Been listening quietly, wanted to share my experience:

Have a 2016 r coupe. Found the forum, started reading the threads, got seduced with promises of power and raw emotion..you know, bc living in LA and driving around in a 550hp awd car is not enuf to really prove you have a screw loose...to prove that, you modify bc "the factory left so much potential on the bench...blahblahblah"

Anyway, fast forward to a call to Bill, and frankly, a number of very pleasant exchanges. Really. Seems to speak confidently but not pushy. Believes in his product. Eager to point me to the multiple positive reviews on forums like this one where I found him in the first place (thanks forum!). Kidding aside, I pull the figurative trigger and say lets go.

Because I am 30 min north of his published address, he offers to drive his laptop up to me and download his software in my backyard, sending one of his men. The beauty of an honest post is that clarity devoid of emotion shines through....so keep reading.

His man calls me up day of appt to inform me he is a little behind (much appreciated) and gets there only a little behind schedule. Certainly nothing to scoff at. This associate frankly is just as pleasant to deal with as Bill, so Im figuring what an awesome forum (thanks again forum). Ok lets keep with objective clarity.

At this point his man has made a 30 mile drive up to me, and to tell you my experience, I did not get asked for any money up front - also appreciated it as it gave me no reason to question the business practice. So far things looking good, and Im feeling comfortable.

The program gets downloaded to the car....maybe 20 min if that. Again, Bill's guy is easy going and frankly, likeable. He finishes his download, offers to go together on a test drive, which I have to decline but appreciate the offer. He turns the car on and lets it idle, after a little bit is satisfied with what he sees and turns it off. I then pay for the install and ask him to make sure Bill sees his money posted before I let him leave. Dont want to stiff anyone any more than I want to get stiffed, so I make sure we are straight transaction wise before he leaves. Bill's guy affirms we are good, a firm handshake and he's off.

I sit in my car and head off to my meeting, and frankly- the car definitely feels faster to me. Do I have dyno testing? No. Would I listen to someone tell me after paying a $1000 for a bottle of wine that it tastes like liquid gold, or a $1000 pair of pants makes me look taller with a huge bulge women cant stop looking at....probably. So am I anything close to resembling an authority on it being worth the money or risk to the engine/warranty? Hell no. All I want is to squeeze that right pedal down from time to time and giggle like a 4 yr old with a tonka truck. And you know what, mission accomplished. Lets fast forward some more.

Come back to the forum, u know...that awesome forum that introduced me to vmax (focus, me). Whats this? Holy crap. The more I read, well you already know. Is my car going to blow up like in the godfather the next time I turn it on, or just slowly melt from the inside out? Everyone pointing fingers, everyone upset....bad jujus all around.

So I call Bill...and his guy (remember I have his guy's #). "Whats going on gentlemen? Whats with all this drama? Give me a call, please". Multiple messages, no call back yet. Multiple emails, strike two. Health reasons? Away on vacation? We r done with u? Cant tell you...remember this is objectivity 101.

So where am I now. The car is running smoothly quite honestly with no problems, and feels faster to me. Do I have reason to gripe? Honestly, yes and no. Am I disappointed they are not calling me back after telling me they would support their tune if there were any problems? Of course. Am I enjoying the car (until it melts or blows up)? You betcha. Am I worried about my warranty? No, that wouldnt make much sense now would it. If you care about your warranty, dont do anything to void your warranty. If you know you're wife will figuratively and literally cut ur nuts off if you cheat on her, then you only have yourself to blame if she catches you and cuts your nuts off now don't you? So if JLR catches me and decides to do some clipping....well I had it coming. Pray for my nuts.

If the vmax ppl are still reading, give your boy (me) a call. If they've moved on, so will I. If the tune flashes back to stock next service....oh well. Was fun while it lasted i suppose, tho thats a crappy thing to do on vmax's part to bolt. If there is a problem with the car that JLR says is now my responsibility moving forward....oh well again. I have big boy pants, Ill be fine. Is it wise to listen to cautions from members here? Sure. Of course in my case its quite like every bad action movie Ive ever seen, where 30 police cars converge at the end long after whats done is done (thanks forum!)

Hope this was worth some humor. I said earlier I dont want to stiff anyone any more than I want to get stiffed myself. Cant go thru life being a cynic or jaded, despite those feelings constantly trying to creep in....justified or otherwise. Im driving around in a 100k car id have as a poster on my wall 30 years ago, that gives me an erection every time I walk up to it (ok every other time, I said I was going to be objective). Hopefully Bill and his guy do the right thing with the clients he has. Did I mention call me back? Gotta hold out for the good in ppl. And if not, Ive never been proven wrong that what goes around comes around. A lifetime of examples....no exceptions. Both in my favor and me against me. Ever. The way of the higher juju I suppose.

 

Midlife,



I feel your pain.

 

Love you candor and raw sense or humor!

 

I have read with great interest through every post in this thread, and although I don't have an F-type, I do have a 5.0L XKR to which I wanted to add a pulley and tune package. Because, like midlifefun, 600hp is the new 300hp, and of course, in Los Angeles where the probability of making it through two consecutive stoplights is nearly zero and topping 20mph on any freeway is less than zero, I needed it.

I know Jaguar owners that have used Jags at ECU Tuning right here in Beverly Hills who have been very satisfied but his price is $2000.00 for a pulley and tune. I had purchased a pulley from another forum member, so I didn't need the pulley, and so when Eurocharged offered the tune for $700, I jumped at it. I had a high performance speed shop that is working on my Pantera do the installation. The pulley was a very difficult installation and not without a lot of time (2 weeks), a lot of trouble (2 pulleys ruined), and a lot of frustration. But eventually it got done. The tune, on the other hand would not load, either of the first two tunes they sent. However, I was in daily contact as was the shop doing the work with the guys at Eurocharged and very rarely was there no one available to speak with. Everyone was working toward a solution, and although I was getting antsy, I never felt that someone was taking advantage of me nor that there wouldn't be a solution at the end of the road.

Besides being very communicative, they readily admit that they were sending the downloads to their tuner in Italy who was figuring out what was wrong and sending the information back to them. Eventually they sent me the tune on the My Genius device, and I was able to load it with their guidance.

Is the car any quicker, who knows? I didn't do the before and after charts. In the seat of my pants test, I can't tell, in my brain test, I hope so, and I can satisfy myself with thinking that I have about 600hp thrusting me through 10mph traffic everyday. Next trip to the track might reveal some evidence.
The moral of the story is that customer service and communication is so vital to how you feel afterwards even if there were hiccups along the way. While I was frustrated with the time involved, I was appreciative that I could reach someone in support nearly every time I tried. It made all of the difference. If VMAX (Andy, Bill.......) could learn anything from this whole saga, is there is no subsitute for prompt, courteous, helpful customer service, PERIOD!

It's obvious some companies have learned this lesson well, and some haven't the foggiest idea.

 

Thank goodness for the placebo effect.

When Jaron gets home, he'll have a bad story gone good to talk about.

 

I put up numbers in the v6 tune post