In desperate need of contact information for Erik Messley of EMI racing

[Jet Slicker]

Hi everybody, I’m in an unfortunate situation where one of my rear shocks blew another seal and the shocks are not under warranty.. So I sent the shock to Erik Messley at EMI racing in California because he’s the grandmaster of Viper suspension and I had good dealings with him once before. However, he’s had my shock for over a month and just got the parts in 2 weeks ago. Now, I haven’t heard from him in almost 2 weeks and he’s not answered my 30+ calls to his shop or my numerous emails. I understand he may be busy and has endured some unfortunate circumstances as of recent, however I simply just NEED my shock back and there’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to at least return a message. Unless something happened to Erik himself.

Does anybody have a personal phone number or personal email for Erik?? Or at least be able to contact him and see why he can’t return my messages? Or does anybody know if something happened to Erik himself? For the love of God, my car can’t be down any longer and I NEED my shock back... I’m missing so many events it’s absolutely ridiculous.

Please, somebody help me with this.
-Randy

[ViperGeorge]

How much is a new replacement shock?

[serpent]

He’s probably on vacation.

[Jet Slicker]

How much is a new replacement shock?

The cheapest I can find is around $1500... If I don't hear something from Erik soon I may try and buy a used one until my other shock comes in.

He’s probably on vacation.

If he was i'd really hope he would at least tell me first or respond to an email.

[Mark1107]

Www.socalviper.com why don’t you post up to local members and see if someone could stop by his shop?

[serpent]

If 1 shock is 1500 might as well get the MCS WNR stage 1 coil overs can adjust height and rebound.

[Arizona Vipers]

Google gave me this- http://www.4viper.com/ it shows his personal number, is that the one you have already been calling?

[Jet Slicker]

Www.socalviper.com why don’t you post up to local members and see if someone could stop by his shop?

Not a bad idea! I should do that too.

Google gave me this- http://www.4viper.com/ it shows his personal number, is that the one you have already been calling?

I should have mentioned that, but yes, 714-713-9096 is the number I have been calling. I believe it is his shop phone number.

[dadeuce]

I might be in the general area near his shop this weekend. If you don't figure anything out before then, let me know. I could do a "drive by" and see if there's anything posted in the window or something.

[Jet Slicker]

I might be in the general area near his shop this weekend. If you don't figure anything out before then, let me know. I could do a "drive by" and see if there's anything posted in the window or something.

Excellent! That’s much better than I can do being in Michigan haha. I’ll let you know before the weekend if I hear anything different, thank you!

[Jet Slicker]

Update!: Erik made contact with me via email and explained that he apparently left his phone at the airport while he flew out to see his family. He also told me that he is working hard to get my shock shipped back to me. Hopefully we are able to stay in touch now! Thanks for the help everybody.

[sharmut]

Good news and hope it works out. Will reach out to him when I need mine rebuilt. Any idea what he charges?

[TrackAire]

Update!: Erik made contact with me via email and explained that he apparently left his phone at the airport while he flew out to see his family. He also told me that he is working hard to get my shock shipped back to me. Hopefully we are able to stay in touch now! Thanks for the help everybody.

Erik is full of bullshit.....the same thing happened to a friend of mine (about 2 years ago) that he was suppose to be rebuilding a set of shocks for. It was over a month, (maybe two months) many phone calls, etc. No response. My friend figured out where his "shop" was and he works out of another companies shop and appears to have a corner there. He called that shop and tried to get a hold of Erik. Finally got a response but Erik had every excuse in the book as to why the shocks weren't ready. Jesus, it's only a set of F'ing shocks, you're not rebuilding the Space Shuttle.

Don't believe me?, just google Eriks name and you'll see this has been an ongoing issue with his flakiness for years.

If he really has a leg to stand on he'll get on this thread and explain how long it should take to get a set of shocks rebuilt and what is acceptable and not acceptable timeline-wise so customers can make the final decision.

[speedtactics]

I can't speak for people experiences here with Erik. What I can say is Erik has had a few very serious accidents in the past few years. One he was hit on a motorcycle and was in the hospital for a considerable amount of time a few years back. The most recent he was struck by a car on his bicycle and sustained serious head injury! Please don't talk crap about someone like this, if you don't know the situation in it's entirety. Erik is a stand up honest trust worth car set up guru. I believe his health problems have severely contributed to his recent "Flakiness" if you want to call it that.

[TrackAire]

I can't speak for people experiences here with Erik. What I can say is Erik has had a few very serious accidents in the past few years. One he was hit on a motorcycle and was in the hospital for a considerable amount of time a few years back. The most recent he was struck by a car on his bicycle and sustained serious head injury! Please don't talk crap about someone like this, if you don't know the situation in it's entirety. Erik is a stand up honest trust worth car set up guru. I believe his health problems have severely contributed to his recent "Flakiness" if you want to call it that.

Guru or no guru....if you promise a set of shocks to somebody by a certain date and can't perform, then at least take the calls or emails and respond. You do understand that when a car has its shocks off of it, it is either sitting on jack stands or on an automotive lift.....the car cannot be moved. So if you're paying a mechanic to do the work and you tell him the shocks will be back in two weeks, what do you tell him when the car is still stuck in the shop, unmovable and you tell him that your "shock guy" isn't giving you any responses? Should you have to pay car storage fees or mechanics time because the car is stuck on his 2 post lift for 30 to 45 days?

I do wish Erik a speedy recovery and good health....we need as many quality Viper tuners we can get. I don't like seeing anybody injured or ill for any reason. But if he can't perform and then won't have the common decency to return a phone call, text or email, sorry that's bullshit. And if he is that "out of it", should he really be setting up peoples cars to go racing at 160 mph? Something ain't adding up.

[Jet Slicker]

UPDATE 2: Erik finished my shock and paid to ship it back 2 day shipping so I would have it for the weekend! He told me he felt bad for not getting the shock done in a timely manner and not responding to me. While I was definitely upset he ignored me, he did make a good effort to make the situation better and overall everything worked out. His work is top notch once he actually gets it done! And as everybody has said, nicest guy to talk to and very helpful, if you can get ahold of him.

As for what others were saying, I agree with both points. While I feel bad for him and feel bad for demanding my shock done when he has come upon misfortune, the LEAST he could do is at least let me know what’s going on so I know what to expect. As stated, he has a long history of losing contact with people and it is not acceptable. Especially when your car is down and you can’t move it... I would be hesitant to recommend Erik because of the generally long turnaround times, lack of communication, and abundance of excuses. But his work is the best and he’s extremely helpful. Why does there always have to be a tradeoff for good things??