This is from a couple of weeks ago, and I really should've done this sooner but Brian really saved my brother's bacon and we could've been raped and weren't. So my brother (who is deaf btw, which has nothing to do with anything) saved up a few grand and was shopping for a 3-4 year old low mileage Civic. He doesn't like stiff or lowered cars and doesn't believe in modding cars in general so he had no interest in a GTI which is what I have (for 6 yrs now).
During the dealer hopping looking for Civics, just for shits and giggles we stopped at a VW dealership and we couldn't believe how used VW were just going for a howdy-doody and a good-looking-out. A 2012 GLI with 21.5k miles was on the lot for $15.9k (base manual) and though we tried, they wouldn't budge on the price and despite the somewhat low price I'm putting down to the general bad will VW has had since the TDI fiasco, this price was pretty much unmatched by any similar car, and several thousand $k lower than the lowest priced comparable Civic, and not the SI but a plain jane model. A test drive with the unexpected torque and nearly as good as my GTI interior sealed the deal and I cosigned the loan for him and he has the nicest car he's had ever. A week after he buys the car the Last Sunday Neuspeed open house is held, we attend, he falls for the RSE52 wheels in gunmetal, 17" and they are 30% off retail, and I've had the 18" RSE07 wheel before and really liked them (except for them being ball seat and this didn't play nice with my stud conversion and colorful lug nut collection).
But he want's to do something like that without the stud conversion, and he wants them yesterday, though I have a line on some Mevius lugs at a really decent price, he just can't bear the wait. So I source some neochrome lug bolts that are nice to look at, and with a acorn seat to ball seat washer, they will work with the Neuspeed wheels. I show him how a breaker bar/torque wrench works, lend him mine, and let him get to it. He immediately makes the mistake of hand torquing the lug bolt only a turn or two before resorting to the torque wrench. Why? Because it was hard to turn. Doh! stripped thread happens and the lug bolt/washer combo hangs on the bolt opening and I've got a good suspicion that the bolt hole is fuct. I call Brian with the lowdown, and he confirms what I suspected, and of course there are 2 options-tap the hole if not too bad, or if bad, maybe need a new hub. Brian quotes me $30 - price of hub + labor and my brother zips down to Metric the next day. Brian took a couple years of CC ASL and that helps too. $20 and 20 mins later he is all smiles headed back home (35 miles away in LA).
I really can't thank Metric (Brian specifically) enough and I can attest to their integrity and knowledgability if nothing else. Pics of car.
day we brought the car home. Bro can't stop smiling like Joker, mom approves. Really likes the Tiguan, my R purchase on hold to get Tiguan for her next.
Permagrin still plastered on admiring Neuspeed wheels mounted and balanced.
Brian and Metric saves the day and the neochrome lug bolts look nice if nothing else. Here's hoping they don't fall off for unseen hairline cracks.
More or less how she sits today, permagrin not pictured but still present. I've offered to pay for parts and install of mild lowering springs. No. He doesn't want them! Wants to do a Jetta Allroad look alike and I threaten to molotov cocktail the car if the gap grows any bigger... No fuqn way is the car getting raised. No.