I wanted to post this finial installment of the story,
I received a check in the mail from corvette masters I have no idea how the owner came up with the rebate amount he sent me for the AC diagnosis since it's a fraction of what he charged me and he never had the courtesy to call me on the matter.
Don't get me wrong I'm very pleased I received anything from him but IMHO a phone call to discuss the matter and agree on the rebate amount would only have been reasonable,
My end thoughts on all this are I would never let him touch anything I own ever again and if asked would still share my story with a person thinking about going to this shop.
Cheers,
P.

Well, it's good to hear you at least got SOMETHING out of the deal. A few years ago, I had a similar experience with a shop in Decatur, IL (not Lingenfelter which is in Decatur, IN). I paid the guy to put my LT1 and 4L60E into my car, get it all hooked up and running. Mishap after mishap, I finally got the car back. I was $4500 or so poorer, and to a kid in college with no job, that is A TON of money! Then the real problems started. Skipping over the drama, I had problems with the car, phone calls went unreturned, and the vehicle was in and out of shops for almost two years. It got to be very frustrating when the first thing a new mechanic would say was, "Who did this to your car," not in a good way. Finally, I had the last of the original guy's work replaced in the form of a wiring harness. After trying several times to get this guy to own up, I chaulked it up to experience and a guy taking advantage of a "kid". Then articles started showing up in magazines about his "great work". I wrote him again saying that if I did not receive a full refund for services he rendered but did not perform (at least correctly), then I would tell everyone who would listen about my experience with him. He told me that was blackmail and that he, "couldn't wait to see me at a show so we could settle this in person." He also said he was calling his lawyer. That was the last of it. I guess my point is, it happens to lots of people! I know I felt like a moron after I let this guy steal my money, but hearing stories like yours make me feel a little better in the sense that I am not alone. I just think it's too bad we even have to bring up a subject like this in the first place! Again, congrats on at least getting a portion back what was owed you.

Bryan,
Your story sucks far worse than mine, the big price you paid contrary to what some people may think I have very little $$$ my cars are old and to be blunt were cheap,
I feel the only way to make shops either do right or get out of the business is to share stories it's not blackmail, it's truth, and no lawyer can do a thing about a person telling the story of what happened to them at a shop, the owner of corvette masters didn't like me posting this story on forums but it's what happened to me, had he done me right I would have posted how great he was, he has a self proclaimed rep here in town and does some high end work but you can't base your whole shop on one or two cars built for people with bottomless wallets, in fact given the same shop and $$$ I at the risk of sounding pompous could have built the cars myself before my health failed. I built the wide body c3 bat mobile in my sig pic.
A different shop different car, cheated me a while back and the owner pulled that "I've fix you went I see you crap" I wrote a report to the state of Florida consumer affairs, 90 days later I had a full refund check in the mail,
Had vette master threatened me I would have done the same with him,
He was all overbearing to me and showed his true colors never calling me back, he picked the figure to refund me and it was not even close to what he charges for the service so I won in a way but lost in a way my prime goal was to get the word out there that this "could" happen to you at this shop.
It wasn't about the $$$,
I hope all worked out with your sweet ride,
cheers, p.

Weird, I have the wrong pic in that last post as of the moment the preview works the update doesn't,

so here's the wide body, the car in the last pic is a mako kit like on my 81....





I really miss that car....:(

Well, here goes. I have had mechanical work done on Corvettes, boats, trucks, regular cars, and everything else in between, things that I could not do.
I made the final move to FL, and lost all paint, electric, and mechanical contacts who I could trust.
Who do you go to when you have to spend bigger bucks?
I bought another C-3 after moving to south Florida. After settling in, I had to find out where to get the Vette worked on, as I am a little pickey.
One day a red 427 roadster drove by. I got on the bike and followed him the best I could. He pulled in the driveway a little from my home. After B S'n a while, I had to ask who works on his car. He informed me of a shop in Pompano Beach, FL.
I made the call, and found out that he works only on
68 thru 82 Corvettes, and knows more, does the best work, makes the right suggestions, and does not rape you for labor or parts. I could not believe that I found someone of this caliber. He also did his duty as a
judge for NCRS. Not only does he know how to fix C-3's the right way, he has the historical knowledge.

He also has his own C-3's and a very rare split window
63. If anyone in south Florida needs someone like this to work on their C-3 the right way, drop me a line and I will be glad to give you his name and number.

Hey Boatman,

If the guy is that good why not add his shop to the Mechanic Directory? He certainly sounds like a great resource.