I wouldn't let them change my oil.
Unless they have had a major change of ethics recently, I would double check everything they do and certainly what they are charging you for. Sadly my personal experience with them is that they are unscrupulous, incompetent and are now only interested in ricers and their dyno.
But then again, they did take me for $6K and swapped my engine block with someone elses, I discovered this along with leaking oil guage, broken driver seat bracket, missing T/C cover, & missing I/C fan (so far) after sending the following letter (which they have yet to respond to, but,hey, its only been 3+ years), so I might be a bit biased...
________________________________________________________________________
August 27, 2003
Attention: Janace Conely
Conely’s Performance Plus
1443 A Aldine Bender
Houston, Texas 77032
Dear Janace,
As you know, on Monday August 25, 2003 I picked up my car. It was in the evening and I did not have a great deal of time to go over the vehicle as everyone was preparing to leave for the night. I was concerned about having to purchase a new battery to replace one that was in perfectly good condition when I left my car with you but I had no choice. I was not able to inspect the car and had no reason to expect any problems after having nearly $6,000.00 worth of work done. I noticed another problem when I drove the car home and the air conditioner was not working properly; the fan was blowing but the air was not blowing cold. I inspected it upon arrival home and noted that the a/c clutch would not engage for any period of time. I did not drive the car the following day and when I was able to inspect my car more fully and to review the bill I noted several major problems associated with both my billing and my vehicle. The following problems are presented in no particular order, however I do expect all of these problems to be corrected, as none of the following problems were present when you received care, custody and control of my vehicle:
A/C System: The air conditioning system has been discharged to below operating level, A/C fan clutch will not engage for more than a few seconds indicating that freon level has been depleted to a level that is insufficient to activate pressure switch. The A/C system was fully functioning when you received my car to work on.
Cost: Freon/oil/repairs sufficient to restore proper operating condition.
Optima Battery: I delivered my car with an Optima gel-cell battery, which was only a few months old, and in perfect working condition when you received my car. I was notified that the battery was discharged and no longer functioning and I was compelled to purchase a replacement battery from you at a cost of $59.00 + tax and to date no offer to replace my battery has been made. The Optima battery was new and under warranty and valued at approx. $150.00, a simple phone call to me to pick the battery up, or placing it on a charger, would have prevented the battery from being ruined. It is now out of warranty and the pro-rata cost of replacing it is approx. $50.00 I expect it to be replaced with a like battery under warranty or be compensated in order that I can replace it myself and that you accept your battery in return and refund my cost.
Cost: $114.90 prorate ($64.90 + $50.00) Full cost: $216.44 ($64.90 + $151.54)
Fram Sure-Drain oil drain plug: I had installed a special oil drain plug (Fram Sure-Drain) when I received my car back it was missing and replaced with stock plug. I expect this part to be replaced with correct item or that I be compensated for the replacement cost.
Cost: $12.47Brackets: Several brackets and various components were left unsecured/disconnected in the engine compartment and need to be properly installed. (Also a plug at the transmission is not connected, however this might be the lock-up switch that I was advised was not functioning) It is possible these items were left unsecured until the 500-mile check to expedite service to the engine.
Cost: N/A
Torque Converter: Chris suggested that the torque converter be upgraded and that the replacement would be for the part only without a labor charge since the engine would be out of the car and the exchange would be very simple and straightforward. I agreed to this offer but the upgrade was never installed. I am hoping that you will honor your original offer to install the T/C with no labor charges, as was agreed upon.
Car Interior: The driver’s side door upholstery is stained with grease as is the steering wheel, door strap, shift handle and other interior areas. The driver’s side floor mat is also damaged with greasy stains and has been torn. This is a custom floor mat with and embroidered logo and difficult to replace. The exterior of the car around the hood was also left filthy with greasy handprints.
Cost: N/A if done in-house
Billing: I noted that I was charged $50.00 Material and $50.00 labor for “Shop Supplies” This is unacceptable as I have already paid for the cost of any supplies or materials and I am being double-billed. It is obvious that your employees did not use cleaning supplies during the repair of my car as witnessed by the deplorable condition my car was left in. I expect this charge to be refunded to me as any supplies were used for your benefit and profit. Gas: was also billed $10.00 for gas that was apparently used by your employees to operate my car, when I picked up my car I was told that I needed to fuel it as it had very little gas in it, I delivered the car with sufficient fuel and find it difficult to believe that $10.00 worth of fuel plus the fuel already in the tank was expended to test the car. I expect this charge to be refunded.
Cost: $114.12 $50 mat’l + tax = $54.12, $50 labor, $10 gas
• 500 Mile Service: I was advised that I would be charged additional costs to perform the 500 mile engine service and that if no service was done the engine warranty would not be honored. I have already paid for extensive work on the car and it would seem logical that any follow up work to assure that the engine is functioning properly would already be factored into the work paid for, or as part of the warrantee I am also unclear as to the warrantee terms as the current work on my car was precipitated upon damage to my engine which occurred after you had performed services on it and I had driven it less than 30 miles before the engine received the damage it experienced and no offer of warranty was made. My calculations indicate a discrepancy of between $241.50 and $343.03 in actual monetary costs that I can document in addition to the other items such as freon, cleaning, proper installation of brackets, etc., that I would like to give you the opportunity to correct in-house rather than going to a third party.
I have enjoyed a positive relationship with Conely’s and have entrusted your business to care for my car, as have many people, and Conely’s enjoys a good reputation for customer satisfaction and as the people to go to when G/N’s or other specialty cars need expert work. I believe that the problems I have encountered are aberrations and not typical of your business practice. Conely’s has a reputation for being ethical, professional and trustworthy. I understand that mistakes occur and cannot be corrected unless and until they are brought to someone’s attention, and it is in that spirit that I am writing this letter. I anticipate that these problems will be remedied quickly and that we can continue doing business.
Thank you for your prompt attention to these matters,
Darrell S. Lewis
I was ripped-off and the business refuses to correct the problem. This isn't a spat with a buddy who screwed something up, this is a legitimate reply regarding a for-profit enterprise and their performance as related by a customer.
