[34dean]

Stay away from Excelerate Performance in Branford, CT. I recently had a very bad experience and found their customer support ridiculously poor.

I scheduled to have a new charge pipe installed and told them ahead of time I had a hard stop leave time for a meeting. They assured me it would be done in time. It wasn't. It ran over an hour late and I missed my meeting that afternoon. As i was leaving, the service technician and counter attendant told me that there was damage to my coolant system and that they "patched it up to get me on the road" but I should "have it taken care of". I was in such a rush to try and get to my meeting that I needed to get out of there rather than argue with them. Fast forward to a week later and my car was leaking coolant. I had to pull off the road and fill my tank. It happened a few days later again.
I use my car for work and could not continue with this so i had my local mechanic sort out and it needed multiple parts. Total with labor was $465.00.

I sent a copy of the work performed to Excelerate and asked what they would do for me, seeing as how it was them that caused the damage.

Here are the emails:


Hi (Contact at Excelerate),
Your shop recently installed a new charge pipe on my 2015 BMW 335i.
In performing this work, damage occurred to my coolant system and coolant leaked out of my car twice causing me to pull over and wait for the engine to cool down and then fill. Your shop mentioned it to me upon leaving and told me to bring it to my mechanic. I brought the car to my local shop and they sorted the problem. A copy of the receipt is attached.

Please confirm how you will reimburse me for this work. I am okay with a shop credit as I am planning on more modifications.



Hey Todd,

Good to hear from you, and thanks for the email! I would be happy to figure out what we can do for you here. Was there someone here you spoke to that had said to take the car to another shop for the repair and we would cover the bill? That is not typical procedure but there are exceptions to every rule!

I do not see any emails in regards to this prior to this one. Just want to make sure I'm not missing anything!


(Me)
I am not sure the person’s name but it was the person that took my payment. The job went much longer than I had expected and I needed to get to a meeting which I ended up missing because it took longer for the car to be finished. My guess is that the damage may have occurred in the technicians haste of getting finished? Because my car was losing so much coolant and that I had to stop a couple times, I brought it to my local mechanic because I needed to have it fixed and I rarely am down in the New Haven area with business.


(Them)
Thanks for the reply, and apologize again for the appointment that ended up taking longer than anticipated. The damage did occur on reassembly, but it was not because of haste. The coolant fittings are plastic and are a common failure point on these cars. They go through a ton of heat cycles which makes them become more and more brittle over time, and susceptible to cracking under little pressure. This is what happened here when he went to reinstall the hose. It is something that was unavoidable in this case.

The conversation around check out was not that the vehicle should be brought to another shop for the repair, but that we would have to find some time to make this repair for you despite how busy things were in the back of the shop. We just would not have been able to get parts the same day so we repaired it the best we could at 5:00pm. Per our parts & service warranty, if there is an issue with the install the vehicle need to be brought back here for the repair. You can see the specifics on our website here: https://excelerateperformance.com/se...rranty-pricing.

I would also like to bring to your attention that we knew what the issue was, so the ~$80 diag charge was not necessary. The leak was just coming from the bleeder hose. Furthermore, the replacement breather hose lists for $41.63 and you were charged $85.00 for the same part. The radiator hose was also marked up. Those list for $75.00 and you were charged $125.00 for it.

If the vehicle had been brought back to us, it would have been a $41 dollar part with no labor, as we would have good willed the 20 minutes it would have taken to replace it. Given the above circumstances, and the fact that the policy was not followed, my hands are tied in this situation and there is nothing I would be able to offer.


(Me)
This is disappointing to hear. I was never told to bring the car back to you, I was told to see my dealer. To be inconvenienced twice on the highway and then having to bring it to have it fixed due to your shop's error should not be at my cost. I was even willing to accept a shop credit towards more work I was considering your shop for!

I am left with a bitter taste in my mouth and find your decision extremely unfair.



(Them)
Hey Todd,

Thanks for the reply, and I apologize again for the frustrations caused by this. As previously stated the intention was not to send you out with a car that leaked, but rather to get you headed home as soon as possible and straighten it out for you when we had time to schedule it back in; and you had time to bring the car back down. Apologies if this was not properly conveyed upon checkout.

If the car had failed you twice on the drive home the proper thing to do would have been to turn around and leave the car with us so we could rectify it for you. I am not truly looking to be abrasive, but there is not anyone in the shop that would tell you to bring the car elsewhere as that simply breaks policy.

With all that being said, we do not want to leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth and appreciate your business. To help offset the troubles we would be more than happy to offer you a $75.00 gift card and the absolute deepest discount possible on the parts you were looking at moving forward. We do not want to stick you with the price of the repairs, but if the vehicle was returned to us all we would have needed was a $45.00 part (picture attached). While it puts you in a tight spot, this puts us in one as well since we should not be held accountable for another shops unreasonable mark up.

Let me know if you have any in perusing the above.

Thanks for understanding




(Me)
It failed twice after I had returned home from your shop. Once a few days later and then again a couple days after. Clearly the damage caused by your shop worsened over time.
I am extremely busy and scheduling any time to be without my car is a major hassle. This entire experience has been beyond frustrating and I am out $465 due to your shop's damage.





I did not receive a reply to my last reply. I also contacted my local mechanic who told me they used OEM BMW parts and that there was no way the parts cost Excelerate stated were true.


I would appreciate hearing input from you guys.


Thanks,
Todd

[Billfitz]

I can see both points of view. IMO chalk it up as a lesson learned, namely always have work done locally.

[Gen13 F36]

Sorry to hear all that... but I'm with Billfitz with this. Alot of shop have there in parts suppliers they use for a long time and they usually have an agreement with parts pricing and because your repair was done somewhere else they didn't avail that same cost.

[floridaorange]

This is a tough one - as Bill stated I too can see merit from both sides.

At the end of the day it is a lesson learned sitch. Get things in writing, call and confirm grey areas first.

If it were me and a shop caused damage to my car - I would have called the shop at fault before ok'ing the $400+ repair . Mainly because my wife would not let me go out of pocket at all due to someone else's negligence. And as lame as that sounds it keeps me financially in check.

How much did the shop charge you for downpipe install?

[gbkd80]

If you're going to be bringing your Beemer anywhere in Branford, go see Steve @ Import Specialist. He's behind Willoughby's.

[deviantspeed]

Originally Posted by gbkd80

If you're going to be bringing your Beemer anywhere in Branford, go see Steve @ Import Specialist. He's behind Willoughby's.

This is a motorcycle shop? I thought I was in the F30 section.

Sounds like the shop effed something up, but you can't prove it. I'd just move on.

[EDWYER]

Edit. You should have gone to your local mechanic instead.

[34dean]

Originally Posted by ProjectBoost

You should have gone to your local indy instead.

It is the most local Indy performance shop

[Billfitz]

Installing a charge pipe doesn't require going to a performance shop. It's a very basic job, well within the skill set of the average backyard mechanic.

[34dean]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Installing a charge pipe doesn't require going to a performance shop. It's a very basic job, well within the skill set of the average backyard mechanic.

I’m new to modding and this was my first performance upgrade. You’d think a performance shop would then be able to handle the job no problem, eh?

[Fliplegend]

For those who have DIY'd the cp install on their 335, is it plausible (the bleeder hose damage) or is it due to poor workmanship or being in a hurry?

[Billfitz]

It's a very easy job, but it does require moving some hoses around. If they're old and brittle it takes a great deal of care to not break any of them. If you're in a hurry that's not so easy. The entire job should take less then two hours, they were over an hour late finishing the job, so obviously they were running behind from the get go.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by 34dean

I'm new to modding and this was my first performance upgrade. You'd think a performance shop would then be able to handle the job no problem, eh?

What brand charge pipe?

Some brands are known to have issues with fitment issues and tight/difficult installs.

[TheShadow]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

What brand charge pipe?

Some brands are known to have issues with fitment issues and tight/difficult installs.

Curious to know this as well.

Also, im surprised that in the convo they stated "weve patched it up so you can get home but should have it looked at" are you sure they said "go have it looked at" My literal first instinct would be that im bringing the car right back here for them to fix my shit for free. Which it seems like what they were gonna do. From now on i think its a good idea that you plan better not to get work done on a car right before a business meeting. Or that you can have someone pick you up or the shop to drive you call you a uber whatever to your work if that was an option as a back up. You should know and be prepared that 90% of the time, when working on a car things dont go as planned and something might break, rip, fall off, not fit, etc. causing it to take a little longer than usual. As well as other external factors within the shop itself.

[34dean]

Originally Posted by TheShadow

Curious to know this as well.

Also, im surprised that in the convo they stated "weve patched it up so you can get home but should have it looked at" are you sure they said "go have it looked at" My literal first instinct would be that im bringing the car right back here for them to fix my shit for free. Which it seems like what they were gonna do. From now on i think its a good idea that you plan better not to get work done on a car right before a business meeting. Or that you can have someone pick you up or the shop to drive you call you a uber whatever to your work if that was an option as a back up. You should know and be prepared that 90% of the time, when working on a car things dont go as planned and something might break, rip, fall off, not fit, etc. causing it to take a little longer than usual. As well as other external factors within the shop itself.

I allowed myself extra time as I always do when it comes to these things. They still missed my deadline by quite a bit. And they absolutely told me I should have the coolant issued sorted but "just wanted to get me on the road".

I find it interesting that one can't make an appointment with a "Performance Shop" for a performance upgrade part and have it go as planned. They damaged my coolant system, I was greatly inconvenienced and am out of pocket $465. But hey, I guess it's my fault.

[BuefordTjustice]

I think the shop handled it pretty well. It's always tough modifying your daily driver as there's never really a good time to be without your car. I've learned from experience that you hold the shop accountable by leaving your car with them until everything is resolved. I know this is almost a non option for you, i'm just giving my .02. Taking your car to another shop and trying to stick them with the bill is rarely successful as you saw. Your shop already employs people to do the job so they almost never are willing to pay someone else's jacked up rates. It's nice of them to offer you discounts going forward but their hands were kind of tied when you forced them to give you the car back with a known issue that needed to be addressed.

In the future just get a loaner, take uber, ride a bike, but never drop your car off for work when you absolutely need it later in the day. Murphy's law, if you had nothing going on that day it would have been done in record time....If you had a interview to go to the car would implode on site.

[TheShadow]

Originally Posted by 34dean

I allowed myself extra time as I always do when it comes to these things. They still missed my deadline by quite a bit. And they absolutely told me I should have the coolant issued sorted but "just wanted to get me on the road".

I find it interesting that one can't make an appointment with a "Performance Shop" for a performance upgrade part and have it go as planned. They damaged my coolant system, I was greatly inconvenienced and am out of pocket $465. But hey, I guess it's my fault.

Still looking to know the brand of the charge pipe. It's not your fault only, it's their fault too obviously but you should have brought it right back in after your meeting or the following day. We don't know if your hoses were crap already before the work started or if they were completely fine and they screwed up. They offered to fix and even gave you a huge discount on your next upgrades so just take it's a lesson learned.

[ronanz]

X-Drive charge pipe is not an “easy” install for an inexperienced DIY’r. I agree with most responses here. No way I would’ve taken the car. Least the shop could’ve done was secure rental for one day, repaired, then closed out R.O

Regardless of what was (or wasn’t) said, OP took 50% (or more) fault by waiting a week+ to get issue addressed....by a 3rd party. Convenience is not relevant in this case, allowing the shop an opportunity to a satisfactory correction to an otherwise poor start is more important (particularly when stated in writing). . 🍻

.

[kern417]

Def chalk it up as a lesson learned. I never drop my car off if I can't do it for more than 8 hours. If it can be done same day, great. But chances are other cars will come in, techs will lend eachother hands for other jobs, and they'll have other work/discussions happening so it's not as fast as you just doing it in your garage.

[NorCalAthlete]

Definitely sounds like the shop tried to be reasonable here. Also can’t fault them for pointing out a 50% markup on parts prices and such and not wanting to reimburse for that.