TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Feb 21, 2021 8:50 am

khughes wrote:
I've never heard anything bad about Greg or his work, or anything good from actual owners either. The dearth of real-life information just seems uniquely strange. I mean, people usually *pay* for advertising, and here it's free, and targeted to the right audience, so...?

Well, given the dearth of real information here, you're gonna be left with people's opinions. To that end, Greg's been engaged in some fairly unprofessional exchanges in the LT world, has been banned from at least a couple groups, and has chosen not to provide after sale support to a friend. That's enough that personally I would not buy a product from him, despite him offering a fairly compelling swap kit for the LT. This whole thread likely belongs in the "seller feedback", no?

Sun Feb 21, 2021 9:18 am

owokie wrote: khughes wrote:
I've never heard anything bad about Greg or his work, or anything good from actual owners either. The dearth of real-life information just seems uniquely strange. I mean, people usually *pay* for advertising, and here it's free, and targeted to the right audience, so...?

Well, given the dearth of real information here, you're gonna be left with people's opinions. To that end, Greg's been engaged in some fairly unprofessional exchanges in the LT world, has been banned from at least a couple groups, and has chosen not to provide after sale support to a friend. That's enough that personally I would not buy a product from him, despite him offering a fairly compelling swap kit for the LT. This whole thread likely belongs in the "seller feedback", no?

Sounds like one person greg had problems with out of how many people? Who knows if that one person was the pain in the ass customer that will never be satifyed anyways. There are alot more positive experiances with greg then one negitave that we dont have all the information about. Lets not assume at the cost of a persons business reputation.

greg is the only one i know of that is currently thinking forward on engine trans options for this community.

Sun Feb 21, 2021 10:23 am

djkeev wrote: Pardon my ignorance, but is this common rail 2.0 engine the one at the center of VW's emission scandal?

I imagine the engine in the kit meets current emission specs..... legally?

Dave

Meets them for the van or for the vehicle it was originally fitted to?

I don't believe it comes with a dpf, and it certainly doesn't contain an scr system... I guess you can draw your own conclusions. I'm sure it emits less than a vanagon era diesel in any case.

I'd be also concerned about the CP4 hpfp pump on those but that's perhaps for a another thread.

Sun Feb 21, 2021 10:52 am

0cean wrote:
Sounds like one person greg had problems with out of how many people? Who knows if that one person was the pain in the ass customer that will never be satifyed anyways. There are alot more positive experiances with greg then one negitave that we dont have all the information about. Lets not assume at the cost of a persons business reputation.

greg is the only one i know of that is currently thinking forward on engine trans options for this community.

I am most definitely a pain in the ass customer. The issue is not the product, it's Greg's attitude toward anyone who does anything but heap praises upon him or who, God forbid, criticizes him.
Like Dave said, it's all about how you handle any issues. I've seen firsthand on several occasions the way Greg does, and he's not someone with whom I'd choose to do business. You don't end up banned from groups because one person irrationally dislikes you.

Sun Feb 21, 2021 11:55 am

owokie wrote: 0cean wrote:
Sounds like one person greg had problems with out of how many people? Who knows if that one person was the pain in the ass customer that will never be satifyed anyways. There are alot more positive experiances with greg then one negitave that we dont have all the information about. Lets not assume at the cost of a persons business reputation.

greg is the only one i know of that is currently thinking forward on engine trans options for this community.

I am most definitely a pain in the ass customer. The issue is not the product, it's Greg's attitude toward anyone who does anything but heap praises upon him or who, God forbid, criticizes him.
Like Dave said, it's all about how you handle any issues. I've seen firsthand on several occasions the way Greg does, and he's not someone with whom I'd choose to do business. You don't end up banned from groups because one person irrationally dislikes you.

Agreed about how you handle the issues is critical, yet that sounds like a subject to talk to greg about. Hasent been my experiance with him.

Groups and forums are easly clicky and act like a cancel culture. (Samba included) I dont take to much stock in a group that has one memeber have a problem, so they "cancel him". Repeated issues and yes its understandable.

Sun Feb 21, 2021 12:57 pm

We, my wife and me have tried to purchase three items from Greg, one from the classifieds here and two others elsewhere. No replies and parts still listed for sale. We even had a friend contact and try and purchase the same parts, no replies. We buy from many vendors and van owners, we pay and have had excellent communication from all but Greg. After reading this post, maybe he is selectively choosing who he sells too. These are used parts so we will pass now and move on because if they weren't as advertised, we would most certainly let people know about the seller. Fair is fair.
We have not met Greg but have read the lengthy post about the build of his Syncro Westfalia and the Subaru diesel. He didn't respect other people's work or products and was called out on it, from what I read anyway. I personally know two Subaru diesel kit owners that had so many issues they had to reconvert back to a gasoline engine.

Mon Feb 22, 2021 6:49 pm

Northwesty is installing a Boxeer in my syncro right now. Greg has been nothing but great to work with. Answers calls and texts very quickly. I will say he is not very responsive on thesamba.

Kirk at NorthWesty brought me on a test drive in a van with one of Greg’s kits installed. It was incredible. Each person I’ve talked to that has the kit, loves it. This thread is a shame. Bunch of posters with no experiences with the company spouting out negative speculation.

Mon Feb 22, 2021 7:29 pm

Greg was super responsive when I emailed him questions concerning my project. He called me late on a Friday a whole 45 minutes after I emailed questions.

Mon Feb 22, 2021 7:35 pm

I am glad to hear good feedback.

Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:16 pm

I changed my response because it was inappropriate.

Here some facts I learned dealing with Boxeer (Greg)

1) The 2.0 TDI CR is the best engine I ever installed in my Doka and I have an 1.8T in my Westfalia I am thinking of retiring this engine for the TDI.
2) If you want the perfect experience drive down to Nashville and let Greg install the engine. You will not regret it.
3) If you have someone local who never did an install then be prepared for some issues along the road who eventually will be solved.
4) If you want to save money and do the install yourself then be prepared to have some issues you have to resolve. Greg will not babysitting you (Sorry Greg, it is the truth)

Myself I found two guys doing the same install and we are in contact and help each other with the install. When issues with the parts of the kit, Boxeer will respond quickly and exchange or send parts who are defective or not working as expected.

I am not affiliated with Boxeer in any way BTW.

Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:21 pm

dobryan wrote: I am glad to hear good feedback.

me too 8)

ausbran wrote: Bunch of posters with no experiences with the company spouting out negative speculation.

:? some of it seems pretty legit and people have posted their experience with trying to deal with the company. the way i see it.... if you are selling something that is real money you should be proactive in threads like this to confirm or deny stuff. personally i like to hear both sides of a story and make my own decision.

Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:47 pm

It is good to see positive feedback. The mother-thread below seems to have a 10 pages of good info...

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

elnatron wrote: I have a Boxeer CR 2.0! I’m driving it to Mexico from Maine as we speak. She chugs right along, pulls up hills at 70mph and consistently gets 26-27mpg. I got 29mpg in the summer.

I am working closely with Greg to give him every bit of feedback possible. He takes his engines very seriously and is constantly looking to improve his product in any way possible. I personally believe this is the best TDI option out there!

Feel free to ask me what you want to know

Quote: 2000mile report ->
I am still baffled by how much different it is...i do not think I was prepared for it. It has been worth every penny. My gas milage is around 23. This is lower then though but I am hoping that the engine just needs to break in. I recently re-did the grounds and power cables...moved the battery and put in 4 gauge wire. I have had no issues since. I recently updated the race capture software and we are rolling with that.

ianNJ wrote: 1) Do these engines include all cooling parts necessary? Is the radiator the only portion of the cooling system that will carry over? Asking because I would want to replace everything before spending this much coin on a new engine and want to protect my investment.

-Once you do the conversion you are good to go. There are no other cooling parts you need to upgrade to my knowledge. As of now I have done nothing besides pick it up and drive back.... I have about a hair shy of 5000 miles on it.

I do have a slow coolant leak that we found and are in the process of fixing but its no major thing and not stoping me from driving.

Battery and upgraded battery wires will most likely be needed. I put in all 4gauge stuff and a bigger battery and have had no issues since.

2) From the time you paid for the engine, how long did it take for them to install it? If you subtracted the transportation time, how long did you have to wait? Do they have an inventory of these engines or do they custom build each one (implying that it will take a long time)?

It was about 60 days. The major lag time was shipping the van, shipping the trans, shipping the trans back. If I didn't upgrade the trans I would have gotten it probably 3 weeks faster. I was impatient, and wish i was not...He did not get enough time to test it and probably would have found the coolant leak if i was not in a rush.

3) Will you need to upgrade to big brakes given all of the new power?

No. I am putting in a big break kit because i traded my old engine for credit with a semi-local Vanagon guy sooo why not.... That being said if you are causing 70 and slam on the breaks you better hope your not tailgating. But if you drive like a normal person driving a big box you will be fine.

4) With the oil pan being exposed, would it make sense to put a skid plate underneath it just to be safe?

the question really should be...do you plan on driving off road a bunch? that should be your measuring stick.

5) I see your tablet control system. Does that mean that your existing gauges are obsolete?

All normal gauges work as they should. I fond the coolant leak because my normal gauge light came on. When I am just driving around town i dont hook up the tablet. If Im driving more then 30min I hook it up...

6) Did you need a new gas tank/fuel lines now that you are diesel?

Greg converts this. A new tank is not needed, the old one needs to be cleaned out..I am not sure of the lines.

call me if you want to talk 609709zero244

ianNJ wrote: 5000 mile update:
Overall could not be more impressed. I have a small coolant leak that we are in the process of fixing. Greg has been helpful with this so far.

I was also doing my MPG wrong...i forgot to figure the speed on the GPS is different then the one on the speedometer and odometer. Once I figured out the calculations i have been consistently getting 27mpg!!!!

this engine runs sooo smooth. Its great!

etc., etc.

Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:31 pm

Quote: some of it seems pretty legit and people have posted their experience with trying to deal with the company. the way i see it.... if you are selling something that is real money you should be proactive in threads like this to confirm or deny stuff. personally i like to hear both sides of a story and make my own decision.

I disagree. I do not believe Greg’s product or company should be indirectly criticized and doubted because he’s not an active member on this forum. He does sometimes chime in and give answers on the official thread that Ian started. The guy gives out his personal cell phone number and takes calls and texts from all of his customers.

Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:49 pm

ausbran wrote:

I disagree.

and that's fine. when you are offering a product for such a narrow market it seems foolish to anyone in business not to chime in to 1) clear up any misunderstandings and 2) sell your product. seems short sighted to me not to make a 20k sale

ausbran wrote:
He does sometimes chime in and give answers on the official thread that Ian started..

so now you need a "official thread" to get answers? :?

ausbran wrote:
The guy gives out his personal cell phone number and takes calls and texts from all of his customers.

so do i with the expectation that 1) i'm not on call 24/7 and just because you're a customer doesn't mean i'm going to reply on the weekend or Christmas eve....so he's not a hero in that respect. many small/self employed do the same thing.

Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:28 pm

I wonder if he has more orders than he prefers to supply.
Consequently chooses to share his valuable time only with customers who he develops a rapport with
and who understand that he's only one guy and cannot pose as a "staffed company" or he'd get nothing done.
And then the complaints become more 'real'.

I've heard of craftsmen who do good business like that.
Not big business, but better business that makes them happy.
They know they do good work, don't need to discuss it with an internet bullhorn.
Or let social media destroy the mojo of their craft.
And still have quality time for friends and family.

A craftsman's decision to keep a lid on their craft is respectable.
And I respect their good work.
I kinda think Boxeer is one of the best we can hope for,
It would be interesting if he had a large staff and large output,
but maybe we just have to wait and see.
Or accept it if he wants to be a guy in the woods raising a young family.

This is just a guess, and a hopeful guess at that.

Tue Feb 23, 2021 12:24 am

Sodo wrote:
It would be interesting if he had a large staff and large output,
but maybe we just have to wait and see.
Or accept it if he wants to be a guy in the woods raising a young family.

This is just a guess, and a hopeful guess at that.

it would be suicide to build a business on such a narrow market...supplying swaps to power 1 platform doesn't make any sense.

i broke out of the dealership world to go off on my own. daily driver repairs is where it's at, especially for euro marques. i do the occasional swap now and then and i'm a 1 man show.

i try to be responsive to everyone, yes it's hard but it's something you have to do. getting pounded by inquiries for subaru conversions has made me change my policy...i will email etc but when they want phone time it gets charged. the way i see it if you won't pay an hours labor (which gets applied to your build if you move forward) for a full hour+ conversation then you weren't willing to drop 20k+ on a custom build.

this weeds out the bottom feeders, tire kickers and data collectors. here is is 2am+ east coast time and i'm just finishing my day. am i stupid for doing what i do or do i just want to work like no one else so i can live like no one else?

there is such a thing as 'growing pains' when you're a 1 man show. do i hire, or not? i have been to the point where i have been busy enough to hire but people management isn't my thing. it hard to keep it all balanced no doubt there

the way i see this thread is like this: "hey i'm over here wanting info and waving money for your service, do you want to take my money or not" if the guy can walk away from a 20k sale (probably 4-6k profit) then more power to him

Tue Feb 23, 2021 1:02 am

mreuter wrote:
4) If you want to save money and do the install yourself then be prepared to have some issues you have to resolve. Greg will not babysitting you (Sorry Greg, it is the truth)

Myself I found two guys doing the same install and we are in contact and help each other with the install. When issues with the parts of the kit, Boxeer will respond quickly and exchange or send parts who are defective or not working as expected.

For the price I'd be inclined to expect no issues or defective parts. But I guess everyone's bar may be different

I should say, I have his lounge hinges in our van, and they're wonderful :)

Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:45 am

valvecovergasket wrote: mreuter wrote:
4) If you want to save money and do the install yourself then be prepared to have some issues you have to resolve. Greg will not babysitting you (Sorry Greg, it is the truth)

Myself I found two guys doing the same install and we are in contact and help each other with the install. When issues with the parts of the kit, Boxeer will respond quickly and exchange or send parts who are defective or not working as expected.

For the price I'd be inclined to expect no issues or defective parts. But I guess everyone's bar may be different

I should say, I have his lounge hinges in our van, and they're wonderful :)

Waving money doesn’t change the supply chain. Expect to pay for each amd every hour someone works on your Bus, including the shinola that hits the bed. If you don’t want that, do it yourself.

Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:16 am

Abscate wrote: valvecovergasket wrote: mreuter wrote:
4) If you want to save money and do the install yourself then be prepared to have some issues you have to resolve. Greg will not babysitting you (Sorry Greg, it is the truth)

Myself I found two guys doing the same install and we are in contact and help each other with the install. When issues with the parts of the kit, Boxeer will respond quickly and exchange or send parts who are defective or not working as expected.

For the price I'd be inclined to expect no issues or defective parts. But I guess everyone's bar may be different

I should say, I have his lounge hinges in our van, and they're wonderful :)

Waving money doesn’t change the supply chain. Expect to pay for each amd every hour someone works on your Bus, including the shinola that hits the bed. If you don’t want that, do it yourself.

I think he means the basic kit cost of $14,000 plus optional add ons.... like making your Power Steering and Air Conditioning work.
I think he feels at that price point, there shouldn't be problematic work arounds or bad parts. The quality control should be top notch.

Dave

Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:33 am

Almost seams like this thread is more about trying to bash a companys reputation then an "honest review". Makes me wonder its whole point and what its goals are?

Unless you can give exact reasons for your problems and have exahusted all comunication with Greg, then you shouldent complain. If you bought a do it your self install, then well, expect problems. Greg may be hard to get ahold of, but he has other customers also. If it been weeks, yes i can see the frustration, but hand holding was not in the areement.

Try to reach him again to solve the issus.