I used to try to make the repo stuff work when it wasn't right or just re-order from a different vendor until I got one that was right. Esp. the small dollar items. I figured it wasn't worth the hassle.

But, not any more. If I get a part that dosn't fit or is made incorrectly..back it goes on their dime. When the shipping truck arrives, I make him wait until I check all the parts with the one that I took off. If they are not right, I don't accept them. Back they go on the vendors dime.

If we all started sending the junk back and refusing to accept it, the manf. would have no choice but to start making it correct.

I know some of the vendors I deal with hate to hear from me, but, its my money and I will no longer pay for junk.

Original style window felt kit 1/4" too long... and hits the door when opened...back it goes. Yes, I could have trimed it with some wire cutters and made it "presentable" not nearly perfect, but I'm not going too.

Re-POP hood insulation to small to fit in the openings...back it goes.

tail light housing to body gasket ( a $6.50 part) close but not a good fit and not a big dollar item but, ....back it goes.

I had one vendor say "can't you make it work"? I said sure I can, I get $65.00/hour shop labor, do you want me to send you the bill? He decided to refund my money instead. :D

Anyone want a slightly used center console lid hinge for a '72? It only pushed the lid about 1/4" off center, which causes your latch button to not want to release and open the console up. grrrrrrrr.

Oh yeah, the new console trim was a tad too wide for the channel, and one had the opposite angle cut. Luckily that one was also cut too long, so I took the angle grinder and re-cut it correctly myself.

Did I mention the 3 wrong AC control lenses I have gotten?

:mad: Well.... I hate to say it...but....Quality in this great country isnt great any more! Everyone wants a quick buck or short cut and who suffers...we do "the automotive restorer". When you are shipping all your re-pop work to Tiwan and sum guy who dont even know what an American muscle car is and dont care about the part hes reproducing, what do you expect. These After market parts placeses need to step up and have Americans make this stuff, After all we used to have pride in our work, I think its still in our genes. :beers:

JUST SAY NO TO JUNKY RE-POPS keep sending them back :thumbsup:

I haven't ordered much repro stuff yet. I will be in the near future though. I didn't realize that the quality was that bad. Just looking through the OPG magazine and reading what they print about their products seems pretty impressive....."High quality reproduction, exact match to original, etc.". I wonder if it's more of a matter of quality control or if some of the parts haven't actually been designed correctly to work from the drawing board.

With some things we have three choices, either make it work, find an original or do without.

How can you make a delivery driver wait whil you install something to see if it fits like it's supposed to?
A lot of places won't pay the shipping to send something back.

With some things we have three choices, either make it work, find an original or do without.

AAAAHHHH !!..........So thats the reason for high dollar N.O.S. parts !! ;)

LOL :D :yes:

D,
I agree with you 100% and send back anything that does not fit. However ...... the problem will never go away because I am almost certain that 90% of the people that are buying these parts will NOT pay anywhere near the amount of money needed to make them correctly. I paid over $500 on E-bay for 4 NOS window felts for my 71. I would have gladly paid $300 for reproduction ones if I knew they would be identical to the originals, but the majority complain about the $100 price of the junk ones. SO basically ... you get what you pay for and there are not enough of us willing to pay the price for quality.

Same goes with body parts .... I know there are companies that have the means to make them correctly but ....... my understanding is that just the dies for one fender cost many thousands of dollars. In order to get a return on that investment, they would either have to sell thousands of the parts, which ain't going to happen, OR they would have to sell them for the same price as the NOS ones are going for .... which ain't going to happen either because very very few people are willing to pay those prices :(

So basically .... even if you are willing to pay the price, you still cant get the quality :sad:

AAAAHHHH !!..........So thats the reason for high dollar N.O.S. parts !! ;)

And people will pay it. A positive battery cable (with Delco Packard box) went for over $215.63 (item #130106993226) just a couple of days ago by a guy who's been buying 66 parts like crazy.

I just wonder, why are the repro parts so inconsistent and inferior in quality? Are the blueprints for these parts off or are the machines inconsistent and flimsy? What gives here?

davis,

I am almost certain that most of the parts are "reverse engineered", in other words, take a used part and measure it, scan it or whatever to make a print to make the new parts with. Then, make them as cheaply as possible because that is all anyone will pay for. That is why ther is no quality.

Like I said in my previous reply, I assure you the technology is there to make the parts every bit as good, probably better, than the originals. But it would cost too much and they would not sell :(

davis,

I am almost certain that most of the parts are "reverse engineered", in other words, take a used part and measure it, scan it or whatever to make a print to make the new parts with. Then, make them as cheaply as possible because that is all anyone will pay for. That is why ther is no quality.

Like I said in my previous reply, I assure you the technology is there to make the parts every bit as good, probably better, than the originals. But it would cost too much and they would not sell :(

Good point. The technology is proven to be there by the new 69 Camaro repros that are out there...and better than the originals. I guess when a company is duplicating just about every piece of a 10 year run of cars that the parts will be suffering because of quantity over quality. This has been a problem for years that I don't see any end to.

How can you make a delivery driver wait whil you install something to see if it fits like it's supposed to?
A lot of places won't pay the shipping to send something back.

You're right Dean, A lot of places won't pay the shipping to send something
back. Thats why I do it the way I do. I don't make the driver wait until I try to install the part. I have the original one there to compare to the new items. If they are not made correctly, I refuse them.

Most of the time, I've bought parts from Classic Muscle in Winston-Salem, and the have a deliv truck that brings the parts to work. So, usually the shipping isn't an issue anyway.

You're right Dean, Alot of places won't pay the shipping to send something
back. Thats why I do it the way I do. I don't make the driver wait until I try to install the part. I have the origanal one there to compare to the new items. If they are not made correctly, I refuse them.

I definitely understand your point, but what do you do if you have to try-on a fender or see if a complete weld-on quarter section fits?

I definitely understand your point, but what do you do if you have to try-on a fender or see if a complete weld-on quarter section fits?

uh, well, hmmm, your own you own with that one :D
I would suggest praying:D

I do know dynacorn rear qrts. fit very nicely. But, then again, I havn't put my rear window back in yet.:eek:

The part that kills me is how hard can it possibly be th emanufacture to the correct dimensions? I said in the body forum about quarter panels, and I'll say it as well:

How is it we can go to the moon 1969, but in 2007 we can't make 30-40 y/o car parts that fit?

The part that kills me is how hard can it possibly be th emanufacture to the correct dimensions? I said in the body forum about quarter panels, and I'll say it as well:

How is it we can go to the moon 1969, but in 2007 we can't make 30-40 y/o car parts that fit?

It's not an issue of what we can do, it's an issue of how far companies can go with repro parts and still make money. Keep in mind that these companies are more in the business of making parts for the lowest price possible and reaping great profits than they are of making parts that are perfect. Spending too much time and money on materials would make these companies far less profits than the way they currently operate. I realize that this isn't always in the best interest of the consumer, but overall they make more money doing business the way they are doing it.:(

My dealings with the vendor of a RS door mirror still smart. Darn thing would not turn enough for me to see down the side of the car. I ended up having to put in on the LS door and swap the LS in on the RS. However, I promised Al I would not talk about it anymore.
Grateful to see others not standing up for the repro-cr@p.
What hurts most is to see new folks to an old car, like I was, and be disappointed as much as I was.
My biggest deal was the customs charge at the Canadian border - more than the mirror cost - and that US vendors are afraid to admit that charge in advance. Simply mailing parts to Canada by regular mail should have been an option. In any case, it was just not feasible to return a mirror that should never have been on the market.
I had high hopes that this forum would be a good place to warn others. I do it from time to time, when I can squeeze it in.

Even worse is someone restoring a car who knows nothing about what these cars are supposed to look like and spends thousands of dollars and never realizes what he has.

first of all, since we are on the topic, let's be sure to mention that the sponsor of this site is in no way immune to the problem. PERIOD. Some posts here seem to indicate that the sponsor is above it all, simply because they are 'the sponsor', which i find to be total BS.

as for the quality, the technology is certainly out there..check out a company called FARO that was spawned from the auto industry...any and all cast parts can be re-created. finding a foundry and reliable delivery times might be another issue, however the technology is certainly there to allow just about anything to be reverse engineered as good as or better than new.

personally, i would have paid a premium for certain items-knowing they would fit right the first time.

I am not sure i get davis's point above...the bottom line is that good quality will win out over time..making excuses for poor quality and low pricing is a weak argument to defend these manufacturers and re-sellers. I guess what my point is-is that if one vendor would simply step forward and make a committement to quality, they would be rewarded with extra business and a premium for their product...the market (ie: feedback from this site) would dictate that.

It cracks me up when i read of all the comments about "the sponsor" and "support the sponsor",. etc..when there is no real support from "the sponsor", other than the website. that, to me, is not real support...they are out there collecting your $$ just like all the rest, while happily supplying the same substandard product.

Careful folks, Al will get upset. We all agreed to no vendor bashing.

Careful folks, Al will get upset. We all agreed to no vendor bashing.

hey whatever...i think it is long past time that this topic was fully hashed out and put up as a sticky for anyone to read. I have the feeling that i am not alone on my opinion.

Just saw another similar thread get the can. I'm waiting to see what will happen here. I'm %100 in agreement.

I am not sure i get davis's point above...the bottom line is that good quality will win out over time..making excuses for poor quality and low pricing is a weak argument to defend these manufacturers and re-sellers. I guess what my point is-is that if one vendor would simply step forward and make a committement to quality, they would be rewarded with extra business and a premium for their product...the market (ie: feedback from this site) would dictate that.

My point is exactly what I said. Companys see the bottom line before they see anything else...And the bottom line is profit, which means the most units made and sold at the most affordable price for everyone. In a perfect world we would be seeing perfect repro parts that would be at a premium cost that everyone could afford. Since this isn't the case, repro manufacturers are finding the middle-ground of being able to produce a part that has a high enough quality to sell, but at the same time being able to produce it at a cost that is affordable enough that they will actually sell them to more than a handfull of customers who have an endless amount of funds for their projects.
I do know what you're saying, but if the quality was way high and the price matched this then they just wouldn't be selling nearly as much.

You know what guys, you've convinced me. New policy in Resto: absolutely zero tolerance for vendor bashing.

Points to be made:
1. the vendors don't manufacture these parts (for the most part). You can usually get straight answers from most vendors about the quality of the repro part IF YOU SIMPLY ASK WHEN ORDERING IT. If you can't get a good answer, chose another vendor, there are lots to chose from.

2. it amazes me how often the threads that go on an on about how someone was "mistreated" by a vendor end up showing that either the vendor's clearly stated policies were not followed or they were simply not given the chance to address the issue by having been given the courtesy of being made aware of the issue.

3. I've been buying parts from many vendors for decades and I've yet to have an unhappy resolution to an issue with a single one of them. Why? I treat them like human beings and with respect and if I don't like the parts I simply send them back. Many vendors have even had me send them back at their cost, perhaps because I was courteous and worked within their stated policies?

4. If you find a low quality part, send it back and post a review in the appropriate section on this web site. If vendors can't sell a poorly made part they will either stop selling it or ask the manufacturers to make a better one.

=========================================
Mr. Stroud started a good and useful thread here on a topic that is important to all of us, but some folks just can't resist putting in a jab at their favorite love-to-hate-them vendors. A good thread gone bad and all that. My apologies to Mr. Stroud but this one is now closed.

I'm sliding across the plate at the last minute on this one to back up Rich.

We installed a complete review program (that was constantly asked for) just to cover these issues about poor reproduction parts and now that we have it, guys rarely use it. Instead they post in the forums that XXX supplier ripped them off when all they do is sell the same crappy part that everyone else does.
As the moderators we always get dumped on for deleting a "bad vendor" topic and 50% of the time it's not just the vendor who screwed up - and anyone who has been here longer than a year knows that. Some guys just can't clue into that and want to see a public lynching of any supplier.

Please use the review section (http://www.chevelles.com/reviews/) and help get rid of the lousy parts.

State what you bought and the problems you had with it. Don't whine about the parts counter guy, or the business, they just sold it and if they didn't the next guy will be happy to provide it. If nobody is buying the cheap repro part, what supplier is going to stock it?

It is nice to see any of our sponsors get a reference, it's better than plugging a business that may detest what we are trying to do here, and that does happen.