upsdude

Shop location: Irwindale, CA
customer service: 4/10
communication:1/10
technician/owner's knowledge: 10/10

would i recommend? NO


purchased an s14 from another member that needed things to get the car running, since it was going from SR back to stock KA. there were small issues like reconnecting the a/c hoses, installing a radiator and driveshaft...little things that just took time. the biggest issue was fixing the wiring. On 4/22 Had the car towed from the seller's house to GR performance, since that is where he was going to originally have the work done. first impression was positive since Mario, the owner, was willing to put a start date for work on paper and have me sign.



a few days after planned start date i started calling/texting mario for status updates.
there was a delay but was promised my car was next in line. fine, things happen.
another week rolls by and my car still hadn't been pulled in for any kind of work. this pattern continued on for the next month. delay after delay, all the while I'm having to hunt mario down for information. I was trying my best to be understanding, but this was supposed to be my commuter. I was borrowing a car in the meantime from my dad, but he wasn't going to let me keep it forever.

finally after waiting for over 3 weeks, my car had been pulled in and mario was able to get to work on it (i believe thursday 3/29) i came by the shop to see how things were going. Only then did i find out that the main harness was from a zenki, as well as the ecu. Heater hoses going from the core were missing, and the motor needed new belts. I ask mario when can I pick up the car? he says friday he should be done and i can pick it up. Friday comes, he's not done-he had a couple minor loose ends to tie up but was told to call early Saturday around 8:30 to pick up the car. So i cleared my whole schedule for saturday so i could get my car-even called my dad to drive me over there.
8:30 i call, he's not done; was told to call in the afternoon around 300. i call and of course, no answer. i get a text that he's in traffic and he'll call me when he's at the shop. Mind you my dad and i cancelled whatever plans we had that day so we could get my car. I stayed home waiting for Mario instead of spending my day off with my son. so finally I get a hold of Mario around 800-900pm(that must have been a hell of a traffic jam). He said he was having dinner but if i wanted to get the car i could around 1130-I wasn't going to let my car spend another day at that shop. if i had to drive there at 2am to get it, finished or not, that car was going home with me.

I get to GR perforance in irwindale at 11:45pm on a rainy saturday night-my car is finally up and running. it's running like shit due to it having the wrong harness and sketchy ecu, but at least i can drive her home. So after over a month of having my car I'm charged for 9 hours of work which was around $380. if you think about it, having a car for a month and only doing 9 hours of work is pretty shameful. i bring up the repeated delays and was able to get about 60 bucks knocked off. I honestly didn't feel like i should have paid more than $150 bucks considering all the crap i went through but i just wanted to be done with it. check the invoice date, compared to the initial estimate:


Throughout this ordeal i had been calling/texting the person i bought the car from , telling him about all the delays, and lack of communication since he pretty much refered me to this place. and even he was getting frustrated with how things were going. the kicker is on top of money i had to spend for work done on the car, i've been scrambling to get the proper harness and ecu on short notice...it's not everyday i can run across an ecu for a '98 5 speed. Honestly the monumental delays wouldn't have been so bad if there was better communication...hell if there were any communication at all. If things were too hectic, he could have easilly called me and say "hey, i can't get to your car for the next 2-3 weeks. you can wait or you can find another shop that can do the work sooner" so in conclusion, despite Mario's knowledge around a 240, the lack of communication and excessive delays are big enough factors to not recommend GR Performance to people.

ps. whenever you guys go to a shop to have work done, you are entitled to a signed estimate with projected costs. in fact don't have a shop start any kind of work without it. I found this after talking to the BAR (bureau of automotive repair)-yes thats how far i was about to take this issue.