I'm too lazy to embed the pictures, but they are available on NICO BookFace - I'll update this post later.****Fellow Enthusiasts Beware****
Do NOT let Matt Hornbuckle touch your vehicle to do any body work or installations. Unless you want the parts to not fit correctly and have other parts of your vehicle damaged.
I wanted to mod my 370z this year prior to Zdayz to change the look a bit. I was searching for someone that could do the work and wanted to take on the project. After asking friends and fellow enthusiasts for recommendations on who possessed the proper skillset and be able to complete the project, I received a few names and places. One put me in touch with Matt Hornbuckle. We met up in my driveway back in early April and discussed everything I would need done. I had an Aerojacket carbon fiber add on spoiler, Aerojacket rear spats, and Stillen side skirts. The carbon fiber spoiler needed to be re-cleared and installed with 3M VHB tape. The Stillen side skirts and Aerojacket rear spats needed to be: 1) Fitted 2) Prepped and painted 3) Installed. He said he would be able to do everything that was asked.
Towards the end of April I dropped all the parts off where he would be doing the work, as well as the Z. I had already taken the stock side skirts off at this point so they could easily test the fitment of the parts before prepping/painting and installing. It was known with aftermarket parts the fitment would not be perfect out of the box and would require body work to get them to fit correctly. This is where things start to go downhill. Three days later Matt sends a picture via text message saying it was ready to pick up. I go by the shop to look at it. I was not happy with what I saw. It was clear he did not do any fitment work and simply painted the parts and attached them to the vehicle the best they would go on out of the box. I did not pay at this point as the fitment was extremely off on both the rear spats and side skirts. The side skirts did not sit flush with the other panels and the gaps were not correct. The rear spats were pretty much the same way. All he did was paint them and attempted to install them on the car. There were no signs of test fitment or the necessary work to make them fit. I had to ask other 370 forum members that had these parts installed how they got them to fit. I then relayed this information to Matt Hornbuckle. He said to bring it back and he would try again this time actually doing fitment work. At this point I decided not to try to get him to fit the rear spats and wanted them removed and the stock mud guards put back on. The focus would be on getting the Stillen side skirts to fit as well as fix the fitment on the add-on spoiler. The add-on spoiler was not installed evenly and the passenger side was lifting off the OEM spoiler. The front and rear sections of the side skirts needed to be grinded down in order to get them to sit flush with the body. He attempted this as quickly as he could as this was taking time away from other jobs. In the end the fitment still was not what it needed to be. However he claimed this is the best it will get and almost perfect. Reluctantly I decided I would just have to accept the fitment issues as it was clear he was incapable of doing this type of work. I paid what was initially agreed upon and left with the Z on April 30th.
I drove five minutes down the road to my house and parked it in the garage. In preparation for Zdayz, I needed to get the car cleaned up. So on Sunday, May 3, I rolled the Z into the driveway and started to wet it down. As soon as the water hit the driver side skirt a piece flaked off on the top rear corner nearest the rear wheel and rear quarter panel. I immediately texted Matt Hornbuckle a picture of what just happened. I did not hear back from him after calling and texting over the next couple days until 4pm on Tuesday May 5th. He simply asked, “What happened?” I told him that I believe the paint must have been cracked since the part had to be taken off modified and reinstalled. He stated that I must have done something since the paint was fine when I left. He wanted to know if I had bottomed the skirt out or hit it with something. He felt that it was not his work that caused the problem and that I damaged it in some way. I did not bottom the car out. The underside has no scrape marks; nor did I hit it with anything. Later I learned from individuals that do this for a living that the gap on the side skirt was too tight and the rear quarter panel crushed the side skirt when the body flexed over bumps and inclines driving down the road. Matt felt that he had already done the work twice and it was perfect. He also felt he would lose money by fixing it a third time. He stated he had already lost money having to work on it a second time. I told him that he needed to make it right. He stated the best he can do is repaint the damaged driver-side skirt if I take it off the car and give it to him. I would also be required to pay for the paint again ($70-$100). Since I did not damage the car and it was an installation error, why would I need to pay more money to fix it? I declined this option and asked for a partial refund. With the refund I would find another more qualified person to repaint and attempt to repair the fitment issues.
Initially he agreed to pay me the partial refund and wanted me to sign a document stating he was free and clear of the car and that I would not be doing exactly what I am doing right now. Which is informing the community to not do business with him in the future. Unless you want your vehicle to be damaged and he refuse that it was any of his fault. He will inform you that he delivered exactly what the customer asked for.
I hope the attached photos can show you how off the fitment is on the side skirts as well as the damage where the paint flaked off. The rear spats were not fitted properly prior to install and thusly the rear bumper was damaged where the part was touching the bumper. It rubbed the paint off from the vibration of the engine. He also managed to damage my Project Kics lug nuts by scarring them up with whatever socket he used. He also over torqued them when reinstalling the wheels. This messed up the floating washer on this particular style of lug nut. The washer no longer freely spins as it was crushed from the excessive torque applied. Also when placing the rear driver side wheel back on the vehicle, he managed to drop the wheel on the brake caliper knocking the paint off. Once I got the Z up in the air, I also noticed that 2 bolts are missing from the passenger side skirt. Now I will have to get replacements to put be able to put the OEM sides back on until I can get the Stillen side skirts fixed. The only thing that was done remotely right was the add-on spoiler. Even that took him two attempts and he had to get debris out of the clear coat that he applied which there is still some left.
But if you ask him all of this is exactly what I asked for, and he did it twice just to make me happy. He will also state that you should not have gone with aftermarket parts because they do not fit properly. He then would shame the company of the parts stating the Stillen parts were junk. He constantly contradicts himself in what he says he is capable of doing. Then when it does not come out anywhere close it is not his skills that are lacking and it is the parts fault.
In the end I am out of more money than just the cost of paint and labor. I have damage to the rear bumper, lug nuts, and brake caliper. I am missing bolts. I am unable to get my money back on the side skirts. As Stillen clearly states that before you start to test the FITMENT of the parts before ever painting them or altering them in any way. If he was unsure whether he could get them to fit properly or that the parts were “junk” as he later states this is where he should have notified me that the fitment is too far off than he feels comfortable trying to correct. Before ever priming them and painting them. I could have sent photos to Stillen to see if what they had to say about the fitment or send replacements possibly if those indeed had an issue. But since he skipped that step and went straight to paint/install I am left with what you see in the photos.
Again please do NOT let Matt Hornbuckle do any work on your vehicles. It will be at your own risk and I would rather not have you go through the same ordeal I have. He is dishonest and will damage your vehicle without notifying you or taking responsibility.
Please share and like this to help spread the word so no one else has to go through this and have their vehicle damaged by him.
This kind of s*** pisses me off to no end.
