[DefactoM6]

Hi all,

Those who know me would say that I am not one to dole out praise lightly, nor do it under peer pressure, for personal gain or maintenance of interests, or any other reason other than it being totally deserved. They also would say that I am quite picky, and that I do not pull punches.

With that in mind, here are my opinions on my experience with Matt@Camber-Toe:

I went to see Matt on a Friday afternoon; we said between 12-1 PM, depending on traffic from CT. My failed install of the SPP lowering front strut hats (no impact gun was my downfall) was my reason for the trip, so I was limping over there, praying that the clunk in my front right wheelwell wouldn't develop into some next level stuff. After my nav led me to the next town over (apparently this is a regular occurence with anyone trying to find Camber-Toe with a BMW nav, so prepare accordingly), Matt directed me to Camber-Toe. Upon my arrival around 1:30, Matt was still deep in work on returning a member's car to stock (didn't catch either of your names, guys, sorry!), so after chatting and hanging out with the two members for a little while, I went out and got gas and lunch, and by 3:30, Matt had grabbed the keys to my car and was getting things underway.

So, a commentary/observation on the shop itself (which is not owned or controlled by Matt, so this bit is out of his control). It's a small place, and it isn't as clean as a (former)Farnbacher-Loles, Motorworks West, etc, but it's clean enough, and the area which Matt works in is kept orderly and neat, and Matt does make a point of frequent hand washing. Simple stuff like fresh floor tiling, adding shelving and storage, and putting parts and pieces of projects in these shelves/storage areas would make the difference between decent and extraordinary.

Anyhow, Matt got hard at work on my car, and inbetween phone calls and thumbing through tuner mags in the front area, I would venture into the shop to talk with Matt about old school BMWs, Porsches, local shops, war stories, etc. About an hour after the car first went in the air, the suspension was back together with the new SPP front lowering hats. He took the liberty of trimming the bumpstops to prevent the car from hitting them due to the slight drop, a nice touch which I certainly wouldn't have thought to do if I had succeeded in my install! He also quickly fixed a rattle in my newly installed exhaust (I didn't know to remove the center exhaust hanger since it didn't fit with the new pipes, lol), finished up the reinstall of my cowl (since my 6:30 AM reassembly of the cowl was a 5 minute job which redefined the word rush)

I also got a set of Matt's HID Fogs, which proved to be a somewhat timely affair, albeit due to no fault of Matt's, since the bulbs were being sourced from another member who swapped his out. I am very happy with them, and what a difference in lighting! For $130 installed and no codes, you really can't go wrong!

Finally, it was time to align my car. I knew the car went up on the lift, had a few test drives, but was taking a while...so I wandered outside. Apparently, no matter what Matt and Randy tried, the car had a mind of its' own whenever any sort of steering input was fed. It went up in the air twice, they did all sorts of things to it...then finally, Randy and Matt asked if I was 100% sure that I retightened the steering rack after my DP install. Though I definitely tightened the bolts on the steering rack, I definitely didn't get them tight enough when I was under the car. After a magic #3 in the air, with the bolts tightened down adequately, Matt could finally get the car aligned after my little install blunder. And Matt didn't let it faze him one bit, even though it was after 11 by the time the car finally came down off the rack! So not only was Matt persistent and tireless in his pursuit of getting my car right, he was a gentleman, being gracious even though he had a right to be frustrated (due to my DP install causing the problems), and he honored his quoted price for the alignment, even though it was the equivalent of 3 alignments worth of labor.

This kind of gentlemanly conduct, and other areas where Matt went above and beyond the call of duty, such as my scoops (I discovered that I hadn't fully threaded my left scoop on the bumper bolt, so it was hanging down loose by the time I arrived at Matt's. I asked for tools/advice on fixing it, and he gave it...but low and behold, I go out to fix it on Saturday morning, and I find that it is already fixed!), and a generally can-do, honest, straightforward attitude and candor, along with his capability and his desire to constantly achieve perfection and to improve, is why I will certainly be back to see Matt, and why I will reccommend him with full confidence to anyone seeking any sort of work on his or her BMW, Porsche, or any other performance vehicle. After having catastrophically bad experiences with shops in the past, I avoided going to a shop like the plague, and it was with great trepidation that I went to see Matt, so it is 150% to Matt's credit that I felt taken care of beyond the call of duty. If you are nervous about going to a shop, put your trust in Matt...you won't be let down!

Sincerely,

DefactoM6

PS-Matt, sorry this is so late!

[itsbrokeagain]

Wow..that's some review

Yeah the shop isn't the cleanest out there...considering we don't own the shop, Randy is very hesitant to spend anymore money into the inside of the shop as we would be leaving it there when we move out. The landlord is a real douche bag so just wait till this winter...once we find out if NY state is keeping the emissions dyno or not, we are sayanora! With all the BMW work coming in and out and now Porsches, we are really starting to outgrow the place...and Randys LS1 project needs to grow wheels and be pushed outside

When we aren't so busy we do a lot of cleaning up...but with the frenzy its quickly a mess again

We have plenty of ideas for the new location...including maybe a set of dyna-packs


And also I will be keeping in touch about all those E28 parts we discussed

[ar design]

Matt is a rock star

[itsbrokeagain]

Originally Posted by ar design

Matt is a rock star

But not yet partying like one

[Alpine Whiteboy]

I love Call of Duty...

[ar design]

Originally Posted by Matt@Camber-Toe

But not yet partying like one

I hear that. Still dailying a rusted out bmw 2002. lol

[DefactoM6]

Originally Posted by Matt@Camber-Toe

Wow..that's some review

Yeah the shop isn't the cleanest out there...considering we don't own the shop, Randy is very hesitant to spend anymore money into the inside of the shop as we would be leaving it there when we move out. The landlord is a real douche bag so just wait till this winter...once we find out if NY state is keeping the emissions dyno or not, we are sayanora! With all the BMW work coming in and out and now Porsches, we are really starting to outgrow the place...and Randys LS1 project needs to grow wheels and be pushed outside

When we aren't so busy we do a lot of cleaning up...but with the frenzy its quickly a mess again

We have plenty of ideas for the new location...including maybe a set of dyna-packs


And also I will be keeping in touch about all those E28 parts we discussed

Well if that's the case, that explains alot, and is totally understandable! Randy also seems to be a good guy, knowledgeable and a hard worker...a good partner to have on board!

I also would like to be the first to put a vote in on your guys' new location...you guys should consider Westchester/Southern CT in addition to LI. First off, LI seems really saturated with generic speed shop type places which are difficult to differentiate yourselves from. Second, there are really no trustworthy shops in this area, in spite of there being a strong market for it, particularly as far as Porsches are concerned. There's still a big vacuum from Farnbacher Loles' closure last November, and the BMW world FINALLY seems to have realized that ICS Performance can't be trusted as far as they can be thrown, and their work isn't fit for donkey-drawn wagons. Since you guys seem to do pretty well with internet business, you'd have that as a good base, plus a ripe local market to draw on. Just a (selfish) thought...

I'm also putting in a vote for a Dyno Dynamics instead of a Dynapack...put it in shootout mode...bring on the heartbreaker, baby! People on here will never call a Mustang "low reading" ever again...

Oh and if you come out here, become a VP dealer or something...cause finding race gas around here is proving to be a tough proposition.

And if you're around here, it's so much easier for you to come grab the E28 parts I have lying around... :P

[Sal G@Camber-Toe]

Alright Matt..I agree 100%. Always does awesome work and has done everything on my car!

[itsbrokeagain]

Originally Posted by DefactoM6

Well if that's the case, that explains alot, and is totally understandable! Randy also seems to be a good guy, knowledgeable and a hard worker...a good partner to have on board!

I also would like to be the first to put a vote in on your guys' new location...you guys should consider Westchester/Southern CT in addition to LI. First off, LI seems really saturated with generic speed shop type places which are difficult to differentiate yourselves from. Second, there are really no trustworthy shops in this area, in spite of there being a strong market for it, particularly as far as Porsches are concerned. There's still a big vacuum from Farnbacher Loles' closure last November, and the BMW world FINALLY seems to have realized that ICS Performance can't be trusted as far as they can be thrown, and their work isn't fit for donkey-drawn wagons. Since you guys seem to do pretty well with internet business, you'd have that as a good base, plus a ripe local market to draw on. Just a (selfish) thought...

I'm also putting in a vote for a Dyno Dynamics instead of a Dynapack...put it in shootout mode...bring on the heartbreaker, baby! People on here will never call a Mustang "low reading" ever again...

Oh and if you come out here, become a VP dealer or something...cause finding race gas around here is proving to be a tough proposition.

And if you're around here, it's so much easier for you to come grab the E28 parts I have lying around... :P

Well I can assure you we won't be moving out of long island anytime soon...we have 2 large accounts with Maxspeed auto and Baron Automall. We fix all their cars that come in off lease. If I could swing the kind of money that they give us every month, then I would be very well off

It would be very nice to do Porsches all day long. But can't forget the little guys, they spend money too. I had no idea Farnbacher closed...I bet Musante Motorsports has his shop bursting at the seams now from all that work. Those guys are awesome, attending many races with my former shop and always there to lend a hand, tool or part if needed.

And I'm actually a Sunoco Race fuels distributor..so I can get you a wide range of fuel types

[PandaBear]

matt's a great man, even though i push his buttons sometimes =)

[TT3 iN NyC]

Hey Defacto,

It's me Nore. I was the one talking to you in the shop and my friend was returning his car back to stock. Glad you got your issue fixed. It was great chatting with you. Matt is awesome. Camber toe is the only shop i'll bring my car too other than the dealer. Hope to see you at Bimmerstock.

[itsbrokeagain]

Originally Posted by TT3 iN NyC

Hey Defacto,

It's me Nore. I was the one talking to you in the shop and my friend was returning his car back to stock. Glad you got your issue fixed. It was great chatting with you. Matt is awesome. Camber toe is the only shop i'll bring my car too other than the dealer. Hope to see you at Bimmerstock.

You need mods

[NYC_e92]

Great Job Matt!!!!

[Alpine Whiteboy]

Yeah man all jokes aside Matt, I appreciate everything you've done for me. Randy is cool too as well as the dude that handles all the phones, bills, ordering etc. (I keep forgetting his name sorry). But you guys all def deserve a bigger better place. I tell people about your shop all the time and they're first reaction is "why would u go all the way out there to do work on your car? There's plenty of places in the Bronx that are closer to u" and my answer is always the same: "because when u find a mechanic that knows his shit, takes care of u and your car and doesn't rip u off, I don't care if he's an hour away". Matt even throws me random text messages at times just to tell me what's going on with anything new that I may be interested in, not because he's gonna make money off installing it for me, but I feel he truly cares about his customers.

Thanks Matt

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted by Alpine Whiteboy

Yeah man all jokes aside Matt, I appreciate everything you've done for me. Randy is cool too as well as the dude that handles all the phones, bills, ordering etc. (I keep forgetting his name sorry). But you guys all def deserve a bigger better place. I tell people about your shop all the time and they're first reaction is "why would u go all the way out there to do work on your car? There's plenty of places in the Bronx that are closer to u" and my answer is always the same: "because when u find a mechanic that knows his shit, takes care of u and your car and doesn't rip u off, I don't care if he's an hour away". Matt even throws me random text messages at times just to tell me what's going on with anything new that I may be interested in, not because he's gonna make money off installing it for me, but I feel he truly cares about his customers.

Thanks Matt

[ultimateendz]

Originally Posted by Alpine Whiteboy

Yeah man all jokes aside Matt, I appreciate everything you've done for me. Randy is cool too as well as the dude that handles all the phones, bills, ordering etc. (I keep forgetting his name sorry). But you guys all def deserve a bigger better place. I tell people about your shop all the time and they're first reaction is "why would u go all the way out there to do work on your car? There's plenty of places in the Bronx that are closer to u" and my answer is always the same: "because when u find a mechanic that knows his shit, takes care of u and your car and doesn't rip u off, I don't care if he's an hour away". Matt even throws me random text messages at times just to tell me what's going on with anything new that I may be interested in, not because he's gonna make money off installing it for me, but I feel he truly cares about his customers.

Thanks Matt

I agree, and trust me NOBODY appreciates boopie as much as I do....To even take on a task as daunting as finding the problems with all the incorrectly installed parts from akm and correcting them and even going the extra distance as to researching what works best with my car and constantly on the phone making sure certain setups will work from the vendor speaks volumes....The guy has a wealth of knowledge about these cars and the hour trip to LI is absolutely worth it to have everything done the RIGHT way. He stands by his work and will go out of his way to correct the problem if one ever comes up unlike akm. Having a lift also helps when doing these installs too.

[Gtrain]

Originally Posted by ultimateendz

I agree, and trust me NOBODY appreciates boopie as much as I do....To even take on a task as daunting as finding the problems with all the incorrectly installed parts from akm and correcting them and even going the extra distance as to researching hat works best with my car and constantly on the phone making sure certain setups will work from the vendor speaks volumes....The guy has a wealth of knowledge about these cars and the hour trip to LI is absolutely worth it to have everything done the RIGHT way. He stands by his work and will go out of his way to correct them problem if one ever comes up unlike akm. Having a lift also helps when doing these installs too.

I would have to agree with Dan very much so. Matt is an awesome guy and is always helpful to the community.

[LI E90]

Matt's the best.. he even worked on a Audi B8 A4. even though he hated every second of it!

[DefactoM6]

Originally Posted by TT3 iN NyC

Hey Defacto,

It's me Nore. I was the one talking to you in the shop and my friend was returning his car back to stock. Glad you got your issue fixed. It was great chatting with you. Matt is awesome. Camber toe is the only shop i'll bring my car too other than the dealer. Hope to see you at Bimmerstock.

Nice meeting you too man. I'll definitely give it some consideration.

It looks like I'm not the only one who thinks it's worth driving an hour to see Matt. Having someone who stands by his work, is dedicated to doing things the right way, to doing the right thing, and to looking out for customers is someone who is well worth travelling for.

And I'd love to get some sunoco race fuel from ya, only problem is that I would've burned through it by the time I got home

PS, I still put in my vote for a Dyno Dynamics, regardless of where you are. DDs in shootout mode arguably provide the most accurate comparison between two different cars on two different dynos in different locations. Now, if only we could get other places around the country to adopt them...:P

[longtran]

they are also good at taxi service. matt for president!!!

[DefactoM6]

Lol...gotta say, it's nice that we really seem to have our own LT over on our coast.

[itsbrokeagain]

Originally Posted by longtran

they are also good at taxi service. matt for president!!!

Hey not everyone now can recieve the royal treatment of a BMW caravan into your hotel in Manhattan