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?