[DeTomaso] Don Byars and what he did to me and my Pantera
Himes, Terry (397C)
terry.himes at jpl.nasa.gov
Thu Feb 6 12:33:03 EST 2014
I believe there are 2 sides to this story. I would not make a judgement before hearing the other side.
I have only read ONE side. And that side seems to be filled with lots of drama. Something smells funny to me.
Why would anyone put that amount of money up front? Goes against all common sense.
I've used Don (& Bob) for years (well since 2000) and NEVER had a problem with their work. In fact, Don has
always been upfront and honest and always was reasonable. Of course I always kept in-touch with him during
any project. His communication and feedback was always great and he finished when he said he would.
Also, I've had my Pantera;
* totally stripped, sanded and painted. (Coachworks. Excellent Job!!)
* engine rebuilt with upgrades (nothing fancy) (Ed Hale. Excellent job!!)
* ZF rebuilt and polished (Don Byars. Excellent job!!)
* Installation of engine & ZF (Classic Mustang. Excellent job!!)
* New rims, wheels, shocks and springs (Don Byars. Excellent job!!)
* New automatic choke and rebuild of front calipers. (Don Byars. Excellent Job!!)
Am I lucky? No! Am I a mechanic? No. (my father was, and I paid attention)
I always made it very clear EXACTLY what I wanted done to my Pantera in writing!
Everyone always provided me a COST for doing that.
When they would find something else to be fixed, he contacted me, sent pictures and we came to a decision!
Sometimes by email. Which is not a legal document, but is proof you discussed the issue.
Sometimes I would defer the fix, and sometimes I would accept the fix and extra cost and time!
Having said that, I sincerely hope Ed's Pantera gets fixed and back on the road where it belongs. There are lots
of garage mechanics out there to help if you don't want it done by a professional or a business.
Terry W. Himes
JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Deep Impact Sequence Team Lead
Deep Impact Spacecraft Engineer & Activity Lead
Phone: (818) 393-6261
Cell: (818) 653-8213
Fax: (818) 393-3147
thimes at jpl.nasa.gov<mailto:thimes at jpl.nasa.gov>
From: Bjoern Flesland <bflesland at gmail.com<mailto:bflesland at gmail.com>>
Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2014 12:00 PM
To: "detomaso at poca.com<mailto:detomaso at poca.com>" <detomaso at poca.com<mailto:detomaso at poca.com>>
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Don Byars and what he did to me and my Pantera
Sad story indeed. Hope it works out for you, Ed.
Wonder why the regulars here (i.e. heavy posters) don't post anything about this...
Cheers Bjoern
On Wed, Feb 5, 2014 at 8:38 PM, <audionut at hushmail.com<mailto:audionut at hushmail.com>> wrote:
Sad to hear stuff like this.
Don's shop did my A/C upgrade on time at a fair price around the year 2008. Hard to believe a respected, time-tested shop like this screwed up but....
The shop is nearly always responsible for horror stories like this. It is the responsibility of the shop to quote the job right, clearly, in writing, and complete
the job within a reasonable time, barring circumstances beyond the shops' control. Misunderstandings should be easily cleared up by the contract, if they are not,
then the shop f'd up.
If the job gets out of hand in some way and the customer gets upset, then it is nothing but a petty, juvenile, bully attitude if the shop then says "Hey if you don't like it, I got your car, I got your money so, nyah nyah nyah. What are you gonna do about it?"
I can't see how Ed did anything wrong other than pay in full up front. Always a bad idea.
Sent using Hushmail
On February 5, 2014 at 11:09 AM, "Pantdino" <pantdino at aol.com<mailto:pantdino at aol.com>> wrote:
Ed,
Just to give us some background, what was Don supposed to do for the original estimate of $36K? That's a significant amount of money.
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Mendez <edducati at mac.com<mailto:edducati at mac.com>>
To: detomaso <detomaso at poca.com<mailto:detomaso at poca.com>>
Sent: Tue, Feb 4, 2014 2:03 am
Subject: [DeTomaso] Don Byars and what he did to me and my Pantera
To All Pantera Owners Worldwide,
You should all ready this, so this does not happen to you.
As of now Don Byars refuses to help me or repair any of the damage he did to my Pantera after paying him $42,000 over the last two years! It is shameful behaviour!
Mike Drew was going to feature my car in Profiles. Sorry but I would rather you did not. Don deserves no advertising.
Read below how Don held my car as ransom, extorted $6000 more dollars out of me, and made me sign a waiver releasing him of all warranty for work he completed.
Now I am in another country, I have dumped my car on a friend to finish, and I am out of a lot of cash.
I guess he did not realise that I have 300+ Pantera friends worldwide on Facebook. I guess he will soon.
Ed
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Patterson, Lee R." <LEE.R.PATTERSON at saic.com>
Subject: RE: [SDP] Hi Everyone please read
Date: 4 February 2014 17:41:57 NZDT
To: Kevin Ryniker <durland at san.rr.com>, 'Westmicro' <westmicro at aol.com>, "mikebecker at cox.net" <mikebecker at cox.net>, "edducati at mac.com" <edducati at mac.com>, "sdpanteras at googlegroups.com" <sdpanteras at googlegroups.com>
Cc: "Patterson, Lee R." <LEE.R.PATTERSON at saic.com>
I can only relate the time I called him to purchase a very small, inexpensive part for my car. His response was “that’s all you want to buy?” to which I said yes. He then sighed and reluctantly took my order. Upon receipt, the part was a poorly reproduced version of the original part, the art work was off-center and after attempting to “fix” it myself, I threw it in the trash. So my only experience with him was he was uninterested in my business and the product he sold and represented me was shit. So no, I will not call him ever again because to me, that behavior speaks to total lack of INTEGRITY AND ETHICS. I hope the $12,000 you bought from him were better than my $25. part.
From: sdpanteras at googlegroups.com [mailto:sdpanteras at googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Kevin Ryniker
Sent: Monday, February 03, 2014 8:30 PM
To: 'Westmicro'; mikebecker at cox.net; edducati at mac.com; sdpanteras at googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [SDP] Hi Everyone please read
I Have to agree with Mike to the extent that there must be something else going on. This sounds like a cash flow crunch, he is acting like a producer on a show that got in over his head.
I known Bobby Buyers for 10 years at least, never had a problem, I’ve easily bought $12,000 worth of parts from him. He has always stood behind his work and his dealings with me. He even warranty parts that I got from Wilkenson and Hall, for free, expensive stuff. Never really delt with Don but I think he is Don’s brother, they used to be in business with each other, might be worthwhile to call Bobby. Just an idea.
Any help I can aid in please feel free to ask.
[X] Durland Productions
Kevin Ryniker, Cell (858) 336 9803<tel:%28858%29%20336%209803>
Phone (858) 693 6207<tel:%28858%29%20693%206207>, Fax (858) 693 6227<tel:%28858%29%20693%206227>
8766 Betelgeuse Way, San Diego, CA 92126
www.durlandproductions.com
From: sdpanteras at googlegroups.com [mailto:sdpanteras at googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Westmicro
Sent: Monday, February 03, 2014 7:47 PM
To: mikebecker at cox.net; edducati at mac.com; sdpanteras at googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [SDP] Hi Everyone please read
Please pass all this on to Don.
Maybe this will make him realize what he has done here, and he will make it right.
Reputation and doing the right thing is Everything in Business.
Dave Nuding
Western Micrographics & Imaging Systems
Houston / San Diego
858-722-5500<tel:858-722-5500>
http://www.westernmicrographics.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Becker <mikebecker at cox.net>
To: 'Ed Mendez' <edducati at mac.com>; 'San Diego Panteras' <sdpanteras at googlegroups.com>
Sent: Mon, Feb 3, 2014 8:35 pm
Subject: RE: [SDP] Hi Everyone please read
Holy crap, that's terrible Ed. So sorry to hear this. I don't understand,
I've never heard a bad thing about Don. I've also never had any work done
by him, but the general perception is that his work speaks for itself. I
can't imagine what his reasoning is. I don't have any kind of relationship
with him, so I don't really feel I could speak to him. Maybe something just
got into him and he needs time to realize the pickle he's put you in. Maybe
he's got some other troubles and sort of reached a breaking point or
something like that. Perhaps he'll come around and somehow make good on it.
I would hold off on slinging mud until all options for reconciliation are
exhausted.
Hang in there,
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: sdpanteras at googlegroups.com [mailto:sdpanteras at googlegroups.com] On
Behalf Of Ed Mendez
Sent: Monday, February 03, 2014 4:39 PM
To: San Diego Panteras
Subject: [SDP] Hi Everyone please read
Hi all,
Made it to New Zealand and started work. Still a bit jet lagged but that is
nothing compared to how I feel from what Don Byars did to me before I left.
After paying Don $36,000 in cash and up front and paying my final invoiced
bill on Jan. 22nd. There were some electrical issues from the Pantera
Electronics parts I bought. There were two blown up boards, Pantera not
charging, and several other issues. This was NOT from Pantera Electronics
however, it was from Don not following the simple directions and hooking
things up wrong. So he spent the next four days trying to sort out the
issues. On the 28th he called me and said come and get this car out of my
shop! I asked if it was done, he said no, and it is not running either. He
verbally told me on the 22nd that it would be about $2000 more and he would
have it all finished including the seats bolted in on the seat rails, the
seat belts, and all be working. What he told me on the phone shocked me. He
said that I now owed him an additional $6300 and that knowing I was leaving,
he wanted cash, and would not release the car until I paid him in full!
I have always paid him up front, and in advance. Since I was leaving the
country, he gave me no choice, I had to come up with cash. He delivered the
car to me, backed it out of his trailer still hooked to the cable, I then
paid him in full and he refused to unhook the car until I signed a waiver
releasing him of any work related defects!!!
He treated me like a criminal and EXTORTED $6000 from me!
Now the car is sitting in Vista, Ca. The seats were not bolted in, the belts
were not done, seat rails, scratches in my paint under the hood, he left my
brand new air compressor disconnected and exposed to air. The car runs but
electrically a mess, far from being done, and far from being in a state of
condition for the money I paid him.
Don Byars is a thief to the Nth degree! And he did all this in front of
whom? The new President of POCA!
Just wondering if he is completely stupid!? I just wonder what I did, I was
utterly insulted. What did I do to deserve this? His wife told me Don was
mad because I did not let him finish the car!!!??? I paid him a total of
$42,000. He knew the drop dead date months before I was leaving. Even John Haas of Pantera Electronics offered to help, Don did not call him once!!! I asked John Haas to call him.
At this point my car is in the care of John Buckman, if anyone can please
offer any assistance, I have to get it in a somewhat completed state to ship
overseas.
Please spread the word. If I were there I could do something, all I have is
you guys to spread the word about what he did to me.
Kind regards,
Ed Mendez
Sent from my iPad
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