Exotic Customs

I bought my nephew’s 350Z. I inherited a Macco installed front bumper held on with tie wraps and cheap aftermarket headlights. I found Exotic Customs on Craig’s list while I was looking for a new bumper. Mike Snyder of EC had a like-​new one from his 350Z he was customizing. When I went to pick it up and I was listening to him discuss repairs, I got a sense that he was the man to fix my car. Mike is very frank, honest and transparent in his approach to repairs. He also happens to be an expert on 350Z’s (but I will let him tell that story). Mike is not a «cut corners» kind of guy; he likes to use quality (often OEM) parts, has exceptional access to get parts quickly and the installation was top shelf quality.
My experience with EC was not for anything exotic, but the results were fantastic. I paid a fair price and I don’t have to drive around with extra tie wraps anymore. So if you are interested in getting a repair done that is top shelf at a fair price consider Mike Snyder and Exotic Customs.
p. s.: If you are looking to go exotic in customizing your car, you gotta talk to Mike.

So I wanted to share my HORRIBLE experience with this company. This will be a long review but I want all the facts known.
I called this place because I was unhappy with the color of the HID headlight bulbs in my car. Mike, the owner, told me that he specialized in these bulbs, that he actually made his own bulbs in house that were better than OEM, and that he had licensed HID technology from a huge company to make his own equipment. He gave me a price and we made an appointment for that Monday.
I took my car in on Monday and left it with Mike. I never saw anyone else in his shop. He charged me $ 80.00 for the bulbs and $ 89.00 for an hour of labor to install them. At about noon he called and asked if I wanted my high-​beams converted to one of his aftermarket kits. When I said no, he asked me if I didn’t have the money to do it. I went to pick up my car that evening. He went out to my car with me and turned the headlights on, and the passenger side was not working. He told me to keep an eye on it and that it was likely the ballast on my car. He said that he «makes» a ballast that works better and that he recommended I let him convert my car over to his equipment. I had no intention of letting him cut wires on my car.
The next day I took my car to an Audi dealer who tested it and said that the ballast was fine, and that the problem was the bulbs that Mike had installed. I called Mike and let him know and we made an appointment for Friday to have the bad bulbs replaced.
Friday, I took my car in, and Mike told me that my dealer had no idea how HID bulbs work and that mechanics «are not engineers» and are «only trained to replace things.» At noon, I called and Mike told me that the bulb seemed to be working.
That afternoon I went to pick up my car, and while on the way, Mike called me. He said that the bulbs were flickering after trying 3 sets and that the problem was my car. I told him that I have a warranty and the dealer will cover the part and that I would have the dealer fix it. He then told me that when I went to the dealer, they were going to blame his bulbs so that they didn’t have to replace the ballast. I argued with him and said that this sounded fishy. He actually said that the dealer would replace the bulb and that «6 – 8 months down the road the new bulb SHOULD fail.» I didn’t even really know what this meant. I argued that everything worked until he touched my car and that I didn’t believe for a minute that this was a problem with the car. I asked Mike what he thought a judge would think and he began to get loud.
Mike then asked me a strange question. He asked if I wanted my original bulbs put back in. When I asked if he still had them he said he would «dig them out of the trash.» This was strange. How did he still have my old bulbs, accessible, in the trash, from FIVE DAYS before?
I asked him this and he said that I was to come pick up my car and get my money back. When I got there he gave me a refund and had put my old bulbs back in.
So I pose these questions:
1. Why, if the problem is my car do the old bulbs work fine?
2. If it took a full hour of labor to install them the first time, how did he switch them back in the 10 minutes it took between our conversation and my picking up my car?
3. Why did he still have my old bulbs on hand 5 days later, and why did he have to «dig them out of the trash?»
Bear in mind I have no proof of the following and this is just my opinion… but I think he is selling cheap aftermarket parts, and marketing them as manufactured in house. I also SUSPECT that he kept my old bulbs in order to re-​sell them.
Stay away from this place. Yes, I got my money back. But, I didn’t get the 2 hours work I missed, or my gas running back and forth, and my wasted time.
This is the LAST place I would ever take my car. Buyer beware doesn’t even begin to describe my experience.