vendors parts warranty and expectations

grumpyvette

Administrator
Staff member
On every forum I read there is almost always a thread with that all too common rant.
A guy buys a part for his muscle car or corvette, from a company and there is an issue with it , it won,t fit or perform as he expected so he swears he is never going buy that brand again.
(yes theres occasionally some really crappy parts out there for sale)
YET! Quite often the person doesn't even contact the company in question for a REFUND, REPLACEMENT PARTS or warranty work,and most of the time he never read the install instructions or even researched to find out if the part he ordered matched the application, and he damn sure won,t think for an instant about the possibility that he ordered the wrong part or failed to install it correctly, and quite often when they do contact the supplier any issue they have had is taken care of expeditiously , yet they still say they won't buy from that company again.
I laugh at the guys posting those threads at times simply because in many instances, because the cause is so obviously the guy installing the part incorrectly , or having ordered the wrong part , ( hes bitching because hes trying to drive a larger rectangular part into a small oval hole so to speak)
when I read those threads, in some cases I think , about how difficult it is to deal with the average customer as its obvious that ..
(theres always going to be in any group, that 2%-5% of customers ,who are basically morons, guys who always expect everything to be given too them at cost or better yet for free!, and think they ordered parts that should self install themselves )
I've had to send in a few components back over the years for warranty work or an exchange and subsequently I became more loyal too the manufacturers .
Why? Because , as long as I,m treated as a valued customer and the problems were handled with minimal fuss or bother, and I'm listened too, I understand that anything manufactured can have flaws. Every company that mass produces goods makes a lemon now and then.
How many of us have had to get work done on a new car, yet still buy that brand?
Why is it that so many people treat older car parts suppliers differently and hold parts manufacturers or makers to an impossibly high standard?
now I will say that you need to have realistic expectations and shop carefully, and if you do the research and find that lets say wheel bearing or brakes from most of the major name brand manufacturers are listed as costing lets say $149-$175 and you choose to but an import part listed as a direct replacement that's listed at lets say $49-$69 theres an excellent chance you'll receive an inferior part that won,t fit correctly or last very long!
Have any of you ever made a mistake at your job?
Being that I'm 66 I know have made plenty, in my life!
yes I think you have an obligation to let people know if the parts you buy don,t work or fit as advertized, but you really need to be sure those parts match your application, and are not a miss match before you blame the manufacturer, for a problem that is actually caused by use of the wrong component !
HAVING good customer service is IMPORTANT, I know I won,t deal with one well known cam manufacturer simply because of repeated bad, attitude of employes and far less than knowledgeable tech support.
Now please understand just like most people I see a great many cheaply made parts and shoddy machine work, but I have also learned from experience that while the world has dozens of RIP OFF ARTISTS selling crap parts , theres also vendors that do a fine job and really want to support their customers and vendors that will try hard to work with you on issues that may come up! Ive had very good service on the rare occasions Ive seen issues with some vendors so I tend to place orders with them
be aware of the quality of the components you select, there are several merchants that advertise a great deal based on lower prices,
who generally deal in the lower and mid range quality products,
and their goal seems too be a low price volume discount supply house.
now Ive seen a few good deals, over the years but keep in mind,
youll generally find discount price parts, use lower quality components or,
less extensive precision machine work, or imported components or a combination of those factors to reduce price.
now I'm not picking on the lower price parts suppliers, they certainly have a place in the economy and hobby.
I use rockauto and advanced auto, walmart and several other suppliers,
if I need too ,but I generally know the parts and use name brands not cheaper import clones.
remember thats frequently a very noticeable difference in quality, in similar components,
you may pay more for name brand parts and at times the higher cost is not justified in my opinion,
but many of the better known brands do tend to have better quality control and R&D
I would suggest you do research and avoid using the lowest cost import parts like bearings, brakes, and suspension parts ,
as Ive seen horrendous quality control on some import component examples
lately Ive had far more issues with delivery services like UPs and FEDEX pitching parts in the driveway or leaving them out near the fence , than actual defective parts, but I have learned thru experience that a great many import parts or low price parts are very low quality, so I generally advise doing some research before ordering parts and only dealing with well respected vendors and thinking about WHY a part might cost less!

EXAMPLE, if you look up on some random vendor
http://www.summitracing.com/
http://www.jegs.com/
http://www.rockauto.com
the cost of replacement u-joints or brakes or wheel bearings theres usually a name brand part listed that costs 2-3 or even 4 times what the least expensive part costs, and you can absolutely be sure that the least expensive part listed has far lower quality than the better name brand parts

pbjoint.jpg


http://www.homedepot.com/p/Powerbuilt-23-Piece-Ball-Joint-U-Joint-Service-Kit-648617/203120548?cm_mmc=Shopping|THD|G|0|G-BASE-PLA-D25T-Garage-Automotive|&gclid=CM7-rI-e-tQCFUa4wAodcnEHfg&gclsrc=aw.ds
23301a.jpg

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had this happen just this week when replacing the radiator on a c5... the auto trans cooler fittings on the replacement rad were not the same as the ones on the stock piece.

vendor called wholesaler and wholesaler called distributor and whatever that shit went nowhere because there was no manufacturer to call and get insight from.

had to put together some fancy new fittings for this otherwise easy job, cost a couple fuel fitting from an old holley carb we had on a shelf... other people might run into this problem and freak out.
 
I dont trust any Forum Vendor no more Grumpy.
I only use Summit Racing. Jegs.
& my Speed Shop.
Crower. Isky Direct.
Real Speed in Florida is A-ok.
Ferrea sent me there to purchase the Super Alloy Valves for the wifes Honda BOZ2 Engine.
Saved me $$ & Super service.
BLP Bo Laws I buy direct too.
 
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