. I ask once again about the bill and I am told that it will not exceed $2500.

I started calling after about a week to see if things were going okay and if I needed to send him any parts I did not take him. I was told things are going fine and to send him an e-mail for him to keep me up to date via e-mail. After about a week and a half he tells me that I am missing a security ring on the steering column. He said it was a light where you would put the key in to start the car. I knew this was not true because I was driving my 2004 350z at the time and looked to check - there was no light around the key. I also took the complete steering column to Tampa with the car. I told Doug this and he asked where the column was; if he had even started on my car at that time he would have already known exactly where it was – in the trunk. Then I got an email saying I was missing the rear cam sensors, which I know were there when I took the car and parts to him. He said he had found an extra set and would keep going with the car. After this incident, he started getting really short with me when I called or sent emails asking for any updates or pictures.

About one week after the date I was told the car would be read, I called and talked to the employee who was working on my car to ask how it was going. This employee informed me that he was wiring up an AEM stand alone e.c.u. and not using my stock e.c.u. I told him right away that I did not pay for this $1950 e.c.u. to be put in my car. He told me that Doug told him the whole time to wire up the AEM e.c.u. He had not said a word about the stock one being used in the car. The employee then told me that it was not going to affect the amount of money that I had to pay - Doug just wanted that car out of his shop. After another two weeks of waiting I was told my car was ready to pick up. We headed for Tampa, Florida from Augusta, Georgia (a 10-hour drive). I took all of the Nissan parts I own with me as a previously discussed trade. We got there around 5pm and the car was not there - Doug had to go pick it up from an alignment shop. We waited for him about an hour at the shop. He pulled in with the tires rubbing in the fender wells. He wanted to roll the fenders and change out the exhaust that I had brought him to put on my car. However, he wants to do it the next morning and asks if we can just get a hotel room nearby, then pick the car up in the morning. I agreed to be there at 9:30am.

The car was still not ready when I arrived at 9:30am. We had to be on the road no later than 11am, and we were told that would be no problem. At this time I was told that the cam timing was not working properly because they did not have the correct program for the AEM e.c.u. I was also told that it would be retuned for free by Glenn in Atlanta, Georgia whenever I could take my car to him. This would be a three hour drive.

Then I got the bill which I was told would not exceed $2500 the whole time Doug had my car. The bill was $6500. I was not ready for that at all. We discussed everything. Then Doug told me that all of the extra work is what caused the price to increase. I gave him all of the parts he did not use for the swap and all of the extra Nissan parts I had. I gave him parts for an S13, which is a 1989 to 1994 Nissan 240SX; and an S14, which is a 1995 to 1998 Nissan 240SX, which included: 2 motors - KA24de, two S13 5 speed transmissions, one S14 5-speed transmission, one S13 e.c.u., one S14 e.c.u., one 350Z e.c.u., two 300ZX wheels, one S13 dash cluster, one S14 dash cluster, one 300ZX dash cluster, one 200SX dash cluster, one 350Z steering column and steering wheel with air bag, three 350Z digital gages, one S14 driveshaft, one S14 master clutch cylinder, one set of S14 clutch had lines, one S14 slave cylinder, one 350Z radiator, and many more small parts. He then took $1500 off of the bill. I paid the rest of the bill with two credit cards: $2000 on my employers credit card (which is being disputed), and $1000 on my personal credit card.

I get in my car to drive to the gas station because the tank was empty. It ran out of gas before I could get out of the parking lot. They put some gas in it and it still would not start. They replaced a fuse and it was up and running. I tried to get gas again but the car does not make it across the street to the gas station before it shots off. I waited about 20 minutes for them to walk over and get it running again. After they worked on it for an hour or so, I tried again to get some gas. It shut off in the same spot. Then I waited 30 minutes before they came to tow my car back across the street. After they worked on it for another two hours, I tried again to get some gas. I made it to the pump, but it would not start after I put gas in the car. We got it back to the shop yet again and they spend about 3 hours working on my car. The mechanic finally figured out that when Doug had drove my car he bottomed out so hard that it ripped out the fender liner and destroyed the body wiring harness in the driver’s side fender well. They did not fix this, but patched it up good enough for me to make it home. About the time that was finished, it was 6pm – we had a 10-hour drive home. After I am well on the road, I notice what all is wrong with the car, but we made it home some how.

Here is a small list of things that do not work and should: Cam timing, speed odometer, temperature gage, front and back defrost, reverse lights, horn, electric fans on radiator (the ones he put on the car are falling apart). The car is out of tune and not many people know how to tune it so I will have to go to Atlanta to get it running correctly. Also, when he rolled my fenders Doug put two big dents in the rear panels of my car and destroyed my front two fenders. I was a quoted $1889.57 to have the body and body harness fixed that Doug messed up. Glenn, the guy who is supposed to retune and rewire the e.c.u, is working on a quote for that. He said after buying the correct fuel injectors for my car and wiring up the cams, which was never done, the bill should be around a $1000. I will send in the paper work as soon as I get one from Glenn at Vision Performance (706-896-0030).

To recap: Doug lied to me from the start. He had never done this swap before and all of the custom parts he was going to make on hand at his shop he actually bought from a web site (vqswap.com). After all of this, my car needs a lot of work to the body (which Doug damaged) and the engine needs to be re-wired and tuned to run correctly. I am only asking for $2000 of the $4000 I was overcharged. The bill went from the original $2500 to $6500.

$6500 Amount of Bill: Paid as follows$2000 cash 07/31/07$1500 credit for parts 09/07/07$2000 Platinum Plus #3706 09/07/07$1000 Personal credit card 09/07/07

[gumby74]

woooow.

I am speechless brother.

[mould_jesus]

that's just terrible.

[s_13_steve]

one word, Lawsuit

[shinmei2006]

yea dude i was gonna by an engine and transmission from there (vq) but i guy i know that worked there showed me this... http://www.hcso.tampa.fl.us/pu...59816

THEFT OF STATE FUNDS MORE THAN $20,000FAILURE TO FILE SIX CONSEC SALES TAX RETURNS



http://www.hcso.tampa.fl.us/pu...05332

DEALING IN STOLEN PROPERTYSELL OR POSSESS VEHICLE WITH ALTERED NUMBERS

[myS13wantsaVQ35]

I wish I would of been told that before I dropped my car off to get worked on.

[myS13wantsaVQ35]

who was it that showed you this stuff?

[ghettoslide]

I want to open a shop, but people like this give every mechanic a bad name when they start in the business. If you don't start with a large base it is hard to make it. This guy was in it to rip you off from the first phone call. He never done the swap before he checked out vqswap.com, read it thought ohh how simple i could that. Tells you yeah it's all good, He realizes he is in way over his head and instead of inlisting some help from someone smarter or quilified he does everything he can to unload the car back to you. Yeah i would sue his @$$. sue for all bills you paid to him, All bills to fix the damage he caused to your car, the hotel room, Fuel for the drive to and from his shop for all vehicles involved, Any lost wages from missed work dealing with his @$$, food on the trip, hell anything you can think of.

[iluvdrifting]

one word, Lawsuit

[iluvdrifting]

one word, Lawsuit

Damn right, you shouldn't have to pay for that, they should be paying you to get it fixed

[OutToWinPAHC]

SHOULD HAVE CALLED KYLE ELLIS AT ELIS AUTOWORKZ IN TAMPA

Great work, on par with pricing, he did my LS6 240 swap, I love it

[musashin]

ouch.

[ddgsxr504]

That sucks but did you happen to get the $2500 quote and all the aformentioned deal in writing?

[s13fOr_me]

man that really sucks....best of luck to you...and ya sue his ***!

[myS13wantsaVQ35]

it is in the works

[duffman1278]

Man that sucks too hear, sue for as much as you can and get everything you can from this guy.

[ThuG LyFe]

amazing...there's not a single shop i can really trust at this point. i guess the only person who i can trust is me but i can't do anything myself so i guess i'm screwed.

you better sue him for all he's got.

[imatuner]

ya i think its funny with those Poo eating smiles on his face in those conviction pictures

[IanS]

wow, just wow, that really sucks, I have seen some of Z fevers work, and it has all been beautiful, I would never have imagined they would be capable of somthing this shady, makes me glad I do all my own work.

[radianation]

I just went through a very similar experience but I can't talk about it. Sorry to hear it man.

[shinmei2006]

SHOULD HAVE CALLED KYLE ELLIS AT ELIS AUTOWORKZ IN TAMPA

Great work, on par with pricing, he did my LS6 240 swap, I love it

+ F'in 1

ellis autoworkz is awesome from what i hear

[JohnnyDrifter]

Better Business Bureu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nieko]

so what exactly happened with this? did you sue him?? get money back? fix car? picks?

[IanS]

I just went through a very similar experience but I can't talk about it. Sorry to hear it man.

Just out of curiosity, are you involved in some sort of lawsuit or ongoing investigation, dealing with Z Fever? If you are not at will to discuss the situation, a simple yes or no will do.

[VanguishRacing]

dude, sorry to hear that man. that's really F-UP! for real.

it happens to me before too, but is a long story. what's in the past is the past.

[jubee]

Yeah doug is def a crook, he got my *** good i bought a SR from him about 3 years ago. gave me a parts motor pretty much, a bad AC compressor, a failing CAS, and the list goes on. I seriously dont see how he stays in business , maybe its from jacking up the price on all the old rich ****s that come in needing work on there 300zx. n e way I hope you dont let this go. def try to get your money back. Its actually nice to see this did not get DEL or locked. if this was on tamparacing it might have been del. i made a complaint about z fever and what they did to me and the thread was deleted. either way good luck and i hope you get your money back.

PS i think everyone that did business with z fever and was ripped off should get together and have a nice big law suit on doug.

[VanguishRacing]

Yeah doug is def a crook, he got my *** good i bought a SR from him about 3 years ago. gave me a parts motor pretty much, a bad AC compressor, a failing CAS, and the list goes on. I seriously dont see how he stays in business , maybe its from jacking up the price on all the old rich ****s that come in needing work on there 300zx. n e way I hope you dont let this go. def try to get your money back. Its actually nice to see this did not get DEL or locked. if this was on tamparacing it might have been del. i made a complaint about z fever and what they did to me and the thread was deleted. either way good luck and i hope you get your money back.

PS i think everyone that did business with z fever and was ripped off should get together and have a nice big law suit on doug.

JUBEE!!! JUBEE!!! JUBEE!!!

[VanguishRacing]

he should need a good shaved....

[FUNS14]

Take his *** to small claims, as long as you have pre determined prices documented you should get a good portion of your money back. Sorry to hear about all the BS btw.

[myS13wantsaVQ35]

my first post on this shop