SL55/63/65/R230 AMG: HELP: MBWerks in San Diego
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 948
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From: Irvine, California
'10 MB E63, '08 ML550 ('05 E55, '05 SL55, '08 E63 GONE)
HELP: MBWerks in San Diego
I'm trying to track down Randall who owned and operated MB Werks in San Diego. They did terrific work on both my SL55 and E55 however they closed shop owing me a tidy sum and I have not been able to get in touch with ownership over the last month.
The last word I heard was that they would be refunding my money, however that was a month ago and they're not replying to my e-mails. What has me a little nervous is that their web site recently went down. They seemed like a stand-up operation so maybe this is just a break down in communication, however I'm curious to know if anyone else has any problems with them or perhaps knows a better way I can contact them to resolve this.
~ Ian
The last word I heard was that they would be refunding my money, however that was a month ago and they're not replying to my e-mails. What has me a little nervous is that their web site recently went down. They seemed like a stand-up operation so maybe this is just a break down in communication, however I'm curious to know if anyone else has any problems with them or perhaps knows a better way I can contact them to resolve this.
~ Ian
Super Member
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 894
Likes: 1
Heh.
Top secret infozzzzz
Randall has the flaw that most asian's (or all people) possess: they felt the need to exude an image of success. I was there when he first opened his shop and was kept up-to-date on his involvement in the MB community in 2001, directly at first when I gave a damn about Mercedes and now, indirectly, with people that used to associate with him via the car industry.
He is a smart guy. Anyone that has met him will say that. His problem(s) were that if he was older than you or he believed he was smarter than you, he treated you like shiiet (ie a good percentage of the Mercedes consumers nowadays). He always treated me with with a slightly-annoyed attitude, even though I never did ***** to him. Maybe because I didn't spend $40k of mods at his shop, but at his "competitors". But hell, I live in W. LA, not SD. He should have at least tried to treat _potential_ clients with respect, since he had access to some products that other people did not. It got so bad to the point where when I needed Renntech or Carlsson products and Randall was the only person that could get it, I told my friend to say the product wasn't for me. I didn't want that **** to think I owed him some *****.
Anyways, back to whatever point I had. I heard he was trying to find a buyer about 6 months ago for Autowerks Express. My friend had went to his shop as a potential buyer. Randall said some crap about he wanted to sell the store to someone that would appreciate it, blah blah. When my friend was there, he never heard the phone ring once. Randall stated that he had 40-50 transaction a month. A month?!? FFS, any car performance shop with 40-50 transaction (in reality, he probably had half the sales he stated thx to "Los Angeles Inflation effect" Trademark) will not be around for even a short amount of time. Profit margin on retail sale of wheels, bodykit, AND labor for install is complete crap.
In conclusion, he believed that since he sold Mercedes aftermarket parts and worked on $100k cars, he could take the high-almighty attitude. Sure, that might work for SOME shop (See Meridian, Oracle, Sprewell), but face it, if your focus is on Mercedes, your target consumer is not the MTV Crib, NBA Basketball player, 5-karat earring, walking-with-a-swagger young adult. The entry price for a Mercedes is $30k. With such a huge influx of cheap/imitation products over the past few years, the aftermarket for Benz's is going to bottom out, much like the Japanese aftermarket. The only way to make money in a business with cut-throat chinese people is to maximize your ever-shrinking profit margin (Don't needlessly expand or buy stupid trailors), attract as many clients as possible (There are more C230k owners than SL600 owners... duh), and last but not least, be humble!
I doubt Randall is reading this message. Last I heard, he's off doing some natural resource stuff back in the motherland. But I hope he learns his lesson. Hubris = bad. Of course, wtf do I know? I'm just a young punk with an extra couple bucks to spare. Though, I definitely wouldn't mind pitting my 3rd party financial statement against his.
Edit: I need to read the whole msg. You're trying to get a hold of him. You're gonna need to call the philippines. Or maybe Randall@callandra.com or whatever variant of that:
Registrant: Make this info private
Callandra Global Philippines
RCA Prime Holdings
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila 1501
PH
Domain Name: CALLANDRA.COM
Administrative Contact , Technical Contact :
Philippines, Callandra Global
whois@callandra.com
790 San Rafael Street
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila 1501
PH
Phone: 0918-318-7674
Top secret infozzzzz
Randall has the flaw that most asian's (or all people) possess: they felt the need to exude an image of success. I was there when he first opened his shop and was kept up-to-date on his involvement in the MB community in 2001, directly at first when I gave a damn about Mercedes and now, indirectly, with people that used to associate with him via the car industry.
He is a smart guy. Anyone that has met him will say that. His problem(s) were that if he was older than you or he believed he was smarter than you, he treated you like shiiet (ie a good percentage of the Mercedes consumers nowadays). He always treated me with with a slightly-annoyed attitude, even though I never did ***** to him. Maybe because I didn't spend $40k of mods at his shop, but at his "competitors". But hell, I live in W. LA, not SD. He should have at least tried to treat _potential_ clients with respect, since he had access to some products that other people did not. It got so bad to the point where when I needed Renntech or Carlsson products and Randall was the only person that could get it, I told my friend to say the product wasn't for me. I didn't want that **** to think I owed him some *****.
Anyways, back to whatever point I had. I heard he was trying to find a buyer about 6 months ago for Autowerks Express. My friend had went to his shop as a potential buyer. Randall said some crap about he wanted to sell the store to someone that would appreciate it, blah blah. When my friend was there, he never heard the phone ring once. Randall stated that he had 40-50 transaction a month. A month?!? FFS, any car performance shop with 40-50 transaction (in reality, he probably had half the sales he stated thx to "Los Angeles Inflation effect" Trademark) will not be around for even a short amount of time. Profit margin on retail sale of wheels, bodykit, AND labor for install is complete crap.
In conclusion, he believed that since he sold Mercedes aftermarket parts and worked on $100k cars, he could take the high-almighty attitude. Sure, that might work for SOME shop (See Meridian, Oracle, Sprewell), but face it, if your focus is on Mercedes, your target consumer is not the MTV Crib, NBA Basketball player, 5-karat earring, walking-with-a-swagger young adult. The entry price for a Mercedes is $30k. With such a huge influx of cheap/imitation products over the past few years, the aftermarket for Benz's is going to bottom out, much like the Japanese aftermarket. The only way to make money in a business with cut-throat chinese people is to maximize your ever-shrinking profit margin (Don't needlessly expand or buy stupid trailors), attract as many clients as possible (There are more C230k owners than SL600 owners... duh), and last but not least, be humble!
I doubt Randall is reading this message. Last I heard, he's off doing some natural resource stuff back in the motherland. But I hope he learns his lesson. Hubris = bad. Of course, wtf do I know? I'm just a young punk with an extra couple bucks to spare. Though, I definitely wouldn't mind pitting my 3rd party financial statement against his.
Edit: I need to read the whole msg. You're trying to get a hold of him. You're gonna need to call the philippines. Or maybe Randall@callandra.com or whatever variant of that:
Registrant: Make this info private
Callandra Global Philippines
RCA Prime Holdings
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila 1501
PH
Domain Name: CALLANDRA.COM
Administrative Contact , Technical Contact :
Philippines, Callandra Global
whois@callandra.com
790 San Rafael Street
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila 1501
PH
Phone: 0918-318-7674
Last edited by jl88; Dec 28, 2005 at 02:49 AM.
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4
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This thread was forwarded to my attention by a friend so I can respond.
To JL88: I met you once or maybe twice, and at most, less than 30 minutes without talking much - while taking pictures back in 2002 at the airport hangar. I am really surprised that you know, and/or have that much to say about me.
In person, we never talked other than a nod or two, so I am confident that your post is more of a baseless personal attack. Perhaps you were being fed the wrong input, but presently I see your post as libel.
To JL88: I met you once or maybe twice, and at most, less than 30 minutes without talking much - while taking pictures back in 2002 at the airport hangar. I am really surprised that you know, and/or have that much to say about me.
In person, we never talked other than a nod or two, so I am confident that your post is more of a baseless personal attack. Perhaps you were being fed the wrong input, but presently I see your post as libel.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,436
Likes: 6
300ce
Originally Posted by jl88
Heh.
Top secret infozzzzz
Randall has the flaw that most asian's (or all people) possess: they felt the need to exude an image of success. I was there when he first opened his shop and was kept up-to-date on his involvement in the MB community in 2001, directly at first when I gave a damn about Mercedes and now, indirectly, with people that used to associate with him via the car industry.
He is a smart guy. Anyone that has met him will say that. His problem(s) were that if he was older than you or he believed he was smarter than you, he treated you like shiiet (ie a good percentage of the Mercedes consumers nowadays). He always treated me with with a slightly-annoyed attitude, even though I never did ***** to him. Maybe because I didn't spend $40k of mods at his shop, but at his "competitors". But hell, I live in W. LA, not SD. He should have at least tried to treat _potential_ clients with respect, since he had access to some products that other people did not. It got so bad to the point where when I needed Renntech or Carlsson products and Randall was the only person that could get it, I told my friend to say the product wasn't for me. I didn't want that **** to think I owed him some *****.
Anyways, back to whatever point I had. I heard he was trying to find a buyer about 6 months ago for Autowerks Express. My friend had went to his shop as a potential buyer. Randall said some crap about he wanted to sell the store to someone that would appreciate it, blah blah. When my friend was there, he never heard the phone ring once. Randall stated that he had 40-50 transaction a month. A month?!? FFS, any car performance shop with 40-50 transaction (in reality, he probably had half the sales he stated thx to "Los Angeles Inflation effect" Trademark) will not be around for even a short amount of time. Profit margin on retail sale of wheels, bodykit, AND labor for install is complete crap.
In conclusion, he believed that since he sold Mercedes aftermarket parts and worked on $100k cars, he could take the high-almighty attitude. Sure, that might work for SOME shop (See Meridian, Oracle, Sprewell), but face it, if your focus is on Mercedes, your target consumer is not the MTV Crib, NBA Basketball player, 5-karat earring, walking-with-a-swagger young adult. The entry price for a Mercedes is $30k. With such a huge influx of cheap/imitation products over the past few years, the aftermarket for Benz's is going to bottom out, much like the Japanese aftermarket. The only way to make money in a business with cut-throat chinese people is to maximize your ever-shrinking profit margin (Don't needlessly expand or buy stupid trailors), attract as many clients as possible (There are more C230k owners than SL600 owners... duh), and last but not least, be humble!
I doubt Randall is reading this message. Last I heard, he's off doing some natural resource stuff back in the motherland. But I hope he learns his lesson. Hubris = bad. Of course, wtf do I know? I'm just a young punk with an extra couple bucks to spare. Though, I definitely wouldn't mind pitting my 3rd party financial statement against his.
Edit: I need to read the whole msg. You're trying to get a hold of him. You're gonna need to call the philippines. Or maybe Randall@callandra.com or whatever variant of that:
Registrant: Make this info private
Callandra Global Philippines
RCA Prime Holdings
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila 1501
PH
Domain Name: CALLANDRA.COM
Administrative Contact , Technical Contact :
Philippines, Callandra Global
whois@callandra.com
790 San Rafael Street
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila 1501
PH
Phone: 0918-318-7674
Top secret infozzzzz
Randall has the flaw that most asian's (or all people) possess: they felt the need to exude an image of success. I was there when he first opened his shop and was kept up-to-date on his involvement in the MB community in 2001, directly at first when I gave a damn about Mercedes and now, indirectly, with people that used to associate with him via the car industry.
He is a smart guy. Anyone that has met him will say that. His problem(s) were that if he was older than you or he believed he was smarter than you, he treated you like shiiet (ie a good percentage of the Mercedes consumers nowadays). He always treated me with with a slightly-annoyed attitude, even though I never did ***** to him. Maybe because I didn't spend $40k of mods at his shop, but at his "competitors". But hell, I live in W. LA, not SD. He should have at least tried to treat _potential_ clients with respect, since he had access to some products that other people did not. It got so bad to the point where when I needed Renntech or Carlsson products and Randall was the only person that could get it, I told my friend to say the product wasn't for me. I didn't want that **** to think I owed him some *****.
Anyways, back to whatever point I had. I heard he was trying to find a buyer about 6 months ago for Autowerks Express. My friend had went to his shop as a potential buyer. Randall said some crap about he wanted to sell the store to someone that would appreciate it, blah blah. When my friend was there, he never heard the phone ring once. Randall stated that he had 40-50 transaction a month. A month?!? FFS, any car performance shop with 40-50 transaction (in reality, he probably had half the sales he stated thx to "Los Angeles Inflation effect" Trademark) will not be around for even a short amount of time. Profit margin on retail sale of wheels, bodykit, AND labor for install is complete crap.
In conclusion, he believed that since he sold Mercedes aftermarket parts and worked on $100k cars, he could take the high-almighty attitude. Sure, that might work for SOME shop (See Meridian, Oracle, Sprewell), but face it, if your focus is on Mercedes, your target consumer is not the MTV Crib, NBA Basketball player, 5-karat earring, walking-with-a-swagger young adult. The entry price for a Mercedes is $30k. With such a huge influx of cheap/imitation products over the past few years, the aftermarket for Benz's is going to bottom out, much like the Japanese aftermarket. The only way to make money in a business with cut-throat chinese people is to maximize your ever-shrinking profit margin (Don't needlessly expand or buy stupid trailors), attract as many clients as possible (There are more C230k owners than SL600 owners... duh), and last but not least, be humble!
I doubt Randall is reading this message. Last I heard, he's off doing some natural resource stuff back in the motherland. But I hope he learns his lesson. Hubris = bad. Of course, wtf do I know? I'm just a young punk with an extra couple bucks to spare. Though, I definitely wouldn't mind pitting my 3rd party financial statement against his.
Edit: I need to read the whole msg. You're trying to get a hold of him. You're gonna need to call the philippines. Or maybe Randall@callandra.com or whatever variant of that:
Registrant: Make this info private
Callandra Global Philippines
RCA Prime Holdings
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila 1501
PH
Domain Name: CALLANDRA.COM
Administrative Contact , Technical Contact :
Philippines, Callandra Global
whois@callandra.com
790 San Rafael Street
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila 1501
PH
Phone: 0918-318-7674
Ted
Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 171
Likes: 0
From: Chicago, IL
2005 Black/Black E55
Originally Posted by rca01
This thread was forwarded to my attention by a friend so I can respond.
To JL88: I met you once or maybe twice, and at most, less than 30 minutes without talking much - while taking pictures back in 2002 at the airport hangar. I am really surprised that you know, and/or have that much to say about me.
In person, we never talked other than a nod or two, so I am confident that your post is more of a baseless personal attack. Perhaps you were being fed the wrong input, but presently I see your post as libel.
To JL88: I met you once or maybe twice, and at most, less than 30 minutes without talking much - while taking pictures back in 2002 at the airport hangar. I am really surprised that you know, and/or have that much to say about me.
In person, we never talked other than a nod or two, so I am confident that your post is more of a baseless personal attack. Perhaps you were being fed the wrong input, but presently I see your post as libel.
Response was fine, but what about answering the original question of this thread, where is Ian's money??
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by Nij
Response was fine, but what about answering the original question of this thread, where is Ian's money??
Dec 25 - responded to Ian's email that I just flew in a few nights before, and advised that he seemed to not have been receiving my emails. Advised Ian that items to be shipped via UPS within the coming week. Note: Due to jetlag and flu, items shipped out Thursday, Dec 29.
Dec 21 - immediately emailed Ian within 2 hours of arrival from Manila... in good faith to advise that I have returned from a 5-month absence.
Dec 8 - responded to Ian's email (if I am back yet) that I am still abroad.
Nov 17 - Ian queried if I have returned. I advised that I wont be back for a few more weeks.
Sep 28 - Advised Ian that I have been out of the country, and will still be absent for at least another 6-8 weeks.
Aug 2 - Sent an email to Ian asking what he wants to do with the mats because I will be leaving for a long period of time.
Jul 12 - Sent an email to Ian advising that we have his mats.
Jun 23 - Responded to Ian's email that we can order the mats.
Jun 22 - Ian inquired about getting mats and other work done on vehicle.
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Super Member
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 894
Likes: 1
Originally Posted by Ted Baldwin
..........sounds like you have more of a problem with Asians than you actually have with Randall. Knowing this is an open forum, you were still unable to hold back your prejudices. I can only wonder how bad you are in private. I really don't know what it is about some Mercedes Benz owners that gives them think that anything made in China or Korea is beneath them. At current trends, China and India are going to be new global giants. We all need to wake up and smell the coffee.
Ted
Ted
I'm chinese
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Super Member
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 894
Likes: 1
Originally Posted by rca01
This thread was forwarded to my attention by a friend so I can respond.
To JL88: I met you once or maybe twice, and at most, less than 30 minutes without talking much - while taking pictures back in 2002 at the airport hangar. I am really surprised that you know, and/or have that much to say about me.
In person, we never talked other than a nod or two, so I am confident that your post is more of a baseless personal attack. Perhaps you were being fed the wrong input, but presently I see your post as libel.
To JL88: I met you once or maybe twice, and at most, less than 30 minutes without talking much - while taking pictures back in 2002 at the airport hangar. I am really surprised that you know, and/or have that much to say about me.
In person, we never talked other than a nod or two, so I am confident that your post is more of a baseless personal attack. Perhaps you were being fed the wrong input, but presently I see your post as libel.
And you won't scare me with your baseless threat.. libel? I'm not the one that closed shop and fled the country.
Super Member
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 894
Likes: 1
Originally Posted by Ted Baldwin
..........and this makes self subjugation okay........how?
Ted
Ted
FYI, i'm chinese, I live in Los Angeles, surrounded by chinese people. I work with 95% chinese and 100% of my clients are chinese. Yes, I am qualified to make demeaning statements about my own damn people.
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by jl88
Really Randall? I've never had dealings with you? Hmm, I clearly remember asking you to source me a starless-grill, which you tried to middle-man (horribly I might add) between myself and Mark Cummins. And the last time I talked to you was when Josh was demoing his supercharger in OC.
And you won't scare me with your baseless threat.. libel? I'm not the one that closed shop and fled the country.
And you won't scare me with your baseless threat.. libel? I'm not the one that closed shop and fled the country.
May I suggest you complete your stories... you always leave behind the critical details. If my gesture of shaking hands and saying "hi how are you" at the OC gathering is what you call "talk" then I think you have a real problem.
Honestly, I do not know you. Chances are, what you know about me is hearsay. What we have here is the extent and the end of our acquaintance.
Keep on yappin coz I'll just ignore you.
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,690
Likes: 3
From: Irvine, CA
2008 E550, 2012 GL450, 2014 GLK350, 2015 S550, 2020 GLC350e
Nice screenshot, but it would have been better if you had blacked out Ian's lastname. You should work harder to protect the privacy of your clients.
Super Member
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 894
Likes: 1
Originally Posted by rca01
Take note that in that story of the starless grille, Mark asked you to call me. You called and I sourced the stock piece for you and sent it to Mark. From that point forward, I was out of the loop. I was even negative for the shipping charges. Remember?
May I suggest you complete your stories... you always leave behind the critical details. If my gesture of shaking hands and saying "hi how are you" at the OC gathering is what you call "talk" then I think you have a real problem.
Honestly, I do not know you. Chances are, what you know about me is hearsay. What we have here is the extent and the end of our acquaintance.
Keep on yappin coz I'll just ignore you.
May I suggest you complete your stories... you always leave behind the critical details. If my gesture of shaking hands and saying "hi how are you" at the OC gathering is what you call "talk" then I think you have a real problem.
Honestly, I do not know you. Chances are, what you know about me is hearsay. What we have here is the extent and the end of our acquaintance.
Keep on yappin coz I'll just ignore you.
It's easy to ignore me (and your creditors) when you fled the country!
(Note to readers: this is the point where I stop trying to prove a point and resort to childish insults and kicks to the *********. Cuz that's how I roll..)
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by jl88
Jesus, just give it up Ted. I never had a problem with you. My quarrel is not with you.
FYI, i'm chinese, I live in Los Angeles, surrounded by chinese people. I work with 95% chinese and 100% of my clients are chinese. Yes, I am qualified to make demeaning statements about my own damn people.
FYI, i'm chinese, I live in Los Angeles, surrounded by chinese people. I work with 95% chinese and 100% of my clients are chinese. Yes, I am qualified to make demeaning statements about my own damn people.
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