LowBugget.com - A.J. Simms - [email protected]

3fidi6 · Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 7:33 pm Post subject: lowbugget....

I ordered a turbo kit from lowbugget for my 356 replica on Aug, 23, 2010. I was told by AJ they were really busy but he could have it done in 5-6 weeks. My car wasn't in CA for him to fit it to but he told me it's no problem, Vintage Speedsters is only 10 minutes away if he had any questions (they made the car). Time passed,.....no turbo. Winter came and went then finally I found my boxes on my porch this past March 17, 2011. March 18 they went back to AJ. Very sloppy welding, wrong header for my engine, missing parts of the exhaust, impossible fitment and I could not install it on my car. Another 7 weeks passed before I got the parts back and I'm still missing the carb intake manifold! Sent the entire set up back a second time because the exhaust off the turbo actually hits the waste gate and won't bolt together, and if that were the only problem it'd be easy for him to deal with. The other end of the pipe I cannot bolt to the turbo hits the header too, preventing it from coupling to the other muffler parts. No end in sight. No turbo in my car......AJ won't call back. $3800 missing from my account not counting the $450+ I paid for the time my unusable car was insured, another $300+ in shipping costs. Terrible service, low quality work, lies, etc. These are just the facts with my true opinions omitted. Caveat Emptor.

AlteWagen · Troll Joined: February 23, 2007 Posts: 8501 Location: PNW

yamaducci · Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 8:55 am Post subject:

Hotrodvw · Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:06 am Post subject:

Good job man!
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Chuey

Last Monday I went, in person, with my car, to see of AJ Sims would come out and hear the engine noise I was asking about. He had refused to come to the phone and had his employee tell me that nothing they did was guaranteed because they didn't split the case.

He listened to the engine and told me that he didn't know what it was. I asked him if it could be standard size rod bearings on a crank that was ground undersize? (They replaced the rod bearings, pistons and cylinders, transmission, starter, clutch and installed the drivetrain in the car.) AJ insisted that if that was the case it would not run. He insisted on that in a big way.

He told me that none of the work they did was guaranteed. He also interrupted every sentence I tried to say until I told him that I had let him finish everything he'd said and asked for the same courtesy. I can say that he was entirely focused on one thing and that is that nothing was guaranteed. I asked him what if it was something he did that caused the rattle and the low oil pressure? He insisted that it couldn't have been anything his shop had done.

Eventually, I insisted on being able to say something without being interrupted and he let me say what I wanted. I said that the way I felt we could handle this is that I would let him tear down the engine and if the symptoms were caused by the work they did, they should cover the repair and if it was something that was a result of them not splitting the case, I would naturally pay for the repair. He said they were over 6 weeks backed up with work and seemed to be very reluctant to agree to my suggestion. I left very frustrated.

On my one hour drive home, I decided that if the rattle couldn't be from too loose rod bearings (AJ had insisted it wouldn't run if it had the wrong rod bearings) then it may be the gland nut. I figured that the bearing may have been bad in the gland nut and it was the main shaft rattling. I took it to B&R Buggys in the town where I work, Oceanside and asked them to R&R the engine to replace the gland nut.

I got a call from B&R and they said they had the engine up on the stand to run it out of the car and it still had the noise. I authorized them to go into the engine to see if they could find the cause of the rattle. I told the engine man what operations had been done at Low Bugget and that I would appreciate him keeping track of what he did so that if the problem was a result of any of the work done, and not further inside the case, that we could be sure of who was responsible for the noise. He called me later and said he looked into the engine and found the problem.

He told me that the bearings were standard and the rod journals were ten under. That is exactly what I suspected was the problem and more pertinently, what I had asked AJ about. AJ had insisted that it wouldn't even run. Andy, who had torn down the engine told me that there were other problems that pointed to the other questions I had about the car. The reason the starter sounded bad is because there was no bushing in the transmission housing and the starter and flywheel had started to show damage from that. Further, the hole where the bushing was supposed to be was getting wallered out by the starter shaft.

There is something else that disappoints me about what happened as a result of choosing Low Bugget for my repair work. I don't know how much you may have read about my experience (more detail of it is on the Performance forum) so I'll say that Low Bugget said that my transaxle was suspect and that it should be replaced. They sold me a "rebuilt" transmission. When I had been under the car to remove my exhaust system I noticed that the front end of the transaxle was smeared with sealant (it looked hokey and as if it was covering up something). I asked the young man at Low Bugget who did the work about that and he said "Oh, that's something I do to all the transaxles I install". "I seal them up with sealer so they don't leak." I asked "On the outside"? He said "Yes".

Turns out that the nose cone of the "rebuilt" transaxle sold to me was cracked.

To recap what was done wrong at AJ Simpson's shop:
1. wrong size rod bearings used
2. starter installed without proper (or any) bushing
3. nose cone on "rebuilt" transaxle was cracked
4. in place of the proper metal fuel line, rubber fuel line was used where it goes through fire wall tin.

What did the shop do that was not problematic? The pistons and cylinders were OK evidently.

What was the damage or potential damage done by the wrongly done work? This correlates to the above list.

1. engine would have failed in a very short time
2. flywheel, starter, transmission housing all would have failed in a short time. Starter never worked well since Low Bugget worked on it.
3. cracked housing parts are not indicative of a properly rebuilt transaxle. Would have resulted in a leak and possible failure
4. responsible mechanics use the same metal fuel line with a grommet as the factory did so car does not catch on fire.

What has the owner of Low Bugget, AJ Sims done when asked to help diagnose the problems that came up after work was done at his shop?

1. He refused to come to the phone to discuss this with me. A question that would come up in my mind when this is said is "was I polite on the phone"? Yes, I have always been polite and never raised my voice. In fact, AJs employee who seems like a very nice young man, offered to come down to where I live to help me with the problem on a day off. It may seem that I would be upset with the employee who did the work, as so much of it came out wrong but for that, I blame AJ, as he should make sure the work is done correctly and provide guidance to his employees. (The obvious question is, can he provide guidance when he does not understand engines well enough to know they will run with too loose rod bearings?) But my feelings of respect for the employee are eroded by his lying to me about the nose cone and in general, covering up for AJ.

2. AJ insisted that his shop could not have made a mistake. It is by that mindset and his insistence that none of the work was guaranteed that he refused to right any mistakes they may have made. For that reason, I had to seek out corrective work at another shop.

3. After the diagnosis was made, I called to let the shop know what had transpired. That was before B&R told me about the transmission having a crack. I was told AJ was with a customer so I'd have to leave a message with the lady who answered the phone. I told her what had had been learned in the teardown. I called back after another discussion with B&R and talked to AJ. He insisted (still!) that the engine wouldn't run with too loose rod bearings. Funny thing is when I asked here on The Samba, the first response made was that it could be wrong size rod bearings. AJ Sims...engine builder? I don't get it.

I will submit the bill to Low Bugget. I suspect I'll end up in small claims court.

What made me choose Low Bugget to do my work? It was the ad here on The Samba. Perhaps AJ is better at advertising than he is at working on VWs.

Chuey

yamaducci

Jennepher · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:00 am Post subject:

Everett has somewhat limited internet access since he's at the VW Classic weekend. I'll discuss this thread with him as soon as I get a chance.
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Hotrodvw · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 12:47 pm Post subject:

Thanks Jen and Everett! It doesn't reflect well on the Samba with vendors like AJ. Sorry, but it's true. Hopefully he'll make things right with his customers.
_________________
'67 Sunroof
Eric

78x94 with IDA's....oober fun

Horsepower is an addiction........Addictions cost
lots of money!

Hose & Fittings

Glenn · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 1:27 pm Post subject:

The gears might grind slowly but they do grind to a resolution.
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yamaducci · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 1:43 pm Post subject:

The Samba Gods have spoken!
Thank you. I really hope this helps reduce many issue our community is having. One less vendor to suck us dry.
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-John Cox
My 2498 Turbo Re-Build Thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5578697#5578697

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Glenn · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 2:19 pm Post subject:

yamaducci · Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 4:22 pm Post subject:

Glenn · Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:18 pm Post subject:

EverettB · Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:20 am Post subject:

yamaducci:
In reading this thread, it sounds like your problem is "resolved"?

If the seller owes you a refund for money on work he didn't perform because you had to repo your parts in person, please post again and specify the details and the amount(s).

In reading the past couple pages, I see:
1. Your complaint
2. Chuey - who it appears may have to go to small claims court.
3. 3fidi6 - Not clear of the exact amount but clear he is owed money and/or parts.
4. didi wildhaber - owed money and/or parts

Just wanted to post up what I can see are the current issues that need to be resolved so I can direct him to this post/thread if he contacts me about the ban.

For reference, when I post that I emailed someone to ask them to resolve an outstanding issue (usually just one problem), I am not always on top of making sure they respond to me. I rely on the people with complaints to contact me again to say "you emailed him but he still hasn't contacted me or done anything". I fully admit this is not the best method but in most cases it works very well. Most people are concerned about their reputation and take an email from me seriously. Smile

There has been a warning about buying from this seller in the first post of the thread since 2010 when a lot of the "not responding" posts started. Obviously some of your complaints pre-date that addition.
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Chuey · Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:25 pm Post subject: Update: AJ has lost it.

I picked up my car after having it repaired by B&R Buggies. It works super nicely. I'm very happy with it at this point. There's a lot of detail in my previous posts so I'll not go into anything that has happened in the past. This is an update.

Monday is my day off so today I had a chance to go to Orange to try to get Low Bugget to reimburse me for the repairs to the work they did. I stopped by B&R to pick up the related parts that had been replaced. They told me some more details about the engine (they checked the compression ratio, something AJ told me wasn't important when changing to a larger bore on a 40hp engine) They showed me the cracked nose cone from the "rebuilt" transaxle. Also, they said that they had taken a picture of it before they started working on it. (It was covered in sealant and painted over with flat black paint).

My goal for today was to go to Low Bugget and present AJ with the bill for the work that was needed to correct what his shop did and go home with a check for that work. I took the old parts for two reasons. If AJ wanted to see them to verify that the problems were what I said they were, he could do that. Also, if he wrote me a check I'd have left the parts with him as some are reusable.

When I got to Low Bugget, AJ was in the front part of his shop. He asked how he could help me and I gave him the bill and asked him to pay it. Without looking at it he put it aside. I picked it up. It is the only copy I have. He then said that he'd have liked the opportunity to fix my car. I told him that he had been insistent that nothing he did was guaranteed so to me that means he isn't willing to fix his mistakes. (Considering that the nose cone was deceptively covered up with sealer, slathered on it to the point that it looked like it had been wrapped with a cloth, some of what happened could not be construed as mistakes but indeed, were intentional.

I told AJ that I intended to take this case to the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) for resolution. I then mentioned the nose cone and AJ implied that it was broken by the other shop. I told him that they had pictures of the nose cone to show what it looked like before they worked on it. At that point, AJ started to cuss at me and raised his voice and told me that he ought to throw me out of his shop. At that point, I kept trying to reason with him and he yelled at me to leave his shop and that he ought to throw me out. Yes, he repeated that. So I headed for the door. As I walked toward the door, he evidently came after me because when I got outside, I turned around to restate that I was planning to take this to the BAR. As I turned around, he lunged at me, hitting me in the chest and sent me sprawling. My clip board, which was under my arm, and my key, which was in my hand, went flying. As I hit the pavement, my arm got a cut and my pants got a hole.

I called the police and they discouraged me from having him arrested since there were no witnesses.

Through all this, I have been polite and have not raised my voice or used rude language. That is not because I'm so refined, but so that I didn't give AJ a reason to not cooperate and further, so as not to do anything that could spoil my chances of being reimbursed.

This has been the worst experience I have ever had with any business.

Pushing me after I had complied by leaving his shop is the action of a desperate man. I feel sorry for AJ but I still want him to pay me back for the work his shop did wrong.

Chuey

mightymouse · Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:52 pm Post subject:

wow. Huge props for keeping your composure. huge.
AJ would be in the hospital now if i were in your shoes.
I hope you get all your money back and then some. This disgusts me that shops like this are allowed to stay open and take peoples money.
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yamaducci · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 5:26 am Post subject:

My update is that I paid for shipping of my heads from Maryland to California, waited about 4 months now with no work being done, getting the run around on the phone by the "Secretary" who never knows anything much less Work Flow, and then being asked to pay for return shipping after he now refused to do work on my heads.
I flew out to California to retrieve my parts in person and also chose to keep my composure over the situation. Now they have been shipped to Steve Tims and Greg Tims in Riversides (another shipping charge), now have to wait again for work to be done then shipping back (another shipping charge). So, part of Winter, Spring and Summer without my car. Has been a total loss of use as well.
All this to gain a few cc's in my chambers. 5 Months and hundreds of Dollars later I will get what I need since I found a real reputable shop.
Since I took the issues into my own hands I guess you could call it resolved. AJ Sims Certainly did not resolve anything. I should have tought him more of a lesson while I was there but chose to be the Better Man.
_________________
-John Cox
My 2498 Turbo Re-Build Thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5578697#5578697

3rd Brake Light Safety Stars- I still have a couple with blue light left. Email me if interested.

yamaducci · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 6:19 am Post subject:

Everett,
When will his Ads be Removed?
Thank you
_________________
-John Cox
My 2498 Turbo Re-Build Thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5578697#5578697

3rd Brake Light Safety Stars- I still have a couple with blue light left. Email me if interested.

Glenn · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 6:57 am Post subject:


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