V.L. Enterprises??? (need feedback)

["Michael Carlson" <m-carlson@home.com>]

Has anyone on the list dealt with V.L. Enterprises in Oregon, or know of
anyone who has?  If so, I need your feedback on how things went.

Here's my story:  When I called Vince at V.L. Enterprises many moons ago, I
got a quote from him to do the following work:
    1)  Rebuild my 4k tranny
    2)  Install Quaife differential, that I'd supply
    3)  Install his Option-6 speed kit with a .71 6th gear (keeping the rest
stock)

He gave me the quote, and when I asked him what the turn-around time was, he
said it'd take a week for the tranny to get there, a week to do the work,
and another week to send it back.  Cool.

I shipped my 4k tranny and Quaife to him on May 2nd.  On May 14th, I called
him up and he said he got the tranny, took it apart, and gave me the final
price for all the work.  I gave him my credit card info, and he said he'd be
done with the work by May 21st.  He said he'd call me before he shipped it
back.  Cool.

May 21st goes by.  No call.  I sent him an e-mail with my phone number so he
could call me.  No reply.  A couple more days go by so I call--and leave a
message.   No reply.  A couple more days go by, so I call again and leave
another message.  Still no reply.  I tried calling him again last week, and
his voice mailbox is full, so I can't leave a message.  Not cool.

Okay, so I'll give the guy the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe some family
emergency came up, and he had to leave town for a few days?  Maybe his shop
tragically burned to the ground?  Maybe he got an emergency order of tranny
rebuilds from the VW rally team, and had to drop all the other work?

Tonight, I'm surfing VWVortex, and see a post from some guy who sent his
tranny to Vince on December 5th, and that he can't get Vince to return his
calls or e-mails.  He then tells me that he knows of a guy who sent his
tranny in last November and *still* hasn't gotten it back yet.  To top it
all off, he says that people who know Vince's work say that this is just
"normal" and that we should wait it out.

I strongly disagree with that.  The man said it would take a week to do the
work each and every time I asked him how long it'd be.  If he knew it would
take several months, he should've told me that up front so I could make the
appropriate arrangements.  (My Scirocco is taking up valuable shop space
while we wait for her tranny to return.)

If I can't get in touch with Vince by the time my credit card bill is due, I
will dispute the charge and take any further action that may be appropriate.
I don't wanna get ugly about this.  I don't wanna drag a possibly reputable
businessman's name through the mud if there are valid reasons for the delay
and lack of communication.  I just wanna know what the hell is going on, and
when I'll get my tranny back.  I miss my 'rocco!!!

Thanx for reading my rant, and thanx in advance for any responses.

Mike Carlson
'84 Scirocco Wolfsburg Edition  (make that indefinitely immobile edition)
'95 GTI VR6
http://members.home.net/mikes.vws


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