Absolutely awful service and workmanship.

I talked with Peter Gidden the proprietor of SBits to discuss a full revision 3 engine conversion for my UK 1993 MR2. This guy has to be the best salesman in the world, he certainly knows a lot about these cars but certainly cannot our into practice what he claims to be able to do. From the start all was good, a price was set and a date to drop off my car was arranged. Car dropped off and wasn’t even out inside his unit but left outside.... Two days later he contacts me by phone to basically tell me some story he had lost the keys and alarm fob to my pride and joy. Staying some utter bollocks about his own car being robbed and the cops being informed and hey where coming down to take prints etc. It turned out this was just one of many of his lies as i contacted the cops and they knew absolutley nothing about any theft let alone saying they would be attending to check for prints etc. Meanwhile he calmly requested to just send my spare keys and alarm fob to him, completely matter of fact. I did so but under duress, my request for new locks and ignition plus a reprogrammed alarm fob by telephone were met with a real attitude but he said he would do so, he never did. The replacement alarm fob I eventually received was for a different make of alarm altogether. I was told this conversion would take “2 weeks” as I left next morning for the train home. It ended up taking months as I got excuse and lie after excuse and more lies. To cut a very long story short the guy should never ever be working on anyone’s car as he is going to kill somebody. Phone calls for more common than the frequent update by text and email, which I now know was to reduce any evidence of his lies and bullshit. Just some examples of his dreadful workmanship: 6 missing bolts in the gearbox housing, terrible attempts at wiring, dangerously so, missing bolts and nuts all over the place. Loose everything! Spark plugs, suspension, engine components, hoses, fixings the lot. Something Peter is famous for if you have a look at the MR2 forums. He seems to have the strength of a new born child when it comes to tightening anything at all. Now, how about charged for work not done being a common theme, something else you can find being a similar theme by others that have utilised his “specialist” services. And charging full whack for supposed high quality parts that turned out to be cheap eBay parts at a tenth of the price. I could go on at length about just how truly awful this individual is but I’m sure you get the idea. It cost me more or less the same to get everything checked, fake parts replaced and work charged for actually done, and done correctly. Now anyone that thinks I am being too harsh/exaggerating or simply bitter I am more than happy to provide several totally independent reports proving all my claims, picture and video evidence backing up all I have alleged. Everything. A look online about the guy should assure most to be wary at best, he even made it onto Mumsnet. A look at some of the terrible work he has done to other people’s pride and joy on the IMOC forum makes for “interesting” reading as well. Missing subframe bolts, frightening attempts at welding, fitting a steering rack that wouldn’t return to centre, charging for a car to be fully polybushed when not one single bush was replaced, wedges of polybush hammered in to place instead of replacing but again charging for the entire job. Incidentally, the “full valet and polish at my expense” I was promised left me amazed as when I came to collect my car as it was the dirtiest and in the worse state I’d ever seen since buying it. Not to mention the screwdriver left in the leather seat I sat on and nearly punctured the seat with in his presence to which he didn’t even acknowledge, the missing gearknob collar that he denied touching that I pointed out on the drivers footwell. Peter has standard replies to any criticism: “I never touched it”, “you told me not to go near it”, “you told me to do that” and the classic “give it time to bed in” which Peter can apply to absolutley anything at all as his arrogance and delusion of his intellect is off the charts. Again, anybody that would like absolute proof of my claims is more than welcome to get in touch and I’ll provide them with all the irrefutable evidence. AVOID, AVOID, AVOID!

Chris Turnbull - 26/09/2019 | report this review