Let me at first say, I wasn't going to do this at first. But the lack of communication and what I’ve found that pisses me off is unbearable. I took my car to Keith at Soobie Surgeons because NF performance wasn't taking appt for all of September. So i thought I’d try someone new. Normally I’d do this job myself, but being in school I was unable to do the job. I'm only able to work on my car surprisingly now! Which finals are done now. While it took 3 weeks.... yes, three weeks for him to do a clutch job that he said was supposed to be a week. I was okay with not complaining because I understand **** happens. Not only have I’ve found multiple things not tightened/checked. He cut up my Lower engine cover. I bought this brand new before I moved up here and now it is cut up. I simply texted him after finding it was cut up during an oil change. I assumed either he put someone else on, or hacked mine up. I'll go with the first assumption. I didn't receive a text back for 3 days, so I tried calling. Finally I gave up on this idea of asking why my lower engine shroud is messed up and moved on. Well let’s get to random odds and ends. While doing the valve cover gasket on my passenger side. I noticed the wire that is bolted to valve cover flopping around. Then tonight I was checking my all my fluids, and noticed that my turbo outlet pipe to tmic clamp was just freely floating around. Not tightened. So I decide to take off my tmic and see what else was wrong. While taking off my tmic, the 3inch coupler to the intake manifold had a clamp freely floating around. Also both intercooler bolts on either side were loose. On top of that, I checked my transmission fluid level to find it on low. While i know my transition doesn't leak at all “I park in a concrete garage”. This leads me to believe it was never filled all the way. This might not seem big to most being only little things. But as someone who always inspects everything after the job is done. This makes me never want to take my car to Keith again. Plus I feel I got overcharged...... I believe out the door, I paid 1800. Sure that includes parts, but seems kind of ridiculous to have this kind of **** pop up. If Keith reads this maybe he might actually contact me back about all the issues I’ve had and found. Who knows? -Matthew/Volatle
You paid $2250 for a clutch? Did you have anything else done? Did you get quoted for the work before hand?
Stage 1 Exedy clutch, Flywheel resurfaced, Rear main seal, Sleeve on output shaft, All seals replaced. Sorry, the actual cost was close to 1800. I'll edit that. Looked through the old text. I remembered putting $500 up front. I was quoted 1100-1200 for a stock clutch job. So i thought it would only be a 200 dollars difference. Parts included. Price depended on flywheel being resurfaced.
Place south of Hudson, WI that specializes in Subarus. He usually provides an itemized bill. I have had several cars worked on there without those kind of issues. About the only issue I can recall after his work was once the cruise control hose wasn't connected.
Wow! For that price, you might as well of gone to a dealership AND they would of gotten it to you sooner than 3 weeks. I hope it all gets cleared up. GL
It won't get cleared up. It's one of those things you just move forward and learn from. I just hope this helps someone else's decision to use him. I looked under vendor directory and someone else said "would not recommend". Wondering if a mod might think about removing him from this site. Edit= I dropped my car off Aug 11th and didn't get it back till Aug 30th. That was the day it got finished.
That dude is the biggest thief I have met in my life, he would f*** his own mother for a dollar... I had a really sucky incident with him that ended in filing a complaint with the BBB of Wisconsin. I knew him for a couple years. Spent a lot of time after work helping him at his "shop" and got to know him pretty well. I had him work on my OBS wayyyy before I had any knowledge of DIY. Initially I thought his prices were a bit high for a private shop. And yeah, I waited about 1 week with out my car for a tranny flush and a wheel bearing. But he was very knowledgeable. Last May 2014 I fronted him 600 bucks to order me some parts which he insisted on, and also insisted on helping me out right after getting the Saabaru. I called him after a week to check status, two weeks nothing. A month later he was still giving me the run around and it really started to piss me off. Well then eventually September came, I ordered all of my parts online. Did all the work with a buddy (timing components, brakes, all the fluids, pump, catback etc.. I went to visit him and asked for a refund. He flipped out and tried playing some reverse psychology game on me. I basically told him I want to see that money in my hands with in a day or two. He mailed me a check a month or so later for 250. I called him asking WTF?? Then decided enough was enough, by this time it was November. Filed a complaint with the BBB. He eventually mailed me a separate check for the remaining balance. I think it is strange, he invited me in for dinner on several occasions. I actually considered him a good friend and a wise mentor. And then he totally ripped me off and acted like I was some asshole for wanting my hard earned pennies back. That's not all..... My buddy Freak purchased a rebuild 02-03 Outback from him for a pretty good price per my recommendation. Was a good little for a while then the motor seized, keith offered my pal a guarantee on repairing it. And now has had his car for several months. This guy is a total deceitful bastard . Next time you see him maybe ask about Freak's outback and what the story behind the Spec B and Evan's Bugeye.
Crazy stuff guys...Crazy! I dislike these runaround kinda guys. I've dealt with people like that before. It kills dealing with people like that
Sorry for my long rant/threadjack.. And Matt ,I hope all your troubles are sorted soon! It sucks having some one dick you around especially when it involves your beloved. Try my route. Seemed to be sort of effective, not sure why I waited so long. All in all, that man did teach me a great deal about these cars despite his "rip you off and make you look like an asshole" technique. When I experienced my problems I wanted to post a thread but I was kinda pissy and didn't want to come off like a wiener. I think you did a favor by letting fellow Subaru owners whats up and help them avoid the same issues we both experienced. And as far as lack of communication goes, I called him on a near daily basis only to have him just hang up or shut his phone off. This is NOT the way you keep customers, this is not how you run a "Ma & Pa " good hearted shop. This is how you make lots of people sad and extremely angry. Also, I would like to hear what some of his past "Surgeons" have to say. I know a couple that were shafted pretty hard...
I really don't expect me to gain anything from this thread. It was more of a thread to help everyone reconsider going to him in the future. My car is fine other than a ****ty lower engine cover. I'll most likely just buy a new one and move on. I've completely gone through my car to rechecked work. Even broke a vacuum line because it's old and freezing! If it breaks, replace it. Maintenance prevented right? Haha.
Shoulda asked around on here, I could've had your clutch done in 3 hours for a lot less...and when in doubt go to the dealership..****! Smh
Ayyy if it makes you feel any better he screwed me way worse, I bought my 02 wrx with 85000 miles and about a year later the timing belt "jumped" and required me to get an entire engine rebuild, I took it to white bear Subaru for the rebuild, took them little over 2 weeks got the call it was done, paid about $5000 for rebuild, went to start the car and check engine light was blinking, had to get ride home, they called later saying I needed valve adjustment, it ran ok for two weeks until check engine light was blinking again, I guess I needed new spark plugs I though that would be apart of a rebuild, things went good for about 7 months until check engine is blinking again, I bring it back to white bear and they say I need another valve adjustment, I'm a dumb kid so I went with it and payed for another, things went good for another 6 months until check engine light is blinking again and white bear was saying I need another valve adjustment, this is when I kinda started thinking they did something wrong I brought my wrx to subaru surgeons (or now called soobie surgeons) where Keith started the second rebuild and when taking apart the valves he said the valve cam caps were installed incorrect causing all the need for those valve adjustments, Keith had been talking with white bear Subaru and Subaru of America trying get them to warranty their work but I guess after two months of negotiations all white bear subaru would do for me was write a check for $2500 (the total of the two valve adjustments after the rebuild), I never saw that check Keith used that to start ordering parts for my second rebuild, he said he would have to send the engine to a place that grinds the metals smooth inside the motor and the turbo had to be sent to a turbo rebuild shop? I would call him at least once a week trying to get updates but he rarely answered and when he did, he said still waiting on the motor. Finally after 8 months of him having my car I get a call from him saying it's ready to be picked up and he send me a invoice for the motor rebuild, clutch, and turbo rebuild it was $8788 not including the $2500 to start ordering parts, and $3400 of that was how much he charged in labor for a car that almost took an entire year. I saved up money while it was in shop but wasn't able to come up with no $6000, it's pretty hard to come up with that cash without a car to get to work, I tried calling and emailing him trying to work something out, but he never would reply. I really loved that car I'm young it was the first thing I worked hard for, I had to buy a old truck with the money I had saved just to be able to get to work, Keith still doesn't answer my calls, the car is still under my name, I have no idea if it's even their still or been parted out. Also, a friend that I work with has a wrx that he brings to am pm auto body in white bear and started talking to a guy named Joe that works there and apparently used to work at soobie surgeons and left because keith did "shady" work and said he wouldn't be surprised if the reason it took so long for the rebuild was because keith sold my engine block and took him all summer to get a new one in. I really don't know what to do about the whole situation, I didn't want to get the law involved but looks like I do. I understand their is fault on my end too, I'm a really passive person and put too much trust in humanity, I regret not speaking up to white bear and Keith more, I feel like they just saw me as a young dumb kid they walked all over
Per a quick whois lookup: Registrant Name: keith werner Registrant Organization: subasurgeons Registrant Street: 433 east cove road Registrant City: hudson Registrant State/Province: Wisconsin Registrant Postal Code: 54016 Registrant Country: United States Registrant Phone: 6122298554 Registrant Phone Ext: Registrant Fax: Registrant Fax Ext: Registrant Email: [email protected]
Should of just had Subaru warranty their work without paying anything in the first place, but that's insane...
Hi all, sorry for your troubles, I've been trying to forget about Keith and his games for years now. I'm a ASE Master technician and was promised a lot from Keith that did not materialize. It all started as "Humble Acres Auto repair" at the same location, and Keith had convinced a customer of his to "invest" in the business. The business plan was Subaru only and I'm very experienced in engine building and general repair so they hired me to finish the cars that were in pieces and set up the shop for expansion, there was/is no running water or insulation in the walls and no bathroom!! Long story short is Keith still owes me over $9k for hours worked as my pay went into customers cars parts on the premise that he would cover it after the customers paid for their cars. That never happened, and I have met other techs since I left there that are owed thousands of $$ also. Keith has a family friend helping him out with cash/ accounting named Terri and she now is doing the work on cars. He sucks people in to his scam, beware everyone, I would love to see Justice here. Joe
That is all sorts of F****d up.... That bug eye out there with the black wing? The last I was out there trying to get my parts money back ( refer to previous post) it was still sitting there collecting dust. He was actually trying to rebuild what he did have of the engine and pawn it off on some poor kid like myself for 8500 bucks. I asked him the story about it and the title status etc... He basically claimed it was "abandoned" on his property and he had the rights to force the title to a buyer. Some shady stuff going on out there.. Evan, I am so sorry to hear about your troubles. I took it upon myself to do the research, reach out to friends and do 90% of Subaru work myself. It's fun too
Can we put Keith on the Do Not Do Business with on this form by an admin or something? Haha. Didn't know my rant was going to go this far.
I just dropped my Outback XT off at Soobie Surgeons last night, because of a referral I got off of the Outback Forum. What should I do let them do a diagnosis, or call them now and say do nothing? I was trying to find a Independent auto repair that knows my turbo engine. While waiting to be approved by this site I was referred to Soobie Subaru. I live in Oakdale, and was looking for a place in the east metro, would you recommend AM PM Auto Repair, White Bear Lake?
What exactly do you need diagnosed/fixed? A blanket "go to xyz" referral is irresponsible depending on the scope of work.
I brought my car in because I have been experiencing a slight whining sound when the turbo starts up, it started out intermittent, but then earlier this week when I was driving I experienced sputtering acceleration, and loss of power, so trying to be smart I parked it right away. All along the way I made sure to keep the oil checked, and it has been fine. So I did some research, minus MNsubaru since I was still waiting on approval to this forum, and I found Soobie Surgeon, and it was fairly close to my house, so I gave them a call a spoke with Keith and setup an appointment for my vehicle to be inspected to see what exactly the real issue was. I wanted to bring it to a independent mechanic that wasn't the dealership that knew my engine, and this was the best place I found that met all my requirements. But now that I'm part of this forum, I'm trying to sort out the good reviews from the bad, and I've found both.
I only have 103K on my 2005 Subaru Outback XT Limited, before buying I have a receipt for the Timing belt kit replacement already done. And since I've purchased it I already had the clutch go out in it, so I had a clutch assembly replacement, and also had the fly wheel replaced while it was apart. I'm a meticulous person when it comes to maintenance, I just want any old wrinkles in my XT to get ironed out. I understand where your coming from idget, to simply trust a place, isn't easy for me, and I take pride in maintaining all my vehicles. This is my first Subaru, I purchased it to be my daily driver for my family of four, I plan to keep the vehicle stock for that reason, I'm trying to do my do diligence and make the best decisions I can each day. This vehicle appears to have been maintained very well, I just think I'm running into the time when some bigger components go bad. I'm the 3rd owner, and it has a clean carfax. I appreciate both your opinions, and I'm open to anyone else who would like to throw their hat in the ring, good or bad, when it comes to the experience with Soobie Surgeons.
Well depending on how quick you need it back as a DD, this may take awhile at SS. I think one guy is still trying to get his car back after months. I have friends that say to me, "don't go there". And i trust them. I've heard about a place called Devoted Auto in White Bear. But i have no experiences with them, so i don't really know. RS Motors has always been my go to...if not there, i go to Morries Minnetonka (and i live in North St Paul-neighbor )
That is very true, the turn around time will be a huge decider. I will hopefully get the verdict today on what is wrong, if they can't fix it fast enough. I will be giving someone else a call. Your not the first to bring up the place called Devoted Auto, the other place I've heard knows what they are doing is AM PM Auto Repair. Right now sparingly drive my vehicle to a place, but I don't want to cause anything major by going too far. I wish I would have heard about these places in White Bear before going to Hudson. I figure if it's minor enough it shouldn't take too long, I don't see getting the diagnosis that my engine needs to be rebuilt, like some people I've heard of that it took months. Simply put it can't take months for me, and I'll have to bring it where I can get it in a timely fashion. Thank you for throwing your opinion out there tangledupinblu!
Sounds like your turbo is most likely on it's way out (not uncommon and fairly well documented online). My suggestion is to call a few shops and talk through your symptoms with a tech while gauging their response. A competent tech will know the common failure points on your car and lay out a few options. That sort of specialized knowledge alone will save you in diagnostic time. Unfortunately, I can't give you an unbiased opinion on SS, so I'm going to duck that portion of your inquiry. In the meantime, it should go without saying, but you definitely want to catch any turbo issues before it let's go completely. Either way good luck and keep us posted (you should start a new diagnosis/documentation thread if you're interested).
@jmyhre05 seems to be getting great reviews from people. He's a great guy and has been dealing with subarus for a long time.
Is that the guy from Osseo that is always selling fixed up Subarus? If so, he rents space from my brother in law's family. I've looked at a few of the cars he's had for sale (and even called and talked to him about one for a bit) and from the brief interactions I've had with him, he knows what he is doing and repairs things right.
I didn't know about this thread! This is too funny and sad for the people involved, Keith has screwed over many people with large bills, poor customer service and taking forever to fix cars. He's a very smart guy and a psychology major so he can be very deceiving and convincing, that's his specialty. He owes a good friend of mine money, has taken parts of his and claimed ownership of them, and recently called Dave at metro engine service and claimed you didn't need to use a torque plate to bore cylinders and wouldn't believe it also. Very knowledgeable guy he is but not worth the head ache. I highly respect how Ron runs his business at RS and highly recommend them if not coming to me, if you need anything let me know, but sounds like you need a turbo rebuilt or replaced, let me know if I can help in any way. www.jmautomn.com www.facebook.com/jmautomn
Hi! I'm really sorry about your experience. I want to thank you for sharing as you in a major way influenced my decision now not to take my Subaru to him. Your writing this was vital to my efforts to keep my Subaru on the road. It was also a big deal because I would have had to get myself from Hudson back to South St. Paul somehow, then back to Hudson again. A local mechanic I just talked to a couple of hours ago is out for a long time, until mid March. I've had to ride my bicycle in January weather for groceries etc. My timing belt could go at any time (also told camshaft seals need to be done yet not sure what that is). I'm hoping for the nicer timing belt kit with hydraulic tensioner, water pump, pulleys etc. This local mechanic is very popular and I'm sure will be back logged with his long standing customers (I moved here from greater MN) by mid March, and I have a need much sooner. Do you know a good lower budget home mechanic around here? I can't do it myself as I live in a high rise, and for health reasons. I need to splice in the brake lines that rusted in the rear from where they go on passenger's side through a rubber diaphragm in the floor to both rear brakes, about 2ft of line to the nearest and about 6 ft to the driver's side. I have new pads in rear and also new calipers and rotors in the front. I also have a check engine light P0451 evap pressure sensor switch, P0443 purge control valve circuit. Another time a scan showed P0440 in the evap system but not sure where that code means. Also hopefully to slightly tighten the bolts to my trans-axle pan and oil pan to see if that stops the leaking in those areas. I already had both valve cover gaskets replaced. My head gasket only leaks a little. Rear sway bar links are loose too. Also the CV axle boots are cracked and need to replace those as I had those installed in 2007. I think my CV axles are still good as I don't drive a lot... but will be driving to California and to Taos, New Mexico soon, at least I hope. What do you think all that would cost? Could any part of that be postponed as I hope to drive this car for another year or two, yet rust is catching up to me. It's a 1997 Legacy L 2.2 liter. A mechanic (moved away to warmer Atlanta, GA) listened to my engine and thought I could get 450,000 miles out of it and I'm at 285,000 now... but that's just dreaming ha! Who do you go to now days for your repairs? Thanks! Winfred
I had to go see Keith for a claim I was handling (apparently they do body work there too) and I got a similar vibe from him. Can't speak for his work since I didn't see any of the results, but I'm a bit concerned for my customer now after reading all these posts.
