Groundwerks garage?

[drifter_for_life06]

Anyone ever use Groundworks? I'm just curious as to their reputation, since they are relatively close to my house(~50min) and I need to have my SR20 rebuilt. I just dont want to go to a shop with little to no reputation.

Any input is appreciated.

[Imarvin240]

don't go to them, I have had horrible problems with them and was in court with them (I won the lawsuit). they ruined my car and while my car was there for fabrication work (which they never did any), they took parts off to sell, used them on there cars, and then claimed I owed them money hah. Needless to say the owner, Brad, is a low life ass. Try R/T tuning, MA motorsports, or Import Intelligence. I feel truly sorry for anyone who has to deal with that company. the company was originally called Roots Factory for anyone who knows the original name. that company failed so they just changed the name to start over. Again, go somewhere else.

[drifter_for_life06]

Thanks man. I was thinking taking it to Matt over at Import Intelligence. I usually go to Brian and Ray down at MA-Motorsports, but since Ray doesnt support AEM's EMS(due to him feeling their hardware is inferior), i find there no point in taking it to them to have them build it, and then somewhere else to have it tuned.

[urnext]

don't go to them, I have had horrible problems with them and was in court with them (I won the lawsuit). they ruined my car and while my car was there for fabrication work (which they never did any), they took parts off to sell, used them on there cars, and then claimed I owed them money hah. Needless to say the owner, Brad, is a low life ass. Try R/T tuning, MA motorsports, or Import Intelligence. I feel truly sorry for anyone who has to deal with that company. the company was originally called Roots Factory for anyone who knows the original name. that company failed so they just changed the name to start over. Again, go somewhere else.

There was only one customer that went to court with groundwerks and if this is your new sn on here matt you should really watch what you say.
I have multiple customers who are extremely happy with the work I performed and Jason Crane was the owner of roots factory not myself. I unfortunately got dragged into his mess and I am still trying to fix my reputation because of it. One of the first things I did for Groundwerks was get the shop out of Coatesville and away from the Crane family. Matt if that is you I think you should also let the people you are giving advice know that you were taken to court for breaking into our shop before your car was ever there. The stealing charge didn't stick but you were sentenced for receiving stolen property and had about 50% of the $15,000 in parts taken. One of the items you had in you had when your home was searched was the cash box from the shop.

As with any shop people have their opinions and that is fine, anyone who has ever gotten work done by me knows I am very easy to work with and do a very good job at making my prices as competitive as possible.

-Brad Hettinger

[thatwhiteguy]

I got my swap done by brad, I have no complaints and he worked with me a great deal, even threw me a couple parts and barely charged me for them..I didn't have all the money when I picked it up (because I needed a few more parts) and let me do payments, which is rare of any shop of doing. Brad is a real good guy and I'm glad I got it done by him. He still drops a word to me now and then to see how the car is running and all, ill be going to him again for parts. Don't worry brad I got your back

[TurboRico1979]

Idk who this kid is but; I have know Brad for a few years and once his fabrication work was taking off I decided to give him a shot at doing the cage in my 2006 350Z. My cage turned out not only better than i expected but i get complements on it EVERY where. Not just at ClubLoose events, but even old school muscle car shows. Don't let one moron fool you because obviously not everyone will be happy, but I feel comfortable not only recommending Brad but actually would encourage people to check his work out. So not to take anything away from other shops but i know where I'll be bring back my Z for more work with out even a doubt in my mind.

[TurboRico1979]

don't go to them, I have had horrible problems with them and was in court with them (I won the lawsuit). they ruined my car and while my car was there for fabrication work (which they never did any), they took parts off to sell, used them on there cars, and then claimed I owed them money hah. Needless to say the owner, Brad, is a low life ass. Try R/T tuning, MA motorsports, or Import Intelligence. I feel truly sorry for anyone who has to deal with that company. the company was originally called Roots Factory for anyone who knows the original name. that company failed so they just changed the name to start over. Again, go somewhere else.


kid obviously has other issues here and is biased in more ways than one.... sorry he got so dick hurt lol

[Soosh]

Yeaahhhh this is the reason i don't go on here much.. Brad caged my G35, worked with my schedule, I put him on a tight deadline of when I needed the car back. Needless to say, no problems with his work, had it done when I needed it, even went as far as ordering new a new harness and putting it in for me without asking him to. Had clubloose tech dudes inspect every weld and the couldn't find one thing wrong with it, one of which included Tim.

[carnagexxxx]

I got my cage done by Groundwerks along with suspension components. He's always willing to work things out with his customers and genuinely gives a crap about the cars that he works on. He has a bit of a mad scientist approach to certain technical areas that can sometimes be a bit odd to some people but the guy really does have some out-of-the-box ideas that are what you want when it comes to building a race car.

[thatwhiteguy]

Seems like more people have a good experience with groundwerks than bad, honestly just go to his shop, and discuss things with him. If you don't like the shop then don't get work done there then. But i doubt you'll have a bad experience with brad and the shop

[haterdan]

don't go to them, I have had horrible problems with them and was in court with them (I won the lawsuit). they ruined my car and while my car was there for fabrication work (which they never did any), they took parts off to sell, used them on there cars, and then claimed I owed them money hah. Needless to say the owner, Brad, is a low life ass. Try R/T tuning, MA motorsports, or Import Intelligence. I feel truly sorry for anyone who has to deal with that company. the company was originally called Roots Factory for anyone who knows the original name. that company failed so they just changed the name to start over. Again, go somewhere else.


wait this is matt eck?:picardfp::picardfp::picardfp:

I had to rejoin since my old screen name was deactivated from so long ago. but its a total mind f*** that a dude who was caught stealing and then attempting to sell the stolen parts that he stole from the shop he's bad mouthing on here. I usually stay out of this stuff but the only poster who's had a "bad experience" is the most untrustworthy person I've ever met in my entire life.

[urnext]

wait this is matt eck?:picardfp::picardfp::picardfp:

I had to rejoin since my old screen name was deactivated from so long ago. but its a total mind f*** that a dude who was caught stealing and then attempting to sell the stolen parts that he stole from the shop he's bad mouthing on here. I usually stay out of this stuff but the only poster who's had a "bad experience" is the most untrustworthy person I've ever met in my entire life.

To be honest I'm not sure who this guy is, but considering he referencing a situation that has only ever happened once hes either matt eck or speaking for matt eck.

Thanks for everyone who has jumped in this thread, as for the original poster he said he is going to matt who indeed is a good man when it comes to Sr's I worked with matt for two years and learned a lot. Good luck and keep me in mind for the future.

[drifter_for_life06]

ive not settled on a shop yet. Im still gathering last minute odds and ends so I can have all components needed at the shop with the car. I appreciate everyone chimming in. Multiple good references definitely out-weigh one bad one...especially from someone who is apparently a shady person in their own right.

Thanks everyone.

[Imarvin240]

There was only one customer that went to court with groundwerks and if this is your new sn on here matt you should really watch what you say.
I have multiple customers who are extremely happy with the work I performed and Jason Crane was the owner of roots factory not myself. I unfortunately got dragged into his mess and I am still trying to fix my reputation because of it. One of the first things I did for Groundwerks was get the shop out of Coatesville and away from the Crane family. Matt if that is you I think you should also let the people you are giving advice know that you were taken to court for breaking into our shop before your car was ever there. The stealing charge didn't stick but you were sentenced for receiving stolen property and had about 50% of the $15,000 in parts taken. One of the items you had in you had when your home was searched was the cash box from the shop.

As with any shop people have their opinions and that is fine, anyone who has ever gotten work done by me knows I am very easy to work with and do a very good job at making my prices as competitive as possible.

-Brad Hettinger


A cash box was never in my house or possession. If you care to comment, get your facts straight :) Oh and yes, I would totally take my car to a shop after a broke into it...that would be great thinking! You even said it in your own comment, I was charged with purchasing stolen property (which if anyone cares, I had no idea it was stolen parts up until the police came and explained everything). Contradicting yourself isn't going to help your argument. I never took anything, you on the other hand sold parts off my car and sent the rest of the car to a recycling yard. Great business man you are! Good luck to anyone who takes there car to you, they are going to need it! As for Dan and the other members commenting, I never had a problem with you hah but whatever. OP, good luck with your build and wherever you end up taking it.

[urnext]

A cash box was never in my house or possession. If you care to comment, get your facts straight :) Oh and yes, I would totally take my car to a shop after a broke into it...that would be great thinking! You even said it in your own comment, I was charged with purchasing stolen property (which if anyone cares, I had no idea it was stolen parts up until the police came and explained everything). Contradicting yourself isn't going to help your argument. I never took anything, you on the other hand sold parts off my car and sent the rest of the car to a recycling yard. Great business man you are! Good luck to anyone who takes there car to you, they are going to need it! As for Dan and the other members commenting, I never had a problem with you hah but whatever. OP, good luck with your build and wherever you end up taking it.

This could go back and forth for days it is my word against yours. Facts are the shop was broken into, when the parts were recovered from you we were handed our cash box with an evidence tag on it. So I guys the Cops found the cash box magically along side the road. AS for your car being at the shop it went like this: Shop got broken into, a month or so later you brought your car to the shop, 2 months later you were posting stolen parts on zilvia and I reported you to the cops. About 2 months after you went to court we got some of the stolen parts back, along with the cash box that was taken.

[Imarvin240]

This could go back and forth for days it is my word against yours. Facts are the shop was broken into, when the parts were recovered from you we were handed our cash box with an evidence tag on it. So I guys the Cops found the cash box magically along side the road. AS for your car being at the shop it went like this: Shop got broken into, a month or so later you brought your car to the shop, 2 months later you were posting stolen parts on zilvia and I reported you to the cops. About 2 months after you went to court we got some of the stolen parts back, along with the cash box that was taken.


Just because you lost a lawsuit doesn't mean you can slander someone. That can get you back in court again. hah exactly, my word against yours...and your word doesn't mean much without proof. You can say the word FACT all you want, that doesn't mean anything if there is no proof. If there was a cash box, why doesn't it say that a cash box was on the recovered list? Seems like your so called FACT is a bunch of BS, buddy. I never broke into any building in my life. Get the facts right, Brad, or gtfo.

Here is what went down with groundwerks and I. I brought a car down while it was still known as Roots factory to get work done since Jason said he would help support the build. The shop later changed names and brad became the "owner". A few months later, Brad said he didn't want to support the car, so I said I would be taking the car out of there. I then had a house fire which postponed the pick up of the vehicle for a couple more months. When I finally go down, he says he sent the car to a recycling yard in NJ and then hands me a bill for over 1 year of storage...totaling roughly $12,000 (it wasn't even under his ownership for the full year, he even counted the time it was there under Roots Factory). He had also been selling parts off my car to people and putting parts on his own car. He even tried to sell my one Mazworx sleeved SR engine which I went down and got back do to the owners of the property being on my side. The owners of the property also stated that Brad was not entitled to place storage fees without notifying them first since it was there property (which he never let them know). I have since then took legal action against Brad and his business. Again, just because you lost a lawsuit doesn't justify slander. I am now done responding to this thread, I have said what I needed to say. Good luck with everything, OP, and I hope you make the right call on what shop you choose.

[urnext]

For the record Roots Factory Closed Down in October of 2009, Your car was Dropped off in March of 2010. You dropped of the motor and Car to Jason Crane. For the entire time GrounWerks was in coatesville there was a sign hanging on the wall with our Labor rates and at the bottom it said "any vehicle left unattended for over 30 days is subject to a $30 a day storage rate unless otherwise agreed upon with the management." Your car was at the shop for over a year without anything being straightened out. You expected work for free since you thought we should sponsor you, no contract was ever signed for sponsorship. When I broke it to you that you would have to pay for work you wanted you said you were going to come get the car and never did, granted this was after the car had been there for over 6 months.

As for you winning a lawsuit against me you won because I was never notified of the court appearance date, So there was no one there to defend me. I have since seeked legal counsel as I have various bills, emails and other paperwork in my defense. I think you should keep most of this off of the internet though as its not anyones business and you don't want to get yourself in trouble for slander do you?

[vas570sx]

I bought some parts from someone that works/worked there a while back. Took forever to get the parts. Then, the 550cc injectors that I ordered turned out to be 370s, the couplers I ordered were all old and cracked, the oil pan was full of metal shavings and the BOV i ordered had bad seals in it.

basically, nothing i ordered or paid for was right, then when i tried to contact him afterwards, he wouldn't respond.

this was like 2 years ago.. i aint sweatin it though, i just cut my losses.

[urnext]

I bought some parts from someone that works/worked there a while back. Took forever to get the parts. Then, the 550cc injectors that I ordered turned out to be 370s, the couplers I ordered were all old and cracked, the oil pan was full of metal shavings and the BOV i ordered had bad seals in it.

basically, nothing i ordered or paid for was right, then when i tried to contact him afterwards, he wouldn't respond.

this was like 2 years ago.. i aint sweatin it though, i just cut my losses.

You ordered these parts new? I'm trying to recall the sale as I've never had any 550's for sale nor have I sold couplers. There were about 4 guys working on and off here 2 years ago but since then its just myself and another guy who is part time.