cvjoint
Well-Known Member
In an effort to improve the workmanship on our 6th gens or other Hondas let's compile our experience with local shops. I have gone through more than my fair share. You don't have to follow my format or anything but if it's standardized it would be easier to follow.
Only request: 3 rd party reporting only. If you have any personal connection with the shop please don't post. I've made friends with some of the guys at Church Automotive and therefore you won't see that review. I ask you to do the same to prohibit conflict of interest.
Mods I hope this is the best place for this and that it hasn't been done already. If so bring it to my attention and I'll list it as a post in some other thread that's related.
ProStreetImport
http://www.prostreetimport.com/
Quality of work
These guys were on TV and a friend recommended them so what could go wrong? I had them swap a transmission for me, stock for stock and change the clutch to an ACT. The clutch made all sorts of noises right of the bat and never stopped for the 6 months I've owned it . The managed to ruin the threads on some of the transmission bolts as well, forgot to put some in. They took out my CAI for the install and forgot to put back my air filter. I ran open pipe for a few days until I popped the hood. I had to go back and have them adjust my pedal for proper engagement since they didn't do it to begin with.
Price
$250 for everything is as cheap as it gets.
Time
Promised to be done in 2 days. Came back to get the car and they didn't even started. The guys started working on it late evening and finished it in the morning. Maybe that had to do with poor quality of labor.
Job cleanliness
I had suede doors and these guys made no effort to keep the car clean. Got grease all over the doors and I could never clean them after that.
Overall
Strongly not recommend. The only upside is if they **** up you're not down that much money since it's cheap. Eugene is the head guy and maybe he does good work but I didn't like the other guys that are likely to work on the car.
Quality of work: 2/5
Honesty: 4/5
Price: 5/5
Time: 2/5
Job cleanliness: 1:5
Other: 4/5
Overall experience : 3/5
SwapShopRacing
http://www.swapshopracing.com/index.html
Quality of work
This is probably the main reason I'm selling my Accord. Brian at Swapshopracing virtually gave me a lemon motor and crappy labor. I've lost thousands of dollars due to this poor choice. The swap he got done for me is as bad as one can imagine. The H22 was gunked, oil pressure was so low the VTEC didn't even turn on. He refused to admit it was broken, blamed the lack of power on my exhaust. Used electrical tape to make the harness and it came undone and shorted months after. Used a bracket for the driver's side mount that allowed the engine to move in the engine bay, errode the engine post and more.
Honesty
He gave me a P28 ecu instead of the advertised P72 on the site and on my receipt. He refused to give me money back due to the ecu difference. He stole almost all parts off my stock F23 block. It cost me 1500 to get all those parts back from the junk yard to put the old engine back in.
Price:
Charged the average price for a swap like this $2700
Time
Promissed two weeks, took 2 months.
Other
Brian is a real asshole. He never admits any of the shady things he does or bad workmanship. It's a miracle he stays in business.
Overall
Strongly not recommend. You can be the worst mechanic and do a better job than this guy. You risk having your car catch on fire or having your parts stolen. Major thumbsdown.
Quality of work: 1/5
Honesty: 1/5
Price: 2/5
Time: 1/5
Job cleanliness: 2:5
Other: 1/5
Overall experience : 1/5
Autowave
http://www.autowaveinc.com/
Quality of work
Had these guys do lots of work. Cam seals, brake master cylinder, studs, as well as fix leaks that other shops created. Flawless execution, they recommend fixing legitimate wrongs on the car and have the experience to back it up.
Honesty
Fully professional.
Price
Not the cheapest place in town but more than decent for the work they do. About $1,200 for parts and labor on all the above.
Time
Ready when promissed. Feels like my car was the only one there, and believe me it wasn't. These guys had like 5 NSXs there and my Accord.
Job Cleanliness
Better than the dealer. Cardboard floor mats and the whole nine yards.
Overall
Best shop I could find. You can find cheaper places but hardly any of them will give you this value/$
Quality of work: 5/5
Honesty: 5/5
Price: 4/5
Time: 5/5
Job cleanliness: 5:5
Other: 5/5
Overall experience : 5/5
Honda Heaven
http://www.hheaven.com/
Quality of work
Took my car in to fix the clutch issues I got from ProStreet. I figured I will spend bigger $ to get more value. I told the guy I had an aftermarket clutch and they said they work on aftermarket tunned cars. Took the car in, got the clutch out and then they said they can only put a stock new clutch in. I'm sorry but there are millions of mechanics that can do stock stuff, that's not why I took my car in for. Very dishonest, see next:
Honesty
Advertised that they work on aftermarket tunes and they do not. Charged up the *** for new OEM parts that I didn't want. They got me stuck with the clutch out and called whatever price they wanted.
Price
Very expensive, like the dealer for dealer stock parts work. $1350 for pats and labor stock clutch swap and transmission mount.
Overall
Don't recommend, just go to the dealer.
Quality of work: 2/5
Honesty: 1/5
Price: 1/5
Time: 5/5
Job cleanliness: 5:5
Overall: 2/5
Honda Dealer Service Used one on FWY 10 in Palm Desert, and one in Costa Mesa off the FWY55
Quality of work
Took the car in a year after I owned it as it was hesitating forcefully under acceleration. I spent $1500 in parts and they couldn't fix it. Even the shop foreman worked on it exclusively. It turned out I fixed it the next day with my bare hands. I had sand stuck in the air box. Idiots didn't even know to check, I even told them to check the air box. Instead they replaced my fuel injectors, ECU, Fuel pump. Incompetent to solve real mechanic problem, if this one was ever such. Second dealer dented my high end speaker trying to change a window actuator. I even took the door panels off beforehand to make it easier for them.
Honesty: 1/5
Mechanism where one guy is in a suit to give you a quote that milks you of money, whatever guy behind the door does the work. They quote you one thing on the phone and charge you twice as much when you walk in. I *****ed at them for it, turns out I actually talked to the manager himself for the quote. He wouldn't admit it, I even showed him my call from my cellphone. They also like to warn you about other maintanence that is not necessary like brake pads when they are new. Completely clueless on how to fix real problems/quote.
Price
Very expensive for stock parts labor only, especially given their possibility for economies of scale. A real disappointment.
Overall
Not worth it, poor value for the $
Quality of work: 2/5
Honesty: 1/5
Price: 1/5
Time: 5/5
Job cleanliness: 5:5
Overall: 2/5
Top Tune Auto
http://www.toptuneauto.com/
Quality of work
This is one of the shops I found by searching around on the site. One of the few that can do 6speed swaps so they are familiar with the 6th gen. I had them swap back in my F23 and take out the H. They did a good job finding out all the parts that Brian at SwapShopRacing stole off the block and patiently informed me so that we can complete the car again. Difficult job and great execution. They even smogged it right after.
Honesty
The only downside to this shop. They seemed to overcharge me a lot on the stock parts. I was quoted for $750 and ended up paying $2000. Some sensors they got for $350 when I found them online new for $125. Their quotes were also a lot higher for used junk yard parts than when I got quotes for the same thing at the yard. I ended up trying to buy the parts myself and making lots of trips so I don't get overcharged. Didn't swap two of my mounts like I asked, I don't know if it was miscommunication or they just didn't want to because they matched. They agreed to swap them back at a later time so no big let down. Overall honest but the low entry price might be augmented my high prices in later parts. Make sure you bring all parts yourself and this shop is a winner. Great 6th gen know how and good first quotes.
Price
$750 for a swap and smog check is about as good as one can ask. Just see above for other services. Get a straight quote and it should be cheap.
Time
Worked constantly to finish it. we would get a part and the next day it would be on.
Job cleanliness
Spilled my tool box but in their defense my tool box was a carboard box. They did try to use paper on the floor mats to keep things clean.
Overall
A flip of a coin between these and Auto Wave. This one charges higher prices as you go the other guys charge higher price to begin with and honest prices as you go.
Quality of work: 5/5
Honesty: 3/5
Price: 5/5
Time: 5/5
Job cleanliness: 5:5
Overall: 4.5/5
Conclusion:
Worst shop: SwapShopRacing it's like the plague.
Best: Tie between Auto Wave and Top Tune. Use Auto Wave if you need dyno time/tune and you're not entirely broke. Use Top Tune to get the lowest price or do 6th gen specific jobs like a 6 speed swap (more basic shop, no dyno, but they smog in house).
Only request: 3 rd party reporting only. If you have any personal connection with the shop please don't post. I've made friends with some of the guys at Church Automotive and therefore you won't see that review. I ask you to do the same to prohibit conflict of interest.
Mods I hope this is the best place for this and that it hasn't been done already. If so bring it to my attention and I'll list it as a post in some other thread that's related.
ProStreetImport
http://www.prostreetimport.com/
Quality of work
These guys were on TV and a friend recommended them so what could go wrong? I had them swap a transmission for me, stock for stock and change the clutch to an ACT. The clutch made all sorts of noises right of the bat and never stopped for the 6 months I've owned it . The managed to ruin the threads on some of the transmission bolts as well, forgot to put some in. They took out my CAI for the install and forgot to put back my air filter. I ran open pipe for a few days until I popped the hood. I had to go back and have them adjust my pedal for proper engagement since they didn't do it to begin with.
Price
$250 for everything is as cheap as it gets.
Time
Promised to be done in 2 days. Came back to get the car and they didn't even started. The guys started working on it late evening and finished it in the morning. Maybe that had to do with poor quality of labor.
Job cleanliness
I had suede doors and these guys made no effort to keep the car clean. Got grease all over the doors and I could never clean them after that.
Overall
Strongly not recommend. The only upside is if they **** up you're not down that much money since it's cheap. Eugene is the head guy and maybe he does good work but I didn't like the other guys that are likely to work on the car.
Quality of work: 2/5
Honesty: 4/5
Price: 5/5
Time: 2/5
Job cleanliness: 1:5
Other: 4/5
Overall experience : 3/5
SwapShopRacing
http://www.swapshopracing.com/index.html
Quality of work
This is probably the main reason I'm selling my Accord. Brian at Swapshopracing virtually gave me a lemon motor and crappy labor. I've lost thousands of dollars due to this poor choice. The swap he got done for me is as bad as one can imagine. The H22 was gunked, oil pressure was so low the VTEC didn't even turn on. He refused to admit it was broken, blamed the lack of power on my exhaust. Used electrical tape to make the harness and it came undone and shorted months after. Used a bracket for the driver's side mount that allowed the engine to move in the engine bay, errode the engine post and more.
Honesty
He gave me a P28 ecu instead of the advertised P72 on the site and on my receipt. He refused to give me money back due to the ecu difference. He stole almost all parts off my stock F23 block. It cost me 1500 to get all those parts back from the junk yard to put the old engine back in.
Price:
Charged the average price for a swap like this $2700
Time
Promissed two weeks, took 2 months.
Other
Brian is a real asshole. He never admits any of the shady things he does or bad workmanship. It's a miracle he stays in business.
Overall
Strongly not recommend. You can be the worst mechanic and do a better job than this guy. You risk having your car catch on fire or having your parts stolen. Major thumbsdown.
Quality of work: 1/5
Honesty: 1/5
Price: 2/5
Time: 1/5
Job cleanliness: 2:5
Other: 1/5
Overall experience : 1/5
Autowave
http://www.autowaveinc.com/
Quality of work
Had these guys do lots of work. Cam seals, brake master cylinder, studs, as well as fix leaks that other shops created. Flawless execution, they recommend fixing legitimate wrongs on the car and have the experience to back it up.
Honesty
Fully professional.
Price
Not the cheapest place in town but more than decent for the work they do. About $1,200 for parts and labor on all the above.
Time
Ready when promissed. Feels like my car was the only one there, and believe me it wasn't. These guys had like 5 NSXs there and my Accord.
Job Cleanliness
Better than the dealer. Cardboard floor mats and the whole nine yards.
Overall
Best shop I could find. You can find cheaper places but hardly any of them will give you this value/$
Quality of work: 5/5
Honesty: 5/5
Price: 4/5
Time: 5/5
Job cleanliness: 5:5
Other: 5/5
Overall experience : 5/5
Honda Heaven
http://www.hheaven.com/
Quality of work
Took my car in to fix the clutch issues I got from ProStreet. I figured I will spend bigger $ to get more value. I told the guy I had an aftermarket clutch and they said they work on aftermarket tunned cars. Took the car in, got the clutch out and then they said they can only put a stock new clutch in. I'm sorry but there are millions of mechanics that can do stock stuff, that's not why I took my car in for. Very dishonest, see next:
Honesty
Advertised that they work on aftermarket tunes and they do not. Charged up the *** for new OEM parts that I didn't want. They got me stuck with the clutch out and called whatever price they wanted.
Price
Very expensive, like the dealer for dealer stock parts work. $1350 for pats and labor stock clutch swap and transmission mount.
Overall
Don't recommend, just go to the dealer.
Quality of work: 2/5
Honesty: 1/5
Price: 1/5
Time: 5/5
Job cleanliness: 5:5
Overall: 2/5
Honda Dealer Service Used one on FWY 10 in Palm Desert, and one in Costa Mesa off the FWY55
Quality of work
Took the car in a year after I owned it as it was hesitating forcefully under acceleration. I spent $1500 in parts and they couldn't fix it. Even the shop foreman worked on it exclusively. It turned out I fixed it the next day with my bare hands. I had sand stuck in the air box. Idiots didn't even know to check, I even told them to check the air box. Instead they replaced my fuel injectors, ECU, Fuel pump. Incompetent to solve real mechanic problem, if this one was ever such. Second dealer dented my high end speaker trying to change a window actuator. I even took the door panels off beforehand to make it easier for them.
Honesty: 1/5
Mechanism where one guy is in a suit to give you a quote that milks you of money, whatever guy behind the door does the work. They quote you one thing on the phone and charge you twice as much when you walk in. I *****ed at them for it, turns out I actually talked to the manager himself for the quote. He wouldn't admit it, I even showed him my call from my cellphone. They also like to warn you about other maintanence that is not necessary like brake pads when they are new. Completely clueless on how to fix real problems/quote.
Price
Very expensive for stock parts labor only, especially given their possibility for economies of scale. A real disappointment.
Overall
Not worth it, poor value for the $
Quality of work: 2/5
Honesty: 1/5
Price: 1/5
Time: 5/5
Job cleanliness: 5:5
Overall: 2/5
Top Tune Auto
http://www.toptuneauto.com/
Quality of work
This is one of the shops I found by searching around on the site. One of the few that can do 6speed swaps so they are familiar with the 6th gen. I had them swap back in my F23 and take out the H. They did a good job finding out all the parts that Brian at SwapShopRacing stole off the block and patiently informed me so that we can complete the car again. Difficult job and great execution. They even smogged it right after.
Honesty
The only downside to this shop. They seemed to overcharge me a lot on the stock parts. I was quoted for $750 and ended up paying $2000. Some sensors they got for $350 when I found them online new for $125. Their quotes were also a lot higher for used junk yard parts than when I got quotes for the same thing at the yard. I ended up trying to buy the parts myself and making lots of trips so I don't get overcharged. Didn't swap two of my mounts like I asked, I don't know if it was miscommunication or they just didn't want to because they matched. They agreed to swap them back at a later time so no big let down. Overall honest but the low entry price might be augmented my high prices in later parts. Make sure you bring all parts yourself and this shop is a winner. Great 6th gen know how and good first quotes.
Price
$750 for a swap and smog check is about as good as one can ask. Just see above for other services. Get a straight quote and it should be cheap.
Time
Worked constantly to finish it. we would get a part and the next day it would be on.
Job cleanliness
Spilled my tool box but in their defense my tool box was a carboard box. They did try to use paper on the floor mats to keep things clean.
Overall
A flip of a coin between these and Auto Wave. This one charges higher prices as you go the other guys charge higher price to begin with and honest prices as you go.
Quality of work: 5/5
Honesty: 3/5
Price: 5/5
Time: 5/5
Job cleanliness: 5:5
Overall: 4.5/5
Conclusion:
Worst shop: SwapShopRacing it's like the plague.
Best: Tie between Auto Wave and Top Tune. Use Auto Wave if you need dyno time/tune and you're not entirely broke. Use Top Tune to get the lowest price or do 6th gen specific jobs like a 6 speed swap (more basic shop, no dyno, but they smog in house).
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