Again, thank you for stepping up when Aleks would not.

I have noted the fact that I have received a refund from you on the MB-World thread, so all the parties involved can see there was closure.

Best regards,

 

Refund received.

Les

 

Oh I throw none of this on Rudy, I might be retireing in 4 months.. and open to a new job for right now..LOL.

As far as a commitment.. Really all I'd like to see is everyone's not so PO'd over this ordeal they could care less at this point. Maybe keep this thread alive for any developements (Doc..his indy).. or if anyone actually has a very good concept of what needs done with them that could be beneficial for there developement. I know we're not header builders.. But Web3.0 isn't a speed shop either if you follow me.

 

Full refund received. Thanks Squirrel Crusher

 

so what does the wait list look like now?

 

Not sure which wait will be longer... a successful header build, OR the appreciation of our car's value due to being a collector item.

 

I've had a chance to go over the emails, PMs and now threads about how everyone has reacted to the header group buy and my departure from Speedriven and I have to say I am deeply disappoint with both sides. Communication is a huge part of why things can get out of hand but a retaliatory mob mentality that starts spilling over into other threads and for that matter other forums is completely uncalled for and is rarely how things should be handled, even in this situation. Now I don't want to group everyone in this as there are those that have voiced their opinions in a very respectful manner.

To the team at Speedriven, myself included when I was there, I think a lot of this could have been avoided by following up more often on the header thread but when there are no updates, a daily update to say nothing happened is unquestionably a waste of time. Even a weekly update is not warranted. Regardless of how people feel about their $100 deposit and the amount of money that was felt to be made from the headers, first and foremost, as a buyer, you aren't owed an explanation on the costs and the profits and one wasn't given here so saying that $10,000 with another $8,000 in the wings really doesn't have any basis here and using it to compare this to other builds is apples and oranges and not a call anyone other than those at Speedriven can make. I knew from running the numbers with Marcin before we even collected deposits that this wasn't what was going to keep the doors open and in all honesty, I have to apologize to Marcin for pushing him to do these based on nothing more than purely my love for the car and wanting to be able to get you guys some aftermarket love. The second thing to realize is that the day to day business takes precedent over something like this and that is purely up to Marcin and a deposit isn't a contract that allows any of you to feel you have a say in that.

To those header group buy members that felt they needed to grab their pitchfork and torch, I realize there is no perfect world but how many of you that where heavy breathing about your deposit actually called Speedriven? How many called and got a roll-over answer as is made to seem like from the multitude of posts that are in several threads? EVERY person that was a part of the header group buy either has my personal cell in their phone book or they have access to it here on the forum so if all your trust was in me, why not approach me? I've talked with 5-6 of you via phone, email or PM for info on things other than the headers or to do nothing more than converse as friends do and see how things are going on in other parts of the globe. This really started when something unrelated to the headers happened to a member of the group buy and it's really sad that it was felt that regardless of what I said about how it happened or what proof was offered to show that what was thought happened in fact actually didn't still festered until it exploded in this thread and other threads and forums. It's prominence was unnecessary and it's relevance, nonexistent.

That being said and off my shoulders, I'm sorry if any of you feel I let you down or lead you along with any of this and I'm sorry if any of you are now pissed at me for what I said but this needs to find a home in a cool dark place because it's not going to do anything positive by bringing it up any more.

 

I'm deleting what I had written. I'm controlling myself.

Les

 

To start, I think I echo the sentiments of all members here when I say there is no animosity towards you. You've been a long-standing member and personal friend for years, and I consider this a business transaction with Speedriven. Nothing more, nothing less. This debacle will, in no way, affect my view of you as a man and as a friend.

That being said, I feel as though I must address some points. Hazard to say that some involved will agree with me...

Since you've read the material in a thorough fashion, it should be quite clear why this transaction was brought up on the other forums. We get very sporadic feedback here, despite the fact that someone logged in under the Speedriven account on a daily basis. I know for a fact that after Aleks volunteered to refund the deposit and I obliged, three days had passed of him logging in after my post asking for the refund. No action was taken. As you have read, Speedriven presented another "drawing board" group buy to MB-World while simultaneously claiming to have "freed up the shop of all projects". This was clearly misleading to them and infuriating to us. Not once in any of my posts did I step out of bounds by using profanity, threats, etc. We simply pressed for information/action until we got it. Mission accomplished.

I strongly disagree. If we (the customers that were solicited by Speedriven) request no update until definitive progress is made, then you can feel free to pop in once every two months and say "soon". But when there are weekly posts being made saying "update please"..."photos please"... "Bueller, bueller"... Speedriven dropped the ball. As you're well aware, I work as an in-house parts representative at Nissan for our Nissan and Infiniti dealerships. I assist dealers in getting the parts and information they need to be able to serve the Nissan/Infiniti owner. Whatever it takes to keep the customer happy, that is what a successful company MUST do. Selective, sparse feedback when the customer is asking for an ETA is simply not an option if you want to promote the longevity and reputation of your company. Period.

Again, I disagree. Speedriven is one of many tuning shops out there. There is no "monopoly" mentality that we should bow down to, even if it is in Chicago. We chose to invest in them because we had a contact there that we felt would be an arbitrator on our behalf, to insure our project went well. The customer has as much of a right as anyone to understand the price point and ROI versus investment. The only relevance of the $10,000 and additional $8,000 was simply to illustrate a revenue potential. As for the profit margin, that is set by Speedriven and honestly if they felt the price was too cheap, they should have said otherwise from the get-go. But once a group-buy is agreed upon, you follow-through. You had no control over the GB once Speedriven took the wheel. Therefore, at that point we're dealing with a company, not a buddy. Marcin made every effort to keep those entities separate. On the note of price, price NEVER should be a determining factor as to who gets the best treatment. Nissan is no different -- whether you are needing a $10 window switch or a $10,000 GT-R transaxle, we will make every effort to keep the customer happy. I know the revenue has ZERO effect on my service to dealers on a daily basis. I have spent days trying to sort out a supply issue for a $5 finisher, just to ensure the customer (and future customers) are accomodated.

Again, Speedriven owned the success of the group buy, not you. I strongly feel that if it were up to you, the headers would have been just as much a priority as the big toys. But the fact remains that Speedriven and Marcin called the shots. And let's recall how we were approaced -- we weren't given a cold call, or an email, or a TV ad -- we were approached on the forum. We exchanged PayPal info through forum PM and all aspects of the GB were handled via forum. Therefore, why should I have to chase Speedriven for proper handling of the business transaction through any other media? Furthermore, why would I go behind the scenes and call an employee who has no control over the build assignments, to beg for updates? I didn't bother you with that because I knew your hands were tied anyways... no sense in straining a friendship over a company's poor handling of feedback.

Best regards,

 

VOTE - John for president.. 2012 !

Just trying to lighten things up.. its a done deal so no since dragging the bodies around..

 

I feel no remorse about my behavior. That's all.

Les

 

LOL thanks.

Believe it or not, I think that's my last soap-box on the sujbect. If it isn't crystal clear by now, it won't be.

 

I was still holding onto hope that SpeedDriven would still go thru with the header build. I never asked for a refund,but received one anyway. I could see this heading towards that direction. Sooo this is now a closed door. Lets move on and find a header builder. Squirrel Crusher

 

WTF!!!! Dude lays low till the smoke clears and THEN decides we need to be chided by he who has no dog in the fight.

 

ruby i consider you a friend and dont want to strain that friendship. im going to agree to disagree with everything you said and drop this matter for good. im out and will search for headers on my own. this will be my last posting on this subject

 

Nothing against Rudy or anyone else involved in this effort but I will say I am not surprised by the outcome of this. I did not expect much to come from this effort which I did not participate. That being said my expectations had to do with the results of the headers not the implosion of the GB. Why did I have such low expectations? It has everything to do with the past efforts. I have a set of headers from Vadim sitting in my basement. I jumped thinking they would produce HP which if they had actually fit they would have produced a handful of HP but it would not have been worth the cost. Too bad they do not actually fit.

Good luck to everyone pursuing headers. I have a local shop that will build headers for us but am not confident the results are worth pursuing. Plus the prices I am looking at are not competitive with what others are saying they can get headers built at.

I wish everyone the best of luck on this and if anyone builds headers that actually produce reasonable results I may change my stance on not pursuing any additional HP mods.

 

I'll tell you what I really think. Based on the progress of the whipple project Speedriven can move mountains when they decide to do it. We ranked around cockroach level to them. Step, twist and wipe. They could've completed this group buy profitably in little time. I don't know about the rest of you but I don't like their way of handling group buys. Even if they're products deliver.

Les

 

i talked to some people at eurocharged and they would maybe entertain the idea of headers i think they made ones before but they were log style right??? if there was interest maybe they could do a long tube style but im sure we would have to wait on them for alittle...

 

Yes,EuroCharged headers were ill fitting shortie logs. I had two sets. Shipped them back and Jake sent me a full refund. I think you'll find that producing long tubes want be possible because of our gearbox location. I could find away to get interested in a well designed shortie header again. Squirrel Crusher

 

i know of a mercedes tech that already built a set of tubular headers for the r170. he's local to me and ill explore having him build me a set. unfortunately i doubt he will want to do any mass # so im most likely will be one of the few with a set.
on a positive note im also looking a getting porsche cayman S and they make all kinds of headers for them!!