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Warning for TX peeps by mptighe
Started on: 10-23-2018 12:47 AM
Replies: 14 (984 views)
Last post by: mptighe on 11-17-2018 05:16 PM
mptighe
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Report this Post10-23-2018 12:47 AM Click Here to See the Profile for mptigheSend a Private Message to mptigheEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Giving everyone a heads up. Avoid a guy by the name of a Jay McCain in Houston like the plague.

I bought Italo’s old car (custom 86 GT with 3800 SC swap) and drove it down from Toronto to Houston. It was a brutal drive and the car had several issues (everything BUT the engine, that was very dependable) so I let it sit for a while. One day when I went to start it, it wouldn’t run. I found Jay on FB under a shop name of Vampyre Performance (this should have been my first clue right?}, who claimed he had extensive 3800 and Fiero experience, and offered mobile service in the Houston area.

I paid him to come check why the car wouldn’t start, and he found a wire that had failed soldering, which affected injector pulse. He re-soldered it and the car started right up. While there we talked, and he bragged of his countless swaps he had done with some shop in Florida. We get to talking about my goals for the car and he says he can do the work. I had decided that the ‘86 had too many issues so I would have the engine and good stuff swapped to my 85 GT, and have the suspension, alignment, and other stuff done in the process. Jay first says he has access to a shop but then says he’ll do it at his house which will be cheaper for me.

He said he’d put together a quote and email it to me. I was planning to send the car to Chris Coultier up in MO for the work but trying to get two cars, an engine, and a spare space frame up to him was going to cost more than the work. So I figured I’d have Jay do the bulk of it then I’d drive the single car up to Chris and have him do the turbo and make everything right.

When Jay emails the quote, he wants $100 / hr for labor and the amount was on the ridiculous side. We negotiate, and I tell him he can have the immaculate fully powder coated space frame and all associated parts (control arms, new hubs, etc), plus whatever was left from my donor car, and $2k to swap everything over, replace the 282 with a F23, clean everything up, do the suspension and alignment, and make it right. Now this is with me buying ALL required parts, except the harness which he insists on making. He fully agreed to this.

Ok this was back in December / January. I give him $1k up front, which is what he asked for. Fast forward, he has the car, is working on it and costs come up. He needs a trans shop to handle putting the Cobalt F23 internals into the Cavalier F23 Trans. I pay it, no problems. Money for parts, money for incidentals, whatever, covered. I bought all new Moog and Dickman ball joints because he says mine are shot and he’ll toss them on for a little extra, no problem. He claims he has the ball joints installed and I find one of them still new in the box sitting with my stuff in his garage. We get into a disagreement about it but he ends up saying he bought some too and must have installed his.

I find out he didn’t tighten everything when I take it to get aligned, the shop has to fix what he missed, and I paid extra for it. I still don’t know for sure if his ball joints were identical to mine or not. I did glance when it was on the rack and saw they looked new though. He then tells me my car is leaking trans fluid but doesn’t know why. Remember I paid extra to have the trans done, AND I paid to have new seals put in while it was apart as part of our agreement. He also can’t get the idle right, it’s surging. I get another pcm, tuned by Chris but still surging. He even asks for help on FB because he’s stumped, even though he claimed to be a tuning guru.

Jay can’t figure it out and tells me to come get the car that we’ll address the surging down the road. He wanted me to keep buying parts but I wanted him to figure it out because I didn’t want to keep buying parts needlessly. He also wants me to pay him another $1k ON TOP of our agreed $2k for the labor, with known issues there. The car is still surging at idle and can’t go over 2200 RPMs in 3rd or 4th gears without it surging so bad the car will barely move. Other gears seem fine...? The cluster is not working (did when I bought this car) other than the tach, there are wires hanging down from the dash (weren’t there when I had the car brought over), brake cable is visible at the back of the car, shifter isn’t working correctly (can’t tell what gear it’s in and I bought the F23 shift bracket and cables), and it’s got the idiot light on for engine issues. There’s something wrong with the whole thing in general. I manage to limp it home, would have gotten it towed but he didn’t disclose any of this, it supposedly just had an idle issue and he said it had stopped leaking. It’s still leaking trans fluid everywhere btw.

Overall, I gave Jay about $4k total, not including what I bought for parts. I refused to give him an extra $1k for labor, but did give him an extra $500. So $1k up front, about $1,500 extra for parts and incidentals including parts he claimed he bought but never documented, and $1,500 when I picked the car up. The car isn’t drivable, he hasn’t made any effort to get it right. Remember this engine got me from Toronto to Houston without issue.

So now I’m having to buy a new harness from James L Brown (I wanted to in the beginning but Jay insisted he could do it), and pay a local tuner to get the tune right. I’ll also have to have the dash harness troubleshot, have the trans addressed, and who knows what else. I confront Jay, he denies I paid him all of what I paid him, denies he kept some of the parts I bought, denies he kept all of my receipts and documents that came along with my parts (he did even though I’ve asked for them multiple times), denies he tried to swap out my parts even though I caught him doing it, denies he had me buy parts I didn’t even need, claims he did work he did not do, claims he did more work than he was paid to do, and claims that since I drove the car away that means it’s drivable. His wife even texts me and claims I didn’t pay what I paid and that I’m the reason the car isn’t running. She even said they should have charged me a storage fee for the car being at their house so long while he was trying to figure out why it wasn’t right...? Seriously WTF...?

Please do yourselves a favor and avoid this guy. I’m in a holding pattern until I get the new harness. I’m hoping this has a happy ending before I give up on the car. Stick with the guys up in Dallas if you need any work done in or near TX. Stay as far away from Jay McCain as you can.

[This message has been edited by mptighe (edited 10-23-2018).]

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mptighe
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Report this Post10-23-2018 12:49 AM Click Here to See the Profile for mptigheSend a Private Message to mptigheEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Sorry for the long rant. I have all sorts of documentation if anyone has reason to believe I’m not being truthful here. Every text and message from this guy along with proof of online purchases etc.
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Report this Post10-23-2018 07:24 AM Click Here to See the Profile for deezilSend a Private Message to deezilEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Holy crap. What a damn nightmare. I am so thankful I found Mike Gonzalez when I had my swap done. I think I had maybe one issue that was my fault and we had to wait on parts.


Hopefully you get the car up and running right.
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Report this Post10-23-2018 09:13 AM Click Here to See the Profile for SpadesluckSend a Private Message to SpadesluckEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Just curious why you did not attempt the swap yourself? There are so many writups on how to do this it is worth a try.

Granted that does not exclude a guy from being a jerk, so thank you for the warning for others.
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mptighe
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Report this Post10-23-2018 10:27 AM Click Here to See the Profile for mptigheSend a Private Message to mptigheEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Lack of knowledge mostly, then skill, then time, then space, and finally proper tools. I went down this road before and blew tens of thousands of dollars on my last Fiero. I was hoping to avoid that and get things done cheaper this time, and even started with a running driving 3800 swap just needing to be dropped and transferred to another car, or so I thought. This lack of knowledge thing makes me an easy mark I guess. It’s happened several times since I moved down here, with various cars.
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Report this Post10-23-2018 04:16 PM Click Here to See the Profile for VampPerformanceSend a Private Message to VampPerformanceEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
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mptighe
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Report this Post10-23-2018 07:54 PM Click Here to See the Profile for mptigheSend a Private Message to mptigheEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by VampPerformance:

My replies are here


Yep. Had his wife fighting his battles there too. Funny thing she wasn’t present for anything that occurred. Literally I saw her once for like 5 seconds when I was at his place, in the months this all occurred. She never witnessed any payments or conversations, and she’s arguing against me. She’s claimed I didn’t pay what I did, they bought parts that I paid for, Jay did work he didn’t do, I asked for free work, and still apparently owe them money. I give it a day before she registers here to fight his battle. Seriously Jay, don’t let her. This would have ended with a text exchange if not for her and her “approach”.

Jay got paid, the car isn’t running, he didn’t want to fix it without getting paid more to do other stuff. That’s it in a nutshell. Don’t do business with him.
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Report this Post10-23-2018 08:52 PM Click Here to See the Profile for fieroguruSend a Private Message to fieroguruEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by VampPerformance:

My replies are here


Just an FYI, many of us still reading and posting here don't have facebook.
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Report this Post10-23-2018 09:56 PM Click Here to See the Profile for VampPerformanceSend a Private Message to VampPerformanceEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Yes I have access to a friends shop but I do have to pay for the space, so I let mike know that if I just did it at home It would be easier for me and not have extra cost incurred waiting for him to order parts.

initial quote was $3175 and he didnt like that

Swapping the f23 was an after thought, even he has stated it was remove trans and motor from italos car and install in his car, plus trans he got did not have correct case. Itried explaining things to him about different style cases and he talked to fiero rog trying to tell us both thats rogs mounts were wrong and that he had correct trans. He finally got what we were telling him and was upset he had to get another trans with
correct case(also expected me to go pick up trans for him for free, which I was nice and did)). Yeah I dont have the specialty tools to tear down a F23, so I took it to a reputable trans shop I deal with a lot, they warranty their work and he was told to take it back and they would fix leak or he could bring it to me and I would.

When we took it for alignment he was shown by me and the alignment guy all ball joints were new, he was also only charged $150 for alignment on all 4 wheels which is pretty cheap to me since I deal with the shop on a weekly basis helping with their swaps. Later in discussion he says all ball joints had loose nuts further evidence they had been changed. this is also why I told mike it had to be towed not driven. It was driven onto the tow truck and off the tow truck.

The new pcm he got was supposed to be set for f23 which is what I had not done yet, yes I asked for help online about how to set it for f23 but he decided to just buy one

I've been to his house 3 or 4 times since to datalog idle and check things at no charge because I'm just as annoyed with wierd idle. But he just refused to do what I asked to check it and I'm not driving a car around with no plates that's not in either of our names

Oh and looked back actually you only paid 1k up front that half like we discussed and 1k on pick up, so no I was not paid for all the extra stuff you added. Its not my fault you fell on bad times and ran out of funds. Like I told you many many times don't add new things because what you were willing to pay would not cover the labor cost to do them. Yes we did agree that surge and trans would get resolved in phase 2 when rewiring your whole car and doing fbody interior, when your finances got straightened out. That is why you happily picked up your car and drove home.

Everyone knows if you take your car to someone to get worked on and say hey this is all I'm willing pay that not everything is going to get finished. For 2k he got brakes, full suspension replaced, all ball joints replaced, fuel system done, front mount battery done, sunroof weather stripping replaced, running driving swap(with weird random surge after pcm he chose was installed). He then fell on financial hard times which I understand and was not able finish paying for me to finish car, and picked it up and drove home. No body is going to say oh ok you can't pay for me to do the work that's cool ill do it anyway.

those were some of them along with screen shots of txts between us.
he eventually go to the point of arguing and insulting my wife so admins closed it down

link to all the relevant txt messages

[This message has been edited by VampPerformance (edited 10-23-2018).]

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mptighe
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Report this Post10-23-2018 10:59 PM Click Here to See the Profile for mptigheSend a Private Message to mptigheEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
It all played out already. The one correction I should note is timing of payments.

$1k up front
$500 extra in the middle-ish when I paid for “Oreillys” parts
$1k at pick up

Total for labor $2,500 - no receipts given for cash received.

$300 for “fuel system parts”
$300 for “trans shop work”
$300 for “Oreillys” costs
Plus “Battery Cables”, “IAC”, “F23” sourcing and pickup (Cavalier), etc, etc, etc

Total ancillary stuff paid through Jay $1,500 ish. He never provided any documentation for any of these things, no receipt nothing. I have no idea if he even bought these things.

Given to Jay in trade
Immaculate rust free space frame - $?
Brand new hubs and control arms that went with frame - $?
86 Fiero rolling shell (Italo’s old car minus drivetrain) - $?
Complete L67 I purchased - $500 is what I paid for it
Parts I bought from Pat specifically for Jay - $100

Parts bought by me
L67 master gasket set
Moog and Dickman full ball joints front and rear
New in box struts and eibach springs
Complete wiring harnesses from Pat (Jay tried to keep these)
F Body interior for conversion (Jay tried to keep these parts)
IAC, and MAF (never installed new in box because Jay couldn’t figure out surging)
Tuned PCM from Chris because jay couldn’t figure out surging in his pcm and tune
N* TB and LQ4 MAF
Tune up parts (never installed new in box)
2008 F23 Transmission
F23 shift kit from Euro Pacific
New custom shift cables for F23
Fiero Rog full mount bracket set / low alt bracket
Rodney Dickman poly mounts
Poly bushing set (never installed did not get back)
F Body brake parts (never installed)
Fiero Store sunroof parts (partially installed) and dew wipes (never installed)
Deatschwerks D300 fuel pump (installed) and Hotwire kit (not installed)
ZZP Fuel rails
ZZP power logs


Somehow this is all on me. Jay got about $4k in labor and incidentals. Now that I’m listing everything out, my investment was well over $7k total. Yet he’s claiming I was constantly trying to not pay when I paid every time and even gave him $500 more than we agreed to for the first phase, even though the swap is not actually drivable. This wasn’t a from scratch swap this engine brought me from Toronto to Houston in the other car. No custom fab work should have been needed just swap it over and change some stuff out while it was out of the car.

[This message has been edited by mptighe (edited 10-25-2018).]

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GADJet
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Report this Post10-24-2018 09:58 AM Click Here to See the Profile for GADJetSend a Private Message to GADJetEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Wow! This has more drama than a lifetime movie!
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mptighe
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Report this Post10-24-2018 10:06 AM Click Here to See the Profile for mptigheSend a Private Message to mptigheEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by GADJet:

Wow! This has more drama than a lifetime movie!


Yep. Hate even doing this.
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Report this Post10-24-2018 12:14 PM Click Here to See the Profile for boostedbirdSend a Private Message to boostedbirdEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
I cannot believe this much money and work was exchanged and neither one of you have anything other than hearsay.

I wish you both luck and hope it resolves to the benefit of both parties.
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mptighe
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Report this Post10-24-2018 12:26 PM Click Here to See the Profile for mptigheSend a Private Message to mptigheEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by boostedbird:

I cannot believe this much money and work was exchanged and neither one of you have anything other than hearsay.

I wish you both luck and hope it resolves to the benefit of both parties.


There's more than merely hearsay. There are texts, emails, FB messages where amounts are referenced. I haven't bothered to post them all but Jay actually posted some of them that referenced part of it in the FB drama. Anyone that wants to see them, I have about 9 months worth of communications. I posted here because many Fiero people still haven't moved over to FB. Unfortunately there's no resolution to be found on this. I have to pay other people to resolve the various issues. I'm just making sure I'm the only one that this happens to, especially since attempts were made to use my car to market to others on FB as if it had been successful.
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mptighe
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Report this Post11-17-2018 05:16 PM Click Here to See the Profile for mptigheSend a Private Message to mptigheEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Packing some stuff to put into storage and realized Jay kept all of my Fiero Store and Rodney Dickman parts that weren’t put on the car new inner and outer dew wipes, new trunk gasket, new steering kit from Rodney, etc. Probably about $400-$500 worth of stuff total. I had a former service manager from Pontiac come by and take a look and Jay’s harness is full on garbage. There’s another $500+ I’ll be spending for sure. No one spend any money with this guy. He has no ethics.

[This message has been edited by mptighe (edited 11-17-2018).]

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