I'm at work now, so this posting will be brief (more to come tonight or tomorrow as I get time). As many you know, I flipped my turbo vert about four years ago. Immediately after, I purchased a pretty clean 90 shell with blown engine and began working on building up a roadracing/autocross FC. I tried not to spare a penny doing the build, but reluctantly ended up in a worse spot then I had even begun with, due to Turbo Clinic's (aka 2rotor.net) work.

Since I am most likely taking this issue through the legal system (as I haven't heard back from the shop since I notified them), I'm going to limit my posting to facts and circumstances that occurred during the two year course of having my car at Turbo Clinic. I made sure to have witnesses at every level of the prior years, I forewarn everyone to read the subsequent events prior to considering hiring this shop. I'll post a few pictures along the way too.

 

I'm NOT surprised.....

 

Damn, it's pretty disheartening to hear about all these horror stories about so many rotary shops down here. I've only owned my FD and been in this community for a few months, and I just hear bad story after bad story from everyone that I talk to about a good tuning shop. I'm almost ready now to have my car tuned, but it's looking more and more like I'm going to be doing it myself because of everything I hear.

 

When it comes to RX7's and SFL sometimes your better off DIY.. If you have a good circle of friends with some knowledge you should be fine...

 

I unfortunately came about this after my car was dropped off there.

 

We are waiting for the story...

 

So here it goes.

FC:
I came across Carlos D. Maldonado (Turbo Clinic) via eBay after purchasing a Rebuilt JDM S5 T2 transmission and having it installed in my turbo vert. The first red flag was when I was told to drive the car down and the trans would be replaced on the spot. Upon driving down there and waiting seven hours, I was told to return tomorrow. After I called my mother to leave work and pick me up, I returned the next day only to find it still wasn't complete. This went on for two more days. After finally getting the transmission in, it felt notably smoother and I was content for the time being. Although he said it was fully rebuilt, it still had its faults and I'm 99% positive the only thing he did was order the transmission from Japan, spray paint it, and resell it.

Fast forward to around February 2008, I had picked up a 1990 GXL in great shape which had a blown T2 swap. Since I had previously begun setting up my convertible for autocross, I wanted a similar setup to be done to this vehicle. I called Charlie to set this up, and discussed the build, pricing, and terms. We came to the conclusion that the motor would be largely street ported with his “special” porting technique, utilize light weight rotors, be pinned, clearanced, balanced, and make approximately 260whp with the stock turbo, and approximately 400whp with a hybrid. At that time the price he quoted me was $2,300 for the rebuild, including the aforementioned. This entire build was suppose to take less then two weeks.

Maybe a month later I decided to drop the car off to him and told him that anything additional needed, that he was to call me and I would provide new parts for. I also made sure to take pictures of the car before I brought it into the shop, to make sure it wasn’t returned with any damage. We write up a prebill which became substantially more then the quote he had given me for the same work. About a week goes by, and I call to see the progress of what happened with the car. Charlie informed me they had pulled the engine out of the car and were starting to disassemble it. Another week and half goes by without hearing anything from him, and I call to setup a time to pick the car up. Charlie is a but flustered and told me the vehicle was still not ready and that he was still making sure everything was right. Fine by me, if someone wants to perfect there craft then I’m all about waiting and being patient.

After three more weeks of small update emails with little more then a sentence each, I called and got no answer. I called multiple times, left voicemails, and emails and still no response. It’s almost 1.5 months, and I figured I’d drive down there to see just what was going on. I drive up, walk in, and went to go see my car. The engine had not even been pulled yet. I asked what was going on since this was suppose to be complete nearly a month ago and brought up all the emails he had sent and conversations we had. He side skirted from all of them, and said he’s only a one man shop and that he couldn’t get to it (there were only two cars in his shop). Fine, again I leave him with the vehicle and tell him to please finish.

Two-four weeks later, I get a call and he says he finally pulled the engine and that several parts needed to be replaced (which I knew going into it). The rotors were in pretty poor shape and the housings were useable but nothing to write home about. His instructions were to find two 3mm rotors with matching letter codes, or else he refused to use them in the engine. This was a pointless wild goose chase because the rotors were going to be lightened anyway to exact matching weights, and balanced as well. I obliged and hunted them down over the next three weeks. At this time, I also ordered brand new housings at the tune of ~$750 each from Pineapple Racing.

Another two weeks go by, and all my parts come in. I drop them to Charlie, and don’t hear anything from him for a decent period of time. He then calls me out of the blue and tells me one of my rotors is no good, and that I need to get another one. So another two weeks goes by while I try to track one down.

Throughout the next few months or so I visit frequently to find out what’s going on with my car. There is little if any progress on the vehicle, and it’s almost as if the last few months had the grand total of one day of work done. Not only did I pay him partial payments of the bill (which had somehow now come up to around $4,000) because as he put it he needed to purchase parts for the engine and had little cash, but I was still nowhere near having a car. In fact, the engine was still basically sitting on a pallet in the back of the garage.

I’m not sure of the exact timing of the following events, but they happened between the 6 month and 18 month mark.

- After maybe a year of having my car, Charlie decided that I now needed a new TPS, MAP, and Throttle body. After I sourced these and gave them to him, I asked for the old pieces back. I never received them.
- About a year into it, I checked on my car. There was a fairly substantial scratch in the candy paint that ran the course from the front lip, to the bumper, to the fender .. and a 2” large black paint like blotch on the sunroof panel.
- After 14 months, he informed me the rotors were finally balanced and lightened. I asked him what the weights were several times, and he would not respond with a conclusive answer. He only told me that he took some weights out of one of the gasketed areas.
- He informed me the ECU was bad, so I purchased and gave him two additional N374 and N370 ecu to try, both of which he said were bad as well (note that these came out of running vehicles).

The entire time my car was there, Charlie had informed me it was almost done. This went on for the course of 16 months. I finally had enough and told him if my car wasn’t finished within 7 days I was picking it up, and going elsewhere. Well seven days came, and I drove down there. The car was still not complete and Charlie told me he had one more full day to get everything running proper. He told me he wanted to let the engine idle for half a day to get everything to seal properly. So I told him I’d be back tomorrow.

The next day I went to pick the car up. The door handle which had broken and, the radio wiring, and other was suppose to be fixed when I originally dropped the car were still not addressed. After waiting there for roughly three hours with my friend, the car was in somewhat drivable form. I say somewhat, because I took the car for a drive out of his shop and instantly noticed there was a problem that the car couldn’t go into boost, there was a water leak that couldn’t be traced, and there was a slight smell of rubber. Fedup, I dropped by the shop, dropped Charlie off and had my friend follow me on the way home. While he didn’t lie about the car idling fine, it ran terrible. It would frequently break up and I had lost probably a cup of water in just a two mile drive. About another mile in, I start seeing people yelling at me and pointing somewhere. Then both my front tires blow out from rubbing against the springs. I have no idea what to make of this as I had drove the vehicle just fine prior to giving it to Charlie. I called him in disbelief and asked if I could just store my car there and pick it up another day, or have him repair it. He said there was no room at his shop, and instead sent someone out with a pump floor jack that didn’t even fit underneath the car. I eventually had the car towed back to his shop and had the tires changed out, and had to beg to borrow two of his wheels to wobble my car back home. I took my car back, and parked it for 2.5 months where it didn’t move an inch because it was running so poorly


Pissed off at Charlie, I bought a Microtech to tune out the deficiencies of the engine. My friend came over (who I’m truly grateful for) and wired up the entire car and within a few minutes we had a somewhat ok running FC that I could at least move out of the driveway. A short while later, I sent the car to Japtrix to be tuned and figure out why the car was leaking so much water. Well, they were able to tune it to 200whp, but then informed me the turbo was shot and couldn’t tune it any higher; I had replaced the turbo with a stock one in great shape before I gave the car to Turbo Clinic. They had also said there was a leak from the tension bolt area and they could address it another day if I’d like. Really upset at this point, I called Charlie and got a nasty response back that I was accusing him and putting out a bad name for him. In fact, I tried to keep things under wraps and even tried to get him some business via parts sales (which I didn’t think anyone could botch, parts are parts after all). Japtrix said the engine bay looked like a disaster for how the wires were run and that there was silicon everywhere, even in the dowel areas which they said looked like was there to try to cover up the leakage.

After purchasing a new BNR Stage 4 turbo which set me back another $1,000, I gave the car back to Japtrix and told them to tune it again. They told me the car was leaking so bad that if under load on the dyno, they didn’t know if any water would be left and were concerned about safety issues of leaking on the rollers. They told me they could tighten the tension bolts, which would require dropping the tranny for $800. I politely told them no and brought the car over to Pettit where the master himself, Cam, took over and really let me know what was going on.

A few days after I dropped it to Pettit, Cam informed me almost all the threads holding the tension bolts in were stripped and that Charlie did in fact try to use silicon to cover up this issue. I forget the few other issue he brought up, but informed me he’d bring my engine to the Markham meet where he’d dissemble it and see what was going on. Upon disassembly, where about fifteen people were watching, he was shocked. The engine which only had about 100 miles or so on it looked like it had 100,000. One of the rotor bearings actually had a .25” gash/pinch in it, the passages were widened so much it was rendered nearly useless, the ports on the housings were not proper and had already begun flexing/eating the seals, there were no gaskets … everything was silicon. Since it was confirmed that the dowel pins were beyond repairable, it was determined the housings/plates were essentially ‘floating’, as Cam had put it. The only thing that appeared to be done right was the balancing, which was done offsite at another company … not by Turbo Clinic (go figure huh?). Even further, the brand new housings I had supplied to Charlie looked as if they had come out of a used engine, and did not have the markings of newer housings being sold within the last few years. Almost everything in the engine which was suppose to be new and that I provided, appeared to be reused. The corner seals were all shot and beginning to show signs of moderate failure. The engine was pinned improperly; top left and bottom right only. The original water seals were also used. Cam was actually shocked that the car had even been running.

So the entire build associated with Charlie ran me as follows - ~$4,500 to Charlie, ~$2,500 in engine parts, ~$500 in sensors and miscellaneous, + the cost of the missing parts. In addition to that, I also footed the bill for my registration, driving to his shop which I believe was to the tune of 25 some odd trips, and taking off of work to deal with him. I was also forced to rent a car for my Mom while I borrowed hers to get around. Several of my potential sponsors for the vehicle had retracted interest as the vehicle was not complete. I also probably had another $4,000 between the standalone, hybrid turbo, boost controller, gauges, and other items I had purchased to be used with the vehicle.



Now for my FD:
I dropped my FD to Charlie maybe 9 months after dropping my FC, just because I was told the rebuild was to be $3,200 which also somehow jumped in price upon completion. I was guaranteed this would be done no longer then two weeks, and that the FC was taking so long because it was a special build and required particular parts. I informed him that the build was to be for a nonsequential setup, and just a rebuild of the engine since it was believed to be in fine shape.

Well again, the same scenario happens. Two weeks go by, and same run around. Three weeks go by and I go to see the car and the engine was not pulled out again. Very frustrated I again demanded it be completed.

After another week, he calls and tells me that the turbos are toast, and he had another set for a couple hundred dollars. I tell him just to throw them in and give me my car back.

Another month and change goes by, and I finally get my car back. I look the car over, and for some reason all of the wheels now have water spots on all of the wheels, which he claimed were there when I dropped it (I had taken pictures of the vehicle before delivering it to him, and they were absolutely not there) I take it out for a drive and the water buzzer is going off and it’s running like complete crap. Charlie informed me he had it set that way so there would not be much load on the engine during break in, and to bring it back after 1,000 miles. He also informed me that the car was good to go and once broken in could handle more boost. Frustrated, I take my car and drive home with my friend following. After searching the forums and checking various FSM, I figured out that he botched the nonsequential setup pretty bad. There were no resistors running between the sensors, which were throwing it into limp mode, and several of the vacuum lines were not run properly. After replacing them, the car seemingly ran great for the next 2,000 miles. Until one night, it spit out a ton of oil and would no longer start... engine blown. As I had now run out of money due to the FC project, I could no longer afford to keep the car. I ended up selling it for a substantial amount less than I would have got had it been running properly.

Just recently, I got an email from the owner who I am on friendly terms with letting me know exactly what happened with the car.

"It's construction was held together by hopes and silicone. I'm really surprised it lasted this long with and the amount of miles I put on it during that time period. And it makes complete sense as to why you had issues with it even at 3000 miles. Who ever that guy was that assembled it really took advantage of the situation I feel and even my good friend who builds rotaries for over 20+ years was pissed that some one did this.
They re-used all of the original water o-rings and 3/4 of the motor didn't have gaskets. Instead they used nothing but silicone. The pinning was done improperly and was only supported on the top left and bottom right of the block instead of on all 4 corners. One of the tension bolts had a smothering of silicone around it to keep it from leaking since they knew they tapped it wrong. The back of the motor always leaked water since I first fired it up and I could never find the source, well it's because it was actually leaking through all of the bottom tension bolts, yet again as a result of using the original water seals.
I'm sorry you had to sell the car due to the engine builder doing this to you and like I said I was debating on informing you of this a year and a half has passed. I'll include pictures of what I'm talking about."

Scary the exact similarity between the FC and FD.

It took 1.5 years to get my FC back for a simple rebuild, and about 3 months to get my FD back. So in grand total, Charlie (Turbo Clinic) took about $12,000 - $13,000 from me, and gave me nothing. I also want to note, that the parts he did give back to me were not ones originally on the cars. All I have to show for it is a head full of grey hairs and an FC that I’m now parting out.




As I am going down the legal avenue due to the lacking response of Charlie and Turbo Clinic, I invite you to contact me if you were also scammed/swindled by either and I can give you information on the case and how to bring up your case as well.


Approximately 3 years ago I dropped off my RX7 to Don Charlie, owner and sole operator of Turbo Clinic DBA 2rotor.net in Kendall.

 

I have quite a few pictures of the FC issues, and a few videos that I will be posting up as well.

Pictures of the FD:

 

Wow... That's why if I'm not touching my car only Cam at Pettit is.

-M

 

I don't mean to be an ***, but it seems like a lot of that whole mess could've been prevented by you simply taking the car somewhere else as soon as the first or second thing started to go wrong. I don't know what you were thinking leaving the car at his shop and continuing to buy and give him parts he asked you for. You could've taken it somewhere else, and then fought somehow to get your deposit back from him.

I would go nuts if I didn't have my car back and completed within a week or 2 after they said it would be ready, never-mind almost 2 years! And then you also gave him your FD months after all that had been going on? Come on dude, you gotta be smarter than that.

Regardless, it really sucks to have that happen to you and it's good that you're telling the story so all of us won't have to go through that, so it's really appreciated.

As for Carlos and Turbo Clinic, the guy's obviously a complete scumbag and you should follow through everything legally. As long as you kept records and pictures and documented everything that went on, you should be able to recover most of your money in the end. I really hope it works out for you.

 

I feel bad for you dude. I'm with Zero...and we see this time and again. Someone keeps promising work is going to be done and nothing happens. Pull your car out of there...and you took a second vehicle to him. You are a nice/trusting guy.

LESSON TO ALL: Seriously...if someone is not performing the work on your car...get it the hell out of the garage and find someplace a bit more reputable.

I really hope you get your money back and the court system works in your favor. I'm glad you were smart enough to document what happened with photos and video.

 

Th reason i left it there was because the work that i thought was being done was supposedly quality and someone else backed him up at the time, I forget who but it was someone decently represented in the community.

Anyway, I'm filing the paperwork next week.

 

How can this guy still be in business.... Looks like he took all your parts and kept them for himself and gave you **** in return... I hope you get him for all he has.... What a SCUMBAG !

 

Wow!!

 

Not the greatest choice IMO but he is not god's gift to the rotary.
Dont belive me......Look for a lengthy story from a legendary poster somewhere on this board. 20B Hint.... Hint......
If you came out to the picnic, you would have met that individual in person.

Rule of thumb..............
South Florida +Rotary Mechanic = Lawsuit

 

Not going to take him for everything he has, but I am going to pursue this issue to seek restitution for every dollar he cost me.

 

Dont bother with a lawyer...........
Go to small claims court and put a judgment on him personally......
Don't bother with the business as he can close it and walk away if there is a lot of money on the table.
You have a lot of documentation there, show a judge and put a lien on his ***. You may not get your money right away, but its a start. Typically you can see restitution in 90 days which is quick in today's legal world.

Lawyers will take years to settle this and if hes smart he can walk away with his equipment, close the ship and open up a new shop down the road. Lawyers will want to go after the business as there is assets to collect against and if he as none, no lawyer will take it

Side note .........I personally sued a local rotary shop for tens of thousands of dollars, only for him to not return my lawyers calls, close shop six months later and move into the next county. Claimed he had no insurance, no assets, and no money to pay the damage he did to my motor, and ECU. I cant reveal his name but it sounds similar to TUFF RACING.

 

Had a nice response made up, but not going to disclose any further actions I'll be taking. However, I will keep you all updated on the forthcoming events.

 

 

HHHMMMMMMM....

never heard of any shop that sounds like OR ryms with " Tuff Racing"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

Dude i just read the story with the FD.
Somehow i missed that.

Im sure you read my post about small claims court, and even though you may not recover all your money, you can recover some of it instead of none of it.

Nonetheless Its still a civil matter and I feel its still feel that small claims court is your best course of action but that is just my opinion.

As stated just jeep us posted on forthcoming events

 

Yeah
Look for that speak and spell in xmas stocking. Santa is looking out for his #1 mechanic

 

Thanks... its RUFF trying to type & spell...

 

Personally, I have never had a bad experience with Charlie in over 5 years I have been using him as a mechanic. He has done everything from >100 dallar jobs to most recently a 5000 dollar job and no problems yet. Quite the opposite actually, and would never go anywhere else unless I became rich and could afford going to one of the well known rotary gurus out there (mainly because as some of you mentioned S.Fla mechanics suck). I hope the OP's situation gets resolved, but i can't help but notice its only the same one or two guys bashing Charlie whenever he is brought up. Just thought I would give my input as I don't think it would be fair for someone who has never been to that shop to get an impression based on this thread. Not trying to start a debate or anything just my .02 cents.

 

Ive never met charlie, but someone's impression should be based on the Bottom of Post #7. That seals up the reputation of this rotary mechanic.
No excuses whatsoever to reuse O-rings and no gaskets.