Bad Customer Service FTL / mak customs

[skylinegtr20]

Hey Everyone,

Post is regarding MAK Customs in Lethbridge AB. I have had many complaints about this company over the past few months and they have pushed me too far with bs story's and delays delays delays. I know others who feel the same way but are too lazy to post a thread here:thumbsdow I am not personally attacking them, just letting them know how I feel.

1st: Went to there shop looking for a clutch, worked out a dealer with a friend. I take his engine and in trade I give him a decent condition clutch. Both costing around $600... I drive a 1991 BNR32, my friend drives a 1991 GTS-t w/RB26 swap. So I went by MAK as they had a couple options in stock. I noticed one clutch on there site, a SLIGHTLY used Nismo Coppermix twin plate.

On their website it showed the clutch listed as a push type clutch made for R32 and R33 skylines. It also listed the clutch having 75-80% life left.

As I was at the shop I confirmed everything listed on the site for confirmation.

The owner said "yep, perfect for your 500hp GTR, lots of life left. About 75-80% I believe."
of course I said... "awesome, I will take it."

trusting him because I had spend a couple thousand dollars there before.

5 days later I get a call from a friend in Calgary who needs the clutch, so i deliver it up to him. At this point I have not opened the clutch to check due to lack of time and of course trusting the owner. Anyway about 20 minutes later I get a call from my friend (this is the kicker)

" Aww man, the clutch you just gave me is a Pull type clutch for an R34 6 speed transmission :eek: also man, i know you said 75-80% but there is no way thats possible. Likely only 40% at best here"

When I got back that afternoon I stopped by MAK. Asking the owner wtf happened. his response was " O I thought you had a R34 6 speed tranny in your car? You seem to have modified everything else..." In a calm mood I reply "nope definetly not.... those are like $3000 and I asked you to make sure it was for BNR32" Owner: "Well I don't know what to tell you... sorry man, try reselling it to one of your friends" Me: "Also only had 40% life when you said 75-80 what's up with that?" Owner: Stares blankly at me and turns to another customer to see what they would like!!!!

Conclusion: Still not resolved and have a useless BNR34 clutch with no life sitting as my door stop. Try selling that thing when it costs over $200 via Fedex to Australia.

2nd issue: Was picking up some 50mm extended wheels studs for my car, as I needed spacers to clear the brakes.

Went in and they had everything I needed in stock. Me: Perfect I need some 12 x 1.25 " wheel studs.

10 minutes later comes back with 10 studs packaged in 2 separate boxes. I take them home and go throw them on the car, first side goes on perfect... second side = wrong size.

So about 2 hours later I return the 5 studs to get the proper set. I tell the owner whats up...

Me: He man, tryed these on my car. They are just the wrong size. Can I exchange them for 5 of the 12 x 1.25?"
Owner: "are they used" ...
ME: " Well i took one out of the plastic and tryed putting it in but it wouldn't fit."
Owner: "Well you cant return a used product unless it is broken."
Me: "So you wont take them back because its used for 2 hours?"
Owner: "Yes that is are policy"

Conclusion: Still have the studs sitting in my garage collecting dust. biggest waste of $17!!! To me its not the money that counts, hell I could care less about $17... its the principal. If you sell something that isnt the right product for the customers needs you refund him/her.

3rd issue: Biggest and worst of the bunch.

I imported a car from Japan about 3 months ago. Took the car for an OOP at a local shop where they gave me a small list of what the car needed.

- DRL (daytime running lights)
- Drivers side Tie rod
- Ball joints
- Valve cover gasket

So 1 week went by and I still didnt have a chance to handle the OOP problems so I called the owner up at MAK and said

ME: " Hey man, I just imported this car and I need a few things done to pass inspection. Would it be possible to have done for next thursday (8 days away)?"

Owner: "For sure, bring it in tomorrow and we can have it out asap!"

So I took the car there Thursday afternoon and they said the car would be out by monday at the latest. Perfect so I can get it over with and start driving the beast.

Monday comes and I call.

After basic chit chat and asking if the car was finished

Owner: "have some bad news man, my tech didnt disconnect the battery when he was wiring the DRL's and blew your ignition module... should only take a couple of days to fix"

Me: "Damn, so should have that in by thursday hey? need this inspection done for then"

Owner: " Yep of course!"

Anyway Thursday rolls around... nothing. Monday rolls around.... nothing. Thursday of the week after rolls around.... nothing. (During all this I am calling for an update) Next Thursday rolls around.... owner will not answer my calls and has the parts guy answer for him.

He tells me that none of the version 1-2 GC8's with EJ20 use the same ignition module as my car... so they have to order it from japan. OK well the next week I call... nothing, no updates and no eta. Now this has been a month of waiting for a simple part!!!! :banghead:

Anyway to make this quicker... After 2 months of nagging, 47 phone calls (yes I tracked it for fun), 7 in shop visits, 4 ignition modules ordered and returned (from what they say), and 12 people that wanted to buy the car but couldn't due to this situation I FINALLY received the car back... All I get offered is a complementary Japanese air freshener, and a sorry from the parts guy.

I originally asked to have the Tie rod changed, Valve cover gaskets replaced, OEM ball joints replaced with OEM, and have DRL's wired in.... I purchased the OEM ball joints from Subaru Japan, and also the Tie rod from a local parts store, These were included when I took the car to the shop so there would be no wait on parts. Anyway I get the bill for the DRL and Valve cover gaskets but notice the ball joints and tie rods were not on the list....

I inquiry and find out they didn't know I needed that work done. BS:bullshit: Anyway ended up fixing the car myself as I didn't want them to work on it anymore.... Also payed for a new inspection and alignment. They will be getting the bill!

Conclusion: 2 months of me not driving my car, No extended apologies from the Owner, 1 extra wrench left in my engine bay, 3 disconnected boost lines (limped my car home) and 7 extra bolts located in the strut bar!!!

These are just some of my problems with the said shop... I am not asking for anything in return from them. I just feel they handled every situation extremely wrong.... What is the purpose of a mechanic shop when you cant complete simple tasks or have any customer service?

Could have about 5 more issues to post but I will leave it at that.

Venting Over.

Thanks.

[Thaco]

i honestly dont know how you went back after the clutch incident.

[soupey]

it took you 3 trips of bad service to determine that they weren't worth going to anymore?

shitty on Mak's part, but at the same time, after one experience why would u go back for more and expect something better?

[skylinegtr20]

Well clutch was first, then Car, then studs. Also had many while the car was at the shop but since they had my car I didnt say much.

I had never had a bad experience before the clutch so i gave him 1 more shot... and here in lethbridge there is only a few shops that will work on JDM cars... sadly I choose the wrong one. Hell I would do the work myself but have been extremely busy of late, actually 1st time I ever took a car to a shp. Live and learn, just dont want other people to make the same mistakes! :thumbsup:

If anyone needs a R34 pull type clutch, shoot me a PM haha

[Eleanor]

Originally posted by skylinegtr20
Live and learn, just dont want other people to make the same mistakes! :thumbsup:

Most people know not to go back to the same place that has fucked you over multiple times.

[2002civic]

i went there once and never went back, terrbile at everything

[The Cosworth]

Originally posted by Thaco
i honestly dont know how you went back after the clutch incident.

:werd:


that sucks anyways dude

[Stunt66]

You sir are ridiculars!
Why the fuck would you keep going back? Getting burned for a clutch should have been your last visit there. Them giving you the wrong bolts and not taking them back is just pathetic on their part and yet after these incidents you still go back. And the funny thing is you say you've got 5 more issues with them. WTF is wrong with you? I'm assuming these tuner shops are rare in your cty but how many times can you get jacked before you realiize their POS and stop going there?

[skylinegtr20]

well the other 5 was wrong pricing, and no call backs etc...

Had a friend go in and ask 2 defi blue racer gauges, 2 days later I went in and asked the same thing.... he quoted my friend $40 less per gauge.

Also if you ever call them for anything, you never get a call back!

Tuning shops are rare in lethbridge.... actually the only one. The clutch pissed me off but I was like w/e I can resell it to someone in Japan, UK or Aussie. Not the case. So I gave him one last shot with my car. They fucked up and will never get my service, or any of my friends service. Funny as im building a GTR from the ground up, friend is building his 180 to drift, and I have 4-5 friends looking for cars. If he wasnt such a douche and delt with us properly he would have made TONS of cash.

One of the worst things is how they try and tell everyone they have the best pricing around... and they say they are a dealer for say GReddy, or HKS... which is not true at all. People just believe them cause they are to lazy to search for parts.

[JAYMEZ]

Shity deal , oh well , if they continue with shity service , they wont be in business much longer.

[cressida_pimpin]

Honestly man, I'm sorry to hear that. I would lose it if I was put through that. I hope the guy's shop goes bankrupt. Tell everyone you possible can that he's an idiot. Props for not shooting him though.

[skylinegtr20]

Funny thing his, he has lots of business just because he has the only JDM shop in town... I might just start my own shop. I do import cars on a small level, just have to finish my apprenticeship so people trust me working on there cars haha.

what "cressida_pimpin" said... "props for shooting him" I agree the problem with lethbidge is no one ever says shit about them, the owner practically rules the JDM seen in Lethbridge! They actually get away with selling stock Skyline's for $12,000. Its retarded, hard to understand as most people here are from Calgary.

Im not trying to start shit with them as I am not like that, but people should really know whats going on. I think if someone doesn't offer good service they should be singled out right? I just don't want the same experience as I went threw to happen to other customers!

regards,

[ZorroAMG]

As the brilliant George W. Bush said: Fool me once....fool me...you can't get fooled again...


Unless you are skylinegtr20...then nevermind.

[funkedelic]

mak customs is the worse shop to take your car to in Lethbridge, for anything, period. I had a terrible experience with them and i have heard countless horror stories about people getting ripped off. They do terrible work, and have matching customer service. Hopefully they go out of business soon.

[sldnsvn]

First of all with the clutch, I just checked the website and it says exactly what it was a PULL type clutch, which anybody that knows anything about skylines will tell you won't fit on the skyline WITHOUT a conversion kit or R34 transmission, and that it has 40-50% life. I know if you would have filled Matt in on what the application was he would have made sure you got the right stuff.

I don't know what to tell you about to the wheel studs, maybe they got mis packaged or something. But you still should have checked the parts before installing parts. Not installed them before figuring out they were bad. And I know you wouldn't take used parts back from customers, especially if its their own stupidity that made them install the wrong parts.

For the Subaru, it seems like they were honest and admitted they were at fault and were willing to fix a problem caused by the tech. And I think I may know which tech it is you're talking about and I'm pretty sure he doesn't work there anymore. Yes its to bad the Igniter took so long to come, but Japan isn't exactly a quick walk down the block.

Maybe before smashing a competing business you should choose your words more wisely.

[2JZA70]

Pulling this one outta the grave.

I had high hopes for the above mentioned business, and wished the best for the owner and his dreams.

But I'm done with them. If I wanted to to be treated like a nuisance, I'd go to Canadian Tire. Everything they sell can be easily had from other suppliers, and I don't mind at all to drive hours to be treated with respect. Sad to say, but I don't forsee a long continued future for that business.

There are only say 5 groups of 10 people who are in the Japanese/Euro scene in our area with money to spend and I'm pretty sure that at least 4/5 have sworn against spending further cash there.

[rc2002]

Tie rod ends, ball joints, and valve cover gaskets do not need to be done by JDM specialist mechanics. In fact almost all of the work that needs to be done on RHD cars can be done at almost any shop.

Part of the blame resides with the customer. If the shop is really as bad as it's made out then they should go elsewhere. The import scene is pretty small and it doesn't take long for word to get around.

[2JZA70]

There's no blame in trying to support a local business, I don't even mind to pay more to help them keep afloat.

Blame is on me for returning, there are countless business who would be more than happy to accept my business in the current economic conditions.

[cyrusli]

Originally posted by 2JZA70
There's no blame in trying to support a local business, I don't even mind to pay more to help them keep afloat.

Blame is on me for returning, there are countless business who would be more than happy to accept my business in the current economic conditions.

so if you had the money to begin with, why not get it done right and spend the money to have it done properly the first time around? "Current economic conditions"????...

[2JZA70]

Typical Calgary people can't read a fucking sentence.

Currently, things are shitty for people who own businesses.
So why not put your best foot forward to stay in business.
Then people will keep coming, even when times are tough.

/msglngth

[240droptop]

yeah I don't know, I have nothing against him personaly but one day i had a huge pay check, from tons of overtime i went down to Mak customs with money in hand, asked him if he had any stock rb turbos for sale after talking with one of the other customers i decided to price out some single turbo kits. The owner told me he had one off of one of his other cars for sale. I asked him how much and he told me he would need time to think about the price, he then asked me what my budget was. With a pocket full of money i foolishly told him that money was not really an issue as i just got a huge check, he told me he nedded an hour or two to think of a price and would call me at work. two hours went by which soon turn to four so I called him back, I got someone else who told me he was busy i left a msg to call me, another hour went by with no phone call i tried him a couple more times and left another msg. well the day was over so i figured i would try agian the next day, I tried calling him for 2-3 days never getting to speak to him i even went in there a couple times asking.... To this day i never got a price so i've taken by buisness north to Calgary as the drive up there is less time/work then trying to talk to the owner of that store....... end rant,


I agree with the above post there is maybe a couple dozen of us who build up imports in Lethbridge, and even from the number of people on this thread that said they would never be back thats alreayd 20% of Lethbridge buisness gone.... which is a shame cause many of use were excitted when the store opened...

[ercchry]

first off... for parts why not get them from jns-imports, they are down there and seem to be making a genuine effort to be a good business.

and yeah i have heard TONS of stories about mak customs... most interesting are how he started it....

[2JZA70]

The 2 hours it would take to catch the attention of somebody at that business who is eager to make an honest sale is better spent driving to the USA and back, to pick up items from the border bought online from enthusiastic retailers who ship immediately for a great price.

[ercchry]

haha well... i dunno, when you come up here next week bring back parts for everyone?

[rmc604]

I do have to agree with posts. I have been to Mak a couple times when I had my mx3 and wanted to do a JDM front bumper conversion. I asked the owner for a quote and he told me he get back to me in 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, no call backs but i did called 2-3 times and left msgs. They are really busy JDM shop and neglect the customer needs. I can understand that somethings are more important than customers questions and inquires. I figured that they are probably running beyond the capacities which leads to their sloppy customer service. I never got JDM front clip for the mx3 and never return to them. I have friends that have had satisfied experience with them but it doesn't make them good. It makes mak just another auto shop that is sub par with everyone else. Nothing speical but not extremely terrible but if this thread totally confirms MAk is only getting worse.

[skylinegtr20]

Such an old thread.

I still feel the same way about the mentioned shop. I have gone in there once since that point and tried to mend things with the owner. Not to do business but to just clear the tension and put hard feelings aside... but the owner would not have it saying I shouldn't have made this thread and I shouldn't be stepping on his business. HELLO shitty service = tell other people who could get screwed over in the future by doing the same thing as I.

[Jlude]

You did the right thing by letting people know.

He should have kept his customer happy.

[bawlls]

idk how many fkin times i have called, gone into the place, asking about there stock, and quotes on fmic kit. I think I gave that stupid speach empedimented biatch my number about 50zillion times and never a call back. I sure as shit wish I didnt get my swap done there...

[teinle94]

so much ppl are looking for him now hes broke and in the hole shop went bankrupt owes ppl money haha man he's fuked

[jonnycat]

A 2 year bump for this ^

[Zewind]

Originally posted by jonnycat
A 2 year bump for this ^


Awesomeness has not time limit? :dunno: