BEWARE/SCAMMER: Crown AutoSports/Vu Tung (SoCal)

[jdmkraziestyles]

I'm starting this thread to let all Honda-Tech members know to stay away from this shop and from this person. He claims to do RHD, Wire Tuck, Paint and sells JDM Parts. But in the end, messes the car and sells your parts and loses most of them. Here's the story behind all this post: Posted on 2 different threads: http://hondamarketplace.com/showthre...8#post38707058 http://hondamarketplace.com/showthre...6#post38704496 For everybody on TI/HT: I am posting this to let everybody know how bad this guy is so that you won't ever have to deal with him in the future. Under no circumstances is this part of my deal/agreement with this person that I cannot warn you guys or post about him. He is pissed off that I am posting this on TI/HT and letting you know what I went through. I have text to prove it. i reported this to the local PD in both Nor Cal and So Cal area (just in case). So please read the info below and take it how you want to take it. But this is a WARNING and I'm doing my part in helping you guys out! I did try to do some research on this guy and his work. The pictures he posted looked good and how he did it or so he claims. Spoke with him on the phone for a week or so maybe more before driving 6 hours to drop off my car. As a result to all this, my car is now ****ed the hell up. I already called Fountain Valley PD and San Jose PD on this matter. Both PD's have a record on this (in case this guy tries to retaliate. Safety of my family comes first before anything). Vu (owner of the shop) will answer calls before you drop the car off text you back. But as long as he has your car in his shop, he gives you the run around. He keeps telling you he understands how you feel about your car that its your baby but in fact, he doesnt because he treats your car like shit since its not his. You have to put trust into the shop you are leaving your property with. My car was dropped off on March 28, 2009 (Sat). Drove there with my gf and our baby and my friend drove my car and he flew back home the same day while I stayed out there for the weekend. I visited the car for 2 days when I was there and he was working on it since I dropped it off. So that got me thinking that he was good at what he does. Well its easier to rip things apart than putting it back together from what I can tell you. I paid for a RHD Conversion (I provided my own from HMotorsonline.com which I picked up the same day), Complete Paint Job including the engine bay, wire tuck. The prices he gave me were pretty good. Lesson learned, if its too good to be true, it probably is and with this matter, it is in fact TRUE!!! After a month which he said is all he needed, I was suppose to pick up the car. Got my tickets with a friend to come a long and he cancelled the day before I was going to pick it up. He moved it for the next week, got my ticket and he cancelled 3 hours before my flight was leaving because he said he could not start the car. I flew down there anyway to check out the car. A mod here on HT picked me up from the airport and took his time to help me out. We went to his shop and he never showed up that day. I came back in the afternoon/night and he still didnt show up. He wont let me see my own car at his shop and I'm not even local. He even turned off his cell phone the whole day. Throughout this whole ordeal, he never text or calls me for any update on my car. I had to keep calling and calling and texting. But once I told him I would leave a negative feedback on HT, he calls you back within 5 minutes. I explained everything to him on what I wanted done, he says he understands and even left him a check of list to make sure all are done before I get the car so I dont have to wait for it at all. He says he goes through the list everyday but again another lie. The 3rd time to pick it up was again cancelled. 4th time was set for May 18 (almost 2 months in the shop). I spoke with him the day before to make sure we were good to go. He says yes and my car is driveable and all set for the next day. Again, the mod here on HT (wrx-killer-Sti-eater) picked me up from LAX. He is suppose to do my alarm that day before I drove back home. When we get to the shop and saw the car, I was very pissed off. The paint was f***ed up. It looked like someone spray painted it. Bodywork was messed up. Lots of orange peels everywhere, glossy on some parts and others none. Trimmings were painted/broken. Both fenders were not even bolted on. NO front bumper at all installed. Missing my JDM Hood latch to close the hood. My trunk was filled with car parts that were suppose to be installed such as bumper, HID's and other things. My new windshield was cracked on the bottom where the RHD side was. Engine Bay: my jdm headlights had all the wiring cut up, missing gaskets and covers on the lights, power steering pump missing and not installed, no AC of any sort which was suppose to be installed, my battery was thrown in there and was only supported by some engine wiring, intake was not on, wiring everywhere were cut up. It's a fire hazzard and cannot be driven. Car starts and shoots out power steering fluid. None of the lights work, windows, etc. Missing my JDM Front Bumper Pole Relay and lots and lots of bolts in the engine bay and the car. The shop was very unorganized. Car parts were everywhere. I asked Vu where my parts where and he just looks at me with a blank expression on his face and says I dont know. He claims my original front bumper along with the lip was STOLEN by his mechanic. I asked him how and why and he kept saying I dont know. He doesnt even look sorry or apologetic. Not once did I yell at this guy or do anything at all. I was pissed off and all I could think about was the car and how it was before and now. I just got robbed by this guy! I called the local PD right away to make sure this was reported. He told me that he will fix everything if I leave it with him and I told him Hell NO! The car is leaving today with me and he never gave me any reason to trust him at all. He sent me a pic of the car a couple of days before and my gf was even wondering why the car looks dull. Not shiny or glossy. I told her maybe the lighting or so but I was wrong because it was not painted at all correctly. This was the pic sent to me via email: First set of pics sent were about 20 or so pics. These were process of taking apart the dash, interior wiring, and the black tar. Sent on April 8, 2009. Nothing else after that. He kept promising me that pics will be sent but he never does and he always had excuses after excuses. The only pic he sent me next was on 04-30-09: That was all. Nothing else. I was still waiting for the pics from the RHD process which were never sent to me at all. I kept asking for pics over and over again when I do get a hold of him which was once in a blue moon. I kept texting and still nothing. The next 2 pics he sent and the last one were on 05-11-09 and my gf who is not really into cars unless it was mine even recognized that it was not glossy at all. It was dull from the pics. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and told her it was probably the light. But I knew better. Officers responded to the scene and do their routine questions. Its a civil matter they said so I have to deal with him personally and take him to court. Vu mentioned to the officers that my front bumper was stolen by his mechanic and that he was willing to give me some Recaros for the bumper and among other things. The Recaros were f***ed up. They were missing rails/sliders, broken latch to incline/recline the seats, the bolster were messed up and it was dirty as hell. We kept asking were are my car parts and what belongs to me. He says I dont know. So we just started packing things in the car to get the hell out of there and took the seats also. Vu calls the cops and the same officer comes back. He told the officer that we were stealing the seats from him but the officer remembered what he had said that he was going to give them to me. So he could not do or say anything. The officer told us to take all of my stuff including the Recaros and car and leave. So we did. Before we left, I decided to see if he wants to settle now or go to court. I do not know what is missing from the car (completely) except for the JDM Bumper, lip, hood latch, missing gas/trunk cable inside the car, ITR VIN tag, bumper pole relay, bolts, license plates, etc. until the car has been overhauled. But those were things that stick out for me. I wanted my money back that I had given him when I dropped the car off plus for any of the missing items. He did not want to give me the money right there andthen and wanted me to come back at night. For what? So that I can get jacked? We settled on an amount which to him would be a steal but a loss for me and decided to meet up at the Police Station for my safety (just in case). I took the amount we decided because it was better to have something than nothing at all so at least I can get the right shops/people to work on my car. I know at the point I am at a loss since it will cost more to fix the damage he did to my car than my original plans. The car has been towed out of his shop the same day and dropped off at another motor shop to do my electrical and motor parts. They were able to take off the motor within 15-20 minutes. Part of the reason was because the motor were missing tons of bolts. The same day, the car was towed to a body shop and work has already begun. I lost lots of money and time on this whole thing. A lot of people, not just myself, has been affected by this. Thanks to the help of wrx-killer-Sti-eater and hooking it up with another shop that can actually do the work and is capable of it. Not some mickey mouse shit. I think thats enough explanation. i have videos of the car from Vu's shop when we picked it up. My agreement with him was to settle everything that day as he paid me my money back and that I will erase one of the videos (which I did) from his shop. I did not agree to erasing anything else or not posting on Honda-Tech about my situation and to warn others. FYI: My JDM Front Bumper, grill, hood latch, and lip were not STOLEN by his mechanic. Vu actually sold my property to another member here on HT that was scammed by him and got a lawyer. I spoke with the member on the phone about this to verify my property and indeed it was mine. He owed him all of those things since January or so and this member just got his items about 3-4 weeks ago when my car was there at his shop. I reported this also to the Fountain Vally Police Department. Here are pics of my front bumper he sold which is now on the HT members car: Sleepyboy2004. Here are pics of my car before I dropped it off to his shop: Pics of how it looks like from what Vu did. (this was taken at the current shop by wrx-killer-Sti-eater who has been helping me out a whole lot deal with this. Without his help, I would be lost and feeling hopeless). Parts that were sanded down were done by the new shop. They work fast. But the whole car was shit when I brought it: Anybody else that wants to get there cars fixed up by this shop, go right ahead. You will end up with a nightmare than a dream car. This thread was locked because it was not intended for commercial sales as stated on the bottom of the page. But read the last page and the postings on there. Vu calles out wrx-killer-Sti-eater as a scammer and this guy, desmon, is the only person that was there to help me out and is still helping me out with my car to fix what Vu created. http://hondamarketplace.com/showthre...460117&page=10

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[jdmkraziestyles]

Answers from:
http://hondamarketplace.com/showthre...8#post38707058

Originally Posted by inspiration

The agreement was to pay that amount and to fully cleared everything the date was on May 18, 2009. In return both parties agree that the deal has been settle and will no longer acknowledge this ever happen. wrx-killer-sti-eater took the Recaro as collateral and will be return once the money is in hand of the owner John. Refused to meet back at the shop instead met at the Fountain Valley Police Station off of Slater Ave.




Deposit: $1500
Missing Parts: $500
Plane Ticket: $100 - To send John back to his homeland.

Total: $2100

The pair of Recaro seats were never return because wrx-killer-sti-eater felt that I should let John have it which wasn't part of the deal.

The ONLY reason I settled with this guy was because he was a flight risk to me. He does not know how to return calls, text messages, or emails. When he does, you wasted so much time and energy on this guy its not even funny! When I flew down there and he didnt want me to see my car, what was I thinking then? He cant be trusted at all. Im the owner of the car and he should have the courtesy to show it to me. But all he wanted to do was get off the phone as quickly as possible. After that, the cell phone was off.

The agreement was that both were settled and so we wont have to go to court, at least I wont take him to court. So he gave me the money back which I had left as down payment ($1500) and he gave me ($500 extra for missing parts which was still not enough) and an extra $100 for my plane ticket home which he did not want to do at all. But in the end he did. No part of the agreement was for me to keep quiet and not post anything on HT. Why would I do that? Why would you ask me to do that if you know you didnt do anything wrong? You know you did and to keep face, you need me to be quiet and so you can drag in more potential customers to scam.

As for the Recaros, how can it be a collateral when you specifically told me and the Police officer that you were going to give those to me because of the supposedly stolen bumper and the mess you did to the car. In fact, you called the Police officer and the same officer came back and he shut you up because you told him we were stealing the Recaros and the officer remembered you telling him that it will be given to me. So basically you are calling the officer a liar which in fact, the only liar/scammer is you!!! Thats how I ended up with the ****ed seats since the officer advised us to take it with me along with my car.

[jdmkraziestyles]

Answer:

Originally Posted by inspiration

The plan was to venture into the painting biz thought it would help me go up higher with the help of my painter who does excellent work for muscle cars community. I then realized that it wasn't all that great and also I had to deal with a dishonest worker. It became too much of a hassle and I regret doing it the result I paid a price for it. John made it seem that I painted the car but I didn't. There was a painter and a mechanic.



The date stamp is for 4/28/09. If he said it tooks over 3 months to do then I would of have the car at January 2009 or February 2009.

------------------------------------------

On this date March 2, 2009 these are the cars were in the shop two Honda Civic


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This white EJ1 completed on March 5, 2009



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This champ white EK9 completed on March 9, 2009


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John integra dc2 drop off his car on March 28, 2009.



Pictures taken at this date April 29, 2009

Vu told me that everybody in the community knew him such as HMotors and PasswordJDM. But nobody knew who the hell he was or his shop. If the painter you chose was so damn great, why the hell did my car look like shit? You know when you hire mechanics or painters since you cannot do it yourself, the work that they do for you reflects your shop no matter what. Good or bad, its on you since you are the owner. But you didnt think about that.

A week or so after the car was dropped off, you said that the car was already DONE painting. I asked you if it had clear coat on it and if it has been buffed out. You said yes. Then when I picked up the car, what parts of those were true? Flat out lie right there. The paint on the car doesn't even look professional. After the car was painted by your so called top notch painter and it looked like shit, you should have taken the initiative to have it redone. But you didnt. You didnt even notify me of the problem. You said everything was okay. You are such a freaking liar!

As for you having the car for 3 months, I didnt post that. Read my post CAREFULLY!!! That was posted by someone else in the heat of the moment and not by me. Get your facts straight.

What does all that car have to do with mine? NOTHING!!! Did you **** it up like mine? Did you do paint on their cars or tried to do a so called really good wire tuck according to you? NO! If you guys read on the posts, someone said that his friend took his car there to VU and it stayed there for 3 months and it was messed up and had to be taken to someone else to get the RHD done correctly.

So if you took those pics on April 29, 2009, how come you sent me the 2nd and 3rd pics on May 11, 2009 and said that those were the most recent ones that you took the same day? Again another lie! The rest of those pictures, you never even sent those to me.

[jdmkraziestyles]

Originally Posted by slowslow

i dropped my car off to vu on monday ( memorial day, may 25 ), it is now thursday may, 28 and vu has been very helpful and has been contacting me making suggestions etc. he already sent me a batch of photos of the work he's done and i am very pleased. i will keep everyone updated

Thats how he was with me also. But it didnt last long. Of course, now, he has to change it with you since he is being put on the spot. If he does the same thing, then you know I'm telling the truth. He has to change up his game a bit. But its your car. If he does it right, then good for you. You must be one of the lucky ones to get their car done right without paint and wire tuck.

Originally Posted by regdog77

i was close to doing a conversion, but after hearing what happened i dunno. how does one redeem himself from all this.

I dont know. Can you? I dont think so.

Originally Posted by inspiration

It really depends on you if you want to do it. You can either trust jdmkraziestyles who told me that I was his friend who I don't know very well. Who calls me everyday, several times per day, and 30 mins per call. Maybe that's why he felt he considered me as a friend.

I just won't do paint anymore just stick to what I was doing before.

I NEVER told you that you were my friend. Dont say things that I never said. I dont call you everyday either. I check up on my car about every other day but the problem with that is you never answer calls. The first week or 2 were okay. You were okay in returning calls and text. After that, nothing. I had to post something on your thread and you would call right away to try to talk to me and give me some lame ass excuse. Then you would ask me to delete the post so that nobody has to know about it and all is well in your scam land.

I never talked to you for more than 15 minutes when I was just checking the status of my car if you ever answered. Quit freaking lying. You are such as horrible person. Bad manners if any, and bad customer service.

Again, YOU WERE NEVER A FRIEND OR WILL YOU BE A FRIEND OF MINE!!!
You were someone doing work on my car. A car that meant a lot to me and you ****ing raped the shit out of it!!!

Karma is a bitch! One day it will bite you in the ass!

[jdmkraziestyles]

Originally Posted by inspiration

Apparently it looks like an honest mistake by my worker. I contacted Sleepyboy2004 to trade the parts back. He was willing to do the exchange to help me resolve the issue but only giving me about 1-2 weeks before he will start sanding the parts down. I was trying to open communications with John at the time but he refused and decided to closed the communication bridge. Ever since then I didn't have any type of contact whatsoever.

How can it be an honest mistake? First of all your stories keep changing. You told me, desmon, his brothers, and the Fountain Valley PD that your mechanic stole the front bumper and lip and you do not know where he is. Now, you are saying that your mechanic/worker sent the wrong bumper by mistake. How can you mistake my bumper for someone elses bumper to be sent out when my bumper is the same color as my car? Now your slipping.

Come to find out that it was not stolen but you sold it because he threatened you with a lawyer. So you dont get any trouble, you decided to steal my jdm bumper, lip, grill, hood latch, and send it to him. To make it worse, you didnt even tell me on the phone about it until I picked up my car.

Oh yeah, you said your solder all the wiring in my car. Once again, another lie. you left them hanging everywhere. Nothing works except you got the car to finally start. You even burnt my fuse box and the clips.

[jdmkraziestyles]

Videos are up:

[4drdohc]

HAHAH w ow! what a little bitch piece of shit, he had nothing to ****ing say, scumbag

[RhdRicheeee]

omgggggggggg

[Blah.]

woww, <^> the shop owner, but at least its rhd now. i'll make sure that no one goes to Crown AutoScams shop

[Blah.]

but i wanna hear the conversation!

[jdmkraziestyles]

Originally Posted by Blah.

woww, <^> the shop owner, but at least its rhd now. i'll make sure that no one goes to Crown AutoScams shop

Thanks! Please spread the word and warn your friends about it. I know its RHD now but after going through all the bullshit with this guy, its not even worth it. I would trade all of it to have my car back that way it was before this all happend.

Plus I dont even know if he did the conversion correctly as far as the welding and sealant. Plus lets not forget all the wiring inside the car and all the ac and heater parts behind the dash. Wont know until the car is done with paint and goes to another shop for all the electrical and motorwork.

If this guy really wants to make up for everything, he should pay for everything to be done. Thats paint and electrical/motor work. But he wont be the one doing it. I pick the shop and he pays for the labor.

The money we settled is not enough to cover all this. This is out of my pocket!

[Blah.]

ahah yeah if only theres a time machine, but its f**ked up how u bought tickets and he canceled the day that u were suppose to pick up and left you stranded at the airport

[6footmidget]

damn if i was you i would face shot him, then do it fast and furious style, oil in his face and make him do it right :] but thats just me

[Blah.]

Originally Posted by 6footmidget

damn if i was you i would face shot him, then do it fast and furious style, oil in his face and make him do it right :] but thats just me

ahah ur stupid philip

or send him back to the rice field

[pholife]

can you provide address of his shop and contact info ...tks

[tyrone]

SOmething tells me Vu is going to become an internet star very shortly...

[EgSalad]

Originally Posted by pholife

can you provide address of his shop and contact info ...tks

x2. Post it up.

[jdmkraziestyles]

Originally Posted by pholife

can you provide address of his shop and contact info ...tks

Heres the info of the shop and owner:

Vu Tung
Crown Autosports
11623 Slater Ave #D
Fountain Valley, CA 92708

(714) 696-2310 shop
(714) 696-2309 cell

By the way, he also posts on Craigslist and he usually posts the same exact message over and over again. This add was on the LA Craigslist and he also posts at times on The Bay Area craigslist. So watch out and compare the infos.

RHD Conversion on Honda / Acura - $1 (Fountain Valley)
Reply to:sale-e7ay6-1186729787@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Date: 2009-05-24, 11:54AM PDT


THIS IS A SERVICE.
IM NOT SELLING ANY RHD CARS. PLEASE DONT CALL ME ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE BESIDES THE RHD CONVERSION.

I work for Crown Autosports in Fountain Valley. we do RHD conversions, motor swaps, JDM front end conversions, motor work, suspension, turbo chargers, superchargers, ect... we can do 1992-1995 civic hatch/2door/4door, 1993-1995 Del Sol, 1996-1999 civic hatch, 1994-1998 integra 2door/4door, 1990-1993 Integra, 1988-1991 civc Hatch/4door, 1984-1989 Toyota MR2, 1991-1995 Toyota MR2, 1988-1998 Supra, 1989-1998 Nissan 240SX, and 2001-2005 Lexus IS300. we will do the COMPLETE conversion (firewall swap, welded and seam sealed, all wiring, replace windsheild, brake lines, brake booster, clutch/brake/gas pedals, steering coloum, dash, ect..) we DO NOT DO HALF CAR CONVERSIONS. we ONLY do firewall conversions. as for pricing, call for more info. I'll give you a good price.


SERIOUS CALLERS ONLY!!!!
Crown Autosports (714) 696-2309
AIM: earlyp3rs0n



KEYWORDS: RHD, SW20, AW11, PS13, S13, S14, R33, R32, R34, MR2, Soarer, Supra, 240SX, Silvia, Skyline, Supra, Lexus IS300, Right hand drive, JDM RHD, mugen, so cal rhd, jdm hatch, jdm integra, ITR, DC2, Eg2, EG6, EG hatch, EG9, EK4, EK9, EF2, DB1, DC1, DA6, DA8, EF3, EF5, EF9, EF, DA, DB8, DB, DC4, integra, honda civic, honda RHD, honda Right Hand Drive. civic rhd, rhd civic, rhd acura, acura.

[TKBLAZER]

damn i live close by to there... sucks about what happened and i hope that scum bag gets whats coming to him

[gorillafart]

godddamnnn thats a lot to read.... can i get some cliff notes instead? im about to go cross eyed trying to read all that lol


but judging by the pics and video... i feel bad for him already... having to go through life with that haircutt... =P
and im starting to wonder if he really did a legit righthand drive conversion (cutting and welding the clip etc)... or did he just cutt a hole in your firewall (which is illegal) and move everything over to the rhd?

and as far as the paint job goes... lookin at one of the pics with that mexican guy sanding your door down... it looks like vu didnt even prep your car properly... he just painted over the old paint....

your car was 1000x better b4

[dut]

I was linked to the second video and I LOL'd at Vu's reaction.

[okarl]

messed up...

[she_heLLa_fresh]

haha..i just finished watching the vid..it was funny to see him cover his face...all shame..

[blindsk8er1013]

WOW wat a nightmare! At least you have enough funds to fix your car. Most of us would not have the money to get that car fixed the right way. Glad to hear you got some of the money back. Post pics of th car when its done by the right people.

BTW does that paint job look like the paint from the $50 dollar paint job thread? Rustolium paint?

[RiversideS13]

i had similar experience with a shop for my custom turbo kit at turbo performance at van nuys. it had a lot of delay and a lot of leak and Micky mouse jobs, but good thing they did not steal my parts.

anyway, after frustration of wasting time, money, and embarrassment, i decided I will not have any custom modification ever again. it is really hard to find a reliable mechanic.