Originally Posted by 1Boss
Hi fellow 1addict members,
I am the customer that Mike referred to. Mike makes it seem as if I had pulled a fast one on him, when in reality, I feel he has totally blown it out of proportion. I hope that you guys would give me a chance to tell my side of the story and take the time to hear me out.
It all started when I purchased a used jb3 off another member and was asking around on where I could get it installed, as even after watching the instructional video, I did not feel comfortable doing it myself knowing that I am not too mechanically inclined and would probably screw something up with the pins. A friend of mine with a 335i mentioned to me that he had gotten his installed around a year ago off Mike for $20 (don't see why he would lie to me about that). I got a hold of Mike's contact, and shot over a few texts to him to try to inquire more information.
We exchanged a few texts:
[May 5, 2012]
Me: Hi, do you install jb3?
Mike: yes i do, what car do you drive?
Me: 135i
Mike: install is $55 and I am in mississauga (50 minute drive from my location without traffic)
Me: I hearsay it was $20?
(I thought, maybe he works out of a shop now to be charging $50?)
Me: $55 is too much, plus gas and time to mississauga. Ill pass, thanks.
(thinking, hmm I shall shop around!)
Mike: no problem, you should think about upgrading it to the jb4 before you install
Me: oh, why is that?
Mike: jb4 is smoother and has all the CAN steering wheel gauges and controls. the upgrade kit is $150, i could do it for you, i am the canadian distributor
Me: if i can purchase it off u, could u possibly help me with the install?
Mike: ya i can upgrade your jb3 and install the jb4. i wont charge you the upgrade fee but would need to charge for install.would be 205.00 cash, no tax if paying cash
(so here i was thinking: uhhhh he stated he is not charging me upgrade fee ($150) and would charge for install, so only $55 for upgrade AND install?!? I think he may have probably gotten it the other way around! Charge $150 for upgrade and he'll install it for me if more like it)
Me: ok i shall look into it some more. Thanks for your advice thus far!
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A few weeks/month later (I thought oh well, might as well pay a little more and drive a longer drive to him, since he probably has the most experience in doing this task)
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[June 18, 2012]
Me: hi mike, am i able to book an appointment with you next tues, june 26? I am looking to upgrade and install my jb3. Let me know, thanks.
Mike: Sure, just text me this weekend and we can figure out a time
Me: Sounds great, keep in touch
[June 24, 2012]
Me: hi mike, are we still good to meet on tuesday? around 12pm?
Mike: can't at 12. Can in the evening.
Me: When are you free? What is your location?
Mike: I am by the Dixie outlet mall. I just have to check what time my hockey game is.
Mike: Game is at 7:30 so earliest I can do is 9:00pm
Me: Hmmm reason I mentioned tues and around 12 is because it is my day off. Would weeknights typically be good for u? I figure you'll be exhausted tues after a full day and hockey
(I'm thinking, hmmm this guy still operates from his shop afterhours eh? Hard working fella!)
Mike: Ya weeknight are good. Tuesday is the worst day as I have hockey.
[June 25, 2012]
Me: Hi mike, sorry for being so sudden, but i was wondering if you were available later today?
Mike: Ya should be. Maybe 8:00pm?
Me: Sure, address please?
Mike: Meet at the Dixie outlet mall burger king parking lot. Text me when there.
(I'm thinking, uhhh $50 for a install at the side of burger king? Hmm i guess so??? He is, afterall, a knowledgable guy about N54)
Me: You are able to install in a parking lot?
Mike: Ya. My neighbour is a douche bag and doesnt like me working on cars so I do all my installs there.
(Hmmmm...)
Me: Ok, would 8:30 be okay? I'm coming from Richmond Hill
(Those who live around would know it is a pain to drive all the way to mississauga, with the possibly of unpredictable traffic)
Mike: That's too late
Me: Ok I'll see you around 8
Me: My apologies mike. I'm on my way almost there (traffic, I actually get there around 8:20ish)
We met up, he helped me upgrade the jb3 to jb4 and has all the parts apart. While everything was out, I remembered that I had DCIs but no couplers kicking around in my trunk. So I thought, oh what the hell, I'll see if I could get Mike to install those too while he is at it. He said he will charge $20 and he has extra couplers laying around for $15. Wow $20? This guy doesn't even operate out of a shop and he's charging these shop rates? I took $200 cash out from the ATM before we met up, so I thought okay, $150 for the upgrade and install, I could spare another $35.
It took Mike half an hour to upgrade and install the jb4, and an additional 7 minutes at max to install the DCI (thinking back, pretty impressive!). After all was said and done, Mike asks for $235. I was caught by surprise. All I had on me was the $200 cash which I just took out from the ATM (I usually only spend via credit card) and gave him the whole $200. He gave me an odd look and with hesitation, resorted to offering me to pay the remaining $35 via paypal.
[June 28]
Me: My paypal visa setup is outdated and I dont want to update it with my current card. (Bad experiences with paypal) Who do you bank with? You could give me the account number and i'll go deposit cash into it?
Mike: you can do interact email transfer to that email you have online banking?
(Paypal has fees, interac has fees, why can't you just let me deposit cash?)
Mike mentioned in his post that he noticed my attitude towards him when he was doing the work for me, and in a way he was right. I felt he was unprofessional - perhaps I was biased and expected too much from reading his posts, seeming all friendly and helpful with info. He seemed he might of been slightly aggravated that he had to wait for me? Found out later he lived literally a block away from there. After a few days, I still felt he was overrated, hence overpriced.
It depends on how you view it. Yes, one could say that I did have Mike provide a service for me, which is true, but it isn't like I didn't pay him for his time and service? $235 is just too much in my opinion, and if I honestly knew that was his actual asking price, I would have definitely done it elsewhere. $200 plus $20 gas there and back at a location of his convenience is a very acceptable amount I am willing to pay, respectfully considering his effort and time invested. I honestly thought the amount was $150+$35 from the way he first described the prices to me when trying to get me to upgrade and install. I'm sure Mike still has our text logs saved on his iphone. The texts I have shared are word for word how it was.
Sorry to say, but until this moment, I still do not fully wrap my head around as to why everyone vouches so much for Mike's "extraordinary" service. Yes, he is very knowledgable and shares a ton of info on here. Or perhaps he is great in ordering and shipping out parts, but after what I've witnessed and experienced for myself, in terms of actual face to face transactions, he isn't really up to all that hype in my opinion. If my local friends mention, Mike@N54tuning does not get a recommendation from me. Sorry.
And to make an individual thread like this? Seriously Mike?
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