New to forum and hate that is will be my first post but I do not want others to go through what I am going through.

I purchased a engine from Sneed4speed. Spent $9,161.00 on it. They only time i was able to talk to someone was the day i purchased the engine after that they never picked up their phones. Everything was email. It took them months to ship out my engine. Kept saying it will ship out in a week but that turned into month's. I spent $5,000 to get it installed just to find out the engine is messed up. When the mechanic pours in coolant it goes into the oil pan.

It's been a week now trying to contact Sneed so they can honor thier 1 year warranty but no one is answering emails or calls. What I find interesting though is they are posting on their social media sites every day though.

Please stay away from them. I just robbed for 9k and have no idea what to do with this damn engine.

What sucks is while I was deployed overseas I saved up to get this engine and could not wait to get back and fix my 13' R60 All4....but nope I got scammed!

 

That is terrible to hear. I think they have been active in the past on this forum as well.. I really hope they respond to you as that was a possible route of mine in the future when i want to go all out on my R56....

@sneed4speed please chime in hear.....dont leave a customer hanging who just spent 9k on an engine from you....:'(

 

I sure hope they do reply. Their site has been down all morning.

I am not even asking for my money back right now....I want them to honor thier warranty and fix this engine.

 

Absolutely, i totally understand you just want the product you paid for. I would want the same thing. But it is a total shame it did not go smoothly for you on initial install. I cant imagine the shop who charged you 5k to install is gonna give you more labor for free.

 

They said I would have to pay them to take the engine back out but cant pull that trigger until Sneed responds back to me. They also said i will get charged if I leave my car at their shop any longer.

 

Wow,I've had nothing but good experiences with this company..

 

Had an almost identical experience ordering an N18 race motor for my 2015 R61...Sneed was entirely dismissive, unhelpful, and plain rude when I called. I had my local shop pull the head to inspect it, they found an oil galley plug missing. Currently getting head tested and waiting on the shop to reinstall.

 

Any updates?

 

Waiting on my shop to take my engine back out. That's a whole other charge smh.

Sneed sent a sketch address for me to send the engine to. I Googled it and it was an old run down barn. I called them out on it and then they sent a second address and said send it there.

I have no faith in this process or in that company. I feel I'm going to get scammed!

 

Honestly, Sneed was such a turd, I had to make it clear to him that I had his home address and would personally deliver the janky roll bar to his doorstep if he didn't make it right and send me a shipping label. He may have been great a few years ago, but he is total garbage today.

Friends don't let friends use Sneed For Speed.

 

The word needs to get out more on this "company"!

 

***Current update***

I was just contacted by Chris Sneed's ex wife. She has told me a very sad story of this guy screwing her and the kids over. He has opened other businesses to push money around so that she doesn't get anything and he is still taking orders and still sending shitty parts out.

Please, please everyone do your part to keep any fellow mini enthusiasts from getting scammed by this guy!!!

The addresses that were given to me to send the engine are not legit company addresses!

So now I have to find a lawyer and sue this guy for this $9000 engine that is broken and for the shop fees!


Below is his ex wife giving me the information on the person I can reach out to about all this. Also she is trying to reach out to as much people as possible that might be in my situation.

 

Wow

 

Holy cow.....seems more an more like "reputable" Mini businesses are just not anymore. I still have a bad taste in my mouth over the BS tunes that are being floated in the community like RPM and Manic. They may work on some R56s, but if your setup isn't perfectly designed for the tune then you WILL NOT get support from the sellers. I chased ghost issues and dropped $2K on problems that weren't there. Sorry...rant over.

 

Just looked...."Down for maintenance" .... sure

 

couldn’t agree more. I got a tune from my local shop and they haven’t even told me who the tuner is and they don’t offer support for it or care to look deeper into the platform to find out why it is not running optimally. Finding people who care about others mini cooper is really hard. I am about to get my car retuned by prototype r as Lou’s customer service is top notch and he tailors the tune to the platform. We need more people like him in the community

 

Wish there was a good spot in CT!

 

I contacted Lou as well and I've had his tune for about 6 months now with ZERO issues. He tunes remotely and won't let you go until you're 100% happy. I can't recommend him enough.

 

Just need to get over my 1st hurdle, the broken engine Sneed sold me. I did buy a stage 2 kit from M7 Speed that is patiently waiting on getting used.

 

Sorry if this is stating the obvious but if you paid by credit card the card issuer should be able to help you.

 

Tried that the 1st time when I didn't get my engine in a timely manner, (got it in 6 months) then they contacted my bank and said its shipped.

After receiving it I told the bank I had it. It took my shop 2 months to finally get to it. Once we found out it was messed up I called the bank and told them what happened. My bank (Navy Federal), said i cannot dispute it again, due to 1. I received the product and 2. Its past the alloted time to dispute anyway.

 

It's a horrible experience and it sounds like trying to get a replacement engine and hiring a lawyer could end up costing double the cost of the motor. That's before you add in the stress and hassle of the whole situation. Have you thought about pulling the head off and start figuring out why the coolant is leaking? Did they mess up the head gasket when they installed the head? Did they deck the block correctly?
With their website still down, you might be chasing after money or support that doesn't exist​ and won't ever exist.
Just throwing out the idea. My fear is you send the motor back and you're out both the motor and the money.

 

Legit was talking to a coworker about this on Monday. I fear if I send it back, boom...it's all gone!

So definitely going to have to get it checked out on my end.

 

Smart move. I know you're pissed, but the ultimate result is a shitty deal from a crappy business that doesn't appear to have a future. Why increase your exposure. File it away has a lesson learned and use the internet, Better Business Bureau, and any other available methods to warn others.
Was the motor you bought a performance rated or OE spec?

 

I had a thought for a theory behind the coolant leaking immediately into the oil pan, because I experienced the exact same thing when I built an N18 a couple of years ago. If the head used in the build was subject to too much heat or freezing temps, then the burst plug in the middle of the heat popped out. It's designed as a last defense to save the engine from further damage.
The engine I built overheat and I failed to check if the plug was installed, so the first time I added coolant, it immediately went straight into the oil pan. My guess is the builder forgot to check this. The best part is it's a quick and easy fix, without requiring removal of the engine. Simply remove the valve cover and you'll know immediately.
A plug will be available from any local engine shop or cylinder head specific shop. Mini does not sell it.

Here is a picture of the plug location.