Originally Posted by
bitsnbytes
This is my story- every single bit of it is the truth and my sole intention is to share my frustrations and disappointment in my F/I journey so hopefully others don't experience what I have been through.
So I finally save enough money to buy an M3 (I had a Civic, an Acura to BMW) so I was extremely excited. Business was good at the time so I decided to treat myself with some aftermarket performance parts for my M3. That was when I joined M3forums and e46Fanatics to learn more about my M3 and F/I options. I'll be the first one to admit I'm not a car mechanic so I learned as much as I could by reading posts by more knowledgeable people. The consensus on the M3forums seemed to show that VF was a popular choice and appeared to have great customer service. It seemed like everybody who had VF was happy with their kit and this swayed me to go with VF.
• Purchased a VF Stage 2 kit on 8/28/08 for $11,000
- The car never ran right ever since I put VF's supercharger in there. From the start, there were cold start issues, idling problems, high long term fuel trims, and failed coil packs. I have sent my ECU back to VF at least 4 times over this 18 month ordeal for a re-flash
• I have spent over $4,000 after install to troubleshoot, diagnose, and attempt to fix my car. Total costs are now at ~ $17,500 not to mention the costs of headers, cats, towing charges to get my car fixed, and lost time (which is very important to me):
- $11,000 for kit
- $2,500 for install
- $4,000 mechanic fees to troubleshoot, diagnose, and parts
Each time I contacted VF, their response was "there has to be some other issues with the car (fuel filter, O2 sensors, coil packs, clear adaptations, air leak)"
• I ran all necessary tests and replaced all parts that VF asked me to do. I even bought gauges (AFR, Boost, and engine oil) to monitor my car so I could report back any symptoms. Great- more money I had to spend on my car...
These are the symptoms (From October 2008 - February 2010) that I experienced with the VF Stage 2 kit on my car:
• Cold start issues- would have to crank 2-3 times to start my car.
• Idling issues during cold start (rough idle would go away after 5 min)
• Long term fuel trims show +7/+9 when it should be around 0
• My car seemed to run fine besides the symptoms noted above; I never got around to dynoing it but boost showed 10 PSI and AFRs were at low 11's at WOT
• On X/X/09 (I will have to look at my calendar but can provide this date), I was doing some work in LA so I was finally able to bring my car down to VF (from San Jose, CA to Anaheim, CA) to have the issues mentioned above looked at and VF made some changes to my fuel rail but VF was unable to fix the cold start issue and high term fuel trims. *Note* they were busy with other installs so I was only able to get 3-4 hours of their time (over the period of 4 days) after driving all that way from San Jose, CA
• VF released their "Alpha" N tune (mafless setup) early this year and I spoke to Nik and he recommend that I move to this tune to fix all of my issues. After putting this "Alpha" tune in below are the following symptoms I experienced (February 2010 - Present):
- Car no longer had cold start issues BUT had horrible idling issues. ANYTIME my car was at idle (at a stop) AFRs were all over the place. Anybody within 20 feet of the car could hear the car idle surging. If you can imagine this was very embarrassing for me so the car pretty much sat in the garage unless I was driving it to get it looked at by a mechanic
- Car seemed to drive perfectly fine besides the embarrassing idling issue. I did, however, get SES lights every now and then due to "Multiple Cylinder Misfires". AFRs were in the low 11's or high 10's and boost showed ~10 PSI
- When the weather became warmer I noticed that when I turned on the A/C, the idle surge would virtually go away. I could literally turn on and off the A/C and the car would start and stop idle surging. (Based on my mechanics, yes I have multiple now, they all seem to think it's because of the software)
- VF had no resolution for this. My car sat in my garage for 2 months since work consumed any free time I had. I ended up paying my friend to drive my car from San Jose, CA to Anaheim, CA for me. VF understood my frustration and paid for his flight back to San Jose, CA. My friend dropped off my car to VF on 4/28/10.
• I get a call on 5/4/10 (Tuesday) from Nik. He reported that he put my car on the dyno and the first pull showed an incredible power of 490 rwhp. He mentioned that the car seemed to run great after clearing adaptations. During the 1st dyno pull all the readings look normal (boost, AFR). But when he put it on the dyno again shortly after a white cloud of smoke left my exhaust while the car was near redline and the car would not start anymore which indicated there might be engine damage. At this moment he did not know what occurred and requested permission to open my engine to evaluate the cause. He assured that VF will step up and resolve this issue for me. I was completely shocked but was comforted that VF would step up and rectify this issue. The way Nik phrased this I thought they would cover everything for me.
• In the morning of 5/6/10, I get a call from Nik and he informs me that the engine has failed and I will need a new one. He claims that the engine failure *could* have occurred because the car had pre-existing engine issues before arriving at the shop. When I asked why he thought this- his response was "the way the crack formed in the engine it showed that it may have been there for some time." He offers that VF will cover 50% of the costs and I would cover the other 50%. I was COMPLETELY SHOCKED at this and immediately refused this offer. At this time- I demanded that VF buy back the supercharger and pay me for the cost of the motor. He refused to buy back a used Supercharger that I have had for a year and half. I expressed my disagreement and immediately asked him to put it in writing and to have him word the email carefully. I mentioned to him that I will go after him with a lawsuit.
• Within an hour- I get a call and voicemail from Nik saying he has re-considered and wants to work with me. In an email, he writes that he is not 100% sure why the motor failed and that he would refund me the cost of the VF Stage 2 kit and for a new motor + labor to get motor installed but I could not mention this to provide negative publicity to VF.
"We offer to provide this cost to you and your request for a refund of your invoice #9055 for product return on the understanding we discussed that you agree not to pursue legal recourse and not to provide any basis for negative publicity to VF to occur in this event"
I'm sorry this post has been so long but this was only a tip of the iceberg on how frustrated and disappointed I have been with VF but more importantly I needed to show the true character of how VF and Nik conducts their business. I have gave my situation considerable thought- by posting this information I may never get my full refund back from VF BUT at what moral cost? I am not rich and I NEED this refund. I have poured so much money, time, lost the love of my M3 because I've been so bitter at my experience. I literally have a useless car now after spending over $65,000 (this includes cost to purchase the car). How many conversations do you think I have with my significant other? I have been working 12+ hours a day, 7 days a week trying to save up enough money to purchase a home for me and my family? To add (I'm not trying to get more sympathy here but to show you how much anger I have built up) my fiancé's mother was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer ~ 1.5 years ago. Long story short, we did everything in our power financially to give her the best treatment. This has dramatically changed our lives more ways than one. People who know me on this forum can confirm this.
So what is my intent of this post to share my experience. If you look at my post count on these forums, I don't contribute much due to my lack of car knowledge. This is me doing my part and trying to help others think twice about F/I. I want to contribute what I can to these forums and I could only do so through my experiences.
I can provide receipts for all repairs and costs to my car to back my story. I can also provide all email communication that I have had with VF (over 100's of emails). I am meticulous about keeping all my records. Everything I have said in this email is the full 100% truth and I know others will go on here to mis-direct these facts and even my intentions. For the people who know me- I'm a hard working honest person.
I'm unsure what to do at this moment but I'm open to ideas. My car is currently at VF and I need to come up with the money and get a trucking company to pick up my car. I hope they don't burn it to the ground after reading this... Please send any suggestions you may have.
No Resistor Needed!!
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| 46mm Precision gate| 62# injectors | Dual Walbro's |Goal: 600+ whp pump gas reliable 10 second car.
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