BUYERS BEWARE!!!
I'm a contractor and depend heavily on my pickup truck, in order to run my business on a daily basis.
I hired RPM (owner is Roy Bradley Reich aka "Brad", and can be reached at 707-584-8230) to fix up my truck, back in May 2001.
I chose to have rebuilt or replaced, virtually every single component on the truck, to optimize it for my business needs.
I paid a 50% deposit to start the job, giving them $9,000.00 up front, based on the $17,000.00 estimate. This was for a new engine, transmission, etc. The agreement was to pay half down,
the remainder of the project cost to be paid upon completion.
It wasn't until October, five months later, that they finally gathered all the parts and were ready to take my truck in and get started. At that point, I was ready to abort the deal, thinking that they had already demonstrated their inability to perform. But, like the trusting sucker that I am, I agreed to go ahead with the deal. It was all downhill from there.
They made every excuse as to why they could not aquire the necessary parts any faster. I believed their shameless lies at the time, but later found out that all the "hard to find" parts
were readily available form ANY GM Dealer, nationwide! As well as from countless aftermarket suppliers. And, the delays were caused only by their laze and inactivity.
As a stipulation, they (RPM) agreed to complete the job within 30 days of starting it. And they even offered to pay for a rental truck for me to use. However, the project remained incomplete for a full sixty days! And they have yet to reimburse me for the $1,200.00 dollars I spent to rent a replacement vehicle during that time.
At the sixty day mark, I was able to coerce these lazy crooks to relinquish posession of my vehicle, under the guise of a weekend test drive. I knew by then that if I didn't get my truck out of there ASAP, I may never have gotten it back!
The truck was never completed, and had many, many mechanical problems, due solely to RPM's shoddy, amateur work. They promised to finish the project in bits, so that I could use it every day. That promise never came true. I made several attempts to get the work finished, to no avail. Not only did they seem reluctant to finish, but it slowly became clear that they were UNQUALIFIED to to the work! A brand new engine with fuel injection, and it ran like an old junker.
The truck ran poorly for about 2,500 miles and three months. So poorly in fact, that it finally failed catastrophically, and no longer runs at all! I was forced to go out and buy another vehicle, just to have something to drive!
Also, Roy changed the payment agreement midway through the repairs. He conned me into paying regular cash deposits. He and his staff told me more than a few times, if I did not cooperate, they would not finish the truck, nor honor the warranty, and one mechanic even threatened to sabotage the computer!!! (Which I believe he eventually did.)
Like a lamb going to slaughter, fearing that my truck would be unfinished, I paid the regular deposits. They used every trick in the book, and I ate it up, believing that my truck would turn out the way I wanted it.
I paid them a total of more than $38,000.00, parts and labor. Just to fix up the mechanicals on my dumb old pickup! And now I had nothing to show for it. On the day that it broke down for the last time, it suffered some sort of electrical meltdown. That fried my $1,500.00 stereo and ruined my brand new electronic gauges and gell cell batteries!
To top it off, one day when I was in to RPM for a third attempt to fix my new transmission, ROY (the owner) ASSAULTED ME! We were standing in the parking lot discussing the problem, when he suddenly moved toward me in a threatening manner. He was angry and trying to hide the situation from another customer.
I stepped to the side and moved past him. As soon as my back was to him, he grabbed me from behind and threw me down!
As I dialed the police to report the attack, he apologized profusely and suddenly wanted to work on the truck right away.
I snuck away and called the police, explaining what had happened and that I would be there to file a report as soon as I could get my truck back.
Guess what else? This same repair shop (RPM) works on the local police cars! All the local cops know Roy, and they all helped to cover his tracks! There is an obvious collusion between the cops and this assailant, as now the D.A. refuses to file charges against Roy! The police report leads them to believe that I somehow provoked the attack!
Roy told me that if I ever returned to his shop, he would have me arrested for tresspassing! Needless to say, there is no warranty for me now.
I'm out 40 grand, my truck is junk and will require tens of thousands of dollars to repair. I started with a reliable older truck, with A/C, cruise, power windows, etc. And those items never worked again after I got the truck back from RPM.
I have been disputing some of the credit card charges, with little luck. This masterful liar has the card companies convinced that he has done no wrong. He also has them all tied up over time limit technicalities!
If I was your mechanic, and I ruined your vehicle for a price of forty thousand dollars, and assaulted you, would you feel ripped off?
ALL READERS: this account is the God's honest truth. I swear it. Please spread the word ALL OVER the place. And do not even consider using this company. They truly deserve to be put out of business for good.
I will not rest until I get all my money back, RPM pays for all new repairs needed, and Roy is charged with and found guilty of assaulting me.
Please help!!!
Doug
Santa Rosa, California