In November, I posted a warning to anyone thinking of dealing with Larry Garcia or having their car serviced at NSX Modified in Huntington Beach, CA. The story began as one of shoddy workmanship, lies, and total inconsideration for the customer. It has since become considerably uglier and includes conspiracy to defraud by Larry Garcia and the seller of the supercharger, Bradley Scott Swisher. The San Diego City Attorney’s office informs me that felony fraud begins at $5,000 so this transaction would seem to fall into that category. The facts are as follow:
-In October, Bradley Scott Swisher advertised a Comptech Supercharger for sale on NSX Prime http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/Forum18/HTML/000765.html
In the ad he states:
“I have for sale a 13 month old Comptech Supercharger for sale. The kit is in excellent condition and only has about 7K miles on it. The unit is the 9psi. The only thing that I am not including is the fuel injectors as I need them for my other NSX.
Reason for sale is selling this NSX.”
In fact, this supercharger was sold by Comptech in August of 2000 making the unit over two years old. Further, the reason for selling was not that that an NSX was being sold-Swisher undoubtedly never had this unit on his NSX as he had just purchased it in September 2002. It is also highly unlikely Swisher kept the fuel injectors for another NSX since they were melted by an engine fire. The unit that Swisher sold me and tried to sell to the rest of us on NSX Prime was a FIRE DAMAGED SUPERCHARGER he purchased dirt-cheap from ERZ Motors in an Ebay auction in September 2002.
Before Larry and Swisher try to claim that this is a case of mistaken identity, they should consider that Comptech places their own hand etched serial number INSIDE every supercharger and maintain records of its sale. This unit can be traced from its sale by Comptech in August 2000 to a Maryland shop, Hi Tech Auto. ERZ Motors purchased the fire-damaged supercharger, headers and competition clutch from its Maryland owner. ERZ sold the supercharger along with Comptech headers and clutch in an Ebay auction to the high bidder, Gumania and shipped the unit to Mr. Brad S at Pann Auto Performance where Brad Swisher recently did some work.
As if further evidence were needed, Swisher turned out not to have the electronic fuel pump regulator unit. According to ERZ Motors, the NSX that had the fire damage was shipped to Europe without removal of the fuel pump regulator. Swisher further says (after the fact) that he repainted the SC unit 7 months before selling it to me because the Comptech decal faded. Lastly, when the unit showed up without the carbon fiber fuel rail covers, Swisher didn’t even know what they were.
As discussed in my original post, I hired Larry Garcia of NSX Modified to inspect the unit and verify that it was functional, complete and in the excellent condition which Swisher represented. For those familiar with legalities, this means that Larry and I had an agent/principal relationship and he therefore had a fiduciary responsibility (the highest possible level of responsibility defined by law) to act in my best interests. Apparently, Larry did not take this responsibility seriously and didn’t bother to convey to me such minor details as the fire damage, the condition of the fuel lines (which could easily have caused another fire) and the fact that numerous components were missing when he gave me his approval of the unit. The day after Larry gave me his approval, I wired the full asking price of $5,500 to Bradley Scott Swisher.
In fact, Bradley had hired Larry to repaint the unit and scrounge up some of the missing components. Since my first post, I have had phone and e-mail correspondence with people who have both witnessed various stages of the refurbishment process and heard from Larry the story of how he was not paid about $800 by Swisher for the repainting and mismatch of used missing parts which he gathered for Bradley. At one point, Larry even told me that Swisher owed him money and that he would never deal with the guy again. So much for honesty among thieves.
As mentioned before, Larry committed additional outright fraud through his failure to deliver the boost gauge and Split Second map sensor which he sold to me. This has never been rectified. In disassembling the SC unit after it was destroyed in the washer incident, I further found that the “new” RC fuel injectors, which Larry also sold to me, were discolored and very grungy, dry grease caked Kernan injectors. Add another $400 fraud to the list.
As if being a fraud weren’t bad enough, my single experience in dealing with Larry Garcia displays a pattern of inexcusable shoddiness that simply could not happen to a competent mechanic:
-The infamous washer. While it would be difficult to prove, short of forensic analysis, that this washer came from Larry’s shop, this aluminum washer of nearly one inch diameter could not possibly have come from my garage where the work was done but where cars have not been worked on previously. It is also far larger than any washers one encounters in the engine compartment while doing the SC installation.
-After removing the unit from the car, we found that the new Mobil One oil we had just put in the SC reservoir was a sickly color which we can only surmise is what happens when you mix oil with the solvent from a solvent tank, in which the unit would have been cleaned. (This would also provide a good opportunity for the washer to slip in after inspection of the unit’s function).
-We also discovered a gritty, oil sludge coating the portions of the intake manifold not readily visible. (Larry told me the manifold had been dipped in a solvent tank). It is probably lucky that this whole incident happened rather than having that sand textured grit eventually sucked into the engine.
-As if selling used fuel injectors as new wasn’t bad enough, they were filthy inside and out. Used injectors should at least be cleaned and flow tested to insure they don’t cause fuel mixture problems, a primary cause of catastrophic engine failure in forced induction cars.
In sum, of these four major incidents of shoddiness and apathy, two could have resulted in engine destruction, one in SC failure and one in the destruction of both. Little wonder that one of the most knowledgeable NSX people around told me he had straightened out numerous Larry Garcia messes and that “The guy shouldn’t even be allowed to own a set of tools”.
Since posting the original story, I heard of an extremely similar story of substantial fraud from Len 3.8. A quote from one of his posts is worth repeating here as numerous people seem to end up pulling their hair out over Larry’s business practices: “Understand this He DOES NOT return phone calls, He does not pay attention to your time frame, He tells you that he will do something putting you on the hook to the point of very little alternatives than he does not deliver. (basing this purely on First hand knowledge) He may be a brilliant mechanic/NSX tech, (editor: But then again he may not be!) but that does not mean a damn thing when you or your car is in limbo and he won't answer calls and has your damn parts. (Maybe he doesn't and is waiting to get them from you guys that he takes care of so quickly when you just drive up). His business practices are a joke.” The problem seems to extend beyond the telephone. One person told me Larry was four hours late showing up for a scheduled appointment.
It also seems highly likely that Larry is operating an unlicensed repair facility. The Automotive Repair Enforcement Unit can find only a license which expired two years ago when searching under NSX Modified, the address of Larry Garcia's business and under Larry's name.
Last, I would like to thank all of you in the NSX community who have expressed your support, particularly those who let me know they had witnessed the refurbishment process at NSX Modified. I owe further gratitude to Mark Basch for the considerable time he spent helping me over the phone, for his attempt, without charge, to salvage the SC unit and for discovering that the pulley supplied was dangerously undersized. And, most of all, I would like to thank Bob Lionti and Shad over at Comptech for their efforts in helping me sort through this box of rocks (no part of which could be trusted under the circumstances) and for substantially discounting the new SC unit and bundle of components needed to finish the job. When this level of service is provided to someone who didn’t even purchase a supercharger kit new from Comptech, you know you’re dealing with a quality, customer oriented organization.
When the original version of this story was told, it was a very hot topic until the thread was eventually moved over to the vendor forum where it received far less visibility. It might be understandable to protect a vendor if there is an honest mistake. However, given the fact that we are now dealing with material fraud by two individuals who deal with NSX Prime members, I don’t believe this subject should not be relegated to a less visible area.
-In October, Bradley Scott Swisher advertised a Comptech Supercharger for sale on NSX Prime http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/Forum18/HTML/000765.html
In the ad he states:
“I have for sale a 13 month old Comptech Supercharger for sale. The kit is in excellent condition and only has about 7K miles on it. The unit is the 9psi. The only thing that I am not including is the fuel injectors as I need them for my other NSX.
Reason for sale is selling this NSX.”
In fact, this supercharger was sold by Comptech in August of 2000 making the unit over two years old. Further, the reason for selling was not that that an NSX was being sold-Swisher undoubtedly never had this unit on his NSX as he had just purchased it in September 2002. It is also highly unlikely Swisher kept the fuel injectors for another NSX since they were melted by an engine fire. The unit that Swisher sold me and tried to sell to the rest of us on NSX Prime was a FIRE DAMAGED SUPERCHARGER he purchased dirt-cheap from ERZ Motors in an Ebay auction in September 2002.
Before Larry and Swisher try to claim that this is a case of mistaken identity, they should consider that Comptech places their own hand etched serial number INSIDE every supercharger and maintain records of its sale. This unit can be traced from its sale by Comptech in August 2000 to a Maryland shop, Hi Tech Auto. ERZ Motors purchased the fire-damaged supercharger, headers and competition clutch from its Maryland owner. ERZ sold the supercharger along with Comptech headers and clutch in an Ebay auction to the high bidder, Gumania and shipped the unit to Mr. Brad S at Pann Auto Performance where Brad Swisher recently did some work.
As if further evidence were needed, Swisher turned out not to have the electronic fuel pump regulator unit. According to ERZ Motors, the NSX that had the fire damage was shipped to Europe without removal of the fuel pump regulator. Swisher further says (after the fact) that he repainted the SC unit 7 months before selling it to me because the Comptech decal faded. Lastly, when the unit showed up without the carbon fiber fuel rail covers, Swisher didn’t even know what they were.
As discussed in my original post, I hired Larry Garcia of NSX Modified to inspect the unit and verify that it was functional, complete and in the excellent condition which Swisher represented. For those familiar with legalities, this means that Larry and I had an agent/principal relationship and he therefore had a fiduciary responsibility (the highest possible level of responsibility defined by law) to act in my best interests. Apparently, Larry did not take this responsibility seriously and didn’t bother to convey to me such minor details as the fire damage, the condition of the fuel lines (which could easily have caused another fire) and the fact that numerous components were missing when he gave me his approval of the unit. The day after Larry gave me his approval, I wired the full asking price of $5,500 to Bradley Scott Swisher.
In fact, Bradley had hired Larry to repaint the unit and scrounge up some of the missing components. Since my first post, I have had phone and e-mail correspondence with people who have both witnessed various stages of the refurbishment process and heard from Larry the story of how he was not paid about $800 by Swisher for the repainting and mismatch of used missing parts which he gathered for Bradley. At one point, Larry even told me that Swisher owed him money and that he would never deal with the guy again. So much for honesty among thieves.
As mentioned before, Larry committed additional outright fraud through his failure to deliver the boost gauge and Split Second map sensor which he sold to me. This has never been rectified. In disassembling the SC unit after it was destroyed in the washer incident, I further found that the “new” RC fuel injectors, which Larry also sold to me, were discolored and very grungy, dry grease caked Kernan injectors. Add another $400 fraud to the list.
As if being a fraud weren’t bad enough, my single experience in dealing with Larry Garcia displays a pattern of inexcusable shoddiness that simply could not happen to a competent mechanic:
-The infamous washer. While it would be difficult to prove, short of forensic analysis, that this washer came from Larry’s shop, this aluminum washer of nearly one inch diameter could not possibly have come from my garage where the work was done but where cars have not been worked on previously. It is also far larger than any washers one encounters in the engine compartment while doing the SC installation.
-After removing the unit from the car, we found that the new Mobil One oil we had just put in the SC reservoir was a sickly color which we can only surmise is what happens when you mix oil with the solvent from a solvent tank, in which the unit would have been cleaned. (This would also provide a good opportunity for the washer to slip in after inspection of the unit’s function).
-We also discovered a gritty, oil sludge coating the portions of the intake manifold not readily visible. (Larry told me the manifold had been dipped in a solvent tank). It is probably lucky that this whole incident happened rather than having that sand textured grit eventually sucked into the engine.
-As if selling used fuel injectors as new wasn’t bad enough, they were filthy inside and out. Used injectors should at least be cleaned and flow tested to insure they don’t cause fuel mixture problems, a primary cause of catastrophic engine failure in forced induction cars.
In sum, of these four major incidents of shoddiness and apathy, two could have resulted in engine destruction, one in SC failure and one in the destruction of both. Little wonder that one of the most knowledgeable NSX people around told me he had straightened out numerous Larry Garcia messes and that “The guy shouldn’t even be allowed to own a set of tools”.
Since posting the original story, I heard of an extremely similar story of substantial fraud from Len 3.8. A quote from one of his posts is worth repeating here as numerous people seem to end up pulling their hair out over Larry’s business practices: “Understand this He DOES NOT return phone calls, He does not pay attention to your time frame, He tells you that he will do something putting you on the hook to the point of very little alternatives than he does not deliver. (basing this purely on First hand knowledge) He may be a brilliant mechanic/NSX tech, (editor: But then again he may not be!) but that does not mean a damn thing when you or your car is in limbo and he won't answer calls and has your damn parts. (Maybe he doesn't and is waiting to get them from you guys that he takes care of so quickly when you just drive up). His business practices are a joke.” The problem seems to extend beyond the telephone. One person told me Larry was four hours late showing up for a scheduled appointment.
It also seems highly likely that Larry is operating an unlicensed repair facility. The Automotive Repair Enforcement Unit can find only a license which expired two years ago when searching under NSX Modified, the address of Larry Garcia's business and under Larry's name.
Last, I would like to thank all of you in the NSX community who have expressed your support, particularly those who let me know they had witnessed the refurbishment process at NSX Modified. I owe further gratitude to Mark Basch for the considerable time he spent helping me over the phone, for his attempt, without charge, to salvage the SC unit and for discovering that the pulley supplied was dangerously undersized. And, most of all, I would like to thank Bob Lionti and Shad over at Comptech for their efforts in helping me sort through this box of rocks (no part of which could be trusted under the circumstances) and for substantially discounting the new SC unit and bundle of components needed to finish the job. When this level of service is provided to someone who didn’t even purchase a supercharger kit new from Comptech, you know you’re dealing with a quality, customer oriented organization.
When the original version of this story was told, it was a very hot topic until the thread was eventually moved over to the vendor forum where it received far less visibility. It might be understandable to protect a vendor if there is an honest mistake. However, given the fact that we are now dealing with material fraud by two individuals who deal with NSX Prime members, I don’t believe this subject should not be relegated to a less visible area.
