Nick Micale Arizonagn

Joined
Oct 4, 2014
Just thought Id share my experience so far with the buick “guru”.

I sent my car down to have a rebuild done with forged parts and roller cam rockers. Also asked to have alky kit installed and needed to have pressure switch swapped out on trans.

He never did the alky kit just threw it in my trunk... no word on the pressure switch but I do have a leaking pan now so I think he got that done. Asked him what size cam he put in it so I could get a chip going and his response was “we usually do a 212/212” so i asked usually ? So thats whats In there?? Uh uh Yea yea that’s what it got. So i think it has a 212/212.

Get my car back and first thing i notice are 2 fresh creases the rear quarters. I asked if it was possible this happened when he rolled my fenders? Was told it’s impossible and had to be shipper. Shippers Denys it. Nick Denys it but says get estimate and well talk. I feel like I’m stuck with 500$ in body work...

Next i notice how dirty the car is. Like it was left outside in Arizona heat for months...start driving it to the car wash and noticed Nick Micale let a bird SHIT inside my car!!! Repeat BIRD SHIT INSIDE MY CAR. The level of disrespect you have to have to let a bird shit inside a customers car and not even clean it up is beyond me! I start washing it to find I now have a fresh leak in my rear window seal. Nice steady drip. I wonder if staying outside in 110 degree heat for extended periods will do that ? My fault I should of asked him but I assumed he garaged them the whole time.

Now I’m leaving the car wash and hear loud clunking noise coming from the rear. I pull over to inspect it and what do I find ? The lugs nuts were coming off. I could hand thighten/loosen them. Smh guess I was lucky I wasnt on freeway

I call nick because I’m understandably upset at this point, I just spent 12k for the guru to go through my baby and make her right. Its at this time I find out Nick Micale isn’t even doing the work because he’s been sick in and out of the hospital. He’s having “his guy” from down the street do it. I’m not trying to be inconsiderate (I understand health problems as I take care of my disabled mother.) but he should of never took the project if he wasn’t going to do the work period.

About 30 miles more into the break in I notice a significant oil leak and start to track it down. My buddy finds that it’s the timing cover oil pump area and that it’s very loose. You could push it with fingers and see the gasket compress decompress.

After all these problems nick stopped taking my calls because I was very angry and yelling and talking over him like a jerk. My girlfriend takes over dealing with nick. Nick tells her to have me take the car to a shop and have them one over it and he’ll pay for it? Or they’ll discuss that ? I wasn’t really sure about that one. kind of like rear quarters.

So I take it to a shop and the leak picks up. Now not only is it leaking oil. It starts leaking trans fluid all over the place. Smh.

Finally hear back from the mechanic and i was given a list of areas leaking oil, timing/oil pump and it’s also leaking at the valves. Also found a pinched battery cable and leaking exhaust. Told me the battery cable was serious fire hazard.

Now nick is telling my gf the shop is trying to rob me and that his “guy” been doing this for 20 years, “his guy” ??? This goes back to The hospital stuff. I was told zimmerman was doing the block (mechanics are questioning if the block was even machined) and his neighbor do the trans but everything else as far as I knew was him. It’s hard because I want to be sympathetic to the hospital stuff but from the way it sounds he knew about his health and took my car on. I saved money for couple years for this and it’s gone from a dream to nightmare.

And last after all this i start going over my bill with fine tooth comb and see he charged me 450$ for timing cover/chain and oil pump that I had sent down with the car.

Maybe I’m unrealistic but the reason I paid top dollar was i expected everything to be 100% done when I got my car back 90-100 days later. I’m no mechanic or anything close and made that clear I was expecting it done right and tight.

I’m not sure anyone uses yelp for Arizona GN so i shared my experience on here.

He says he wants to make it right but as of today my car sits at the shop, he says they are trying to rip me off. I know the car is leaking all over and it has to be on hIm or his mechancic they were lastct to touch it. So at this point I’m not sure he can make it good. I’m so disappointed with Nick Micale and Arizona GN. Anyone considering them I would look else where.


It won’t let me upload videos of the lug nuts or the timing cover being messed with.

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I'm not taking sides here; but when I had a high volume shop years ago and had sudden health problems, my shop suffered. The guys did the best they could, but without the "man" being there to supervise, things didn't go like they did when I was there. When shipping cars, you should ask for video of the car at all stages of the move.
 
Before I say anything further, Nick has said he will make it right, correct?
 
If you ever need help with your car im in sothern Colorado (719)
sorry for the bad luck but your not the first Colorado guy takin for a ride.

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I’m certainly not on here to bash on anyone, but there are a couple bads on your part, pics of car loaded when leaving?? Pics of car arriving???? To and from Nicks shop, then there would be a finger to point. Learned long ago, as I ship glass and equipment all over the country on a weekly basis, pictures don’t tell a thousand words, they are the words.
Nick says he will make it right, give him the chance to make it right, I understand that you put a sh&$load of cash into this project, but you have to give him the opportunity to make it right, would also include the bill for detailing car also.
As far as the back window leaking, probably has been for quite a while, the Arizona heat didn’t help it any, I've been doing auto glass for 23 years, so I've seen just about every situation there is with auto glass. You don't know how many cars I've worked on that were "not leaking" and had been leaking for quite some time, people just can't see it, the sealant is over 30 years old, and G bodies flex, and it’s quite common for the rear windows to leak.
I really hope that you a Nick can work things out.
Good luck
 
My $.02 on the dents...
The rest, I won't comment on.
W/o seeing both sides, I'm assuming they look pretty much the same. Y/N?
Shipped on a common, multi car open?

As for the $300/side, paintless repair...That guy is overloaded w/ :poop:.
 
X2 chuck, which is more than likely what caused the sealant failure, and WITHOUT pictures to prove that it wasn’t shipped that way, I would not even bring that up, as more than likely it’s the transporters fault, but their insurance WILL NOT do anything since there is no photographic proof that it was loaded and arrived in good condition.
Also agree, the “dent” guy is full of some brown matter!!!!!!
 
^^ The glass, being glued in, and not in a rubber gasket, WILL shear loose, especially after 30 yrs. BTDT.
The carrier claim, as mentioned, w/o photograph's is a non starter.
The carrier tie down is suspect, in placing blame for the wrinkled panels.
 
The above post are not BS (was my first thoughts too after reading your list). Hopefully it helps ease the tensions between you and Nick. Take the above opinions and try to focus on what the shop actually did wrong and go from there.

Lug nuts were a BIG oversight but you fixed that already.
Also even the best of mechanics can get bitten by oil leaks now and then.

Definitely not discounting your concerns just trying to help ease some of your frustration.
 
First off I'm sorry to hear about the problems you had with your car and I'm sure Nick will make things right with you.

In looking at the pics of the quarter panel damage it looks to be shipping related to me. Any reputable shipping company should have any existing damage noted on their paperwork prior to picking up the car. If the damage isn't noted likely they caused it.

As far as the car being dirty when you received it unfortunately Phoenix is in the desert and everything gets dusty. The bird turd on the door panel should have been cleaned off I agree with you.

The rear window glass leaking is a fluke. I've seen plenty of these cars that leak, more often than not around the windshield. They are all over 30 years old and it's "old car stuff" at some point.

The oil leak is regrettable but having built many, many Buick V6 engines they are quite prone to leakage. It is possible the engine was dry when the car was shipped and started leaking later so no one would have picked up on the problem before it was shipped. I do agree the lug nuts being loose isn't acceptable and is dangerous.

A little background on Nick's situation. He's 82 years old so you can't reasonably expect he does all the work himself these days. He has also been battling prostate cancer so there have been many doctors visits and he has been weakened by his condition. Currently he seems to be doing a bit better with the new medication that they have prescribed.

I hope things get resolved to your satisfaction.

Neal
 
I'd say the widow leak could be part of the dents in the quarter panels... Mike
 
A little background on Nick's situation. He's 82 years old so you can't reasonably expect he does all the work himself these days. He has also been battling prostate cancer so there have been many doctors visits and he has been weakened by his condition. Currently he seems to be doing a bit better with the new medication that they have prescribed.

Wow, I didn't know he was 82, good for him for still having an interest in cars! There is actually a cure for prostate cancer. A Texas Hospital has a special machine that performs a surgery on it. My cousin's father inlaw had it done 2 years ago. Some may find it pricey at $32K.
 
I'll be the first to say if Nick feels his repairs were part and parcel to your 1/4 panel body damage, I will ask my team to step up and fix whatever needs fixing. They will do it for Nick, without reservation.

If you doubt the quality of the work that will be done, I invite you to stop by and check out the shop I run, anytime.

There you have it.
 
You can also ask the very few folks here about the quality of work we do.

I just don't have the time to do TR and or personal projects. When/If I accept them, they are done right. Period.

I ask those we do work for to keep it quiet, because we don't have much time to squeeze in killer side work.

Like I said, if Nick says do it, we will do it right and you will not be disappointed.

Nick, if you feel it should be, the ball is in your court.
 
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Could that crease have been caused by running tie down straps to the rear portion of the frame & cinching it down?

I see the wheel strap. The straps could have been changed after the crease was noticed.
 
In this customer's eyes, Nick is on the hook. I cannot see where strapping a tire down = 1/4 panel damage. It just doesn't make sense.

No matter. Ergo my offer....... I owe Nick a lot.
 
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With both being creased I'm going to say it was the shipper who's at fault. Sucks either way. As for the bird shot and dust. Well that shouldn't have happened imop

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I can detail the car for the guy, too. Just sayin'.

Nick and/or anyone who worked on that car while in his possession had NOTHING to do with that damage. I can say that with confidence.

Owner needs to complain to the shipper.
 
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