Graveyard Performance — Local services in Syracuse

Where do I begin?! I started with Graveyard way back at their first shop, before they had a lift and were using a floor jack. I was really excited to help them succeed. Both of my sons were also fans and took their cars to Graveyard. We told everyone we knew about how awesome they were! We steered a lot of business in their direction. Then, the problems started with each of our cars... one son spent 6-7k at Graveyard and his car was never right, so he sold it.

My other son initially took his Mazda Speed3 to Graveyard for his mods, but had problems along the way that they weren't able to fix it. He ended up taking it to a different shop and guess what?! They fixed it! Then on to my car (Ford Focus ST) one of the first items that I had them install was a new exhaust system. On my way home from their shop, it separated in the middle causing a horrendous noise. Nick was cool and admitted that he had forgotten to go back and tighten a couple bolts. I appreciated his honesty so I stayed with them. I decided to go big turbo, and per Nick's recommendation, he installed the BNR2867, which also would require a new innercooler. A couple of years go by and many parts later(All 3 motor mounts, performance clutch, valve cleaning, Stoptech breaks, etc.). A little later I decided to support them by having their brand new "Graveyard" brand GR coilovers installed, along with a stronger strut mount support. Huge mistake! The coilovers/shocks are super stiff, they clunk from side-to-side when I go over a bump at an angle; and when I would also go over a bump there would be a slamming noise in the front end. I took it back to Graveyard for the slamming and they found nothing. I kept having the same issue and told Nick, but his reply was for me to stop off-roading it! I decided to take it elsewhere since Nick wouldn't take me seriously! It took a couple of tries, but the other shop realized that the innercooler Graveyard installed was never bolted down causing it to lift up and slam down when going over certain bumps. I also tolerated my inner fenders not being put back together properly in which I burned through them with my tires. I tolerated my front bumper being loose and bouncing up and down because it wasn't put back together right. My BNR turbo started smoking just shy of 2 years, which in all honesty, wasn't Graveyards fault, but the other shop knew that this was a common issue with the BNR. There is a flaw when the BNR turbo paired with the Focus ST in which it fills up with oil and starts smoking(you can find a "Fix" for it on BNR's website if you have an issue). My car was on jackstands for almost 2 years until I got enough money to by a Garrett turbo replacement, and install it. Once I got it running again I drove it for 3 months when all of a sudden the drivers side rear bolt holding the shock into the knuckle broke off. I mention this, because I only drove it for a total of a whopping 10 months on the new GR struts, but barely any miles during that time as it is not my daily driver. It is a little bit scary when going 75mph. Yep, Graveyard cross-threaded the bolt making a week spot and we couldn't use the knuckle again. This just occurred in Sept of 2024. I was pretty pissed off about having to pay more money for yet another stupid mistake. I got it all fixed up and was driving on the freeway a couple of days ago (about 8 weeks from the first one!) when the same freaking thing happened, but on the other side now. Son of a.........! I'm thankful that I found a shop that fixes things right the first time! Too bad I have to pay twice as much because they are fixing what Graveyard messed up on from the begining. Apparently, my son still trusted Nick and bought a Speed3, because he sold his first one, from Nicks' bestie. Of course, he started having problems and Nick said it's fine, but it wasn't, so he took it to the best shop in town, and they fixed it. It's been fine since.

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility...

From a lot of the other negative reviews you can see, these guys don't have a good history of taking responsibility. Took me a while to post this, but they screwed me over big time on my Genesis coupe that I had them replace the engine on. Put a new engine in for me that took them nearly 2 months to put in for complications unrelated to me , and then my supposedly good to go. Engine went out less than 2 months later, and they refused to take responsibility for any of the consequences I had to bear. So I was out $7,000 plus I could not afford to spend another $8,000 to put in a new engine because they began to cost even more. Overall not a great company and the owner does not have a good ethical background.

Edit: They state workers were sick for a while and couldn't work on my motor. However, they did not mention to me when they got sick, and not only that, but when they returned, they told me that they did not work on my engine on Fridays for some odd reason. Guess they only work 4 days a week. They also failed to mention that my warranty coverage for my used engine started when it arrived, not when they were completed with the work. Again, they took up approximately half my warranty by the time I received my car back with the used engine put in. Their statement of extended warranty coverage not being an option is false. When I called the company that supplied the engine, they stated that extended warranties are always offered and that graveyard performance should have made me aware of the options to purchase one. Which was never done. Last but not least, when I brought the car in after the second engine had supposedly given out, they unplugged my dash cam whilst they were doing any of the work that they were doing or diagnosing. This is not common practice and I have asked every mechanic shop and dealership I have been to after this experience, and they have all said that this is not standard practice. To unplug a dash cam after an already sketchy situation, in my opinion, puts you at fault. I understand the owner does not want to lose this kind of money, I wouldn't either. But I also wouldn't put myself in this situation. I stand by my word that this is not a reputable performance job, and I would stay as far away from them...

Ordered big turbo kit and a bunch of other items, totaling $7500, from Stephanie Driven. Being new to the platform I took suggestions from her, only to find out during the install that many of the purchased parts were designed to work with the factory turbo setup. Only 1 of the included couplers worked (cold side to throttle body), I had to cut a brand new intake pipe in half so it could be lengthened, they did not include the original headifold or the clamp to connect that to the turbine; so not a huge deal on my side, but I did have to spend and additional $250+ to order the clamp and 4 additional couplers to get the right sizes. I reached out to both Stephanie and another employee about comping me $100 for the inconvenience and they both ghosted me. I shouldn’t have to spend additional $ on items that should have worked in the first place. Why would she sell me parts that were designed to work with the stock turbo and then not be honest about it after the fact. She either didn’t know or didn’t care once she saw that commission check. Bad customer service, would...