garner Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 Flow, What was the deal you set up with John? What were you getting and what did you pay for it? If I remember it was a gen 2 Brat that he added a lift, bumper(s) and a roll bar sort of thing? What was the agreed upon price? garner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northguy Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 I wish I had seen this thread earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonas Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Mudrat79 responded to my earlier post regarding looking for a replacement for my work car. He is currently building a car that sounds perfect for my use and has offered it to me for sale. He said that he does this for a living and urged me to check on the board for references from those who have either purchased his vehicles, or knows of his work. So , here I am. Is the workmanship good and are the cars reliable? PS. Mudrat79, I have sent two E-mails to you concerning the car recently. I haven't heard anything back so I am wondering if you are having server/computer problems? Dog1 Dog1@BigMailBox.net i bought a disty from john no problemo. brats running great now. just other stuff wearing out on it now........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jibs Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Yeah I'm having trouble getting into contact with John after I paid him some money as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quattroPilot Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 John is a super cool guy. It can sometimes be a little slow transacting with him, just depending on what his home-life has got him doing, but otherwise he is a very generous and trustworthy individual. How do I know all this?? I live in British Columbia Canada, and I bought an RX from him. The transaction was kinda rocky & convoluted, and took the better part of 8months, but in the end everything came together. Although at one point, I must admit, I did start to loose it and wonder if he had stolen my downpayment money. But as I said, in the end everything worked out, and he even TRAILORED the car up to me as far as Seattle WA, where I rode the bus down to meet him. I was very pleased to meet the man in person after so many hours on the phone & email. On a final test drive of the RX before he loaded it, John was booting around and the front belt broke. He fixed it of course and by the time I met up with him in Seattle, he'd been awake for nigh on 23+hrs. We signed the paperwork and I put everything in order, and then legally imported the RX into Canada. She's passed all the British Columbian vehicle inspections and is now a registered Canadian vehicle. I will admit that sometimes things move slowly, and some people just can't take it, and I even started to flip out. 7months was about all the patience I had in me . But John is by no means a dishonest or malice person. He likes to help and does the best he can. Take my experience for what it's worth.... good luck with everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zefy Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 JibsYeah I'm having trouble getting into contact with John after I paid him some money as well.Today 03:25 PM ya sometimes he is hard to get a hold of... but can you blame him??? he's got his own suby shop as his small business and he's got 5(i think) kids to look after... and ,unless your willing to wait a while, don't e-mail him... he is much better when you phone him... i have never had any problems with john and getting parts... he gets them as quickly as possible, gives me a fair price, and helps me with any problems i've been having... in fact he has talked me through entire repairs on more then one occasion! ussually taking around an hour to explain... he even guided me through a repair while on his way, in the snow, to pick up his wife who, unfortunatly, drove into a ditch... he talked to me right up to the point he had to get out to see her... he even fixed me up a knuckle for the front axle in my brat... put it fresh barings, greased by him and wrapped in saran to keep it from rusting... unfortunalty it got lost in the mail... i got a letter from Canada post saying so... now my problems are with the shipping company(USPS and Canada Post)... every part has taken me more then 2 weeks to get and sometimes they don't come at all... quattroPilotJohn is a super cool guy. It can sometimes be a little slow transacting with him, just depending on what his home-life has got him doing, but otherwise he is a very generous and trustworthy individual. How do I know all this?? I live in British Columbia Canada, and I bought an RX from him. The transaction was kinda rocky & convoluted, and took the better part of 8months, but in the end everything came together. Although at one point, I must admit, I did start to loose it and wonder if he had stolen my downpayment money. But as I said, in the end everything worked out, and he even TRAILORED the car up to me as far as Seattle WA, where I rode the bus down to meet him. I was very pleased to meet the man in person after so many hours on the phone & email. On a final test drive of the RX before he loaded it, John was booting around and the front belt broke. He fixed it of course and by the time I met up with him in Seattle, he'd been awake for nigh on 23+hrs. We signed the paperwork and I put everything in order, and then legally imported the RX into Canada. She's passed all the British Columbian vehicle inspections and is now a registered Canadian vehicle. I will admit that sometimes things move slowly, and some people just can't take it, and I even started to flip out. 7months was about all the patience I had in me . But John is by no means a dishonest or malice person. He likes to help and does the best he can. Take my experience for what it's worth.... good luck with everything He did the same for me! except he forgot the paper work for the car so mailed it to eric(i think) and my parents picked it up when they got the car a week after meeting him... but all is well! there are only about 5-6 people i trust with my car... and John is at the top of the list! he gets two thumbs up with 5 stars in my books! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muellerdeal Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 i dont know the guy but with all this support i think hes one bad mammer jammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanky_pete Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 I've only had one transaction with John, but have spoken with him a number of times. He does know his stuff, and the price he gave me was pretty decent, though he wasn't 100% upfront about what I was getting. It was the communication issues and unreliable timing for meeting up that would make me steer clear of future dealings with him. Everyone seems to be saying that he's a busy guy trying to run a business, and don't worry he'll come through. However, good communication and a strong followthrough should be priority number one for someone wanting to help keep that business afloat. :-\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forester_Ranger Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 I've been dealing with John for a couple years now. He is pretty honest but is terribly unreliable. His shop rates used to be real decent but are now approaching that of a standard shop. His price estimates have always been much lower than the final bill. And he never has your vehicle completed by when he says it will be. When He says a job will take 3 days it really takes over 2 weeks. When he actully does work he does good work. His biggest problem is trying to run a business from his home. He could have a smooth running very successfull business if he could figure out a way to seperate himself from his family and personal issues for 8 hours a day. but personal and family issues always come first for him. Most people who work 9-5 type jobs have to work there 8 hour shift and deal with personal and familly issues while off work. If John worked for an employer the way he works now. He wouldn't last a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garner Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 His shop rates used to be real decent but are now approaching that of a standard shop. With both of your rigs he was doing a bit more than a standard tune up...No one in Eugene, with the possible exception of Gary's Subaru would touch the projects that make your two subarus cool, and that guy is not cheap. His price estimates have always been much lower than the final bill. And he never has your vehicle completed by when he says it will be. When He says a job will take 3 days it really takes over 2 weeks. Again, these projects were not run of the mill. Can't expect a guy to know how long something like an LSD equiped DR tranny swap in a Forester is going to take. It's basically R&D. Not to mention the random unrelated problems/issues that turn up in a project like this...Most shops would charge time and materials for actuall time on project, John tends to charge by the project plus unforseen expenses such as a bad parts, etc. When you're around John's shop I swear his phone rings every 10 minutes with someone of the board asking advice or to be talked through some repair. It's like a free 1-900-ASK-JOHN Subaru advice line. I bet with no cell phone, his productivity has gone way up. garner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quattroPilot Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 He did the same for me! except he forgot the paper work for the car so mailed it to eric(i think) and my parents picked it up when they got the car a week after meeting him... but all is well! there are only about 5-6 people i trust with my car... and John is at the top of the list! he gets two thumbs up with 5 stars in my books! Yep! i've heard a bunch about you . John mentioned the Brat sale a couple times. By the sounds of it you were quite young when that all went down... I hope u still enjoy the ride. His old RX is sure giving me a great run; and I expect it to get me up to High Level Alberta. Anyhow, keep in touch. take care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratsco1 Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 So with the number of completley happy customers compared with the large number of unsatisfied folks it kind of takes away the thought that there is an occational problem. if that were the case there would be a small fraction of the people he has dealt with that have not had SOME problem. read the posts. I have seen some of his work I have talked to people who have had him do work, sorry not impressed. the fact that he has personel issues SHOULD be in fact be his personel issues and not the problems of HIS customers. My issue with John was a small one butt. That is when you measure a man for what he is worth............my 2 cents........Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru_styles Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 hey shane, Small Car Perfromance in WA charges $4,000 (incl the tranny) to do the 5spd swap in a svx. and thats a price from a shop that specializes in it....hmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[HTi]Johnson Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 He's a one man operation. I give props to him for what I have seen him pull off. [HTi]Johnson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forester_Ranger Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 hey shane, Small Car Perfromance in WA charges $4,000 (incl the tranny) to do the 5spd swap in a svx. and thats a price from a shop that specializes in it....hmmm I was told by someone on SVX.net that if you bring in all the parts to Small car they would charge $2000 for labor. it is a 16-40 hour job. I've seen people talk about doing it in one weekend. Even if it was a 40 hour job it should only take only one week tops. It took john over 2 weeks of about 1-2 hours of actual work per day. I also got quotes for $1800 at rallitek and another guy in Portland said he would do it for $800. Johns 1st estimate was $1400 then $1500 then $1600. After he finished he couldn't figure out how to hook up the cruise control. That is something I will have to figure out on my own because I'm afraid If I take it back to him. I won't see it again for a week or more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 I dont care about the negative things said about John. I will be in Woodland, WA this fall, and plan on buying a car from him. Deal with straight cash, one time full payment in person outta get me a car, no problem. The thing that people dont realize, is that with out a secretary to keep track of everything, its hard as hell to remember where parts/jobs go when you got 30 people breathing down your neck. I rebuilt probably 50 or 60 EA82's this winter, along with running the salvage yard part of the buisness for my boss, and I always had people calling or showing back up saying that I forgot to get their part pulled or delivered. IT HAPPENS. Especially when you have projects going on as big as John does. The guy can build or fab ANYTHING for subaru's. Until the rest of you get to his level, lay off the negativity. A forester D/R conversion.. someone else do it faster then he did or make the "weeble wobble" and then you can talk ****. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zefy Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 torxxxThe guy can build or fab ANYTHING for subaru's. Until the rest of you get to his level, lay off the negativity. A forester D/R conversion.. someone else do it faster then he did or make the "weeble wobble" and then you can talk ****. well said... now that i think about it, doing jobs for other people is a small part of his work(the repetative stuff... bumpers, small lifts, all that stuff)... a larger part(in my mind) is his experimenting... just think of all the stuff he has contributed to the advancement of subies??? he has made the d/r for the new gens, custom bumpers for the new gens, LSD in the front diff, and of course the ea to ej conversion kit! a pile of his work is just finding out if something is possible... i can remember hearing john tell me about some new conversion then a month later seeing others doing the same thing... when others say something can't be done John seems to be first in line to challenge it... not to many people wanted to sell me their brat's (when i was looking and before i was on the board) in the states due to shipping and all that... i phone him and he says "ya sure..." a few months later we meet in seattle at erics and make the deal... so ya... if you find somebody else to do all the things that he does then great... but if you can't, then just lay off... see you at the show! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudrat79 Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Ok, I am going to say a few things to a few People here then I am done with this Post as well as the People Posting them ... FLOW......I quoted you a Solid Ride for 2200.00 Delivered.. When I delivered you weren't 100% happy So I let you haggle me down to 1800.00 So I took a Loss on the project...I even told you after the rust was found in the Bed That I'd fix it come Winter when things Were Slower....??? Never Saw the Car.....tried to send you the title several times to a bad address...? Still have it sitting here....If you haven't Bogussed something, Come get it at the show.... ForesterRanger...AKA Shane ..... I charged you the Very Large Sum of $500.00 Labor on the Forester Project....I also Did A never Before Done Custom Job in less than 3 weeks....Start To Finish FIND ME ANYONE IN THE WORLD WILLING AND ABLE TO DO IT FOR THAT MONEY IN THAT AMOUNT OF TIME.......?????????? AS far as Your SVX goes......Again Find any Shop in town Willing and Able to do it for that Money in that amount of time Your Quote For 1800.00 from Rallitek Was through me at My Buddy Price as A favor to me to get your car done and that was only after I talked them into even think about taking the project on, cause they don't do that type of Custom Work....And if you got a Quote from someone in Portland Willing to Do it for 800.00 Why did you not take it there instead of to me and My Highly inflated shop rate of 65.00 an hr......? And Don't forget the Free Labor on the Front end of the car which had Nothing to do with anything I did on the Thing....?? Do me A Favor Take your Rides To Gary From Now On.....He Will take care of you in a More Professional And timely manner....His shop is away from Home too.... For the Rest of you reading this Still.......Yes I was trying to Make a Go of a Subaru Only Business.....and To Keep Overhead Costs Down , It made sense to work out of a Shop at home.....I am DAD FIRST....and Mechanic Second.....SORRY THATS JUST ME.....I may Take forever to get something Done, But I can say I have over 25 Cars Out in the World Running Hard And Strong, And Flawless......I stand Behind All my Product, and Normally Go Way Out of My way And Far beyond the norm to take care of My Customers..... As Of Next Week I will Be working a Regular 9-5 Job....I was Asked by the Service Manager at My Local Subaru Dealer To come Work For Him, So I am....I think That Should Speak for itself....? I will continue to Do Subi Mods....certain things Will take longer......I will not Disappear.....I don't Live in front of Or on the Computer 25 hrs out of a 24 hr Day.....I do have a Life.... unlike alot of you here...I don't sit at the Computer all day at work and Browse the Net...... I thank All the Folks who Have given me the positive Feedback....Thank you for the Patience and understanding..... To all those with negative Feedback.....Sorry you feel the way You do.....Your all entitled to your Oppinions.....But thats All they are..... I don't do to bad for a Guy who's never been to a Tech School, Or Mechanics School...... -----> John pats his own Back and Leaves this Post Now.<----- Mods do what you will with this One....I've said My piece...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 My Highly inflated shop rate of 65.00 an hr......? Woah, is that all? Hell, our shop charges $74 an hour and that is for piddily little lawn mower engines and bobcats etc.. -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Well said John! Thats what a lot of the people on here don't realize. People have lives and have to make a living at it. Supporting a family always comes first. you only charged 500 labor on the forrester project?!?!?!?!?! That is a STEAL. 65/hr shop rate is low. Come to alaska and pay 85 an hour for shop labor. And that is base price. Add on hazardous material handling (oil/antifreeze disposal) and thats another few dollars an hour on top of the 85 an hour. I realize I've only been a member for a year and a half, so flame what I say if you want to, but from what I've saw and read on the board and on the subarubicon DVD, John is a pioneer to subaru modding. No one has lifted one higher, put LSD in a tranny, put a EA82 tranny in a 2000+ year of soobies, Among the other stuff Zefy mentioned in the post above above this one. For no schooling or training he's doin a hell of a job. Good work John, and I look forward to seeing more projects from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garner Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Woah, is that all? Hell, our shop charges $74 an hour and that is for piddily little lawn mower engines and bobcats etc.. -Brian Yep, and thats for CUSTOM work!!!! garner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 I have delt with John in the past many time from going to his old shop to kick it around with a bunch of people from this board like Junkie, subaru_styles, Flowmastered87GL and a few other people, to going to the new shop which he currently has. I have seen many of the projects that man has done in person and I am very impressed. Some people do NOT seem to realize that custom work takes much longer then expected because its CUSTOM. Especially when no one has ever done it before and its being done for the first time. Give the man a break, he's got a family to take care of and having them come first should come first bottom line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qman Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 K, problem has been addressed. Time to move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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