Recently as of March 3rd 2011 , i purchase a car (2007 Corvette fully loaded). I decided to get a full performance exhaust for my car and was referred to their business by a relative. After researching online they supposedly had a good reputation and have been in business since 1975. After getting my full exhausted system installed things started going down hill. After 4 days of exhaust system being installed , my car began to have problems starting and my vehicle information system was stating "service charging system".
The first thing I did was call Doug (business owner) and he told me to leave the car and they would find out why i was having this issue. Prior to leaving the car I told them I had read online headers like the ones they installed can melt the starter, if not properly shielded. Doug stated these headers were coated and would not cause enough heat to melt the starter. So, ok I'm not an ASE certified automotive tech, but that is neither here nor there. By the end of the business day, I called to find out what they had found. Doug told me my battery terminals were loose and it was causing the problem...I wish that was the case!
Unfortunately, when I picked up the car it was parked outside the shop. I got there at the close of business when getting the keys from Doug told me he could have charged me to have the terminals tightened and I quickly responded that they (Custom Exhaust) were the last people to have taken them off! He then stated "oh yea thats right"! So I know more than get out to the vehicle and the car wont start! I was so pissed off I proceeded to mess around with buttons on my dash to try and get the car started! Eventually it did and I stormed off!
The next day I called the dealerships service department to help me with this problem as Custom Exhaust clearly could not. I believed even before taking it to the dealership service department that Custom Exhaust was not taking ownership of their mistakes!!! My original concerns of the electrical problems were confirmed after taking it to the service department...but they were worse than expected. So here are the finds from the Corvette Technician at the Chevrolet Service Department.