Vendor's ???
 

As I go through all the project threads on this forum I always wonder if you guys are going through the same thing on your builds as I'm going through on mine? My vendors can't deliver!!! My car has been on hold now going on ten weeks because vendors have more excuses than someone going to jail on why they can't get me my parts!! So far every vendor with the exception of one or two, I have purchased something from I have had some kind of issue with! It's always something!! From the smallest thing to the big ticket items its never been a smooth transaction WTF!!!! I sat down last week and was really close to pulling the plug on my car,it really is getting that bad.. I told Troy this build is no longer fun anymore. I'm constantly on the phone/e-mail trying to find out where my parts are, your lucky if you even get a response ! And if you do you just get lied too!! This rant would be like a novel if I told you all the BS I have gone through with these guys its a joke!!I will tell you guys this I never ask for any deals when I order my parts I don't ask for anything for free nothing and I mean nothing on my car has been given to me. To me the word deal is dangerous, I alway tell my wife and customers when you use the word ''DEAL'' you give up everything on your transaction!. Because at the end of the day when things go bad you never want to hear ''Hey what did you expect I gave you a deal!!''...... So am I doing something wrong or do alot of you guys go through the same thing?

How to get a great deal on parts...

https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=36940

Seems relevant right now.

We do go through this from time to time, from vendors in this industry that supply car building parts, and from some suppliers that we get components from for our products.
Timely delivery and accurate information is one of our main criteria for grading a supplier. Price is further down the list. May times we reject or even dismiss a supplier because they stumble on delivery.

Having said that, EVERY supplier [at least in my experience] will have a delivery problem at some point, even the rock solid most reliable ones.

I think you will see a huge rash of this coming up in the next 6 months. Things are fixin the get busy. We are already deep into building parts ahead in anticipation of a spring season that hasn't been seen in years. I hope we can keep up, I hope we don't run out of anything...and I hope I'm right about being busy :)

We practice that in more than just hot rodding, Mario.

Anytime I buy or have something built, I want a fair price (who doesn't?), want you to do what you say you are, when you say you will (a deadline shouldnt be an inside joke).

I try to give my friends business if I can, BUT I let them know up front that frendship doesn't mean sh!t to me if you can't deliver. Don't set a price or deadline that you can't meet. I do not want the buddy deal.


Jeff-

I think everyone goes through the same deal. The vast majority of vendors are really completely terrible at customer service.

What really eats at me is when they lie. Don't tell me a part is at powder coating when what I ordered isn't powder coated.

Then u guys know
 

We at the other side( europe) having hard time... To trust companies in US this days....sending money over is one thing but getting parts to right time is a nother ball game,,,:_paranoid :_paranoid but someone is ok to deal with like DSE:thumbsup: :thumbsup: we have to hope thing Will gett better:_paranoid Will it....

Mario, the stories we could tell. Be cool to get a group of us together one night sitting around a fire drinking a cold one and getting it off our chest. What a therapy session that would be:lol: I've found out building cars is not for the weak of heart. If at all possible, I no longer farm anything out as I redo it anyway....I'm alittle anal but still...want what I pay for w/no excuses. A Majority of the vendors I have dealt w/have been an eye opening experience...but the one positive is this site, man I love this site:lateral: :cheers:

I've never had an issue with any vendor - including Frank... or Jon...


I think it's just you Mario!



:unibrow: :lol: :unibrow: :lol:

S.A.R.R.Y 'ya asked, huh Mario?


:woot:

I would prefer to buy from vendors to support the guys that support the site, but the experiences I've had weren't that great. One vendor took the ac compressor out of the kit I bought to use on a customer car and I had to wait until a replacement came in before he sent me the kit. That was the compressor that I paid for, not that customer. He had no business putting it on someone else's car and making me wait.

I think the problem is, the shops that build cars and also sell parts here are too busy to do both. They don't have time to answer calls, emails, or PMs but they don't hesitate to post a new thread about a sale.

He stole your compressor and made you wait?

Not all shops/retailers are sofa king stupid.

......SARRY.....that cracks me up:rofl:

I'm sure those guys in your signature line are stoked to be there now.....:willy:

I would like to throw our name out the there if anyone needs product.

We only deal with quality products we personally install. We are not the best or highest volume dealer....but we do things straight forward.

Once we receive payment, the order is immediately placed directly to the manufacture and estimate a time of delivery biased upon their recommended time of delivery. If there is a hold up in the manufacturing process (the only reason the part should be delayed) you will be notified. The customer should never have to hunt down their part....or vendor EVER! It's called customer service.

Blake once wrote Quality, Service, Price- Pick any two. He is right. If you want great service from somebody who sells great quality products with REAL technical assistance - give us a shot. I will give you solid advice. If want to save $20 on a set of brakes or control arms after you have beat up every dealer on the site don't bother calling.

Building muscle cars should be fun not a stressful process.:thumbsup: -Chris

Email me [email protected], PM, Call the shop, Message me on Facebook

I've bought a lot of parts in the last five or so years, and I've learned that the easiest thing, for me, is to purchase from a shop that is a dealer for the manufacturer of the part or parts I want. Generally these shops know what parts, or combination of parts work best on cars. They know what fits, and what doesn't, and if there is a problem with the parts fitting, or breaking due to a manufacturing fault, these shops have a good relationship with the parts manufacturers and that relationship helps get things done in a more timely manner.

Building these cars is like dating a hot chick. Some days it's a hell of a ride and others it's just not worth it. They end in a healthy divorce too. :lol:

These same delays caused me to lose nearly 3 years on my project. I purchased 25k of parts, during the wait my wife got pregnant. I assumed no problem I have 10 month to finish my build, or at least get some solid progress.. I thought wrong. I finally received all my parts after my son was born... My son is now two and I also have a 1 yr old daughter... As for my project, I'll be lucky if I can finish it by the end of 2013. If I would have received my parts as originally promised, I would be enjoying my ride with the family... And attending some events.

Thats why I only buy stuff fro Matts Bowties or Summit now.

This. I actually think it's typically a worse idea to order through a dealer because now you have two sets of people who are probably terrible at customer service involved instead of just the manufacturer (if that's possible).

I see I'm not alone. It amazed me this year at SEMA some of these guys spend all this money to have a booth put on this big show knowing they can't deliver what there selling!!!!!!! When you see them face to face the BS KEEPS COMING OUT !!!! It blows my mind!!!! I had one vendor tell me the boards are a buiness killer????? Wait, you advertise your product and then you can't deliver and the boards are to blame?????????? Yesterday I spent the morning calling/e-mailing all that have been jacking me around to tell them I have started a credit card dispute I no longer want the parts . And guess what my phone started ringing imagine that . I'm not going to allow this to effect my project anymore . Pulling the plug is not an option I want to see my car done . But what is going to change is the way I'm going to do buiness with these guys thats for sure.. :cheers:

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Thanx for reminding me Rob!!!!:D Just revised it !! I know one or two may not be everyones favorite but none of these guys ever screwed me...

Bret if everyone did buisness like you there would be no reason for this rant thats for sure!! :hail:
Lenie you have know idea it would be more than a night thats for sure!!:lol:
Greg I'm begining to think that.:D
Chris I may take you up on that. Thanx!

I think we all feel it no matter what side of the fence you stand on. Even though we are the manufacturer we don't make everything that comes in your box of parts. I am going through this as i type, i have been waiting 5 days to get a quote back from not 1 but 3 different suppliers......Oh wait 4 I sent one off 2 months ago as well,.... all 3 have not responded, it is a 3 page fastener order all layed out on an Excel sheet with part numbers.
that in turn makes it difficult to finish our build/assemblies and in turn ship them out.
It is not just the automotive industry, I think IMOP companies have skinnied down to the point and most employees dont give a S@#t they are too busy on the forums and facebook or texting................. hang on it's 9:30 and I am on the forums, better get to work before the boss catches me.

Well said Bret - One problem I see is not everyone in business has your positive outlook and confidence in the economy. I can understand why especially if one spends vest time watching/reading/listening to the media. It's somewhat of a gamble and many are not gamblers. So whether it's raw materials, fasteners, specialty components, or man-power the trickle-down effect can be broad. Without in-depth advanced planning to anticipate potential weak links and reliable alternates within one's supply chain someone with good intentions can get behind the eight-ball fast.

Delays related to funding or freight in this day and age are not a viable excuse like they used to be.

Keep up the good work and best of luck. :thumbsup:

Well said Blake. I understand completely just don't BS me thats all I ask. I ordered door handles from Fesler awile back I asked how long? I was told they were unsure at that moment because they had some vendor delays on there end. The person handling my order said they would be back to me by end of buisness that day. Couple hours later I was told six weeks. Okay cool I can move forward on to something else. I wasn't told next day,one week, two weeks, and then get them 2 months later ! After six weeks I had my handles. Thats the way you do buisness!!!!!

I've been through it with my car on both builds. Moreso, on the first build which in turn caused the second build. Going thru it right now with my frame builder. He is backed up.:( Not my damn problem. :mad: While the frame itself looks good and the quality of work is fantabulous, it's the progressive work and completion if the frame itself that's killing me. It's taking him too long, but when I ask for a discount at the end, he'll act as if I'm speaking Chinese.

I gave a local vendor a try. They were highly recommended and i was severly let down. After a few weeks of "it will be here today" I said forget it. I gave them another try and and was again, with a long delivery time, was less than excited.

Two of my friends tried (after my recomendation to stay away) and were also let down.

As much as I'd like to stay local... I'll just stick to the vendors who consitantly deliver.

Mario,
I see you have Frank @ Prodigy listed in your signature. Please tell me thats not who you are waiting on for parts......

If you have any issues with a particular part you can go to our web-site www.allspeedcustoms.com and check stock in our online store. We have teamed up with Motorstate and our other preferred vendors and have over 70,000 individual part sku's, the inventory is real time so you will know if the item is in stock and available for immediate shipping. if you don't like to order on line you can call us direct and speak with Matt or myself [Brian] we would be happy to help if we can. We also actually build cars so we may be able to offer advice on a particular part or combination (231) 733-3939

No I never had a bad deal with Frank. All the good dealings with my signature guys. Just recently removed a few though.

I'm in the same boat. I had three packages sitting on my porch when I got home from work yesterday. All three were from different vendors. Package #1 was missing 1/3 of the order. The company "forgot" to put it in the box before shipping. We'll see how long they take to fill the order. Package #2 was missing a small item, but that is an item needed for assembly. Package #3 was complete, but I was owed a credit by the company from an over charge on a previous invoice. Surprisingly they forgot my credit...

These are just a very small sample of the problems. They just all happened to be delivered just yesterday. As mentioned by others the biggest problem I have is when I know I am being lied to. When I call and ask for a tracking number on an order that is already two weeks late don't just print a shipping label so you can give me a tracking number. It's pretty obvious when I check the tracking number everyday for the next two weeks and all it says is "order processed" that you haven't shipped my package... I'm a big boy. Just tell me when I will realistically have my part. If I can and I'm willing to wait I will do so. If I can't I will find a vendor that can work with my schedule. I understand they are doing so they don't lose a current sale, but do they realize the amount of future sales they are losing? Seems like bad business to me.

Just to make it clear guys I never got ripped by any vendor on this forum. This is just about how some of these guys do business. Except for the sheet metal everything else on my car has come from the supporting members on this board.

EXACTLY !!!!!!!!!!

Call them out....:unibrow:

About to air my dirty laundry if my attempts to contact someone in the next few days don't work.

Seems like every time I place a big order one of these threads pops up.
DOH!
:beathorse

Are you guys ordering stuff not available from Summit?

We have been selling parts for quite a while. But I don't play the lowest price game. I can see further down the road then to think I have to win every sale. The advantage in buying from our shop is I will only sell the products that i know work and that come from straight up manufacturers. But I have experience to know sometimes how a part goes together in the real world more then the manufacturer or be able to recommend other unknown parts to compliment your part to make your life easier after you order this part. Your creating a system parts not just installing one part in builds like these.

Like I told you last week Mario if I can help you with any of the parts you waiting on in getting something similar let me know. Don't give up, sometimes it can be tough to get people who make it easy to spend money.

Hey guys this is not good at all, imagine if you lived in another country 10,000 miles away and are relying on service like this. Well welcome to my life. I just recieved an e-mail reply from a vendor here about some shocks i needed, problem is i sent it about 2 months ago.Obviously i have sourced them elsewhere by now.
Would be nice to know who to steer clear of. Most Aussies seem to deal with Summit or Jegs as their service seems to be very good. It would be nice to buy from the smaller guys but too many here are getting their fingers burnt. Atleast its not just us and it can even happen to the locals.
Unfortunately some of the vendors that were in Dooms sig also have some of my money. Im sure the deal will get done eventually but reading threads like this do cause some concern!

Todd its just not worth it you know nothing good comes from it . It turns into a bash fest. Like I said,I never got ripped off by these guys its just the BULL SH^TING lies that go on!! I deal with this everyday in my buisness people get in a accident the cars not here ten minutes and they want to know how long....... My reply..... ''When I have all the parts in my shop for your car I'll give you an exact date.But if you want me to lie to you, you should have it in a week'' I never have a problem with that response..