GPop shop beware

[johnouellette]

I had my K03 sent out to be rebuilt by Gpop shop with their K04 upgrade. The turbo sounded horrible from the second the car was started and died a painfull oily death 50 miles later.

The turbo was then sent back to them to be fixed, and of course, they denied the warrenty. They said they found coolant in the oil. Went out to my shop today and dropped the oil pan....no coolant was found....at all.

Below is the email response I received from the shop.

"John....it is possible for traces of coolant to be around the oil inlet area, and we have seen that happen before. But that is not what happened in your case.

If some coolant had splashed into the inlet during removal of the turbo there would only be traces of water droplets and/or some anti-freeze bubbles in that area.....in your case the anti-freeze bubbles were thick and spread from one end of the B/H to the other and the "milky" oil comes from the water being mixed with the oil as the turbo is operating (the oil would not look as it did if some coolant had splashed in during the removal).

The entire oiling system, including the oil cooler and it's piping should also be checked. The milky oil and anti-freeze bubbles, as you can see in the pictures of your turbo parts were very evident.

In considering your question about providing you with another turbo, we think it would be best if we just agreed to not do any more business. Your willingness to attribute Internet "hearsay" (rumors and gossip) to us as part of our reputation is reason enough to not do business....for you to believe the "hearsay" without knowing the facts behind those comments, you could not have much confidence in us. Nor can we conclude that you have been fair and reasonable in doing that, so we really have no basis for doing any more business.

We are truly sorry you have had this problem with your car and hope you find the source of your problem. Please advise on what you want us to do with your turbo parts. We would say that the compressor housing and actuator are fine, and the turbine housing, though oil soaked is fine too.....all of the other parts are ruined.

G-Pop Shop
Jim and Gerry"

AVOID THIS SHOP AT ALL COST. THEY ARE CROOKS!

[vdubstreets]

was the turbo primed properly?

[A4ringedONE8T]

WTH? Damn that sucks! Good luck getting it fixed!

[Ewok_Fetus]

Better business beurau time!

[johnouellette]

I believe we primed it correctly. we took the coil packs off all 4 cyl, and turned the motor over in three 5-6 seconds bursts.


Yes, I'll be filing a claim with the BBB tomorrow.

[johnouellette]

Has anyone seen any K04 or K03(in good shape) for sale anywheres? I need to pick something up quickly and cheaply as soon as possible.

[Smiley]

Saw a couple in the classifieds with fairly low KM's..check it out maybe

[kneel]

Has anyone seen any K04 or K03(in good shape) for sale anywheres? I need to pick something up quickly and cheaply as soon as possible.

I'd sell you mine, KO3 but i have a turbo from GPOPSHOP. It only lasted for 65 miles. And they claim it was FOD. There warranty only covers the shop, not you the buyer. F*in sux. They rebuilt mine for me. So far so good. Sorry to hear about your turbo.

[manhertm]

I don't know about gpop shop ,but I would just buy a K04 not have mine rebulit. I've heard too many of those so called upgrade K03s with new internal not operate right. If thats' Gpops' stance on the situation, they really are crooks. If they ended communication because you posted your situation, they never planned on honoring the warranty anyway and they deserve the bad publicity. Resolving the situation would have done just as good for them as ignoring it would have been bad. Sounds like my aftermarket warranty company. They try everything to not honor the warranty. People make me sick sometimes.

[A4ringedONE8T]

Keep this thread going, then send them a link to the thread titled "Good luck getting any future business from Audi forums"

[johnouellette]

If thats' Gpops' stance on the situation, they really are crooks. If they ended communication because you posted your situation, they never planned on honoring the warranty anyway and they deserve the bad publicity. Resolving the situation would have done just as good for them as ignoring it would have been bad.

I mentioned to Gerry from GPop that I had heard of several people on Audizine & VWVortex that had turbo's die and were not replaced under questionable circumstances.

I good businessman would have used this as an opportunity to make right on the situation and in the process get some good publicity....instead of horrible publicity they will receive now. I'll leave a short right up in the seller/shop forum on this site as well as other vw/audi sites.

[grimlock]

I'm glad that I saw this thread, as I've been considering getting one of their k04 turbos, but now I'll definitely just pay a bit more for a brand new one from BorgWarner.

[kneel]

Keep this thread going, then send them a link to the thread titled "Good luck getting any future business from Audi forums"

I told them that i would trash there business at WF and Jim was very quick to work with me. But now that i went KO4 i want a bigger turbo,

[audikid66]

damn dude i feel bad for you guys... me and another member got these turbos from gpop shop and they r great!

[LampyB]

you should have just payed a little bit more and purchased a brand new K04. i've been warned in the past to stay away from GPop. honestly i don't really trust rebuilds overall anyway, they're too expensive in comparison to the price of a new turbo. if it were significantly cheaper to have this done then maybe i'd consider...

[Affinitive]

I would send the thing back to them with delivery confirmation and dispute the charges with the credit card company or bank. Even without specific warranty statements or contracts, there are reasonably expectations of product performance. Obviously the thing was defective right out of the box. Also it is pretty hard to ruin a turbo right of the box. As long as you pour some oil into the turbo oil feed, you're good to go. Yes, it's obviously a good idea to do a proper priming as well, but not as crucial as people make it out to be. If the priming was really all that critical, you would have to do it every time the oil and filter are changed or every time the car sits for a few weeks.
With the credit card dispute, the most important issue is to send it back to them. If you retain possession, then you wont have a leg to stand on. Send it back with delivery confirmation, call in the dispute and simply state that they are refusing to provide a properly functioning part for the agreed upon price. I highly doubt you signed a statement saying you would accept the product even it didn't work or that there would not be any warranty for your particular situation. It's a lot easier to dispute charges than you would think. If they send the thing back to you, simply tell the UPS man that you are refusing to accept the package. If they send it back without delivery confirmation, then they can't proove you to have possession.
There's another thread somewhere of a bunch of people with bad K04's, their simply getting bullied around too, outrages.

Sounds like this business deserves more bad publicity than anyone could shell out.

OUTRAGES.

Best of luck to ya

C

[Affinitive]

Ohh, and them claiming the failure to coolant contamination, yet no traces in your engine. Even more outrages, down right criminal. Just for FYI, i've also seen a fair share of turbo engines with coolant contamination in the engine oil and not cause any issues with turbo charges. Obviously an issue needing to be addressed but it doesn't ruin a turbo instantly. Again though, doesn't even apply to you.

C

[johnouellette]

Ohh, and them claiming the failure to coolant contamination, yet no traces in your engine. Even more outrages, down right criminal. Just for FYI, i've also seen a fair share of turbo engines with coolant contamination in the engine oil and not cause any issues with turbo charges.
C

That was my argument with them. Even if there was coolant in my oil, it shouldn't cause a turbo to grenade after 50-60 miles.

[utripn]

i had the same issue with them about a week ago, they sent me a turbo that never spun. after shipping it back to them they said it was a piece of burr stuck in the turbine, so they ended up replacing it for me, but i have to say its pushing pretty good, i am boosting about 24psi and holding about 21, thats pretty good. i am sorry to hear that your turbo took a shit and i know how it feels because my car was torn for a week and a half and it was horrific, good luck to you and if you need a turbo i have a k03 that i can give you for cheap if interested, i dont know the condition of it but i tried moving the shaft and there is no play whats so ever.

good luck

[johnouellette]

you should have just payed a little bit more and purchased a brand new K04. i've been warned in the past to stay away from GPop.

some lessons you learn the hard way . I could have gotten a GTRS for what I have lost in the cost of the rebuild, cost to remove faulty turbo, and eventually the cost to have a working turbo reinstalled. Plus the cost of clean up of the 4qts of oil that went spewing out my brand new borla exhaust.

[savetheclutch]

Thanks fpr this thread, I was planning on sending them my ko4 next week...

[bigbro]

Another thanks. I was going to get a ko4 upgrade from them until I read this. I honestly now won't even consider this crooked place. I hope a turbo shaft goes in their shaft free zone for ripping people off.

[m5racer]

hahah Gpop, now beucase your a bunch of crooks you have already lost 2 rebuilds in this thread alone, Maby isntead of ripping people off with shotty rebuilds that you obviously cant handle doing you should go and learn how to rebuld a turbo, or better yet jsut get out of the business and try something else since this obviosly this isent something your able to do. I fucekn hate crooks like you bastards and i hope you loose a lot of business beucase of your cheep, sketchy ways of running a business.

[Silverback5]

I would send the thing back to them with delivery confirmation and dispute the charges with the credit card company or bank. Even without specific warranty statements or contracts, there are reasonably expectations of product performance. Obviously the thing was defective right out of the box. Also it is pretty hard to ruin a turbo right of the box. As long as you pour some oil into the turbo oil feed, you're good to go. Yes, it's obviously a good idea to do a proper priming as well, but not as crucial as people make it out to be. If the priming was really all that critical, you would have to do it every time the oil and filter are changed or every time the car sits for a few weeks.
With the credit card dispute, the most important issue is to send it back to them. If you retain possession, then you wont have a leg to stand on. Send it back with delivery confirmation, call in the dispute and simply state that they are refusing to provide a properly functioning part for the agreed upon price. I highly doubt you signed a statement saying you would accept the product even it didn't work or that there would not be any warranty for your particular situation. It's a lot easier to dispute charges than you would think. If they send the thing back to you, simply tell the UPS man that you are refusing to accept the package. If they send it back without delivery confirmation, then they can't proove you to have possession.
There's another thread somewhere of a bunch of people with bad K04's, their simply getting bullied around too, outrages.

Sounds like this business deserves more bad publicity than anyone could shell out.

OUTRAGES.

Best of luck to ya

C

I would tend to agree with this way to get some way out. The BBB is useless, and can't do anything. If you are in the same state as this company, you could file a complaint with the Office of Consumer Affairs for that county where they are located. At least they have the authority to fine, or to do something to them. Also, the Attorney General of the State has the authority to investigate fraudulent business practices. However, that all takes time. If you return it, and file a dispute with the credit card company, you have a much better chance of getting some or all of your money back quickly. I have an ongoing battle with Jack Daniels Audi in NJ for fraud, and it has been with the Attorney General since January with no result yet, so I know how long this stuff takes.

[NOVAS4]

haha i called last week to try to see how much they rebuild k04s for for my s4 and they told me that they dont deal with them anymore and hung up on me! too bad for them

[headshok2002]

Yikes, just found this thread... enough to keep me away from gpopshop.

[B6driver]

go ahead and file a BBB complaint they do work to an extent (i got my case resolved with a dealer issue), but it's good to have everything documented. right after, head over to your local attorney general's office and file a complaint with them too.

[A4Gasm]

damn dude i feel bad for you guys... me and another member got these turbos from gpop shop and they r great!

I have their KKK K03/04 hybrid. Kind of sucks that there is no aftermarket software to go along with them. Mines been doing fine for about 500 miles. I certainly hope this doesn't happen to me

[A4Gasm]

i had the same issue with them about a week ago, they sent me a turbo that never spun. after shipping it back to them they said it was a piece of burr stuck in the turbine, so they ended up replacing it for me, but i have to say its pushing pretty good, i am boosting about 24psi and holding about 21, thats pretty good. i am sorry to hear that your turbo took a shit and i know how it feels because my car was torn for a week and a half and it was horrific, good luck to you and if you need a turbo i have a k03 that i can give you for cheap if interested, i dont know the condition of it but i tried moving the shaft and there is no play whats so ever.

good luck

Which turbo did you get?

[a4speed]

I have their KKK K03/04 hybrid. Kind of sucks that there is no aftermarket software to go along with them. Mines been doing fine for about 500 miles. I certainly hope this doesn't happen to me

upgrade to GIAC's k04 file, works just fine with the turbo.

that sucks that it didn't work out for you with the turbo. they were actually really professional with me and my k04 (i paid $900 for mine, they made the compressor wheel 4-5 mm bigger then the regular k03/k04 hybrid).

my turbo has been great to me though...

(sorry to bring this thread back to life, jumped over from another forum and just added my comment, lol)

[doobiesdaddy]

go ahead and file a BBB complaint they do work to an extent (i got my case resolved with a dealer issue), but it's good to have everything documented. right after, head over to your local attorney general's office and file a complaint with them too.

x2

[kneel]

Since i saw this pop up again. A little update. My second rebuilt from them is working great. No problems so far. But it's coming out soon and looking to go GT2871r elim. Need a little more power.
There customer service sucks but all in all my turbo is working good now.

[headshok2002]

Since i saw this pop up again. A little update. My second rebuilt from them is working great. No problems so far. But it's coming out soon and looking to go GT2871r elim. Need a little more power.
There customer service sucks but all in all my turbo is working good now.

That's good to hear... I might be in a bind. My K03 turbo is screaming like a banshee, so I've gotta replace it asap. I want to go K04, as I've already got APR Stage 1+, but they are so hard to find used. GTRS is an option, sort of... I really don't want to do exhaust mods of any kind (keep it quiet on the hwy).
These guys, if they are making K04's again, might just be a scary last resort for me.

[A4Gasm]

does anyone know if upgrade the FPR to a 5-bar and new injectors are necessary when upgrading to their KKK K03/4 hybrid?

I've had mine in for about 5k. I got it flashed with a GIAC file and its boosts to about 25 PSI on WOT. I called them about this any they said thats NOT GOOD. "The bearings can't handle that kind of stress". I've been told to run a manual boost controller in parallel at 15-17psi. Kinda sucks that I paid $850 bucks for a mock-up peace of shit and then borg warner finally sent out some real K04s. I hate my luck.


EDIT

Almost 2 years later, I never got this thing sorted out. I ran a manual boost controller and it caused my engine to buck and stall. A friend tells me it's because the car doesn't get enough fuel and runs "lean" for a moment. I know where the sweet spot is and have been able to drive it carefully without an issue. However, a friend borrowed my car last week and completely f*****g toasted the engine. When idling, the boost gauge reports -10 mlmg as opposed to the normal 20. Used to get 10-12 on WOT but it's only going up to 7.

But on the bright side, my Gpop Turbo lives!