[iceman91]

Well renamo this thread is to tell the truth,now like I said my experience with psycho has been bad but others are there who have good experiences. So I cannot discourage someone to go there. Once evryone comes here in the open they would become a bit more aware of what to watch out for while approaching a tuner for work.
eg. Tuner A is known for delay in work. so u are aware
Tuner B is known for bad parts
Tuner C is known for exorbitant labour but good workmanship
So on and so Forth.

So to boycott a tuner is the individual(s) preference not my place to stop someone.

Cheers

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by iceman91

It should be a non biased view and report of the tuning scene in India

Amit, it will be a non biased view only if both sides of the story are heard. Most of the times only one side seems to come up on the forum. And wherever both sides have come up then it has turned in a mud slinging, no holds barred free for all.

Originally Posted by renamo

Lancer which blew up on the track in Coimbi

I was there at the track when the lancer supposedly blew up. The engine did not blow. A spark plug failed. The problem in it happened because the owner had put in the wrong rating plugs without the tuner's advice.

The biggest issue I see is that a lot of people tend to take sides without even knowing the true & complete story. This is one area where we need to bring some changes. Also another area that needs attention is that how easily people say that an engine has blown up even when there might be a small problem with it.

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by iceman91

Well renamo this thread is to tell the truth,now like I said my experience with psycho has been bad but others are there who have good experiences. So I cannot discourage someone to go there. Once evryone comes here in the open they would become a bit more aware of what to watch out for while approaching a tuner for work.
eg. Tuner A is known for delay in work. so u are aware
Tuner B is known for bad parts
Tuner C is known for exorbitant labour but good workmanship
So on and so Forth.

So to boycott a tuner is the individual(s) preference not my place to stop someone.

Cheers

You have put it very nicely.

A person would be able to make the right decision by looking at various experiences. It is very easy for a newbie to get carried away unless he knows the dark side of modding.

A person can be wrong, but the chance of too many people going wrong is less. This thread will help people who want to get more out of their beloved stock cars.

[quickdraw]

Its funny that this thread came up, I was actually trying to dig up a lot of info regarding tuners/mechs. Could not find much actually. But now I feel that there is a lot of usefull info that we will be able to share.

I own a highly modified car as you must all know, and it deserves special care and attention also not ignoring the fact that I cannot use this car as a daily driver. I was actually trying to get some reviews and information via PM's through some of you guys, because thats where the real JUICY stories are told and information exchanged. I am very very wary of mechanics in any form because I've had my fair share of being cheated and conned when I was in the world of bikes, have learnt a fair share there aswell. So am not planning on spending money without thinking anything. My money and car will only go to someone who has repute and calibre but unfortunately I have no idea regarding the same in my city and its not easy to do up & down to mumbai if I want to get anything done in the car.

In all honesty I believe if a consumer pays for something he should get it. If he pays for a repair job he should expect that quality, but if they are paying a premium they should expect OE levels of quality. If a tuner is stalling the owner in terms of calling back, not picking up phone calls and long delays then consider the tuner as FAIL in my book. I want hard hat experences here especially the mumbai/pune guys it would help me greatly. Thank you so much for opening the thread.

[iceman91]

Well Vikram, the idea is to hear both sides of the story hence the thread. Till now no mudslinging has taken place so we have to give the thread credit.

Again said Vikram no point in defending or clarifying, if the tuner has something to say then let HIM clarify. This is how mudslinging starts.
Yes we know sometimes owners odnt listen to tuners but what about when tuners dont listen to the driver/owner????

This is for the truth to come out. I am very glad that till now it has been a very mature discussion and hope it continues this way.


Quickdraw why dont you share your experiences too??? after all this is what the thread is all about

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by iceman91

Well Vikram, the idea is to hear both sides of the story hence the thread. Till now no mudslinging has taken place so we have to give the thread credit.

Again said Vikram no point in defending or clarifying, if the tuner has something to say then let HIM clarify. This is how mudslinging starts.
Yes we know sometimes owners odnt listen to tuners but what about when tuners dont listen to the driver/owner????

This is for the truth to come out. I am very glad that till now it has been a very mature discussion and hope it continues this way.


Quickdraw why dont you share your experiences too??? after all this is what the thread is all about

That is the essence of this thread - as I think also the intention



Cheers

[pramodkumar]

I have been following Accord Master's thread on his dream project, Ricky-63's Thread on his lancer and now iceman91’s thread, I remember that in more 75% of the first 2 threads the guys are doing nothing but praising their modifiers. I now see a paradigm shift in their views about them, is it just because the customers were not taken into confidence? No I don’t think so. I am sure that they are not showing half of their anger and frustration. I was so shocked to know that in 2 months the paint started peeling off in ricky's car, porting polishing not done but charged for, Engine comes damaged spurious suspension parts installed putting a man’s life and property on risk. AM's case the project car is in the workshop for ages now and all I can see is he is been taken for a ride. A baleno is a maruti and getting a suspension arm messed up requires some serious stupidity even the guys sitting under the tree can get it right. My heartfelt sympathies to all of them, and to those who have taken their experiences with a pinch of salt and decided to keep quite with. I remember all of them have given a very huge profits to the tuner by getting their car done in the most tasteful fashion and also quite sure that there must be a lot of referrals from them but how can such a neglect happen, I think down the line customers were taken for granted as the business grew. Total lack of accountability I would say.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

I have been following Accord Master's thread on his dream project, Ricky-63's Thread on his lancer and now iceman91’s thread, I remember that in more 75% of the first 2 threads the guys are doing nothing but praising their modifiers.

What is also common to all these is that these are 'dream projects' for the owners where usually budget is NOT a constraint (on the work - even if it is a constraining influence on the owner), the guys are more than willing to pay premium rates to get a good job done, etc.

Perhaps such customers are seen as sources of funds that are willing to keep working on their vehicles. My personal experience (with restoration - not with tuning!) has been pretty much the same.

What is amazing however is that regardless of whether the job involves tuning or restoration, the same set of people somehow end up on the winning side regardless of what the customer gets.

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

What is also common to all these is that these are 'dream projects' for the owners where usually budget is NOT a constraint (on the work - even if it is a constraining influence on the owner), the guys are more than willing to pay premium rates to get a good job done, etc.

Perhaps such customers are seen as sources of funds that are willing to keep working on their vehicles. My personal experience (with restoration - not with tuning!) has been pretty much the same.

What is amazing however is that regardless of whether the job involves tuning or restoration, the same set of people somehow end up on the winning side regardless of what the customer gets.

I agree with what you said.

In which case, should the "tuner / restorer" not take even more care not to spoil the job & hence loose a customer who is a willing spender ??

Maybe people begin to take people for granted & hence the casual attitude creeps in !




Cheers

[Ricky_63]

Thought I will do the needful

lol !mr ever inquisitive rickyji... think the worst. was with abix yesterday and drove the car for the 1st time after its been done. and i dont know what to say .. its worse than it was earlier ! yes the suspension feels tight now but apart from that the auto shifts worse than before, the engine hunts randomly, and the most shocking part is that in the pics the paint did look awesme but in reality there is orange peel on certain panels and the misterious 'faulty' putty has resurfaced on this cars bonnet like your lancer. the interior has not been put back together, light which arent suppsd to be there are coming on, light which were working before now arent. all this in the dash.

overall the car still needs to go a long way to get sorted out.. the looks department is almost there but mechanically its in close to shambles... and to top it all it broke down temprly again in the afternoon before MR DIY abix sorted it . its sad .. i would have been totally disheartnd if i were you .

Phil
__________________

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Could not agree with you more - this should definately be on the TUNER EXPERIENCE THREAD.

We must also remember that the customer had given his car for a re-build "bumper to bumper" as has been said in the thread.

It is very unfortunate that Abix's car is also facing various problems..even the paint problem I had had is still prevelent..I would certainly not call that "good business sense"

Arush if you are reading this, look at the larger picture. Profits are not everything, customer satisfaction is far greater. (that is just my 2 cents- take it or leave it)





:

[crazydiablo]

The first one to come out with the dark side of modding was Rahul. Just adding it to this thread to keep everything in one place.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...dark-side.html

[quickdraw]

My experence so far has been limited to Superbikes and their dark grey world. As in terms of Cars I have only dealt so far with 4 Seasons Automative and the experence so far has been good thanks to the ex owner of the car being a very close friend of the owner of 4 Seasons.

But Lalit himself also pointed out to me, he is not too much of a tuner when I mentioned to him that eventually will want to go turbo on the Mondeo. Rest all was ok just took a long time for any work. But his quality of work was good (some minor issues) and the price was also quite reasonable.

[JayD]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

What is also common to all these is that these are 'dream projects' for the owners where usually budget is NOT a constraint (on the work - even if it is a constraining influence on the owner), the guys are more than willing to pay premium rates to get a good job done, etc.

Perhaps such customers are seen as sources of funds that are willing to keep working on their vehicles. My personal experience (with restoration - not with tuning!) has been pretty much the same.

What is amazing however is that regardless of whether the job involves tuning or restoration, the same set of people somehow end up on the winning side regardless of what the customer gets.

i think we have a couple of examples from this part of the country too, waiting for the owners to put it up.

[renamo]

Originally Posted by iceman91

Again said Vikram no point in defending or clarifying, if the tuner has something to say then let HIM clarify. This is how mudslinging starts.
Yes we know sometimes owners odnt listen to tuners but what about when tuners dont listen to the driver/owner????

Again, Iceman, I like the way you point out things, and calling a spade a spade as in case of the response by Vikram. The lancer which blew up up coimbi, does it belong to Vikram? if NOT, pls let the real owner speak up if he cares to. Putting the blame on the owner of the car, without him being here to explain his side is real cheap way to take sides. Now, Mclaren story was posted. was an enlightening read.

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by renamo

Again, Iceman, I like the way you point out things, and calling a spade a spade as in case of the response by Vikram. The lancer which blew up up coimbi, does it belong to Vikram? if NOT, pls let the real owner speak up if he cares to. Putting the blame on the owner of the car, without him being here to explain his side is real cheap way to take sides.

For the record I am not taking any sides nor am I blaming or defending anybody. I just stated what I saw in Coimbatore. If you think that my doing so is cheap then you are welcome to your point of view. The owner of that car is a friend and presently not in india and hence he has not replied to this.

My intention in saying what I said was to make people aware of what had actually happened. A lot of people on this forum jump the gun without even knowing the complete facts.