Protect Yourself

The court has found Hudson Automotive owned by Joe Akchayan liable for breach of contract.

Don't make the mistake we made. There are great van builders out there. Before embarking on a van conversion, be sure you get a lot of van build photos (20 or 30) and references before choosing your builder. Travel if you have to. Don't go to someone just because they are close and have a few good reviews. 30 + great reviews minimum.  Live A Little Vans in Connecticut rescued us from Hudson Automotive before it was too late. https://www.livealittlevans.com/

You may live in the Hudson Valley, Poughkeepsie, Kivanngston, Newburgh and want a van conversion, van repair or van customization. Do your research! I thought I did but it wasn't enough.

Our story:

We delivered our new Mercedes Sprinter Van to Joe Akchayan at Hudson Automotive in Highland, NY, April 24, 2022. We were first told it would take 4 months, then told 8 months for completion. After 15 months of very little work and multiple fabricated stories and outright lies, we transferred the van to "Live A Little Vans" in Prospect, Connecticut who removed the little work done by HA and completed the project in under 3 months. Live A Little Vans was amazing. Just visiting the two shops would have been enough to not chose Hudson Automotive, but we didn't know about Live A Little until it was almost too late.

There were multiple disappointments and outright lies told during the 15 months that Joe Akchayan had our van. Here are a few.

FOUR DAYS before our van was supposed to be completed, I was informed via email that a flood had destroyed our cabinets and other equipment. No proof could be provided of any damaged equipment; it was all gone when I arrived at the shop. There was no proof of a flood, because there never was a flood. It was an absolute lie.  We were told all the equipment was taken by Servpro, but there was no proof of a Servpro visit and there were no photos despite multiple requests that they be taken. Of note, another van done by HA was supposed to have been involved in a separate flood in 2021. This was reported to Hudson Automotive's insurance company, who called me to confirm my van was involved. My van wasn't at HA until 2022.

After about ten months I began to be concerned that the $8000.00 Safari Rack and Awning had not arrived. I was told that it had been ordered but could not be delivered because Joe had no forklift to take it off the truck, and the company would not deliver it for that reason. I was told the awning couldn't be ordered until the Safari Rack was delivered. Research by myself revealed that the Safari Rack had never been ordered, the company had no record of Joe Akchayan or HA, nor did they have a policy of needing a forklift present to deliver a Safari Rack. Despite multiple requests to see proof that the rack was ordered, it was never provided.

Another incident involved our being told a refrigerator that Joe installed didn't work, and he had spent "hours" on the phone with technical support at Norcold attempting to fix it. I took the van to Camping World in Kingston and they quickly figured out the problem was the wiring to the refrigerator was not installed correctly by HA.

When Live A Little Vans inspected our vehicle, it was determined the windows were not installed properly and were leaking. All windows had to be removed and reinstalled.

We paid over 60% of the van cost up front, so that equipment could be ordered in advance of the build. Only what is shown in the pictures was ordered. Of note, the sofa in the van was taken from another customer's RV, and Joe refused to refund us our deposit, even to get this sofa back.

For anyone considering a van build, it is important to know that the industry standard is between 20 % and 40% of the cost up front for a build, with no more money provided until a pre-determined amount of work has been completed, and 2-4 months completion time. This is what a legitimate van builder will contract for. 

Why were there so many lies, delays, and outright theft? Joe Akchayan seems like a decent person. I imagine he will have some explanation for why he could not build our van and refused to return our money, in order to get others to trust him.

I imagine most people do not go into business planning on stealing from their customers. But not everyone has the ability to run a successful business. Stealing money from customers is something that businesses may resort to when they cannot pay their bills. Joe Achayan claims he has no assets and the court decided that Hudson Automotive broke their contract.

I own a medical center one mile from Hudson Automotive. Since posting this review I have been informed of 3 van conversions and one transmission repair that have had beyond bad experiences with Hudson Automotive. Feel free to call Dr Weinman at 845-691-3627 extension 4.

The photos attached are after 15 months at Hudson Automotive Repair and Service. I was informed the work shown in the photos should have taken less than 7 work days. 

I have spoken to several other customers who had bad experiences. This is a review taken from Google. I was contacted by Moire and asked to be involved in a class action suit, but was already in the middle of mine. Moire had read my review and ignored it! 

Moire writes:  "I would stay away from Hudson Automotive and Joe Akchayan. He is not honest,  in my experience with him.

I brought Joe my 2012 Subaru Outback in October because the car was shaking at stops. He said it was not the torque converter as was just suggested - but brake booster. Replaced it but car still shaking - replaced throttle body - still shaking.

Fast forward to March- brought car back because I had a credit for the throttle body labor ( he refused to refund the part even though was not needed).
He installed the torque converter wrong, and destroyed my transmission. Less than 50 miles after repair my car broke down in middle of rhinebeck - took it to Ruges and they told me it needed a new transmission.

Took it back to Joe - he emailed me saying it needed a new front pump ( attaches to torque converter from trans) this part was fine and did not need replacing when he made the TC repair.
Had my car a month - I spent 600 in taxis, I also had a family crisis and a knee surgery - very stressful time.
Came in after a month and he refused to take responsibility - said it is the TC fault ( but there was a warranty on both his work, and the part itself)
Said there was metal in differential, said he would send photos of pump . When asked refused to provide any of those.
He totaled my transmission, costing me my beloved Outback , and 9000, not including all the unnecessary repairs, taxis, car rentals. Did not use/ offer his liability insurance to cover the mistake. Suggested I pay him more money for a used transmission instead.
I have filed a complaint with NYS DMV. Please go to Better Business Bureau to read my review.  "