I talked to 'Lectric Limited today. There may be a lot more to this plug wire story than meets the eye. For now I want to keep it to myself. But in a few weeks I could have an interesting chapter to add to this story.
I have never seen anybody bad mouth a company like this. I mean... soooooooooo many people say the same kind of things about them over and over and over again. I can do nothing more than believe it. I have never done business with them and never will. I have heard too much. thank you for posting and saving me some grief. I have delt with companies with simular issues, and always feel robbed.
This isn't a regular Buick vendor, but is even worse, in my opinion. The only local salvage yard with any cars older than 80's, charges a NON-REFUNDABLE $35 entrance fee just to walk into their gate! :spank: Doesn't matter if you don't find anything you need, you get zero $$ back when you leave. :rant:
I also had a similar experience with CARS, which I posted here some time back regarding a supposed NOS exhaust system for my '70 GS. When I received the exhaust system it was nothing more than a old rusty system that came from a discount automotive chain store. When I complained about it they said they would reimburse my shipping costs but they didn't, and on top of that charged me a restocking fee. They are selling after market parts advertised with original GM (NOS) part numbers, which to me is very deceptive advertising.
I have dealt with them before. I only bought a couple small clips. I guess I was lucky that he did not have that much for my car (66 Skylark). They are located about 10 miles from where I live. They have a very nice building with big Vintage Buick Signs on the outside. It is in a really quite (nice) area for New Jersey. I guess I have to say that they could have tried harder on my visit to there building back in 1996. It seemed they were not that willing to go out of there way to help me in a personal matter. It was more like, here is a list of my parts. The last time I spoke to them they did seem more willing to work with me. I ask them about a bucket seat cover, because I only wanted to replace one not both. They did say they would help me. I did not buy the cover yet so I can't give any input. Maybe I should contact them and let them know about all the complaints. Maybe they would make a better effort. It is not easy to run a business. I think they may have gotton caught up in it too much. They do carry alot of parts and could be a big help to people restoring Buicks. What do you think???? Jerseysky66 (Bob) 1966 Skylark Wildcat 375
Bob, I'll tell you what I think. I think that if they were the only Buick vendor left on planet Earth, it still does not make them exempt from conducting business in a fair, honest and ethically decent manner. Just because they "offer" the parts, doesn't by default make them good guys. Why some people get into the business of serving the customer and have the human communicative skills of a lab rat is forever a huge puzzle for me. ....not to mention all the rip-offs and deception you've just read about.....and that's just what's been said. I'm sure there are others too.
I agree with what Ken said,theres NO excuse for that kind of blatant disregard to customers once the deal is done.I've never dealt with them,but after reading this post,I Never will!!!:Smarty:
I too have dealt with Cars and had similar experiences to what other board member's have had, both good and bad. I have seen on other Buick boards a very similiar discussion about Buick World or whatever they call themselves these days. It seems many of our precious few Buick vendors have customer service issues. Is this exclusive to Buick vendors because here are so few of them they can cop an attitude and get away with it, or is this and old car hobby issue across makes? I could build a brand new copy of my Dad's 57 Chevy if I wanted to but try to find a Buick made 64 2x4 kickdown switch bracket, never mind an NOS one. There are so many of our parts that are made of unobtainium that we scrounge and use all of our inginuity to make whatever we can find work and hope someone will start making a good quality repro part. Are there really so few of us Buick guys out there that vendors can get away with such poor service with no downside for them?????o No: Personally I'd love to own a captive market like that but that doesn't mean you have to abuse your customer. Now I know poor customer service is not limited to our vendors but is rampant in many retail organizations. I wonder how many owner/managers realise the cost difference between getting a new customer and keeping one. It is far less costly to keep one. A satisfied customer may tell one or two others but a dissatisfied one will tell everyone they know. Larry
i have another story about CARS. i was in philly for few years and attended carisle swap meet many times. i saw their booth and noticed that they had, what i thought was a 1970-72 automatic trans console (with horse shoe shifter). they wanted $300.00 for it. now it was PERFECT. chrome and everything. it looked like NOS to me. well, i asked them if it was a 1970-72 console and they said yes it was. i said "i never knew that these cars came with a RED interior." he said that they did and that this was a 1970-72 console removed from a junk yard car. so i paid the money and felt good. well i got home and noticed that the console did not fit in the car. i then looked at a photo of a 1970-72 console, and what i bought was very different. it turns out that i bought a 1973-77 century/regal console. :af: i then called them (this was only 2-3 days after the event.) and told them of the problem. well... i spoke with the guy that i bought it from and he claimed that he never sold this console to me. after telling him our coversation, the time date ect. he still refused to admit to selling it. he told me that they did not even bring something like that to sell at the carisle event and that i must be mistaken. i sadi "how can you forget a $300.00 cash transaction!" well after a long arguement, he said "bring it down and i am sure that i can give you $100 for it!" :jd: :af: :moonu: :moonu: so i kept the thing, took all the chrome, door lid and handle, added a REAL 1970-72 console and made one great console ( i dyed the faded black console black again and dyed the door black also). i will never buy from CARS again and will do anything to keep others from doing the same again. john
I will totally back up kevins story (GS4551970).THAT SPOILER WAS ON ANOTHER CAR AND WAS PAINTED.THEY SANDED IT OFF AND YOU COULD SEE ALL THE SCRATCHES AND STRIPING ON IT STILL.In my opinion,they wont get any of my hard earned money. Pat :rant:
WOW Wow, I was just at their website the other day looking for parts. After hearing all of this, I think I'll pass!!! Judging from their painfully awful website, it's no wonder people have problems with this company! Took me 10 minutes just to find their online store, it was buried so deep in their site!
Unbelievable! I have dealt with cars for many years. Some stuff..dashpots, carb rebuild kits, etc are not NOS, but were new repros. High dollar items were always as described. I will still deal with them but will ask MANY detailed questions. Also, had no trouble returning a part there...NOS battery cable(+). Right length, wrong color. refund no problem. Very surprised to hear of these shady dealings. As far as the attitude over the phone, I caught onto that with all the vendors...Classic Buick CARS etc. I have a cure for it., too...call up in a nasty "rip their face off" tone...they come to terms quickly. Unfortunate it has to be that way, but I find it effective. Besides, how many places sell Buick floormat repros?? But no doubt about it...when I pay for NOS it better come Brand new in the box direct from GM's womb. Steve
WARNING -Ripoff ahead As I was walking down"vendor row"at the BCA/Flint event this July these guys at CARS were "porking" some new unsuspecting customers ( A.K.A. victims ).They were "giving away" their Regal catalog but charging for their GS catalog+selling used emblems as NOS ones .While I was standing near their booth I could see +hear that their "fine "customer service was still evident and hasn't changed in years,as they were still rude and arrogant with some customers that were asking about +buying parts .Yes, I too fell into the CARS trap ONCE many years ago and vowed never to buy from them again because of poor quality+service reasons. If you are ever thinking about dealing with this vendor again or for the first time remember this quote (I don't know who said it first)"Fool me once---shame on you,fool me twice---shame on me ". IMHO I really don't think they care about you after they've got your $$$$.I don't know how anyone can do business like this for so long and get away with it ----- I agree CARS SUCK at CUSTOMER SERVICE. It's so nice to have this board to inform Buick folks on things like this to prevent further victims (plus it feels good to vent about bad service !):bglasses:
Re: Unbelievable! I've heard that these mats don't hold up to actual use and wear holes in them after only about 30,000 miles of use? Anybody have experience with these? I would think this is typical of CARS quality parts.
My mats are a few years old, scuffed at the gas pedal area only. Of courese the car they are in gets driven maybe 2000 miles a year. If they wear out in 15 years I'de say i did OK...I'm not even sticking up for them, I'm sure these are legitimate bitches being posted. But I've had good luck with them with Riv parts. If you want 63 0r 64 brake light bezels,,,they have 'em...65 Riv trunk script?? It's their number you call..Steve
