LIC Motorsports review
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 5
From: CA/OR
Car Info: 2002 wrx sedan
LIC Motorsports review
As a NASIOC lurker I joined i-club specifically to write this review.
A while back my 02 wrx 2.0 was running on 3 cylinders with a misfire code. I went to a mechanic who specializes in Subarus and he recommended I take the car to LIC Motorsports because he doesn't like to work on modified cars. LIC found and fixed the problem that day. As a result of that positive experience I didn't hesitate to call them after the car overheated a week or so before Christmas.
I had the car towed to their shop after they told me that once the needle hits the red line there is a good chance the head gasket is blown. They ran an analysis on it and confirmed that to be the case. We then talked about the mileage on the engine (~150k) and discussed options other than just doing the head gasket. I wound up going for a 2.5 block swap.
Because of the holiday season, and an exceptional eye which caught a minor flaw in a piston that resulted in more delay (LIC was not responsible for the delay), the build and swap took more time than originally planned. The entire time they were more than receptive and responsive to my questions and concerns.
By my count Noah and I have exchanged somewhere in the neighborhood of 118 emails regarding this project, which includes many after hours emails. While some, myself included, might consider my car and I a “package from hell” I never got anything but help, knowledge, patience, and “we'll get it done” from Noah.
I see no room for LIC to improve their customer service.
As far as the quality of work goes, as far as I can tell it is exceptional. With slightly over 2k miles on the engine the results of a compression leak down test is 170 and 0% on all 4 cylinders. The break in and final tune were provided by Mike at GST Motorsports (thanks Mike, I'm very happy with you guys too).
As we were going through the process, Noah sent pictures of other things that were either suspicious or wrong and walked me through my options. I honestly believe Adam and Noah want their customers to be as happy with the results of their work as they are. It is nice to do business with a shop that has their integrity, their commitment to excellence, and their ability to make it happen regardless of problems that arise that are out of their control.
And they are genuinely nice guys.
A while back my 02 wrx 2.0 was running on 3 cylinders with a misfire code. I went to a mechanic who specializes in Subarus and he recommended I take the car to LIC Motorsports because he doesn't like to work on modified cars. LIC found and fixed the problem that day. As a result of that positive experience I didn't hesitate to call them after the car overheated a week or so before Christmas.
I had the car towed to their shop after they told me that once the needle hits the red line there is a good chance the head gasket is blown. They ran an analysis on it and confirmed that to be the case. We then talked about the mileage on the engine (~150k) and discussed options other than just doing the head gasket. I wound up going for a 2.5 block swap.
Because of the holiday season, and an exceptional eye which caught a minor flaw in a piston that resulted in more delay (LIC was not responsible for the delay), the build and swap took more time than originally planned. The entire time they were more than receptive and responsive to my questions and concerns.
By my count Noah and I have exchanged somewhere in the neighborhood of 118 emails regarding this project, which includes many after hours emails. While some, myself included, might consider my car and I a “package from hell” I never got anything but help, knowledge, patience, and “we'll get it done” from Noah.
I see no room for LIC to improve their customer service.
As far as the quality of work goes, as far as I can tell it is exceptional. With slightly over 2k miles on the engine the results of a compression leak down test is 170 and 0% on all 4 cylinders. The break in and final tune were provided by Mike at GST Motorsports (thanks Mike, I'm very happy with you guys too).
As we were going through the process, Noah sent pictures of other things that were either suspicious or wrong and walked me through my options. I honestly believe Adam and Noah want their customers to be as happy with the results of their work as they are. It is nice to do business with a shop that has their integrity, their commitment to excellence, and their ability to make it happen regardless of problems that arise that are out of their control.
And they are genuinely nice guys.
Former Sponsor
iTrader: (10)
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 3,426
From: 865 A Sweetser Ave.Novato, CA (new shop smell too)
Car Info: MY04 STi some call it a race car
Thanks for the kind words....we do our best each and every day. Sometimes parts don't come through when they say they should (especially around a holiday). Our short block swap and builds like you had generally never take longer than 5-10 business days depending on build; yours took 17 business days. This is why I personally stock 99% of the parts, so we limit our exposure of having any issues.
Needless to say it all worked out in the end...and glad you're happy.
-Noah
Needless to say it all worked out in the end...and glad you're happy.
-Noah
VIP Member
iTrader: (17)
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 22,776
From: Sunnyvale, CA
Car Info: '13 BRZ Limited / '02 WRX
I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I move to SoCal. Buy a truck and trailer?
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iTrader: (4)
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,888
From: Marin - www.PachecoRanchWinery.com
Car Info: 00 BRP RS LIC'd 01 EJ207 + non DCCD 6 Speed
Glad to hear you've had such a positive experience with them, not that you would ever get anything else from LIC. I've been a loyal headache customer too for a long time now, including putting them through a JDM STi/RS conversion, and they still even after that mess 
always go out of their way to get the job done right and they have a great attention to detail every time I come to them with something new or a new problem. Adam and Noah just busted out my 60K this morning and again, went above and beyond to take care of me and my beloved RS.
Oh and I love being 5 min away
always go out of their way to get the job done right and they have a great attention to detail every time I come to them with something new or a new problem. Adam and Noah just busted out my 60K this morning and again, went above and beyond to take care of me and my beloved RS.Oh and I love being 5 min away
VIP Member
iTrader: (17)
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 22,776
From: Sunnyvale, CA
Car Info: '13 BRZ Limited / '02 WRX
Former Sponsor
iTrader: (10)
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 3,426
From: 865 A Sweetser Ave.Novato, CA (new shop smell too)
Car Info: MY04 STi some call it a race car
what about Finnegan's right next to our place (http://www.finnegansmarin.com)? I've had plenty of Guinness over there This is the nice thing about coming to our facility (other than it being a decent place to sit back and do homework, read a book, or grab coffee from the surrounding 90 coffee shops); we are located in downtown Novato; which beats being stuck in some industrial area in the sticks...not that Novato is anything great but we stay here b/c its not everday you can get your car worked on in a downtown area and have something to do.
I will say, we have some of the best customer's...literally a majority of them come from San Jose area and beyond, we are very lucky and grateful to you all.
Thanks again for your support of LIC Motorsports...
-Noah
This is the nice thing about coming to our facility (other than it being a decent place to sit back and do homework, read a book, or grab coffee from the surrounding 90 coffee shops); we are located in downtown Novato; which beats being stuck in some industrial area in the sticks...not that Novato is anything great but we stay here b/c its not everday you can get your car worked on in a downtown area and have something to do.I will say, we have some of the best customer's...literally a majority of them come from San Jose area and beyond, we are very lucky and grateful to you all.
Thanks again for your support of LIC Motorsports...
-Noah
VIP Member
iTrader: (4)
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,888
From: Marin - www.PachecoRanchWinery.com
Car Info: 00 BRP RS LIC'd 01 EJ207 + non DCCD 6 Speed
Ah yes, Shenanigans...good food, plenty of beverage choices too, only drawback is no Kilt Lifters 
Their "Bomb Burger" with avocado, bacon, pepper-jack, and chipolte mayo is awesome though!
Their "Bomb Burger" with avocado, bacon, pepper-jack, and chipolte mayo is awesome though!
VIP Member
iTrader: (17)
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 22,776
From: Sunnyvale, CA
Car Info: '13 BRZ Limited / '02 WRX
what about Finnegan's right next to our place (http://www.finnegansmarin.com)? I've had plenty of Guinness over there This is the nice thing about coming to our facility (other than it being a decent place to sit back and do homework, read a book, or grab coffee from the surrounding 90 coffee shops); we are located in downtown Novato; which beats being stuck in some industrial area in the sticks...not that Novato is anything great but we stay here b/c its not everday you can get your car worked on in a downtown area and have something to do.
I will say, we have some of the best customer's...literally a majority of them come from San Jose area and beyond, we are very lucky and grateful to you all.
Thanks again for your support of LIC Motorsports...
-Noah
This is the nice thing about coming to our facility (other than it being a decent place to sit back and do homework, read a book, or grab coffee from the surrounding 90 coffee shops); we are located in downtown Novato; which beats being stuck in some industrial area in the sticks...not that Novato is anything great but we stay here b/c its not everday you can get your car worked on in a downtown area and have something to do.I will say, we have some of the best customer's...literally a majority of them come from San Jose area and beyond, we are very lucky and grateful to you all.
Thanks again for your support of LIC Motorsports...
-Noah