[Bitco23]

Just wanted to let everyone know my experience with Vargas Turbos . I recently purchased stage 1 turbos with billet compressor and thrust option installed Via Eurowerks. After about 300 miles on the turbos I started to see smoke come out my exhaust. I thought maybe it was my PCV system so I ordered the RB PCV upgraded and replaced it. drove another couple days on it, still smoking. I bring it back to eurowerks for inspection and there was oil leaking out out the back housing of the turbo. One of the turbos were in fact blown. I talked to Tony about the getting it warrantied and compensating me somehow because that means I would have to pay for labor AGAIN for the removal and install of another set of turbos after only driving on them a week. Of course he said no and gave me it's in black and white speech that he doesn't cover labor. He refused to help me out in anyway, (I know he doesn't have too) but it would've been nice to help a customer that just spent 3k on brand new turbos. So I requested a refund and that was a whole process as well. Just want to give a heads up to anyone purchasing Vargas turbos with my experience.

[AtlantaDude]

Well shit... I've been saving for Vargas Turbo's for a while. I was going to go with Stage 2 with all the ups. That blows man. Thanks for the heads up....

[2nice89]

Originally Posted by Bitco23

Just wanted to let everyone know my experience with Vargas Turbos . I recently purchased stage 1 turbos with billet compressor and thrust option installed Via Eurowerks. After about 300 miles on the turbos I started to see smoke come out my exhaust. I thought maybe it was my PCV system so I ordered the RB PCV upgraded and replaced it. drove another couple days on it, still smoking. I bring it back to eurowerks for inspection and there was oil leaking out out the back housing of the turbo. One of the turbos were in fact blown. I talked to Tony about the getting it warrantied and compensating me somehow because that means I would have to pay for labor AGAIN for the removal and install of another set of turbos after only driving on them a week. Of course he said no and gave me it's in black and white speech that he doesn't cover labor. He refused to help me out in anyway, (I know he doesn't have too) but it would've been nice to help a customer that just spent 3k on brand new turbos. So I requested a refund and that was a whole process as well. Just want to give a heads up to anyone purchasing Vargas turbos with my experience.

kinda messed up to have brand new turbos messing up. should've went with rbi's man. all this hype about vargas this n vargas that. they fell off the map as soon as they were released.

[Jklad]

Is there any way to post something tangible to verify the truthiness of this post ? I feel like sometimes when folks complain about a poor customer service situation, it's difficult for regular forum users to tell if the event actually happened. In the end it hurts everybody bc the vendors then start to get into heated disagreements, everyone ends up with a poor reputation, and us regular enthusiasts aren't sure who to trust, so we end up buying stock BMW parts.

[AK 335i]

Originally Posted by Jklad

Is there any way to post something tangible to verify the truthiness of this post ? I feel like sometimes when folks complain about a poor customer service situation, it's difficult for regular forum users to tell if the event actually happened. In the end it hurts everybody bc the vendors then start to get into heated disagreements, everyone ends up with a poor reputation, and us regular enthusiasts aren't sure who to trust, so we end up buying stock BMW parts.

I don't know about the relationship between the op and vargas but I can say eurowerks does good work and I know the OP and he is a gentlemen

[jayzF30]

No manufacturer of any aftermarket parts will provide you with compensation for labor. That should really not be a surprise in my honest opinion.

[stashtrey]

[AK 335i]

D. I would think about talking to proven power in Tampa about a custom twin or single kit or talk to eurowerks about getting into the n54 turbo kit game

[stashtrey]

Originally Posted by jazze90

No manufacturer of any aftermarket parts will provide you with compensation for labor. That should really not be a surprise in my honest opinion.

Do you think that is a good policy for something so custom and boasted about by the owner/founder? Brand new, hybrid turbos and they blow oil after install? Not cool.

[AK 335i]

Originally Posted by stashtrey

Do you think that is a good policy for something so custom and boasted about by the owner/founder? Brand new, hybrid turbos and they blow oil after install? Not cool.

Pls do not ask hard questions on here. It will confuse people

[lamia2super]

what a bad one man. I have a set of ASR stage 2 turbos for sale if you want to try them out and since their local they'll probably take care of you when it comes to installing and/or warranty if you need it. test the shop car out for yourself to get a feel for them.

i had the ASR stage 1s before and never had a problem with them. actually i had one problem and that was with a defected waste gate which they swapped out for a newer/better design for free

[AK 335i]

Originally Posted by lamia2super

what a bad one man. I have a set of ASR stage 2 turbos for sale if you want to try them out and since their local they'll probably take care of you when it comes to installing and/or warranty if you need it. test the shop car out for yourself to get a feel for them

X2
I would try this out if I were u

Or single turbo

[Bme30]

Doesn't surprise me one bit. Vargas is trash. Something should have been done to help to op. It's all about good PR and word of mouth. Just offering some assistance would have gone much further......because of this I can see a lost in potential future customers.
Vargas sometime a little goes a long way!! Something you should think about. Just my 0.2 cents

[Snaggletooth]

OP, I had a somewhat similar experience with Vargas, but was able to work out a mutually agreeable solution that was fair to both parties. My best advice to you (and this is coming from someone who is working on a legal education, but not a lawyer) is to try to work things out man to man first and foremost.

In my experience, Tony is a reasonable guy who will stand behind his product but is wary of getting shafted. I'd recommend being open to alternative solutions to the problem that doesn't place an unreasonable burden on either of you.

These are solutions i'd consider if he's open to it: try to show you followed the install procedures of new oil and new fittings (and thus your warranty isn't void), then negotiate from there. If Tony is up for it, you could ask if he'd install a new pair of stage 1's at his shop (iono if you'll ever be in the area, but why not?), or maybe request an upgrade, or even a partial refund? There are plenty of ways to collectively resolve this problem which you two could mutually assent to.

I can't speak for him but I think some of these solutions would be reasonable if you two agreed to them.

Just food for thought. I'm pleased with the outcome of my VTT experience and probably would purchase another set if the need arose. I wouldn't write this off yet. Just try to be fair and open to alternatives but assert your need for a solution. Tony is a reasonable guy FWIW and he genuinely wants his products to work as they should.

Good luck OP, I'm betting things will work out in the end. Keep a cool and level head and things should resolve with some negotiations.

[Dr. G]

Originally Posted by Snaggletooth

OP, I had a somewhat similar experience with Vargas,

If you visit the other forums you will notice multiple reports of the turbos having problems as well, apparently a whole bunch of them that were sent to europe were puking oil as well.
It seems like quality control is lacking severely.

A couple local sets I know of had issues, but they tried to sweep it under the rug which was a part of the deal to get a refund or compensation I guess.

[Snaggletooth]

Originally Posted by Dr. G

If you visit the other forums you will notice multiple reports of the turbos having problems as well, apparently a whole bunch of them that were sent to europe were puking oil as well.
It seems like quality control is lacking severely.

A couple local sets I know of had issues, but they tried to sweep it under the rug which was a part of the deal to get a refund or compensation I guess.

Ehh... I have to semantically disagree with that last part. Tony never told me to keep my mouth shut or anything, so I don't think he tried to sweep things under the rug with me. In fact, he went above and beyond his warranty to personally fix things. This "deal" you speak of was not my experience, although I can't speak for others. I'm a little out of the loop since i've taken a leave of absence from the forums but that never happened to me.

His business has been under a microscope for quite some time, and although i'm not entirely sure why, I don't think there is some huge conspiracy here. Tony entered a new market with a new product and hiccups are bound to happen. That's what warranties and a man's word to make things right are for.

That being said, I would encourage the OP to seriously consider talking things out. I feel like there's a simple fix to this problem if both parties can sit down and make things happen. It's frustrating when you're rolling coal out the back of your 335, but it's also easily remedied.

[sutter2k]

Originally Posted by jazze90

No manufacturer of any aftermarket parts will provide you with compensation for labor. That should really not be a surprise in my honest opinion.

back in the day. I was compensated for labor by an underdrive pulley vendor who's timing ring broke off the pulley and wrecked havok on other parts.

[Tony@vargasturbotech]

Refused to help you out in anyway? We gave John a full refund no questions asked before we even inspected the turbos, because he was at his wits end with you. We were in communication with John at Eurowerks for the entire process. He is a great guy with a great shop. Lets tell the real story here, when he installed the turbos. He gave you a list of things he thought you should upgrade as well, PCV and catch can were only a couple of them. You refused them all, citing you didn't have the money. Well once you started having issues you then wanted to take johns advice. It seems it might have been too late. Its unfortunate when situations like this arise, but from speaking with John you were rude, not understanding in anyway and actually had lawyers calling his shop. In the end a full refund was made before we even had them back and John let me know he even refunded your labor. After all that you want to post something saying everyone involved refused to help you in anyway? Well that's one way to do things. Its not honest or correct. But one way to do them. We apologize for any inconvenience the process may have called you. Good luck

[shmorgan77]

I wonder how many vargas turbos have actually failed? 25? (Individual turbos) How many people have sets that haven't exploded/puked oil? 200 sets? Pssshhhh

[shmorgan77]

Originally Posted by shmorgan77

I wonder how many vargas turbos have actually failed? 25? (Individual turbos) How many people have sets that haven't exploded/puked oil? 200 sets? Pssshhhh

Just thinking outloud

[stashtrey]

Oh snap! OP...not being very honest now are we?

[nikitino25]

Originally Posted by Vargasturbotech

Refused to help you out in anyway? We gave John a full refund no questions asked before we even inspected the turbos, because he was at his wits end with you. We were in communication with John at Eurowerks for the entire process. He is a great guy with a great shop. Lets tell the real story here, when he installed the turbos. He gave you a list of things he thought you should upgrade as well, PCV and catch can were only a couple of them. You refused them all, citing you didn't have the money. Well once you started having issues you then wanted to take johns advice. It seems it might have been too late. Its unfortunate when situations like this arise, but from speaking with John you were rude, not understanding in anyway and actually had lawyers calling his shop. In the end a full refund was made before we even had them back and John let me know he even refunded your labor. After all that you want to post something saying everyone involved refused to help you in anyway? Well that's one way to do things. Its not honest or correct. But one way to do them. We apologize for any inconvenience the process may have called you. Good luck

Glad we could hear both sides of the story......