- Report: #464755
Complaint Review: Kustom Kar Audio - Boulder Colorado
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Kustom Kar Audio
2575 49th ST Boulder, 80301 Colorado, U.S.A.
Phone:
303-447-3398
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Kustom Kar Audio Kustom Kar Audio in Boulder, took them to court and won. Don't trust KKA! Boulder Colorado
I took a 2005 Dodge Sprinter to Kustom Kar Audio last year to have them do a bumper-to-bumper build out, converting a cargo van into a mini toy-hauler/RV. Clay Watson, the owner of the shop, was more than confident in taking on the project, quoted me a price and said it would take 3 weeks to complete.
Almost 15 weeks after having my van with multiple promises of it being completed in shorter segments of that time frame, I finally repossessed my van. There were many issues with the work that was completed, as well as the issue of a lot of work that wasn't started or completed. For instance, the stereo, power system(inverters, batteries, converters, etc.), water system, lighting, alarm, and several other items were not installed. And items that were installed were not what was originally agreed upon, such as charging $650 for a RV-specific refrigerator, then installing a normal dorm-style fridge that retailed for $99 at Target.
As far as quality and safety of work, among other things, they used 12-volt wiring for 110-volt applications, including wiring a microwave to 12-volt wiring. The microwave itself was a $49 model, though Kustom Kar Audio charged me $250 for it. They also removed a crossmember from the vehicle to make room for a storage box that was not requested or talked about at all, and did not reinforce or replace the crossmember in any way. Instead, they simply caulked the flanges of the storage box to the wooden floor covering above the van's structural floor/body.
When I asked for my money back, Clay Watson would not talk to me. He had an employee email me asking if they could have the opportunity to complete the project, but the inferior workmanship, the broken promises with both timeframe and quality of materials or product to be used, and the general attitude from the owner were more than enough to not feel comfortable with allowing Kustom Kar Audio another chance.
I took Kustom Kar Audio to small claims court, and won, but haven't seen a dime from them. Furthermore, some of the parts of my van that Kustom Kar Audio took off in the process of the project I had asked to be returned. Clay Watson tried to charge me for them initially, then said he'd mail them to me but never did. I have emails from Watson that document this.
Zach
Boulder, Colorado
U.S.A.
Almost 15 weeks after having my van with multiple promises of it being completed in shorter segments of that time frame, I finally repossessed my van. There were many issues with the work that was completed, as well as the issue of a lot of work that wasn't started or completed. For instance, the stereo, power system(inverters, batteries, converters, etc.), water system, lighting, alarm, and several other items were not installed. And items that were installed were not what was originally agreed upon, such as charging $650 for a RV-specific refrigerator, then installing a normal dorm-style fridge that retailed for $99 at Target.
As far as quality and safety of work, among other things, they used 12-volt wiring for 110-volt applications, including wiring a microwave to 12-volt wiring. The microwave itself was a $49 model, though Kustom Kar Audio charged me $250 for it. They also removed a crossmember from the vehicle to make room for a storage box that was not requested or talked about at all, and did not reinforce or replace the crossmember in any way. Instead, they simply caulked the flanges of the storage box to the wooden floor covering above the van's structural floor/body.
When I asked for my money back, Clay Watson would not talk to me. He had an employee email me asking if they could have the opportunity to complete the project, but the inferior workmanship, the broken promises with both timeframe and quality of materials or product to be used, and the general attitude from the owner were more than enough to not feel comfortable with allowing Kustom Kar Audio another chance.
I took Kustom Kar Audio to small claims court, and won, but haven't seen a dime from them. Furthermore, some of the parts of my van that Kustom Kar Audio took off in the process of the project I had asked to be returned. Clay Watson tried to charge me for them initially, then said he'd mail them to me but never did. I have emails from Watson that document this.
Zach
Boulder, Colorado
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
mllnfilm
Colorado,Had Similar Issues
#2Consumer Comment
Wed, June 12, 2013
We have had similar issues with KKA. Clay Watson is a hack and a total rip off. He was not able to deliver on a simple fabrication of our Mercedes van. Hardly anything worked so we had to take it to Car Toys to have them fix his work. Unfortunatly we weren't the first customer that they had to help of his.
I hope he's gone and out of biz.
Atticus
USARebuttal to KKA's rebuttal
#3General Comment
Thu, July 15, 2010
Let's get the facts straight shall we?
1) It is a business owner's responsibility to provide a realistic quote to your customers based on the work involved. There was a written quote for the work to be done that both parties agreed upon. It is up to a business offering the service/goods to determine the price based on its expert knowledge of the work involved. If KKA, or any business, underbid the work, that is not the fault of the customer and is of no consequence when determining a contract dispute.
2) The court found as a finding of fact that the work was not completed and the work that was done was of poor quality. The court also found that the few times (not every weekend) that the owner took the van (with prior permission) did not provide an excuse for the incompletion of the work. Thus, the small claims court found in favor of the plaintiff (Zach) and awarded partial damages, which KKA never paid. (translation = Zach won)
3) Zach, not KKA, appealed the decision alleging that the calculation of damages was clearly erroneous.
4) The appellate court agreed with Zach that there was insufficient findings to support the partial damages award and remanded the decision back to the small claims court for further findings. (translation = Zach won again)
5) On remand, the small claims court explained its calculation of partial damages. (translation = see #2)
6) KKA has yet to pay any of the amount ordered by the court.
Regardless of who's side of the story you want to believe regarding the actual work, it is clear is that KKA has completely ignored a fairly litigated judgment by a court of law. That alone speaks volumes.
Signed,
law clerk who worked on the case on behalf of the plaintiff
clay
Boulder,Colorado,
United States of America
Sprinter Problem
#4REBUTTAL Owner of company
Wed, July 14, 2010
The problem from the beginning of this project was that Zach wanted a $70k build on a $10k budget. The other problem was that Zach continually would take the van in the middle of the install because he needed it for bike races. This was a major problem because we would have to stop working on the project, put it back together so he could take it, and then wait until he had the time to bring it back. Zach speaks of equipment that was inferior to what was quoted being put in his vehicle, which is not the case. The original quote that we gave Zach had more expensive equipment, but we had to cut the quote in more then half to accommodate Zach's budget. This also changed the equipment that we were able to use. When Zach references things that were not finished, the reason for non-completion was because of Zach taking the van every weekend to races and because it was finally not returned after one of these races. There is no way that we would have given it to him incomplete. We appealed the small claims court judgment and won, and issued a cease and desist against him which has obviously not been followed. Anyone reading this is more then welcome to come in and check us out, look at the quality of our work, and make up their own mind.
KustomKarAudio.com
Boulder, Colorado
