I am hesitant to post this but I am at the end! Over the years I have placed many orders with CARS.INC because I like their website, their offerings and their prices. I have even made many recommendations to CARS.INC. The problem is that every single order I have placed with them doesn't get shipped right away ( I don't think they stock anything and have to buy it from someone else to sell to me) and their communication is non existent! Most orders take 6-15 weeks to arrive! The last order I placed with them was on Aug 23 for head gaskets and an intake valve. When I contacted them today (2 weeks later) they still had not shipped. Their excuse was that they didn't have the intake valve in stock. My thinking is that they should have contacted me and let me know. At the best I would have been informed and planned around it, at the worst I would have cancelled the intake valve and bought it somewhere else. This isn't the first time this has happened and I am soon disappointed in their service that I will no longer be a customer of theirs. I cancelled the entire order today. I didn't even get an apology! Now, because I paid through Paypal and I live in Canada, I am going to lose on exchange rate fees. I got nothing and have to pay for it! I am no where done my restoration and this isn't the last one. Who knows how much business they lost from me. Is it just me or are others having the same problem with them?
Hey Larry, I have a Brand New 401/425 Intake valve you can have. Send me your address and I'll get it out to you ASAP. Jim
Let me preface this by saying that Im not siding with CARS. I find these disputes all share a common thread- communication. communication is a two way street. Like most places, CARS doesn't stock everything and a lot of their parts get drop shipped directly from the manufacturer. I found that if I don't ask what the availability is at the time I place the order, they'll just take the order and it will go through their process. Weather it be holding ther order till parts are re-stocked or getting the manufacturer to ship directly to me. I ask thenm every time- whats in stock , whats not, when is it going to ship, will it go out today, etc. If a couple of the parts are not in stock, I'll scratch them off the order. In many cases, since Im only one state away, I get my order either next day or in two days So yeah, CARS's communication leaves a lot to be desired sometimes. If you don't ask, they might not say. The buyer has some responsibility to ask the right questions. Don't leave it up to them
I'm going to have to side with Larry, CARS does suck. I've ordered 2 fuel pumps from them for my 66 Electra with a 401. Can't get Nailhead parts here in Canada from the conventional suppliers, so it all ends up being mail-order. Should be simple, right? Well; - first off, Larry is right, they take a while to ship it out. At first I thought it was held up at customs, then I checked the shipping date. A week later than my payment date. Next, the crap was sub-standard. The pumps looked correct, fit correctly, but didn't work. The first one kept popping the inlet tube off, resulting in gas everywhere and a dead engine, usually happened on the highway. End result; 1/4 tank of gas on the highway, starved engine, idiot driver having to push a 2 1/2 ton car off the highway. The second pump leaked immediately around the main compression flange; - not while it was running, but afterwards, after the engine was shut off and cooling down. Here again, lots of liquid gas everywhere. There's no real recourse, I'm going to lose money because if I ship this junk back the exchange rate would reduce my refund by about half. Shipping to the US is prohibitive, so for a $50 pump it's not worth it. Plus there's no way I can clean it up enough where it won't stink like gas, so it falls under TDG, and then I'm out even more money, if Canada Post would even take it. So I've got 2 pumps that are worse than useless and won't even suffice as water fountain pumps. I finally ordered one from Rock Auto, and while the outlet side is a threaded connection, (so I have to put in a steel line to the carb) it looks about right, it's made in S. Korea, not China, so we'll see. At absolute worst, I've still got an old Carter pump off of a 61 401 that is rebuildable, maybe I'll have to make that thing work! As for any other stuff I've ordered from there, I ordered up a set of ashtrays for the back seats, they look "correct", but somehow they look flimsier, and are obviously "aftermarket". There's something to be said about getting what one pays for, and like most things today, it all seems to come out of China and is shoddy as a result. Not sure if that's entirely CARS fault, but they'll lose customers as a result.
Im having an issue with cars rite now and had a heated argument with one individual there last year about the "455" emblems for the 70/72 fenders I ordered a pair and they weren't even close to being correct , I swear they looked like the Pontiac 455 emblems that went on the rocker panels or maybe 73up Buick emblems but anyways I call and tell them just for the guy to tell me im wrong and dont know what im talking about and that have sold hundreds of them to which I tell him well I suppose there are hundreds of clueless people riding around with the wrong emblems. He says prove it so I go out to my emblem box thats probably 25 to 30lbs worth of emblems and take pics of 6 correct emblems and two pics of my dads 455 car fenders and another two of a pair of original rusty 455 fenders with the emblems still in place. Just for good measure. Their response to pics was OUR emblems are correct . So I give up. And now im trying to get some spring ring Battery cables swapped out for the Mickey mouse red ones they sent originally yes tgey sold me a Pair of RED cables when I asked why both were red and thats kinda dumb , I got a "I dunno" so of course I had to pay shipping back to which the cables sit in there possession for several days unopened and processed for return because "the guy who opens the mail" wasn't there? What kind of nonsense is that. Yet another parts source thats burning bridges imo, I deal with part sources everyday in the Collision industry and its getting worse by the day I swear its either ignorance or incompetence I reckon
The only time to get a correct answer from him is when he is in between meals (he weighs about 700 lbs.) You do the math!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I too have had to wait for Cars orders. With any parts supplier I ask if my parts are in stock before completing the order if I need it right away. Concerning the reman parts, their supplier is likely south of the border. Quality control is lacking at best. The turbo company I work for has been asked to reman our own turbos by our customers due to quality issues. Our customers are any and all OEM diesel engine manufacturers. A couple years ago I tried to replace my master cylinder with a reman. I went through two that leaked before rebuilding the original myself. 66electrafied, rebuild that Carter fuel pump. That is what I did. I got a kit from Cars. Others may have it as well.
I played the reman master cylinder game before. At this point, I bite the bullet and send mine out to get sleeved and rebuilt. At $250 a pop, its expensive. But as they say, quality is remembered long after price is forgotten. Its too expensive to try and save money And as far as parts being made offshore, that's not just CARS. They're not the manufacturer, they're only the supplier. Nothing is made in the US anymore. The best you can hope for is that the part you get is made in Japan. That seems to be the good stuff these days
Old CARS history: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?32962-A-BIG-negative-for-CARS&highlight=CAS+BAD+SERVICE
Wow...Problems going back 11 years. I guess not much has changed, has it? Funny how they've stayed in business though. Obviously they don't care a tinker's cuss about customer service, they know when a guy is desperate he'll put up with anything to get that odd-ball part to complete his restoration. Nothing like having your clientele by the short and curlies... All I know is that instead of being my first choice for Buick stuff, they will be the absolute last choice.
Here our take on this. There are a lot of small shop, independent rebuilders out there found through out the U.S. and Canada. For example, I get a hold of any and all original mechanical parts I need or anticipate needing and either source out the needed rebuild components and rebuild myself or shop the complete unit out to one of these small craft shop independent rebuilders but only when absolutely necessary. Many if not all of our mechanical units from the 60's back are rebuildable. If I need something sleeved, there are local good solid and qualified machine shops that can do that portion of the rebuild work. If a bearing is needed, there are usually local or near local bearing suppliers that can supply the particular bearing you need. Remember, a given bearing for example, can have multiple uses and can fit in various unrelated applications. This approach applies to brakes, master cylinders, carburetors - you name it. Since adhering to this approach, I have had way less problems as a result of not having to rely on others. Begin by doing your research on where you too can get your simple itemized parts or any major parts. There are many sources out there for individual brake, transmission, rear end, speedometer parts, clocks, fuel sending units just to name a few and the list goes on.
I don't think I've ever posted my opinion on posts like these because people's minds are seldom changed. Regardless, here's my opinion: 1. In this specific instance, the OP was looking for (1) valve for an engine which was last manufactured 49 years ago. In most instances, CARS, or anyone who sells individual parts, need to buy an entire set and break it up, put (7) on the shelf and hope the phone rings a few more times. 2. As I'm sure you're aware, shipping rates are out of control these days. Especially from the US to Canada. CARS, and most other vendors will hold parts until the order is complete to keep the costs down for their customers. Unfortunately lead times for parts are getting longer since the economy declined. Most manufacturers, let alone vendors can afford to produce parts, and keep them on the shelves. This is true in a lot of industries, not just the automotive hobbies. 3. With the advent of online ordering, Summit Racing, WalMart, Amazon, etc. the expectation is that everything is in stock, all the time and two days away at most. We've collectively lost our patience. Remember when we used to mail away for a catalog with an SASE from an add in the back of a magazine, wait for it, pick out parts, mail a check, and wait weeks? I truly believe this as well as many of the rants regarding vendors could have been alleviated with a phone call to that vendor to place the order if it is truly critical that you receive parts in a timely manner rather than blindly ordering online.
Are we talking about the CARS in NJ or the one that sells Chevy parts called C.A.R.S. Inc? There's a link in this thread that refers to an old thread regarding the one in NJ that only sold/sells Buick Parts. (I said some not nice things in that thread, boy have I changed over the years) It is easy to get these two companies confused with one another. C.A.R.S. Inc is a Chevy product dealer mostly I think. And regarding customer service for any company these days, by and large, it is sadly terrible. If I told someone on the phone where I work that they did not know what they were talking about, I'd be fired. And I would have no argument because I know I would deserve to be fired, even if I was right. These days, there is zero accountability of customer service agents in most of these businesses of aftermarket car parts. Like some 25 year old kid is going to know more than me about these cars? Are you kidding? I know more about my car than any company I've ever purchased a part from.
Since I started working on Rivieras over 30 years ago, I learned real quick buying Buick parts used, new, rebuilt, or repop from any source is not always an efficient, trouble free process. The only thing that has changed is that there are a few more parts reproduced today than before but its still a challenge to get correct parts 100% of the time. Chevy/Ford/Dodge enthusiasts have had many catalogs packed full of repop parts to buy for years so the process there is generally fast and accurate and expectations are high because of market competition due to it being lucrative business because of high volume. There just aren't enough Buick enthusiasts to make selling parts for them lucrative. Absorbing the cost of stocking 100s or 1000s of Buick-only parts will put any Buick-only vendor in the red. How many new Buick only parts supply houses have we seen startup in the last 20-30 years? Classic Buicks and CARS have been supporting Buick owners probably before the internet existed. OPGI promised a new Riviera catalog but it was two years late and that's from an already well established high volume vendor in the mainstream makes and models. Then many were excited the catalog finally came out with a pretty cover pic but it was full of errors, broken promises, higher costs for parts and especially in shipping, and poor quality parts. I think it improved some but not much. What Riviera owners thought would finally be a new full service parts supply like the Chevy/Ford/Pontiac/Dodge people have was a farce. With so much emphasis now on instant gratification using the internet such as ordering something on ebay from an iphone in less than 1 minute, we tend to think any mail order business should be the same as ones that sells many thousands of the same item. Buick parts do not fall into this category and may never. I try to always warn new perspective antique Buick owners to be aware of problems like part unavailability, long lead times, receiving the wrong part, paying for return shipping or sucking it up and keeping it, plan on restoring or rebuilding your original parts, high cost of good used parts and sometimes needing to order from several different vendors because there is no one stop shopping. I have heard a few times from disappointed new Riviera owners they assumed parts sourcing would be like their Chevy/Ford experience. Compounding the problem is with no detailed Buick restoration publications by model to help the inexperienced and even the experienced, its very common for an owner to not understand exactly what they need or assume a part will fit just because it looks close. This problem carries over to suppliers as well. After years of locating and ordering parts for my Riviera projects I have learned how to minimize disappointments but certainly NOT eliminate them and it doesn't matter who I'm buying from or what I'm buying. It seems I end up with a part that isn't correct and put it on the shelf and chock it experience because I don't have the time or make the effort to return unless its an expensive item. Welcome to Buick restoration. This isn't said to take one side or the other on disputes past or present but rather to point out that the antique Buick parts gig is not cut and dried nor disappointment free nor a lucrative business for it vendors and entrepreneurs investing time and money to reproduce parts. If we Buick owners wanted easy and simple parts sourcing, we would or should drive Mustangs and Camaros. :TU:
I haven't ordered from CARS for years, but my advice continues to be if you order from them, be prepared to just be wasting the money. If it isn't what you expect, throw it away; it is not worth dealing with them.
CARS of NJ just sent me another part with no charge or hassle that was damaged in shipping. I did not even have to return the damaged part. I sent them a photo and they took care of the issue in the same week. I just thought I would add my two cents if this is who we are discussing.
I'm from Jersey and used CARS over the past few years; some good and some bad dealings. Bad, mostly when things did not fit and returning was a hassle. I recently used Fusick and was very pleased. Ordered transmission mounts for my 55 ordered them by noon est. Friday and had them the next day. Good phone manners, good prices..................that's my 2 sense.
