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      06-23-2011, 11:38 PM   #1
moveswiftly
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Review: AUTOcouture Motoring

This is a review in regards to several transactions I have had with AUTOcouture Motoring.
http://autocouturemotoring.com/

A few Facts:
1. I no longer get any service done at AUTOcouture Motoring.
2. Most of the transactions had taken place prior to February 2011.
3. I was not going to provide a negative review but after seeing some shady practices going on at this forum by one of the employees of this firm, I have decided to post my review to let everyone know of how I was treated.

Around October 2010, I had this shop raise my KW coilover setup for the winter. The Adjustment was performed by one of the shop's students and not the Master Technician himself. After adjustment my rear suspension clicked every time I went over bumps, potholes and any type of discrepancy in the road.

I had explained my concerns to Tom, The Master Technician, that the clicking sound was not present prior to the adjustment. Tom responded by telling me that there is wear in the rear shocks which is causing the clicking. The only thing that didn't make sense to me was that one day prior to the adjustment there was no clicking, did my shocks miraculously wear in one day causing such clicking? I think not and assumed it to be an install error.

However, the clicking was a minor issue so I ignored it.

On December 10th, 2010, I had written Sal a check for a deposit on Fabspeed downpipes for my car. The shop was very busy during the month of January and my downpipes were finally installed on February 3rd 2011.

As soon as my downpipes were installed I had taken my car out for a drive with my friend Scott (Username Scott135i). I had mentioned to him immediately that my alignment was significantly off but that i had needed an alignment anyways because i had my car raised in October. (Note: the steering wheel was perfectly aligned prior to the downpipe installation). I ignored the alignment being off and chose that i'll get the car aligned another day.

I drove off happily home with my new found power and went out to lunch with scott. After lunch I proceeded him and as soon as I pulled into my driveway DSC, DBC error lights popped up. The first thing that clicked to my mind is that whenever a BMW's alignment is significantly off, these systems deactivate because the steering angle may think you are turning while you are not. I had experienced this on my previous 325xi when i had springs installed causing the alignment to be off, and therefore throwing DSC codes. I knew this would be fixed with an alignment.

Just to be sure I call Sal up and he tells me to come by the shop. They pull my car into the lift and take off the underpanel to inspect the steering rack. They point out some damage to my underbody which I 100% can guarantee was there prior to the down pipe install. I had told them it was there before but they claim it wasn't suggesting that I hit something major causing my alignment to be off AFTER the downpipe installation.

Bart, one of the partners or owners at AUTOcouture motoring treats me with hostility and asks me to leave the shop and go to the waiting room. It was an odd thing to do since everytime i had gone to the shop i was allowed to be in the workspace but this time was forced to go to the waiting room. I respected his decision though and went.

After about an hour of attempting to diagnose my errors, Tom proceeds to tell me that I have a CAN issue and Sal tells me that I need to go to a GT1 scanner to get this cleared. They even call Up Vishnu Tuning telling them that i have a CAN issue.

I left the shop pretty frustrated. I proceed to call up my friend Martin, who also ones a TII 135i to show him my downpipes. As im' pulling up to a ramp to 711 and turn my steering wheel I hear CLUNKING from under the downpipe area. This is not right...

The next week, I call up Rogue Engineering who recommends me to North East Motorsports in Mahwah, NJ.

I take my car to them and explain my problems. Mike, the master technician there tells me that:
1. there is a bolt missing on my exhaust which is causing clunking everytime the steering wheel is turned.
2. The O2 cables were improperly and roughly placed.
3. The codes i was having were ONLY caused by the alignment being off.
4. The clicking from my rear suspension is because the boot on the rear shock was literally touch my rear control arms.

Conclusion:

1. I don't have much faith in Tom's work nor AUTOcoutoure Motorings. Had Tom been as knowledgeable as a master technician should be he would've avoided teh O2 cables being improperly wrapped, known the codes were thrown from a bad alignment, made sure there were no bolts missing on my exhaust, and knew the clicking from my rear suspension was because of the boot on the shock and not "wear."

2. I don't trust the shop because from my experiences it is a shop where inexperienced weekend wrenchers( not talking about tom but their assistants) will work on your car. If i'm paying labor rates of 100$/hour I expect Master technician work not assistant level work.

3. I will never go to their shop ever again. I have all my work done at NE motorsports. They are more expensive than AUTOcoutoure motoring but driving a 40k car i should be able to afford quality labor.

4. I did have a few good experiences with the shop, one time saving my ass after a connector broke from my ECU power harness. Sal's a nice easy approachable guy too, I have nothing against him. My gripe is with AUTOcouture motoring itself.

5. As a result of their negligence, I have had to spend additional money on correcting their mistakes with my downpipes and suspension. Along with an alignment that I could've lived without had the codes never occurred.
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Gone but not forgotten: Cayman GT4, M2C, 2011 135i, E83 X3 6MT, 2016 SO M3, 2012 335iS, 2010 135i and 2006 e90 325xi
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      07-05-2011, 09:52 AM   #2
Sal@AUTOcouture
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For starters, I'd like to just say that you cannot please everyone. Also, there are the customers that always want something for nothing. Mohammed is one of these customers, which is fine so we try to limit the work we do on his car because something is always wrong.

This thread was posted with considerable amounts of hostility which is undeserved in my opinion since we saved your ass BIG TIME when you broke your procede in my shop when you were doing your own work. Not to mention "showing you" how to install brake pads that I took time out of my shops busy schedule to install for you. Do you remember how much I charged you? Nothing.

The rear suspension: Honestly don't remember the clicking issue. Not saying it wasn't there, I just can't remember. Either way, not sure how a shock boot will cause a clicking sound? Maybe a pothole? Maybe its the same clicking sound that the majority of KW V2 customers experience? Who knows.

Now the downpipes....which is the root of all this built up anger you've had against myself and my shop.

Back story:
AUTOcouture Motoring took on Fabspeed Motorsports to make downpipes for the N54 cars. They used my car as a "test dummy" to create the first set. They worked out very nicely so I decided to start pushing them as our "in-house" brand. I started looking for options after quality issues with AR (but that's a whole other story in itself )

I suggested them to Moe for his 135i because I knew they were quality pieces. Retail on these is $695. He paid $650, yes $650 INCLUDING INSTALLATION. He convinced me into giving him a beta discount, yada yada yada, I figured sure why not. Broke even on the set, figured it could gather some business. BOY WAS I WRONG.

Install day:

Car came in everything looked good, so we proceeded to install. Moe was doing some work in the lounge while we wrenched away.

For those that have done/ know how to do downpipe installation (paging Matt). The steering rack has to be moved up ~2" to get some clearance. THIS HAS NO EFFECT ON ALIGNMENT. The bolts holding it on the frame are mearly guides and cannot be shifted/ moved, etc. It's impossible to throw an alignment off by doing a downpipe installation.

Scott showed up at the shop shortly after (to meet up with Moe for lunch, apparently) and they left.

HOURS later Moe calls to say his alignment is off. Not minutes, not half an hour, not an hour.....HOURS later. I'm sorry I don't have actual times as I don't record time stamps. In any event he "noticed" his alignment was off later in the day.

He called me up told me the issue and, like I would with anyone, told him to swing by and we'll look at it. 45 minutes later he was at the shop.

Car goes up in the air and we noticed the excessive damage to his underpanel that WAS NOT THERE earlier in the day as well as his poorly worn snow tires.

Pics:





It was our reason to believe that Moe, in fact, hit something within those hours between leaving and coming back to the shop. Especially because a downpipe install has to effect on alignment.

He was asked to sit in the lounge. Our insurance company just barely covers me in the shop, let alone a customer. He took it the wrong way, oh well. Yes customers have chilled in the shop and that's my fault for allowing it, but its a rule we're slowly enforcing more and more. I understand enthusiasts like to hang out and watch, but the truth of the matter is is that if someone trips on something and bashes their head open, I'm potentially screwed. Bart takes this very seriously and ALWAYS plays the "bad guy" and tell people to chill in the lounge. But I digress.

He stressed his concerns about wanting an alignment, and that the downpipe installation was to blame for his misaligned car. He leaves.

15 minutes or so later he calls me and asks if I'll be there because he's picking up his stock exhaust he had left for us to hang up on the wall with the other multiple ones we have. I couldn't help but chuckle because it reminded me of when my ex called me to come pick up all her stuff.

He comes back and proceeds to tell me that he will no longer be bringing his car back to us for work because of our "dishonest behavior". This is coming from the person that told us him and his friend installed his rear differential in their garage when he, in fact, had it installed at a competitors shop...which is fine. He also said that he needed an alignment "anyway" which to me meant he was looking for a free alignment. I told him I would not pay for an alignment and he left.

Fast forward to yesterday.

An ex-employee of AUTOcouture, Anthony, decided to take it upon himself to try to sell the suspension out of my 135i (see thread here). Words between him and Moe were exchanged and luck of the draw, I was dragged into something that I had no clue was happening.



I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but to post a thread of this nature in the tri-state forum and not vendor review just goes to show the dramatic effect you wished to have which is malicious and childish on your part. You have my personal cell number and could have easily just called me/ text me like you have in the past when you've needed something.


Said my peace. I have a full shop of cars to make sure get worked on.

99.9% of my customers are happy. I'm sorry you fall into that minority that are not.

-Sal
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      06-15-2016, 08:32 PM   #3
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Just for a sense of balance I thought I'd lend my exposure to Auto Couture. I had them do a VERY complex job, converting an SMG to a 6MT. I'd like to meet ANYONE that doesn't feel this is a complex endeavour.

I was living in the Philadelphia area and had VAC motorsports do a clutch exchange and they ended up replacing a lot of other parts. They overcharged me, used cheap aftermarket parts while charging me for OEM, kept my car for a month, they broke my rear view mirror off the windshield, had it repaired for free (I know the guy that fixed it for them), and then charged ME for it on top of the other charges. They also said I had to pay in cash ($3400), they said if not cash it would be $300 more even with check. Needless to say, I was not in a rush to return to them.

My SMG pump had died so I was looking to do the SMG to 6MT conversion. Coincidentally one of the people living in my building was walking by and complimented me on my car ('03 Laguna Seca M3 Vert). We started talking and I told him about my plans for the conversion and that I was trying to find a shop up to the task. He told me about Auto Couture and raved about them. He said it was far (2 hours from Philly area) but well worth the trip and he didn't take his BMW anywhere else.

I called that day and spoke with Stavros. It was immediately apparent that they were "car guys". Very pleasant, sounded excited about the opportunity, and very professional. Stavros checked with Sean (master tech) about the job and an accurate quote. Called me back within the hour to go over everything with me including time tables (which turned out to be accurate), prices, etc. I had performance technic in Cali build the kit. Auto Couture was great about taking out my bell housing, shipping it to perf tech to do the machine work, and getting the bell housing and a full install kit back. When I went to drop off the car, they were awesome about letting me look around the shop (they have some amazing cars and some amazing ongoing work). Sean gladly stopped what he was doing to introduce himself and talk to me about the job. Like I said, true car guys.. it was like being in a garage working on cars with a bunch of my friends.

They told me it would be about 4 weeks and it was just under that. The team was awesome and Stavros called me about every 3 days to update me. Even if there was no progress and they were just waiting on the parts from Perf Tech, he still called to let me know that. As one would expect, there were a couple complications, and they kept me up to date every step along the way and didn't charge me up the *** for the work and the headache.

When I went to pick it up, they were great. I got caught in traffic and Stavros stayed about an hour after closing time for me. And, he was glad to do so and still took his time talking to me and going over stuff when I finally got there (he didn't rush me at all). The car was amazing. They had already tested it and fined tuned everything, so by the time I picked it up, it was perfect and ready to go. And let me say, my only regret is that I didn't do this the day I bought my car. It's worth every cent and like I have a new car. But I digress... Of note, they called me the day after I got my car back and again a couple of weeks afterwards to see how everything was going.

Prior to going with Auto Couture, I read this review and there was one other bad one on a different site that I found about them. I'm extremely glad I believed the other hundred great reviews and didn't make a decision based on the 2 bad ones. These guys are extremely nice, extremely professional, extremely competent, and actually care about customers as people/friends. I just moved to Florida and it will be tough to find a local place to live up to Auto Couture.

Just my 2 cents...

-Nik

PS: I realize I don't have many posts on this forum because I'm a 3 series driver. If you look on E46 fanatics or M3 forum, I have many posts and how-to write ups.
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      06-17-2016, 01:34 PM   #4
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What about the aforementioned bolt that was missing from the one downpipe? ......
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