Warning - Luke at Pacific Works

[jmachling]

I took my car to Luke to get a few things done on it.

1. cam-belt change
2. new water pump
3. coolant change
4. respray and fit a replacement wing and door with a local body shop while it was with him

I picked it up today and I was shocked and amazed by what had happened to my car. OK, he'd done all the work I'd asked and to a very high standard but:

1. It was shiny. Very shiny. All over. It's as if some cowboy has polished the whole car after the panels were fitted. Perhaps I liked the fine scratches on the other panels? At no point was I asked if I wanted the car to actually look better than before. How dare he?
2. The coolant is now red. I'm pretty sure I didn't ask for red coolant. The original coolant was greeny/yellow. I kinda liked its greeny/yellowness. Apparently he'd replaced it with Toyota Forlife coolant which he tells me is better. Red coolant...in a blue car. Shocking...
3. A large proportion of the original black vacuum piping in the engine bay had been removed without my knowledge or agreement. The fact that he has replaced it with far superior quality silicone piping in a colour to match the bodywork is irrelevant. I didn't ask for that! It's a good thing he didn't charge me for it.
4. The original lower brace bars in the engine bay that had been with the car since it was built 20 years ago had been removed. They were integral to the patina of the car! Their moth eaten appearance and complete lack of structural integrity were all original. Instead, I now have shiny stainless steel ones with no characterful rust or holes that will outlast the car. Incredible behaviour!
5. The rattling noise that used to come from the engine bay to tell me my turbo heatshields were still there is now gone. How am I supposed to know now whether my heatshields are still attached??
6. On top of all of this, he had the cheek to charge me nowhere near enough for the work that was done. Pure arrogance if you ask me.

So yeah, BIG warning - if you want someone who does the bare minimum to your car and charges you a fortune, I'd avoid Luke. You'll just be disappointed like I was.

[aussieGT]

4. The original lower brace bars in the engine bay that had been with the car since it was built 20 years ago had been removed. They were integral to the patina of the car! Their moth eaten appearance and complete lack of structural integrity were all original. Instead, I now have shiny stainless steel ones with no characterful rust or holes that will outlast the car. Incredible behaviour!

I'm guessing it was heritage listed, that or at least parked in a conservation area. Fines apply no doubt.

[rev3gtturbo]

So the only problem was he didnt ask if you wanted blue or black vac hoses?

You must have been really unlucky cos he gave me a choice of several colours when I recently had an mbc fitted.

Hope Luke still has a sense of humour when he reads this thread.

[jmachling]

He has, and he does

[rev3gtturbo]

lucky it wasnt 1st April or you get the rare limited edition pink vac hoses