Wishing all of our readers and advertisers a warm and Merry Christmas, and hoping the season brings far smoother roads than the one I’m about to describe.

On September 4th, I dropped off my 1999 GMC Sierra at Engine Builders in Glendale. Greg, the owner, told me it would take two weeks to pull my old V8 and install a rebuilt 6.0-liter. I reminded him several times that I had a major racing event in early October and absolutely needed the truck back. He said “no problem” and even wrote the deadline on my paperwork.

Before agreeing to anything, I read about six Google reviews—most looked decent enough to move forward. What I didn’t read until later were the Yelp reviews. Had I seen those first, I never would’ve taken my truck there. The Yelp complaints were consistent and brutal: missed deadlines, no communication, frustration with Greg and the office staff, Jesse, and even reports of fully paid-for vehicles sitting untouched for a year or more.

After reading all that, I no consider myself lucky that mine was done in “only” ten weeks. The stress of not knowing what was going on—or if anything was happening at all—was overwhelming. Greg gave me two or three “ready dates,” each one followed by a new excuse.

Finally, I was told I could pick up the truck November 13th. When I reached the office door, a full-grown German Shepherd was sitting there like a sentry. I had no idea if it was friendly but I wanted my truck back so badly that I walked past it with nothing but my cell phone as a possible weapon. Thankfully, the dog was friendly—just big and excited.

A moment later, Jesse came out. When I said I was there to pick up my GMC, she immediately replied, “We only do deliveries on Fridays.” After driving nearly 40 miles, my heart absolutely sank. I walked back to my car to cool off before saying something I’d regret.

A few minutes later, my phone rang—Jesse said they were test-driving my truck at that very moment. As she spoke, I watched it driving up the street into the lot. A second vehicle followed behind it—it was Greg.

Back inside, the final paperwork didn’t say “Paid in Full,” nor did it mention the rebuilt 6.0 engine. Calmly, I asked her to update both. She snatched the papers out of my hand and told me I was “the worst pain-in-the ass customer they ever had.” She corrected and signed them, and at that point all I wanted was to leave and never deal with them again. Greg tried to explain their two year/ 24k-mile warranty, but I truck so I could leave.

To be fair, the engine seems to run well so far—consistent oil pressure, no leaks, no overheating. It still needs computer tuning to hopefully clear a check-engine light. But after everything I saw firsthand, and everything I’ve read since, I really feel for the customers who still don’t have their vehicles back. If it had blown up even 100 feet down the road, I sure as hell wouldn’t have brought it back to Engine Builders.