Anvil Auto
 

This is not a post to rip Anvil Auto but to share my story plus, I'd like to hear about other member experiences with purchasing new parts (non-blems) from Anvil. Also some opinions will be greatly appreciated.

My experience
I originally placed an order on May 6th 2013 for a rear deck lid, cowl hood, cowl panel, and rear deck lid spoiler for my 68 Camaro. I mainly been corresponding with Manal and she is always pleasant. I even stopped by to check out some of their parts when I was in the area. My cowl panel shipped 10/13. On 3/14 I received an email and invoice stating my hood and spoiler have arrived and to submit final payment. After some email exchanges, it appears they were unable to ship my hood and spoiler. To this date, I received my cowl panel which was a first quality part. Accepted blems of my hood and trunk lid because I needed those parts to fit my fenders and quarter panels. My spoiler is still outstanding. Over the last several weeks, I've emailed twice and left several voicemails with 1 return call and no clear answers on when my order will be filled in its entirety. I'm not in a rush to get my spoiler but waiting over 1-1/2 years seems excessive. I've always been cordial and I believe this proves I'm patient but at this point, I'm getting concerned for several reasons. During most of our conversations, Anvil has even thanked me for my understanding and stating "not all of our customers have been so kind".

Is this wait for Anvil parts typical? Should I continue waiting? Should I ask for my money back? Should I contact a Federal agency because I'm getting scammed? I have resources to an attorney in California, should I tell him to look into this? Opinions and feedback will be greatly appreciated. thank you in advance.

Hi David, It's Manal here. Of the parts you ordered, I know the one you are still waiting for is the rear spoiler. I apologize for the delay in receiving your rear spoiler and in responding to your inquiries. We got quite busy before Christmas and I wasn't able to respond to all the inquiries that came in before we closed for the holidays. I then came down with the flu and was out of the office for about a week. I do have some blemished rear spoilers available. The flaws make them best for paint. If this is an acceptable option for you, please let me know. If not, I can issue a refund for the rear spoiler. When one becomes available, I can notify you if you would still like one. Please give me a call at the office or send me an email and advise of your decision. Thank you.

Hi Manal,

Thank you for your response. I hope you are feeling better.

I really did not want to extend our conversations outside of Anvil and myself, but given the circumstances, I’m a bit concerned.

My number one option for resolution is to get my rear deck spoiler as a 1st quality part. From our past communications, I was under the impression that my rear deck spoiler was in and was being held to await shipment with my other parts. But that’s water under the bridge.

Its my preference not to receive another blemished part but given the circumstances, would you mind please checking your inventory to see if there might be one where the blemish can be hidden under the painted SS stripes? Otherwise, what is the new anticipated arrival date of the next shipment of rear deck lid spoilers? I believe this is where our last conversation ended. Its been since May 2013, and I truly hope Anvil is as anxious and serious about closing this order out as much as myself.

In the interest of maintaining fairness to all parties, I will also post this email to the thread.

Best regards,

David

*****attached was the following email I received 4/25/2014*****

Hi David,

Hope all is well. Just wanted to let you know that your hood and rear spoiler are here! I have attached your invoice showing the balance due for the parts and shipping. Upon your approval, I can charge the card on file and have your parts shipped out. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,



Manal Khoury

After a few exchanges with Manal and Matt, I still have not received any estimated delivery but Matt just posted this on another forum:

"We have been waiting for some parts that should be in any day now. We were hoping to get them last week, but we didn't, so I'm thinking we should have them late this week, early next week. Once they are in, we can give you a definitive date to ship. What's your name and e-mail address (we get a lot of calls and e-mails, so I want to make sure I look up the right order)? I'll let you know as soon as we know."


I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Coincidentally, I was in touch with my Arizona attorney today and he had some very important information that is useful. This is for any members and customers that might need legal help. Hopefully this is just FYI and none of us will ever have transactions that reach this point.

When a customer makes an out of state purchase and things go south, you can have an attorney from the state where you made the purchase contact the business in question. The business will be held legally responsible in the state where the purchase was initiated and have to appear or hire an attorney in that state to represent them. This is contrary to my original thought that I'd have to contact an out of state attorney (where the business is located) in a situation that I need representation. Just a side note for customers that might feel helpless. :flag2:

That is good information. Thanks for posting

I don't understand why you are consulting an attorney when they have offered you a full refund. Maybe I am missing something here...

Don

The legal advice you received is open for debate. Most courts will require you to sue the business (defendant) in the state where the transaction occurred (California).

Also, I'll go out on a limb and say the amount of money we are talking about here wouldn't justify any legal action. Just to retain a lawyer in California, you are looking at a decent amount of money that you may or may not be able to get back.

I'd cut your losses (time) and take the refund.

Status of Rear Spoiler
 

Hello David,

To follow up with what Matt posted on Pro-Touring in response to your inquiry, Matt didn't know it was you he was corresponding with. He asked you for your name and email address so he can look up your order, but you did not provide that information. We unfortunately don't know all of the screen names of our customers on the forums. If he knew it was you, he would've told you the status of your rear spoiler. The parts Matt advised are due any day now are from a different factory that does not make the rear spoilers. As you were previously informed, we have a rear spoiler on order for you and will provide you with the ETA as soon as we know what it is. You were given the option of a full refund but you declined. You chose to wait for the part. We are not trying to keep parts from our customers. What we are trying to do is make sure we are not selling subpar parts. Since that is what we were receiving from our factory, we had to halt production until these issues were resolved. It took longer than anticipated but we have high hopes that the next batch of parts will have the quality we expect and require before shipping any of them to our customers. Your Rear Spoiler is next in line for production. If you can no longer wait for it, we will give you a full refund. Regarding attorneys and lawsuits, on our end, we are doing all within our control to appease you. Legal action is not necessary. If however you continue in that direction, we will proceed with issuing a full refund for the rear spoiler and consider your order closed.

Thank you, Manal

This all seems a little ridiculous on both parties....
A a full refund was offered
B this quite clear miscommunication on both sides
C I have NEVER heard anyone want to get a. lawyer for such a small amount.
D 1.5 yrs is quite excessive IMO
E Anvil Auto is a very reputable company I got in on a blem sale the Chevelle trunk lid I ordered came a day faster then I was told, packaged very carefully and truth be told I can't even find the so called blemishes in the trunk lid and I have a eye for detail, having said all this your issues are yours and I have no problem ordering from them in the future.
Best of luck

I've bought deck lid, hood, cowl panel and wing from Matt and Manal with no issues. If they offered you a refund just take it and move on? They are extremely easy to deal with and honest. This should be moved to feedback section or contact them directly to try and resolve it?

That long is excessive I get that but If they say it's coming I'd wait. It's tough to rely on outside vendors. Its a spoiler not a fender or a hood so you can deal without it.

This -----^ seems to me you just want a fight, you have already decided your plan of attack, and to me, just trying to have Lareal G justify your decision.

I've bought parts from these guys and met them personal at there shop and had nothing but a positive experience.

I've waited 8 months for parts from a reputable company and it sucked but I rather wait and have it perfect then something sub par.

If your in a rush get the refund. I bet Munssey Speed and Design can make you something it'll just probably be 4 times as much.

Fast Cheap Quality = You pick two I keep one lol

I agree I'd be upset at the long wait but....still agree

Its been a while since I logged in and checked my threads. I received a call from Anvil a few months back and was told a rear spoiler came in for another customer but when he arrived to pick up his other parts he changed his mind on the spoiler and do I want it. I was so excited I cut her off with a "YES".

Prior to my post; with several emails and calls placed and no answer after weeks went by, I contacted my attorney to check my options. When he asked what I wanted, I said my part. Thats it.

Flame me for being excessive. Whatever. But posting my experience got me responses and finally my part. Everyones great to deal with until there is a bump in the road.

Glad to hear, too bad it took that long. Unfortunately you aren't the only one that has had this problem though seems like they need to fix the supply / quality issue

Anvil Production
 

We had a lot of issues with production timing and then the dock workers on the whole west coast decided they needed to make more money, so they essentially went on strike for a few months. This caused our cash flow to come to slow down to a drip. We are not a large company, to this has taken awhile to turn around. We are now back on track and production time is faster than ever and the quality of our parts is such that we hardly have any blems, which is great. I'm very sorry for any delays our customers have encountered these last couple years, but we are now better than ever!!!
Thanks for everyone's patience!

That's good to hear. Are you guys update your website?

:thumbsup:

That strike hurt everyone. I work for Cummins. We had many engines sitting on those boats that couldn't dock and unload. Everyday it seemed another customer wanted an update on when their engine was going to arrive. Glad you guys were able to work through it and get everything back on track.

Hey Matt, glad to see you've re-bounding nicely. I'm sure it hasn't been easy and it looks like you've handled it as a class act. My hats off to you!

I've met Matt several times and always walked away with a smile and thought he was a heck of a nice guy. I'm glad everyone is getting along and all is right with the world now!!

Matt,

I read this a month ago and got excited about finally receiving the parts that I ordered in mid may. Manal, told me july, then august, then should defintly be here in september. Its now October. no parts.

I know you're a small business, and after getting burned by Frank at prodigy, I lost hope in the small Company. It seems you're the only making the carbon parts, so I thought I'd try again.

I'm just a little back yard mechanic. But everything for cars, is wrapping up do to getting cold. Disappointed I wont have my parts for this year.

Parts are on their way!
 

We should be able to ship your parts out in the next week or two. Sorry for the delay, we had the factory remake some parts that were not up to our standards.

Best Regards, Matt

Not trying to be a dick or anything but that seems to be the re occurring problem...might it be a good idea to consider a new producer of the products.?

We are actually now utilizing 3 different factories to produce our carbon fiber parts. This allows us to diversify our portfolio of products while keeping each producer on their toes. The problem with making composite parts is that they are highly labor intensive and the more complicated the part, the more that can go wrong in the production cycle. We have well over 100 different parts that can each be made in 4-7 different ways, so it's not prudent to keep everything in stock. We are making inroads to having our more popular parts in stock most of the time, but we do not want to compromise our quality.

Anvil Experience
 

I ordered a rear bumper, radiator close out, fender braces and the phantom lenses from Anvil.

When I got the rear bumper it looked amazing. The fitment not so much... One side of the bumper did not align with the bolt holes in the body and had some separation issues on the bottom. The corner of the mounting pad was hitting the body and was not flush like the other side. I called, Manal was friendly and told me to send pics but I never heard back. So I called and I was told, by someone else, that they DO have issues sometimes with fitment and that I can cut and reshape then re-bond with a JB weld... I was taken back, especially after spending $500 on a new bumper that I have to cut into rather than them sending another...

Also the phantom lenses only fit the rear quarters and not the front fenders on a 69 Camaro... I was told over the phone (when I called about the bumper) that they were aware of the issue... Why isn't this communicated on their site when you order them?

I was told to call Manal to set up the return. I have called back and emailed with no response...

After spending well over 50k on aftermarket parts for black my car, from many of the venders here, Anvil has been the hardest to communicate with. I understand there can be issues with aftermarket parts but at least every other company communicates and tries to makes it right when there is... I still have some hope that I will get my closeout panel and that I will get a response on a return of the lenses...

I never complain but I am disappointed. Especially every time someone inquires about the bumper and I have to explain how it didn't fit. I was planning to buy everything they have for my 2nd Camaro that I am building. I guess I'll wait to see how their Customer Service and product production weighs out.

While I can't speak for the fitment as all of the parts I've gotten from them haven't been assembled yet, I can say that they have always been pretty quick to respond to emails with me. I am still waiting on fenders and a few other parts that I ordered last June or so tho, so that part sucks.


On a side note, what part of San Antonio are you on?

Anvil saw my reply to this post and emailed me back this morning. They are setting up a refund on the phantom lenses and offered a refund on the bumper.

hey there, Its been a while. I'm back in school taking some more ME classes so my poor 68 has taken a back burner. This whole thing with the CF parts and some of the responses really bummed me out. Along with some other experiences related to the car, I needed a break. I didnt wanna show all my cards up front but at the time I had lawyer friends willing to help. Were close and they liked having an ME's opinion on their high end Mercedes (buying, service, etc), and I dont mind b/c I love cars. I'm really glad it didnt come to that b/c I still really want to see Anvil be successful. They provide a unique product for this hobby. Plus Manal has always been great to communicate with. Sounds like she still has a tough job; informing customers of one delay after another, if experiences were anything like mine? But it also sounds like Matt is doing everything he can to increase capacity. Kudos to you 2 for taking up the fight to keep Anvil alive!

Not sure if I'll be back or not after school. I just might switch to the darkside (imports). Gasp...........! Even though my wife wants to see me follow through on the 68 LOL. I've been thinking about posting the project up for sale as it. Good luck to all you guys waiting for parts. The wait is tough but you'll get it eventually. Nailing the quality aspect is even tougher for Anvil.

**edit** Also I just want to add that I created this post after catching wind of other enthusiast getting a 67-68 rear spoiler after I've been waiting for almost 2 years. Squeaky wheel gets the oil theory**edit**

NE side, I just saw your build page. Nice Car! I have the new Z/28 emblems on my car too. I thought I was going to be the only one in SA with them. I'll post pics on your page.

bumper
 

Just wanted to share my experience with the rear bumper fitment. Overall pretty good, there was contact at the quarter panel mounts which I cut and narrowed (flattened) the sheet metal for a better fit (this was preventing the bumper from sitting flush to the tail panel). Much easier than grinding on the bumper. Also had to relocate the quarter mounting holes slightly.

Ron

https://sites.google.com/site/redfir...tm/bumper1.jpg

https://sites.google.com/site/redfir...tm/bumper5.jpg

It's what happens when you source your parts from China.

My son's company - www.enlaes.com - makes their parts locally in So Cal - and he's asked me many times about whether or not he should be looking at China - to which I overwhelmingly say Hell No!! Do you want price or quality. His customers are willing to pay for quality.

Are you saying Anvil parts are chinese manufactured? I was under the impression in my discussions with them that they were locally sourced.

William

Bravo! :clap: :clap: :clap: :thumbsup:

I'm not sure how big Alex's company is but it's great to hear he's made something of himself and employing people in his community. Nice work dad!

Well in the next few weeks I should be hearing from them ....I ordered a chevelle hood 4 months ago and specifically asked to be kept up to date and even started a thread about it either here or pt.com . I said I don't necessarily mind if the hood is a blem but let me be the one who decides not you ....I said if it's going to be later then x date I want to be told and then said again I'm posting this so let's prove some people wrong and show them your previous problems are behind you

William --- If I remember correctly -- in one of the threads complaining about late delivery and blah blah blah -- someone from Anvil responding saying that many of the issues stemmed from quality and delivery etc (don't quote me) from their Chinese supplier. I could be totally off base here but that's what I remember being the issue.

thats eggsactly what they told me when i picked up my hood from them....overseas suppliers lead times fluctuate and the vendors can be inconsistent.

Greg,

I checked out the enlaes link you suggested. It does not indicate whether they are using prepreg cloth and then curing it in an autoclave or curing wet lay ups with their proprietary vacuum process.

Do you know if they are using prepreg fiber to manufacture their carbon fiber parts? My guess is they must be based on their claim that their parts are "unrivaled" in all areas, including strength.

Not that wet lay up and vacuum only curing is a bad thing. Many aesthetic parts do not really need to have the kind of strength required when making structural components.

Greg is he only building European car parts or is looking to expand to domestics?