Beware of ZNM Performance in Pompton Lakes NJ
- Thread starter The Banshee
- Start date
So I really didn’t think I would post, but after seeing my car on a lift at another shop today, and realizing just how scammed I got, there’s no way I wasn’t going to post.
Without getting into too many details, and to keep this short, Matt was supposed to do an engine swap on my 335i.
About 2 years ago my serpentine belt snapped and I had the car towed to Matt’s shop. After a few days he came back to tell me that the belt got shredded, wrapped itself around the crank pulley, tore through the main seal and got sucked up into the motor. He even went as far as to tell me he saw pieces of belt inside the motor just from opening the Oil fill cap. Conclusion: Matt suggested swapping the motor since disassembling the motor, cleaning it, will be the same cost and he won’t be able to guarantee that all bits of belt were cleaned.
Four months, yes...FOUR MONTHS...go by filled with excuse after excuse as to why my car isn’t done yet. First the engine he ordered was delayed, then apparently an engine shop was working on it to test that it’s good, then that motor was apparently no good anymore etc. etc. after 3.5 month he finally said that since the original motor he ordered is not good, he’ll sell me a 25k mile motor he had access to for the same price I was getting the other motor (a 65k mile one). If my memory serves me right I paid $3000 or $3500 for the engine.
This was all great news especially since he “surprised” me with news that the 25k mile motor has RB Turbos which he’ll install in my car. GREAT! A new motor and upgraded turbos?! Who would say no!
WELL...fast forward a year and half (I picked up the car from him January 2018). With all this news of him scamming people, including my best friend, and my own suspicions and uneasy feeling that he didn’t do what he said he would on my car, I decided to take the car to a nearby Indy just for a good look over. Just got back and I can with 100% certainty say this POS scam artist never did an engine swap on my car. How do I know? The thing is sweating oil, water pump is leaking, oil in the coolant, not to mention the thing that definitely proves it’s the original motor - my rear main seal was slightly leaking like 3 years ago...Matt himself told me so. Well guess what, the rear main seal is STILL LEAKING! The kicker...I had an ECS oil drain plug in my car, well the oil drain plug is still the same. Sure..the donor motor could’ve had the same, or they took my old one and put on this one...but let’s be honest, all the evidence points to the fact it’s my old motor. Basically, there is no way on God’s green earth that this is a 35k mile, at this point, engine but more like 130k mile engine. Which my car now has around 120k on it. And when he did the motor swap I specifically asked him to replace the front and rear main seals in the new motor as a preventative measure to which he assured me that all main seals were replaced.
The deal I made with Matt is that I will take my old engine home. I had planned to rebuild it, keep it as a cool project. So the funniest thing, if you still have some sense of humor left after reading this, is that he gave me an old motor and “supposedly” my old oem turbos back to take home. Which now begs the question..who’s engine is now in my garage?!
Also, shortly after I picked up the car I called BMW of NA to try and confirm if the motor in my car is the motor that matches the VIN of the donor car. BMW informed me there is no way of matching up a motor tag to a car’s VIN. This scumbag knew this, even though he assured me he’ll give me the VIN so that I can match it up later. Anyone know if that’s accurate? Maybe there is a way I can prove that this engine is my original engine??
Tried to keep it short but didn’t happen. More reason to never take your car to this scumbag!
Without getting into too many details, and to keep this short, Matt was supposed to do an engine swap on my 335i.
About 2 years ago my serpentine belt snapped and I had the car towed to Matt’s shop. After a few days he came back to tell me that the belt got shredded, wrapped itself around the crank pulley, tore through the main seal and got sucked up into the motor. He even went as far as to tell me he saw pieces of belt inside the motor just from opening the Oil fill cap. Conclusion: Matt suggested swapping the motor since disassembling the motor, cleaning it, will be the same cost and he won’t be able to guarantee that all bits of belt were cleaned.
Four months, yes...FOUR MONTHS...go by filled with excuse after excuse as to why my car isn’t done yet. First the engine he ordered was delayed, then apparently an engine shop was working on it to test that it’s good, then that motor was apparently no good anymore etc. etc. after 3.5 month he finally said that since the original motor he ordered is not good, he’ll sell me a 25k mile motor he had access to for the same price I was getting the other motor (a 65k mile one). If my memory serves me right I paid $3000 or $3500 for the engine.
This was all great news especially since he “surprised” me with news that the 25k mile motor has RB Turbos which he’ll install in my car. GREAT! A new motor and upgraded turbos?! Who would say no!
WELL...fast forward a year and half (I picked up the car from him January 2018). With all this news of him scamming people, including my best friend, and my own suspicions and uneasy feeling that he didn’t do what he said he would on my car, I decided to take the car to a nearby Indy just for a good look over. Just got back and I can with 100% certainty say this POS scam artist never did an engine swap on my car. How do I know? The thing is sweating oil, water pump is leaking, oil in the coolant, not to mention the thing that definitely proves it’s the original motor - my rear main seal was slightly leaking like 3 years ago...Matt himself told me so. Well guess what, the rear main seal is STILL LEAKING! The kicker...I had an ECS oil drain plug in my car, well the oil drain plug is still the same. Sure..the donor motor could’ve had the same, or they took my old one and put on this one...but let’s be honest, all the evidence points to the fact it’s my old motor. Basically, there is no way on God’s green earth that this is a 35k mile, at this point, engine but more like 130k mile engine. Which my car now has around 120k on it. And when he did the motor swap I specifically asked him to replace the front and rear main seals in the new motor as a preventative measure to which he assured me that all main seals were replaced.
The deal I made with Matt is that I will take my old engine home. I had planned to rebuild it, keep it as a cool project. So the funniest thing, if you still have some sense of humor left after reading this, is that he gave me an old motor and “supposedly” my old oem turbos back to take home. Which now begs the question..who’s engine is now in my garage?!
Also, shortly after I picked up the car I called BMW of NA to try and confirm if the motor in my car is the motor that matches the VIN of the donor car. BMW informed me there is no way of matching up a motor tag to a car’s VIN. This scumbag knew this, even though he assured me he’ll give me the VIN so that I can match it up later. Anyone know if that’s accurate? Maybe there is a way I can prove that this engine is my original engine??
Tried to keep it short but didn’t happen. More reason to never take your car to this scumbag!
Man....im sorry to hear about your situation as well. Its never a good feeling.
SCAMMING/FRAUDULENT ZNM Performance/Auto (Matt Malave ELyse Cruz) Pompton Lakes, NJ
SCAMMING/FRAUDULENT ZNM Performance/Auto (Matt Malave ELyse Cruz) Pompton Lakes, NJ
www.e90post.com
If you can post up your story on this my thread as well on e90post. People need to hear this.
Also contact me via PM as soon as you can on here or e90post. I can very much help you on getting some legal help and guide you on getting NJ State involved.
Hello Everyone - her is my story with Matt and ZNM Performance in Pompton Lakes.
I have known Matt for years. In the last few years, the service has significantly deteriorated. My brother-in-law who services his car here based on my recommendation mentioned to me that some parts were never changed and looked very old even though he was told by Matt that they performed the service and put in new parts. A BMW dealer performed service after the fact and informed us that used parts were put in.
In June 2019, i contacted Matt to purchase 2 service manual CD's. I paid the amount to Elyse via Venmo as per Matt's request. After 9 months, I have not received the manuals or my refund. I have been told by Matt numerous times that the CD's were shipped - He even mailed screenshots of tracking numbers - somehow they NEVER came. Once he said, I sent to your old address, then to my new address, then to my office address - but they NEVER came in the past 9 months. About 5 months ago I started asking for a refund. He told me 5 different times that he mailed me a cheque - I NEVER received them. Then he said his Venmo account is down - Venmo blocked me. I asked him a dozen times why he cant have Elyse transfer my money through venmo just like she collected the payment through venmo - no answer. Then he said - I am driving back from VA to NJ and will stop by and drop off your refund at your house. Of Course he NEVER stopped by and never refunded my money. Then he goes on to say - why dont you open a paypal account, i told him, i dont have a paypal and i dont want to open one and requested him to mail a cheque, venmo or money order. Then he says OK i will money order and then texts me that he put the MO in email. That was a month ago and I never received his money order/my refund back. Then he said send me a test email and i will send you the info. I sent him a test email and he never responded. I replied back to him asking for a status and he says i left office early and i will send you the info by afternoon. That was weeks ago. Parts Ordered in Jun 2019, never received them. Requesting refund since Sep 2019 but hasn't received my money back till today. I see I am not the only one in this situation based on all the complaints and reviews i have read online about this place in dozens of forums. Since June 2019 till date - i have sent over a couple of hundred messages and phone calls but to no avail. Way to go Matt.............
I have known Matt for years. In the last few years, the service has significantly deteriorated. My brother-in-law who services his car here based on my recommendation mentioned to me that some parts were never changed and looked very old even though he was told by Matt that they performed the service and put in new parts. A BMW dealer performed service after the fact and informed us that used parts were put in.
In June 2019, i contacted Matt to purchase 2 service manual CD's. I paid the amount to Elyse via Venmo as per Matt's request. After 9 months, I have not received the manuals or my refund. I have been told by Matt numerous times that the CD's were shipped - He even mailed screenshots of tracking numbers - somehow they NEVER came. Once he said, I sent to your old address, then to my new address, then to my office address - but they NEVER came in the past 9 months. About 5 months ago I started asking for a refund. He told me 5 different times that he mailed me a cheque - I NEVER received them. Then he said his Venmo account is down - Venmo blocked me. I asked him a dozen times why he cant have Elyse transfer my money through venmo just like she collected the payment through venmo - no answer. Then he said - I am driving back from VA to NJ and will stop by and drop off your refund at your house. Of Course he NEVER stopped by and never refunded my money. Then he goes on to say - why dont you open a paypal account, i told him, i dont have a paypal and i dont want to open one and requested him to mail a cheque, venmo or money order. Then he says OK i will money order and then texts me that he put the MO in email. That was a month ago and I never received his money order/my refund back. Then he said send me a test email and i will send you the info. I sent him a test email and he never responded. I replied back to him asking for a status and he says i left office early and i will send you the info by afternoon. That was weeks ago. Parts Ordered in Jun 2019, never received them. Requesting refund since Sep 2019 but hasn't received my money back till today. I see I am not the only one in this situation based on all the complaints and reviews i have read online about this place in dozens of forums. Since June 2019 till date - i have sent over a couple of hundred messages and phone calls but to no avail. Way to go Matt.............
Just wanted to give an update. I attended a court hearing in Pompton Lakes this week regarding Matt and my case against him with Bergen County Consumer Fraud. Other customers cases were scheduled to be represented at this hearing as well. Matt did not show up for court and a warrant was subsequently issued for his arrest. I know there are many others who have outstanding cases against Matt that are in the hands of Bergen County. I know Matt was smart to rip customers who are not local so it is hard for victims to attend these court cases. If you have a case with Bergen County please try to attend the hearings. It makes a difference. If you have an outstanding issue with Matt you need to write off the fact that he will never pay you no matter what he says. You need to contact Bergen county consumer affairs/fraud division. The time has come for everyone to realize Matt has no money to pay anyone back and the only thing left is the moral obligation to hold him legally accountable for his crimes. You can PM me and I will provide you with the Bergen County contact.
I also received word that Matt handed the ZNM business over to another individual who he owes money to. I heard this a few weeks ago and the investigators from Bergen County confirmed that to me. While in Pompton Lakes I decided to stop in and introduce myself. The new owner’s name is Jeff and we had a long discussion about what went down at that location over that last few years. Jeff told me his story and I told him mine. A lot of smoke and mirrors with Matt so I am cautious but Jeff seems genuine. Feedback from investigators was that he has been very helpful in recovering customer parts and cars. That alone is a monumental task that goes far beyond our N54 world. I wish Jeff the best and hope he can do some positive things for our community out of that location. He’s a very friendly down to earth guy and long time enthusiast. The name of his new business is Metric Motorsport.
I also received word that Matt handed the ZNM business over to another individual who he owes money to. I heard this a few weeks ago and the investigators from Bergen County confirmed that to me. While in Pompton Lakes I decided to stop in and introduce myself. The new owner’s name is Jeff and we had a long discussion about what went down at that location over that last few years. Jeff told me his story and I told him mine. A lot of smoke and mirrors with Matt so I am cautious but Jeff seems genuine. Feedback from investigators was that he has been very helpful in recovering customer parts and cars. That alone is a monumental task that goes far beyond our N54 world. I wish Jeff the best and hope he can do some positive things for our community out of that location. He’s a very friendly down to earth guy and long time enthusiast. The name of his new business is Metric Motorsport.
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What ended up happening with this? I got scammed out of thousands and thousands of dollars.
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Keep at it man, don’t give up. I had a similar ordeal but with a used car dealership
That sold me a stolen e92. I had to sue them, and won handsomely, but it took a little over two years. I feel your pain on that.
Are repair shops required to be bonded in NJ? Car dealer’s here in TX are required to be, and that’s how I got (at least a partial) payment for my judgement.
That sold me a stolen e92. I had to sue them, and won handsomely, but it took a little over two years. I feel your pain on that.
Are repair shops required to be bonded in NJ? Car dealer’s here in TX are required to be, and that’s how I got (at least a partial) payment for my judgement.
Agreed. Thank you “The Banshee” for spearheading this. I would love to help but I’m not sure how to prove work such as “replacing a fried dme” or “rod bearing replacement” was actually never completed. (Over $5000)
I also had Pure Stage 2 installed but now am sure he just installed cheap Chinese turbos. Let me quote this yelp review I found:
“I had my car towed directly to a secondary shop to be inspected the same day and they confirmed no pure stage 2 turbos were on the car, my cylinder head was still stock and none of the parts i ordered through him were installed, nor were they given to me when i went to take my car away from the shop. -ZNM scammed me into "buying" a cylinder head -He replaced my turbos with some unknown mileage turbo; i had the shop take photos with a micro cam and they confirmed that the turbos are rebuilt stock or similar turbos. NOT the Pure Stage 2 DDs that i paid for”
My car is currently in my new shop (that I love) Redline Speed Worx. I will have them check the turbos and report back here with what they find.
Hey man, we talked a while back about this. Does Matt still owe you any money?
Also have a shop run a camera down there to confirm the turbos you have. Thats what i had a shop do to me so i could confirm.
Matt does not owe me money. It took constant calls and threatening to get my lawyer involved to get the money back for the wheels he never ordered ($2,000)
With that being said, I’m sure he never did work such as rod bearings and replace the dme. That was like $9,000 or something. When I look back in the automated texts you receive when he charges the card it’s sickening. Thousands and thousands.
My new shop confirmed there are new turbos and were pretty sure they are Pure Stage 2 so that’s good.
New court date at Pompton Lakes court is May 26th. I will update again as the date approaches.
As you can see in my very first post, I paid Matt for a brand new Gen2 6466. Below is what Matt put on my car as a supposedly brand new 6466 turbo. Obviously a used and tired 6266. Looks like a Gen 1 journal bearing. Shaft play and hard to spin tells the story. There are helicoils in the compressor housing.
Below on the right is the new Gen 2 6466 that is on my car now.
Below in the front is the intercooler you get when you order and pay for a 7.5 VRSF Race intercooler from ZNM. The one in the rear that is plastic wrapped is what you get when you order and pay for that same part from N54 Tuning.
If anyone has had their car in Matt's possession you need to inspect everything. This includes parts you did not pay ZNM to work on like your clutch and turbo's. ZNM is still actively selling parts. Let this be fair warning to anyone who buys anything from Matt Malave and Elyse Cruz.
As you can see in my very first post, I paid Matt for a brand new Gen2 6466. Below is what Matt put on my car as a supposedly brand new 6466 turbo. Obviously a used and tired 6266. Looks like a Gen 1 journal bearing. Shaft play and hard to spin tells the story. There are helicoils in the compressor housing.
Below on the right is the new Gen 2 6466 that is on my car now.
Below in the front is the intercooler you get when you order and pay for a 7.5 VRSF Race intercooler from ZNM. The one in the rear that is plastic wrapped is what you get when you order and pay for that same part from N54 Tuning.
If anyone has had their car in Matt's possession you need to inspect everything. This includes parts you did not pay ZNM to work on like your clutch and turbo's. ZNM is still actively selling parts. Let this be fair warning to anyone who buys anything from Matt Malave and Elyse Cruz.
This is truly frightening. I just went back and looked at my text receipts and spent OVER $15,000 with this fraud! Don’t even know what to do or how to prove what was actually done.
So the court date was set to take place via Zoom yesterday May 26th. Apparently Matt was unable to contact the public defender so the trial was reset for June 16th.
