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HORRIBLE experience with Origin Fabrication / Mark Abernathy (BEWARE!)
Normally I don’t feel the need to do something like this but after my recent experience with Mark Abernathy at Origin Fabrication, I felt it was necessary to share my experience with the community and inform on what I consider a completely unacceptable way of conducting business.
It all started back in Nov. 4, 2016 when I sent an email to Mark about buying one of his titanium Mugen intake arms. After some back and forth going over details and whatnot, I specifically asked him if he could make me one with the 2 BUNG HOLES welded on in which he replied YES (for those of you that don’t know, 06+ have the intake air temp sensor on the intake arm instead of manifold).
So I sent him the $420 on the same day, Nov. 11, 2016 and asked him for an ETA which he told me 3 WEEKS.
Also want to note that on his website he states “UNLESS OTHERWISE QUOTED, build time on made-to-order parts is 5-10 weeks from the date of initial payment.” I’m guessing the 5-10 weeks is for the more complex stuff (headers, exhaust, radiator, etc.) and so the 3 WEEKS he quoted me sounded about right.
So I patiently waited and more than 1 month later on Dec. 19, 2016 I never heard from him and reached out asking when I could expect to receive it which he told me IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO.
A couple more weeks go by, didn’t hear from him again, so then on Jan. 13, 2017 I sent him an angry email expressing my extreme dissatisfaction with his service. And ONLY then after I sent him that angry email did he FINALLY ship it. So I FINALLY received the intake arm on Jan. 19, 2017 but the story doesn’t end there…
I opened the box and what did I find? The intake arm only has 1 BUNG HOLE!! So I sent him an email asking if he could make me a replacement which he agreed to do.
A couple weeks go by, didn’t hear from him (no surprise there), so I sent him an email asking if he had gotten to making the replacement for me. At this point he started acting extremely shady, didn’t reply for a week and just basically ignored all communication with me. He obviously was in no hurry to make things right with my order that I had been waiting months for.
Didn’t hear from him for another month so on Mar. 14, 2017 I gave him an ultimatum to either finish the replacement by April or I would be returning it. He then calls me to tell me PERSONALLY that not only would he finish it BY April but that he would finish it BEFORE April (LOL).
WOW, before April, then I will have only waited 5 months, how I could be so lucky right? Wrong. I waited up until Mar. 31, 2017, didn’t hear from him so I texted him asking for an update. Once again he was being extremely shady never giving me a straight answer and never giving me a realistic expectation of when I could expect it. Fed up, I decided to just open a PayPal claim. I suspect he was just trying to wait out the clock because had I waited another week, the deadline to file a claim would have closed and I would be screwed.
Notice how he said he’s going to inspect it when he receives it? He told me on the phone that if the absence of the intake arm was preventing me from using my car to feel free and use it temporarily. Not that I did use it but that was incredibly rude. And he has the nerve to tell me he is going to inspect it before refunding me. What a dick.
TLDR; This guy is the biggest bullshitter/time waster I’ve ever dealt with in my life. He jerked me around and wasted 6 months of my life that I’ll never get back. If I didn’t keep bugging him I probably would have never heard from him again. I always gave him the benefit of the doubt and gave him MANY chances to make things right. You would be amazed at all the things I’ve done to my AP2 in the past 6 months that its taking him to make me a simple intake arm. Such a shame too as I was interested in the radiator that he makes but after this I will NEVER do business with him again.
He stated multiple times that he is a one man operation and that’s completely fine however he takes in more orders than he can realistically fulfill and probably prioritizes specific orders more than others. This is an unacceptable excuse. I would suggest that if anyone currently has an open order with him and is going through the same thing to just get your money back ASAP and save yourself the trouble that I went through.
Wow... that is piss poor service... i know there is 2 sides to everything, but i would be just as upset as you are if this happened to me... hope you get your refund. Hate reading stories like this...
Ordered a stainless exhaust for my turbo application, had to wait 5 months for it and fitment is horrible and exhaust tip points in a very odd direction common to the rear bumper. I contacted mark and he states you have to shave or cut rear subframe for it to fit better. I paid $1250 and I posted it for sale to fund something that will work and I can't even give it away
Any questions on the experiences I had with this company contact me anytime and I'll show text and emails confirming these issues and wait times
If mark ran his business as well as he makes excuses he would be on bill gates level lol
That guy doesn't seem to be an honest person... Five to SIX months for something he originally quoted you 3-4 weeks with no reasonable explanation to why it was taking so long only to get the wrong item.
Terrible communication... really dishonest and strange how he kept wanting you to call him to talk...? Maybe no evidence for his scam ?...
It makes me upset to hear about him wasting your TIME and MONEY... Thanks for the post!
Wow, OP, thanks for sharing your experience and alerting this community, if Mark and his company is a vendor here, he should be banned so no one else shall go through an experience like yours. Hope you get all your funds back...
There's a difference between customer service and customer satisfaction, in some rare instances with shady people, you'll lack both.
Remember, no matter how hard you try to polish a piece of sh!t, at the end of the day, it's still a piece of sh!t.
Sorry to hear about what happened, good looking out.
Ordered a stainless exhaust for my turbo application, had to wait 5 months for it and fitment is horrible and exhaust tip points in a very odd direction common to the rear bumper. I contacted mark and he states you have to shave or cut rear subframe for it to fit better. I paid $1250 and I posted it for sale to fund something that will work and I can't even give it away
Any questions on the experiences I had with this company contact me anytime and I'll show text and emails confirming these issues and wait times
If mark ran his business as well as he makes excuses he would be on bill gates level lol
This will be my one and only reply to this thread. I cannot deny that myself or my business is perfect and that I do not make mistakes.
--- Koo. You were refunded in full for the intake arm. I will add that when you originally received it and the IAT port was not there. I offered to ship it back expedited, correct the problem and expedite it back to you. At the time that was not in your interest due to your "Schedule" I am very sorry I was not able to get you a replacement.
---Sluuuin. Upon initial communication with me that you thought the exhaust had fitment issues. I offered to ship the exhaust back to my shop, verify fitment, correct any issues it may or may not have had, and return it to you free of charge. You then declined that offer.
This is going to be my one and only public response.
This will be my one and only reply to this thread. I cannot deny that myself or my business is perfect and that I do not make mistakes.
--- Koo. You were refunded in full for the intake arm. I will add that when you originally received it and the IAT port was not there. I offered to ship it back expedited, correct the problem and expedite it back to you. At the time that was not in your interest due to your "Schedule" I am very sorry I was not able to get you a replacement.
---Sluuuin. Upon initial communication with me that you thought the exhaust had fitment issues. I offered to ship the exhaust back to my shop, verify fitment, correct any issues it may or may not have had, and return it to you free of charge. You then declined that offer.
This is going to be my one and only public response.
so you offered them both the same resolution and they both declined ? seems legit
so you offered them both the same resolution and they both declined ? seems legit
Not sure how a customer can expect an issue to be resolved regarding a one-off/made-to-order part if they're not willing to work with the fabricator when he requests to send the part back(at his own expense) to verify and correct any issues.
Mark builds each exhaust on one of two chassis that he has at his shop to ensure maximum ground clearance(especially important when dealing with 70mm and 3'' exhaust that are popular orders). Every S2000 exhaust he builds is literally made on a car, not jigged.
What would be your expectation of Mark if the customer that is claiming his exhaust not to fit does not want to send the exhaust back for verification/correction when presented with the opportunity?
04-06-2017, 12:53 PM
HORRIBLE experience with Origin Fabrication / Mark Abernathy (BEWARE!)
