ShobThaBob
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- rosooftw
The bulk of this info was taken off of fnsweet.com and the jeep and 300c forums.
http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020405/FREE/204050704&SearchID=73251538084353
And heres a quote from the srt8 site (where it started) posted by a member on fnsweet.com:
http://www.cherokeesrt8.com/forums/showthread.php?t=622
Now, I had always known that Hennessey did not always have the best reputation for being prompt with his deliveries, I never had any clue that the problem was actually this large. Does anybody else have horror stories from big name in-house modding companies? Or perhaps anything else to add about other companies reputation?
AutoweekHennessey's Vipers are fast, but lawsuits say he serves them up too slowly. (Photo by Mark Vaughn)
Ninety-eight percent of his customers love him, John Hennessey says. But a few hate him and some have sued. Hennessey Motorsports in Houston specializes in tuning Vipers, adding more power to what is already one of the most powerful cars in the world. Hennessey’s Vipers have been featured in this and many other magazines and the cars he has sent to us and to other media were impressive performers. Hennessey presents himself well, projecting an image of the consummate Texas good ol’ boy whose reassuring conversational style and howyewdoin’ demeanor put customers at ease. People believe they will get what he says he’ll give them. But not all people do.
According to a lawsuit filed in Salt Lake City, Utah resident Taig Stewart sent his Viper GTS to Hennessey last May for an engine upgrade to 1100 hp along with several other modifications. For that he wire-transferred $142,500 to Hennessey. The lawsuit states the parties agreed the car would be done by mid-July 2001. As of press time the car was still sitting under a tarp in Hennessey’s shop in Houston. Or most of the car, anyway. Stewart’s suit claims Hennessey sold the car’s engine, transmission, wheels, tires and hood. The suit seeks return of the money, the Viper and “no less than $1 million” in punitive damages.
Hennessey claims he’s just slow in getting the work done.
“My side of the story is we’re planning on finishing his car and planning on giving him everything that he paid for,” said Hennessey. As for the parts being sold, “That’s totally false. We’ve got all his parts in the shop except the hood and he wanted to do a lightweight hood.”
Stewart is not the first unsatisfied customer. The longer we dug the more dissatisfaction we found. Here’s a sampling:
On Nov. 14 a New Jersey court entered a final judgement of $133,674 against Hennessey on behalf of Viper owner Gary Dan for a botched conversion.
William Walters said he is out over $22,000 after shipping his Corvette to Hennessey for a head and cam package that was never done; he did have five rods bent and a head gasket damaged on the dyno in Hennessey’s shop during an experiment Hennessey tried with nitrous oxide.
Jerry Johnson said he had to file suit in Placer County Court in California to straighten out registration and engine computer problems on a Viper he bought from Hennessey. n Jon Belinkie said he loves the changes made to his Viper but had to sue in his home state of Maryland, then register the judgement in Texas, to recover overcharges Hennessey made on his American Express card.
Rick Ryan said he had to hound Hennessey for eight months by long distance from Marietta, Georgia, to put the proper wing and stripes on his Viper.
Mark Lublin said he sent his Viper cylinder heads to Hennessey for new valves but when the heads came back he found the “new” valves were actually used; a cam that was delivered to Lublin in a Hennessey box turned out to be a stock Chrysler cam. Lublin was finally refunded $5,715 from American Express but only after nine months of disputing the charge; and he got no money from Hennessey.
Bruce Iannatuono said he ordered $8,500 worth of Hennessey parts for his mechanic in Baltimore to install but was only able to use two-thirds of what was shipped, and then only after haranguing Hennessey for six months on an order that was originally promised in five weeks.
Most of the complaints come from outside Texas. Hennessey, some said, tends to take better care of local customers.
“If you were out of state, man you were fair game,” said Kyle Kent, a former employee at Hennessey Motorsports. When an out-of-state car came in it was sometimes parted out, with the wheels, tires and whatever else looked good going to other cars waiting to be finished or sold outright, according to Kent and others inside Hennessey Motorsports. Then Hennessey would call the car’s owner and try to sell him an upgraded kit. If the customer balked, Hennessey would take parts from other cars in the shop, or just let the job sit.
Kent described one typical disassembly on an out-of-state Viper. “The motor and transmission went into a Durango John was putting together, the brakes went to someone else, the hood went to a guy in Ohio, the rear bumper to South Carolina, man you name it. We had multiple cars like that.”
Another common practice was putting stock parts on what was supposed to be an upgraded car.
“One customer spent $130,000 to $140,000 and that guy thought he had purchased a Venom 650R package which he thought came with the stroker motor,” Kent said. “John told him he was getting a stroker. He was just getting heads and cams.”
Hennessey denies any wrongdoing.
“I’ve got probably 3000 customers,” he said. “I’ve built over 300 cars and out of that I’ve had a handful of people that I’ve had some sort of a delivery problem with and I’ve had some of them who have sued me. So is that some sort of a trend or is that par for the course?”
http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020405/FREE/204050704&SearchID=73251538084353
And heres a quote from the srt8 site (where it started) posted by a member on fnsweet.com:
Ive heard a lot of negative things about Hennessey lately. The only reason im bringing it up is because Im sure some of the GCSRT8 guys wouldnt want this to happen to them.
Shed some light on these statements by customers:
"Hennessey is a fraud, as if not delivering cars on time wasn't bad enough, if my memory serves correctly, many of the cars he had sent to journalists and magazines for testing have been plagued with reliability issues, some of them puking during shake down runs, not even lasting long enough to be properly tested"
"I am sure many of you know who John Hennessey is? He is a reputable performance car builder who has built several "legendary" Viper, Corvette, and some other vehicles. But he is also known for scamming some rich folks. Many has warned to stay away from him. Hennessey have been sued by FedEX, UPS, and past clients for unpaid debts"
"Hennessey has a tendency to take the vehicle and the cash, and then never give the vehicle back. Or if he does, nothing has been done to it. I read one account where Hennessey pulled parts off a guy's Viper, sold the parts, and then put the car in the corner of his shop and never touched it again"
"Come on! Isn't it obvious to everyone out there yet? Hennessey scams the little guys and the out of staters who are less likely to show up at his door with a bat and sucks up in a major league way to the magazines. They're free advertising for him! Of course he builds great cars for the reviews"
"This point is almost not worth talking about anymore, but since it was brought up here goes. I have found John to be a crook, liar and have the worst customer service I have ever witnessed in any company. Can he build a fast car? Of course. With a competent staff most shops can. Does he have his customers best interests at heart? Just listen to so many of his former customers and you will know the answer. Does he know how to get his face in the mags? It's the one thing he's personally good at. Hopefully due process will take over and HMS will be a thing of the past."
Hennessey Has Customer Arrested:
"This tops it all Viper fans.... I'm the customer of John Hennessey's that paid for a Venom 650 package plus Brembo Racing brakes, a Penske 2 way suspension , and roll bar but only received about $11,000 of a $38,000 order in an 8 month span. I know you all are tired of the posts but please read on, it gets pretty interesting.
I planned a trip to California for pleasure on a private jet and was told we had to stop in Houston for fuel so I thought I might stop in at HMS to see for myself the man that ripped me off and what his plans to settle up were face to face. I called ahead of time and left a message under a different name as a new customer so John would show up, when we got there his mechanic said to come back in an hour so we went for lunch and came
Back. I brought a video camera so I could get the meeting on tape, when John showed up he saw new customers and $$$$$ so he put on his "Good Ole Boy" smile and welcomed us in. Once inside he notice the camera and asked me to turn it off , I said no and then told him who I really was and that I wanted a straight up answer what he planned to do. You should have seen his face, like deer in headlights he had nothing to say except get out or he would call the police. I refused and demanded an answer but John just stood there like a gutless man and would not talk and called the cops for trespassing. So after repeated non-threatening attempts to get him to talk he asked me and my brother-in-law if we were gay , I replied "Yeah and I'm gonna throw you over that car and **** you up the azz like you have been ****ing me for 8 months" , little did I know that comment would be considered a "TERRORISTIC THREAT" , (one of John famous claims) anyway we decided to wait for the police so I could report him for theft , we waited 40 minutes for the cops to come and when they finally came I ran out of tape in the camera and missed the most unbelievable part. The cop listened to John’s side of the story first and said he would hear us after, that didn't happen once John told him about the so-called "Terroristic Treat" within minutes we were both in cuffs in the back of the police car under arrest for trespassing and terroristic threat. The cop would not hear our side and told us we were going to jail and wouldn't even watch the tape, we tried to reason with him but his last name was Walker and he thought he was Chuck Norris Texas Ranger," you’re in cuffs, in my car, I'm writing, and you’re goin to jail". After sitting outside HMS in cuffs for over 30 minutes we were on our way to the Houston City Jail, my camera was taken by the arresting office and we were sent to booking. Two white boys from Florida with a Bull**** arrest , we were shuffled around , stripped of our belongings , finger printed and sent to a holding cell full of non- white- non Florida boys that were all under arrest for real crimes , drug dealers , buyers , thieves , assault , and a murderer to top it off. After 10 hours in jail and a few phone calls later we posted bail for $1,500 and back on the street at 2 in the morning with an impounded rental
Car, no change of clothes and no bed. It is now 12:30 pm and we are in flight to California looking back at the day and planning our next trip back to Houston. We went from the Penthouse to the ****house in less than 3 hours but now were back in the Penthouse and Hennessey bought some time but the fact remains Johnny still owes $27,000 and if it costs me 10 times that in lawyer fees I will make sure Hennessey gets the same smelly *** cell that I got.
P.S. "Mr. Crack sellin Murderer what do you do when a fat little red headed Viper tuner thief gets put in YOUR holding cell? (In my best Chris Rock voice) The first thing I do is make ‘em TOSS MY SALAD!!!
What do you prefer John? Jelly or Syrup..?????"
Go to Viper Club of America and type in Hennessey in the search and read all the stories...If youre thinking about getting this Hennessey turbo kit Id definitely read up on some of these stories...
http://www.cherokeesrt8.com/forums/showthread.php?t=622
Now, I had always known that Hennessey did not always have the best reputation for being prompt with his deliveries, I never had any clue that the problem was actually this large. Does anybody else have horror stories from big name in-house modding companies? Or perhaps anything else to add about other companies reputation?
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