Got ripped off by MSPEED!!!

[kayz]

agreed... that is why it would be better to ask for quotation these days ... case if the foreman is a good enough he will definately let you know the estimated price at laest ...

Agreed, at least quote base on estimated price (inclusive labour & parts)

 

[infinityKL]

not to forget, this forum and its forummers had helped me much in saving a lot of $$$ over the years!!

:top::top::top:
tq tq tq

 

[tc@torpedo]

Power to the people!

I hope mod will lock all threads containing personal commercial issues btw Forum users/member with other members/forumners or workshops/accessories suppliers as its PERSONAL btw them. no double standard on such postings please.

I'm afraid I'll have to disagree here.

I'm posting this for the benefit of others. While this may be an issue between me and Ah Meng, this info is based on the facts as presented which may help prevent someone else from getting into the same situation.

Whether or not people want to believe is entirely up to them. We're all adults here, presumably, and therefore should be able to decide for ourselves the merit of the information.

In time, the truth will prevail about this so-called 'Dr.' Meng. The power of forums such as this is more than just the sharing of useful information. It will force unscrupulous workshops to think twice before pulling a fast one on people. And hopefully, put them out of business eventually.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

 

[bluepanther]

This thread should not be simply locked but for other people to 'study' and to 'learn' from other people's experience. Let them decide for themselves whether it is true. The people should be the judge. After all this is what the forum is all about.... right??
UNLESS there is somebody hiding something.

CHEERS.

 

[Daredevil]

I agree this thread shouldn't be locked as there are already similar threads that allows members and such to obtain personal experiences with certain workshops be it a good one or unpleasant one.

I used to frequent MSpeed during my E36 days. Fortunately I've not had any unpleasant experience with Ah Meng. In fact I found him to be pretty approachable and friendly as well. Price-wise, he was one of the more afforable ones around. That was like 7-8 years ago.

As some have said, it's worthwhile to establish a long term relationship with your choice of workshop because given time, they will provide more value added service without that hefty price tag.

 

[eyethree]

We should continue to inform our members of any issues, their personal experiences- be it good or bad. For example, because of advised from members, I managed to buy UDM parts at cheaper prices at Eng Soon. No regret...

 

[Mouse]

I agree this thread shouldn't be locked as there are already similar threads that allows members and such to obtain personal experiences with certain workshops be it a good one or unpleasant one.

I used to frequent MSpeed during my E36 days. Fortunately I've not had any unpleasant experience with Ah Meng. In fact I found him to be pretty approachable and friendly as well. Price-wise, he was one of the more afforable ones around. That was like 7-8 years ago.

As some have said, it's worthwhile to establish a long term relationship with your choice of workshop because given time, they will provide more value added service without that hefty price tag.

When i got my E46 3+ yrs ago, I went to various BMW workshop to "test water" on their pricing by changing minor item and also enquiring for the price of more expensive item. Most importantly, i wanted to determine how is their workmanship. My conclusion is, M-Speed price is actually one of the more affordable, but they screw up while repairing sometimes (not careful enough). anyway, all the other workshop also screwup. I still cant find a workshop that their staff is careful enough to repair your car like their own. So conclusion, all screw up..........but find a cheaper place to screw up :top:

 

[saat]

MSpeed has maintained all my BMWs for a long time now.

Throughout this time, Ah Meng has failed to repair a problem satisfactorily only on three occassions. So these are few and far between. For the most times, he has done a good job and most importantly, he has accomodated me in my times of need. Overall I am quite satisfied with his work. As I mentioned earlier, his archiles heel is electronics especially window winder cuircuit and ABS. I had the same problem. I was fortunate to have changed the cars soon after.

MSpeed is still the cheapest in town. He hardly charges me anything for his labour.

You must remember, whilst he may make some money from parts but parts prices are largely dictated by his suppliers. For almost all the parts I've gottens from him, I do believe that it is market price. When the parts changed is expensive, and it doesn't cure the problem, it doesn't mean he can take it back and ask for a refund. Parts are not refundable. But he did once try to change my ABS module with a used one and when it didn't work, he managed to get his supplier to take it back.

So what I would do in such cases is to seek a second opinion. If I do go ahead, I'm the one that decides to go ahead with the parts change. If it doesn't fix the problem, I'll go elsewhere. I'll not blame him for causing me to change the part. I also believe Ah Meng do advise you first. So that you'll understand what's in store.

Remember, troubleshooting is an art and not an exact science. The public inevitably meaures the level of competency of a mechanic by the percentage of his success in this area. In many cases it does involve trial and error.

It is impossible for a mechanic to be sure of the cure of a problem 100% of the time before attempting to look and investigate the problem. So asking for quotation for fixing a problem is near impossible. there is always that percentage of uncirtainty. If you do not believe in a mechanic, by all means go elsewhere, get a second opinion.

I'm not defending him. I do get frustrated with him and he knows it. But god the man's only human.

I still introduce him to my friends and they go to him and seemed to be very satisfied with him. So if a higher percentage of his clients are satisfied with his service, it can't be all bad and certainly not a rip-off.

P.S,
Anyway, I decided that the best is to let BMW warranty and servicing package do the work and so my cars are now new and goes to AB despite their crappy service.

 

[Ade]

I do go to Ah Meng sometimes....once in a while. Agree he is one of the more affordable workshops around but I wouldn't let him touch my car for major repairs...Normal kinda wear and tear problem no issue...

Some good incidents:
1. Change brake pads
2. Change engine mounting
3. Change bushings
4. Expansion tank

Not so good incidents:
1. Head gasket - have to redo coz his workmanship SUX!
2. Gearbox problem - need overhaul. Turns out to be some hose problem in the engine. Fixed for RM150.

 

[bimmerdude]

The following is based on my experience and my business partner's experience going to MSPEED in USJ.

My 1999 523i E39 - the ABS light among other lights in the meter cluster came on. I sent it in to check and was told I needed to change two things - the ABS box which is situated in the engine bay and that the meter cluster was faulty too. That cost RM2300 and RM4000 respectively. After the change, I noticed that in the gear indicator in the meter cluster read PRN654321 instead of PRN54321 as mine is a 5-speed model. I asked Ah Meng many times if he's sure this unit is for my model and he insisted it was. I just found out yesterday that this meter cluster is made for a 2004 model and not the correct one for mine which results in some fault readings being inaccurate or not detectable. Also, the quote for second hand units like this even after profit margin built in is around RM1000. This despite the fact that I was clear with Ah Meng about my previous experiences of getting ripped off before first sending my car to him.

My business partner's 1996 520i E34 - his gearbox was not shifting and was stuck in 3rd gear. Ah Meng told him he needed to overhaul the gearbox which cost RM4500. After doing so, the problem still persisted and my partner went to a gearbox specialist in Subang who told him that the problem is due to the trans program which either the DME relay or Fuel Pump relay could be faulty resulting in this problem. The Fuel Pump relay turned out to be the problem with a quick RM180 fix.

Of course when confronted with these issues, Ah Meng just dismissively asked me to leave to the car for him to check. Like anyone would after such blatant cheating. He did not even offer any form of apology for making a mistake or something. It was pure guilt and trying to run away from the problem.

CAVEAT EMPTOR guys.

Anyone who's going there to fix their cars beware. Despite MSPEED being referred to by friends of the UDMOwners club, we still got ripped off in style.

Anyone is welcome to disagree with me on this matter. If you are happy with your service there, cool. But I'm writing this for the benefit of those who might be suspicious of their experience there too or are thinking of going there for the first time.

So far, after more than 10 years of trying to find the right mechanic and having used about 6 different ones, I have concluded the following 2 rules to be important:

1. Trust No One - they will all lull you into a false sense of security by doing a good job the first few times then start to rip you off subsequently. So always get a second opinion especially for big jobs and always verify the parts cost with other suppliers. Don't rush, you'll only come to regret it like I do now.

2. If you think you can trust your mechanic now, please refer to rule no.1.

My friend used to joke that the only good mechanic is a dead mechanic, I now share his jest of frustration. Integrity has never been rarer than any collectible BMW. But I'm trying to keep the faith....

Cheers and hope this helps some of you out there!

wah, knowing u, i thought u would have grounded this fella to the ground already man. Mike also kena ah? i'd think twice about bringing my e90 to this workshop man. thanks for the headsup.

 

[tc@torpedo]

wah, knowing u, i thought u would have grounded this fella to the ground already man. Mike also kena ah? i'd think twice about bringing my e90 to this workshop man. thanks for the headsup.

Dude, there was a time when i might have burned down his shop. But hey, he's really not worth the time or effort, (or the kerosene...lol).

Anyway, I think posting the facts of my experience is plenty effective enough.

You see, I reckon the most he would have stiffed me for is about RM5K.

If even just one person stopped going to him cos of these facts, the amount he would've lost long-term from losing one customer would definitely total more than RM5K.

Hundreds have seen this post so my guess is the total opportunity cost long term to him would be easily ten-fold.

So i hope that as many of you scumbag mechanics read this and never underestimate the power of the internet.

Scumbag politicians have and paid dearly for it. You'd be foolish to think you'll be exempt from the same fate.

All my postings here cost me about one hour of my time total. From this point on, it will cost him a lot more for sure.

Considering all the savings I've gained from the advice in this forum, I quite sure I'm still ahead after losing this RM5k.

You win some. You lose some. That's life.

Just try to win more than you lose la, then you can at least say that's - a pretty good - life

 

[saat]

Without going into a lengthy discourse with you, your posting above clearly indicates that your motive is less than noble. You seemed more intent on wreaking vengence on the person's reputation rather than as you initially put it "this helps some of you (us) out there".

This is probably born out of your dissatisfaction of not getting what you feel is just outcome. If you do have a problem, talk to him and resolve this between the 2 of you.

There is always the small claims court if you are still dissatisfied. Lets not use this forum as a surrogate.

Please take care, your postings have given him sufficient evidence with which he can take action against you too.

 

[Hellraiser]

Dude, there was a time when i might have burned down his shop. But hey, he's really not worth the time or effort, (or the kerosene...lol).

Anyway, I think posting the facts of my experience is plenty effective enough.

You see, I reckon the most he would have stiffed me for is about RM5K.

If even just one person stopped going to him cos of these facts, the amount he would've lost long-term from losing one customer would definitely total more than RM5K.

Hundreds have seen this post so my guess is the total opportunity cost long term to him would be easily ten-fold.

So i hope that as many of you scumbag mechanics read this and never underestimate the power of the internet.

Scumbag politicians have and paid dearly for it. You'd be foolish to think you'll be exempt from the same fate.

All my postings here cost me about one hour of my time total. From this point on, it will cost him a lot more for sure.

Considering all the savings I've gained from the advice in this forum, I quite sure I'm still ahead after losing this RM5k.

You win some. You lose some. That's life.

Just try to win more than you lose la, then you can at least say that's - a pretty good - life

hey bro, truly appreciate you sharing your experience. wish more would come forward as this is what the forum and club is all about, looking out for our brothers out there who risk being ripped off by these mechanics

we also have a list of reliable mechanics, maybe you could also share some of your good experiences there.

bottom line is this, everyone has an opinion but it is your opinion that is most important as your intention to post this issue is to help others.

salute!

 

[Hellraiser]

Without going into a lengthy discourse with you, your posting above clearly indicates that your motive is less than noble. You seemed more intent on wreaking vengence on the person's reputation rather than as you initially put it "this helps some of you (us) out there".

This is probably born out of your dissatisfaction of not getting what you feel is just outcome. If you do have a problem, talk to him and resolve this between the 2 of you.

There is always the small claims court if you are still dissatisfied. Lets not use this forum as a surrogate.

Please take care, your postings have given him sufficient evidence with which he can take action against you too.

without going into lengthy discourse, i would have burned down any mechanics shop too if i was cheated or taken for a ride......jokes aside!

 

[ramsing]

Here.. finally found it.. and old history wit this M Speed shop...


http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12387&page=2

heeheh..i remember this one. he 'modified' u're alarm so that it can lock twice and open twice ) hahaha... i think he was worried about your safety la blackie. coz sometimes all the chabor's try to rush your car becoz u're inside.:top:

 

[tc@torpedo]

Without going into a lengthy discourse with you, your posting above clearly indicates that your motive is less than noble. You seemed more intent on wreaking vengence on the person's reputation rather than as you initially put it "this helps some of you (us) out there".

This is probably born out of your dissatisfaction of not getting what you feel is just outcome. If you do have a problem, talk to him and resolve this between the 2 of you.

There is always the small claims court if you are still dissatisfied. Lets not use this forum as a surrogate.

Please take care, your postings have given him sufficient evidence with which he can take action against you too.

I did already speak to him before my first posting and gave him the chance to make amends. No response from him.

My postulations of the effect of my posting on him are just that - postulations. If people think I'm full of sh*t and he's innocent, then nothing of what I said will come true.

But if the facts I've stated resonate with some people, the by-product of that will be his loss.

My purpose here is to prove to the scumbags out there that if they cheat customers, then they risk financial loss from the effect of such powerful forums.

If he did not cheat me and I put up a malicious posting then by all means call me a scumbag. But to date, no one has disputed the facts as posted.

If my real purpose was so negative as the word vengeance, as bimmerdude says he knows me, I wouldn't hope for him to make a loss from my posting, I'd damage enough of his property to ensure payback.

If you still think me less than noble despite this, then my apologies for being unable to attain your standards.

Forum being a surrogate, it's semantics. Everything done here has a cause with an expected effect.

As to him taking action against me, all he has are postulations which, however logical, will be impossible to substantiate in real numbers.

I, on the other hand, have numbers to back my claim. But small claims court? Let's be practical.

Finally, sorry this was all still a bit lengthy.

 

[bimmerdude]

i believe u have just torpedoed saat's argument

 

[saat]

i believe u have just torpedoed saat's argument

Yes I'm abandoning this ship. Have a good life.

 

[shinrei]

i think after Mspeed read this he will up his standard of work.. hahahahah!

 

[bluepanther]

i think after Mspeed read this he will up his standard of work.. hahahahah!

...not too sure about that though....but if he does read this then he has a fair chance to answer here.