after speaking with several mbworld members on the phone, this is the consensus we have all come to

 

What does PC think about Vadim? Lots of bad BS on Vadim lately..they shared a shop together last time I was there, Does Vadim still sell PC tunning Is everyone that is owed money from Vadim wrong? I know of at least 5 members here and the list is growing.. Just asking.. I'm sure you have all seen or read all my threads on this.. Not bashing just trying to understand why it keeps happening......................................... .............................

 

I said former owners and they obviously still have a HEAVY influence seeing as the admin owns evopsort. No doubt some of the mods are straight up but the power lies in the hands of evosport.
I can't answer any of those questions besides the fact that Vadim still uses PC, refer to the outrageous quote that PC gave to Vadims customer

 

Okay. I just spent some time looking back through this thread and the other ones mentioned and linked. This seems to be a real mess Vadim has created for his customer AMGSC. $35K spent, no car, his wife is mad as hell, and he is also and damn well should be.

I don't agree with only one part of Akademiks post, about why Tech-Tune could not afford a AMG. However, his logic is on point of dissecting who is to blame here, Vadim. PC as Brad mentioned is not owned by Vadim, which is correct.

Example: I am a Dell affiliate, I exclusively sell them. If someone has an issue with me delivering a system I am at fault, not Dell. Simple enough to deduce.

After reading all this, it makes my blood boil to see people getting ripped off, but the venom should be put toward Vadim and not PC at the end of the day. True, they (PC) gave AMGSC a huge quote, but as Brad mentioned, PC would have to take on a problem car which would cost them time (which is money) to break down and resolve the problem.

That's business, I would never go in to make a repair or do over someone else's work without quoting appropriately. PC is judging the risk, and the price they gave out was due to the risk. This sucks to high heaven for AMGSC, hope this can worked out.

Judging from the threads I see about Vadim, I think a hard fought battle is in line to get his money back. It appears not to exist and a lot of people are in line. The insults, and misdirected comments, certainly are not helping AMGSC's situation.

 

changed is to was, thank god. and i was never wrong. i'll probably post my story tomorrow. looks like its the right time

 

This is getting good.

 

With all due respect as I am a moderator on a busier forum than this one, super moderators generally do get compensated by IB. This is the case for a few automotive forums as well as other forums of various topic matter owned by IB. Depends I suppose on the contract signed, perhaps get some mod'n money. No pun intended.

I find these type of threads very interesting on a few counts. Obviously I would never even consider to use the vendor in question here for any service whatsoever, just based on his responses. Right or wrong, there exist a more professional path that the vendor could have taken to address all of the concerns in this thread without provoking more ill towards his company which it now stands. Regardless of anyone's experience, his responses alone have pushed off many. Couple this with more and more coming on board aboard money owed to them and the conclusion is obvious.

It takes a long time to build customer relationships, and it takes no time to lose integrity which appears to have happened. This really does place MBworld and it's mods in a tough position, been there myself with sponsors , but the ultimate decision lies within the facts. I for one thank those that have come forward to express their experiences. Generally what happens is vendor business drops to the point that sponsorship no longer makes sense, but this does not help those that are due some sort of service or funds.

 

Please enlighten me on the board you mod? How many members? We have over 127,000 here and its not so much the amount of members as its the amount of active users on a daily basis and also how many mods per active members.

As for the money part, is it really that much? Will it pay for my cars Oh wait Im good there.

 

Vic, my comment was not intended to start a restroom sword fight over the trough. I would be happy to discuss the specifics via PM if you like. As far as how much, to some it helps, to others it probably would not adjust the budget much, but it is something. Yes, you do you have a fine stable there.

 

Its all good. Never my intent either, I was just asking the questions to be more informed.

OT:

I think you and I as mods can probably relate more than most that posts lack tone and emotion and often its such posts causing misinterpretation that causes strife amongst the members.

I always wonder if our members would say the same say same thing to each other in person. I would think they would be more civil.

Thanks for your input, I do feel that we should get something for our time and effort. But in reality all I really need is more time to help here and its just not always possible with my real life job.

Oh btw, love the trough comment, was at Dodger Stadium recently and that gave me a flashback that I didnt want to revisit

 

In bold, they definitely would. Good points.

 

Excuse me Sean but the facts have shown that I HAVE budgeted for big projects and PAID for them in full before the projects are even finished as a favor to help with the cashflow. I've even paid for a $14K (replacement engine) and $another 2K in rework labor without even asking for the shop to step up to share the bill.

When product or service was good. I rave about it and share with everybody on this forum. I want my project with Vadim to succeed so bad it hurts.

Believe me, I would much rather give props and promote them rather than harm them. I have NEVER used the forum to get something for nothing and I have never used the forum as leverage to get a discount. I never ask for a discount after I get the initial quote and just decide to go or no-go.

When I do voice my discontent on ths forum, the purpose is truly to try and help fellow forum members and make these businesses more sensitive/aware and taking care of their customers.

btw...I am giving Vadim more time to complete the project as it is more difficult and complex to build a full custom car than I imagined. Maybe I don't know what it takes to do one of these projects and 1 year wait for mine and 2 years for Havoc may be a realisic expectation.

 

1y or 2yrs? Wow you are more than patient!

Not only is that waaay too long IMHO, but I hate to think what the cars depreciation alone has cost - without you actually having it!!?

What's even worse is that after all this time, how far have things got?

When things have too long a time horizon there is no focus, energy and effort.

Foose build a complete car from bare metal in 7 days...and it's mint at the end if it... I know it's different circumstances etc but that's what CAN be done...

I think you have every reason to be surprised how long this has taken and the progress made.

 

dude just forget that shop...they have 3 failed large end projects that have taken how long?

not meaning to be offensive, but they have had more then enough time.

 

seriously, the writing is on the wall. a competent shop would have finished your project in a matter of weeks...MAYBE months...but definitely NOT years!!! none of the projects that this shop has started have ever been finished. if your car hasn't been finished, just like the others, it never will be. the only thing that can come of this is you waste more time and cough up more money in the the futile process. go get your car and move on.

 

I really feel Vadim is a good guy caught up in some very bad circumstances. I asked him to build a custom engine and he geniunely wanted to help me achieve that. I may have taken for granted how long and difficult it is to modify an AMG engine from the block on up.

The fire in the shop, VRP bailing on him, economy, some unfavorable posts by competitors did not help his situation. If he was slow with some deliveries or refunds, it was not because of lack of integrity but more with just trying to survive during this short period. I am confident he will recover and be successful in the near future.

He has NEVER avoided me and answers my calls immediately at least several times a day or calls me back within 5-10 minutes. He genuinely felt devastated when the custom built engine failed even though the fire may have contributed or been the primary cause for the irrepairable damage to the block and pistons (fire debris entering the intake left open overnight).

We need guys like Vadim to offer us quality aftermarket products at more competitive prices. We have all benefited from this. Even Kleemann and Rennech have lowered their prices due to this type of competition (Eurocharged, MBH, VRP, FD) to name a few.

I don't want to drive them away for fear of being persecuted on this forum.

I may have paid him alot but I also got a lot in the past. Here is partial list of what I got.
1) Kleemann Headers, Cams, Cats, Tune, AMS pulley - plus installation when he was with GMG Racing.
2) HPS supercharger removal, Kleemann SC installation of incomplete kit with missing parts, custom pulley, retune when he was with VRP
3) Custom-built engine, racing pistons, valves, 9-1CR, Ported heads, SC inlet, 82MM TB, custom Intercooler pump, Maybach transmission, LET torque converter and custom dual X-Pipe Exhaust system.

The only items left to finish the project are the control arms, custom intake system and tubes, larger injectors and smaller pulley to yield 14-15psi and tuning.
The tuning part was what started all this controversy. Vadim told me he as some other alternatives for custom tuning.

 

Wow, it would appear you had a conversation with him and are doing a complete 180 here! WTF Why did you start all the posts if now you are seeming to vouch for him and make excusses for him? I am a little confused now! Or did the mods get a hold of you and straighten you out!

 

I started that to inquire about the reasonableness of PC's quote on the tune. Then one thing led to another....

No matter what I need him to finish my project. They always say to stick with one tuner to avoid problems so I'm heeding that advice.

Ahmad, (Blackbenzz)...Reading what you accomplished with the same Kleeemann kit on you CLK55 was what really inspired me to keep going. Maybe your'e to blame instead of PC, Vadim, etc... j/k

 

big mistake. i expect to see your car at dynocomp STAT. they've messed up your car multiple times. stop staying "loyal," take your car, and bring it here

 

Hilarious.

 

+1

 

Seriously! That was the biggest 180 turn around I have seen in a while!

 

Get yourself new injectors, control arms, pulley, stock airbox, and an 80mm Y pipe. Then tow your car to Arizona and take MBH up on their offer to tune it.

If you stay with Vadim, your car will accumulate that 2nd inch of dust you witnessed on Havoc's car.

Choice is yours... I wish you luck.

 

OMG Robert.....NO FU#%%CK way you're going back to Vadim again. He can't even rebuild your engine right and blames it on the fire. You called me last night at a gas station 2 am asked me why the wheels locked up even in neutral/drive when you try to towed it. Did Vadim also upgrade your tranny to Maybach tranny? I bet he F#$#%$CK that up too !!!!!!!! Not only he can't do the jobs but also taking people money and never ship the parts. This is UNBELIEVEABLE !!!

 

Don't know if it's the tranny or ECU/TCU.

I drove it out and it ran like a bat out of hell! Real strong, responsive and it shifted really smooth. I could not tell the difference with the high stall torque converter nor the Maybach vs. stock yet but I have faith they are not stock and I got what I paid for. Other than an alignment problem (pulling right) and the SRS malfunction light from the CF steering wheel install and some new scratches on interior, I was fairly happy to get my car back.

I made it out of Costa Mesa at 5:30pm and all the way up to City of Industry by 7pm and decided to get some gas at Costco. That's when **** happened...

When I turned off the engine, the car started to roll backwards slowly while in PARK! I said WTF and slammed on the brakes. I was puzzled but proceeded to fill up the tank. Afterwards, I got back in my car and turned the key and NOTHING! The electronic diagnostics, stereo, etc.. all started up but the ignition was DEAD. I checked the shift knob and it was in PARK, it was not in Drive or Reverse so I could not understand why it won't start. I tried to move the shifter out of PARK but could not. I kept trying and finally got it to shift after depressing the brakes as hard as I can. I then shift it out of PARK through all the other gears and then back to PARK to see if I could start the car. Again nothing!

Strange thing is that the car still rolls like it was in Neutral even in PARK or DRIVE? So I push it to the parking lot and proceeded to wait for a tow truck.

MB Roadside assistance arrives and could not figure it out but offered to tow it to the nearest dealer. I declined fearing the dealer would realize the custom tranny and refuse service and blacklistmy car. I call AAA for a Tow and they arrive. They also check before attempting to tow it but are confounded by the situation. Basically the car THINKS it's in gear and thus prevents the engine from starting BUT in reality the car is not in ANY gear but neutral since it rolls backwards and forwards when pushed no matter what I gear I set it to!!!

Finally, I had no choice but tow it back to Vadim's shop since he still offered to look at the car after I called him to curse him out at 2AM. Instead he was calm and reminded me that I was hasty to remove the car before it was ready. I admire his patience and willingness to help despite how rude I was to him when I picked up the car yesteray afternoon. I got back home at 4:20am.

I feel I've got some curse or evil spell cast on my car. I thought I got away only to be reeled back in.

Any help as to what may have happened would be sincerely appreciated.