hi guys; i just wanted to ask if anyone has had any bad experiences with TAMRAZ parts in illinois. i had some trouble with them on two occasions and i won't be back for a third. i just want to find out if the treatment i received was common with this vendor.

the first experience was with a rear valance i got from them for a 70 chevelle. it arrived twisted and had dings in it. the damage department person (allison),was very nice at first asking me to send photos. she said if the damage was severe enough,she doubts that ups would even bother picking up the piece to return it to them,so i sent a few photos,which i feel clearly showed the problems with the valance. the reply i got from them was that they couldnt see the damage. i told them i had done several 70 chevelles and i know that this part is subpar and i didnt feel as if i should have to be stuck with it. i took more picturtes and went round and round with them about it. they finally agreed to take it back,but this story takes an unusal twist.

normally a merchant will send out a call tag to ups for a damaged item so they can come and pick up the part from the residence it was delivered to. this is common everytime i receive a damaged part during any of my restorations. tamraz insisted that i box up the valance and take it over to ups and return it myself,even after they made mention of ups picking it up. i had a big problem with that alone,but the box was over 6 feet long and there was no way it was going to fit in my car. they basically said it was my responsiblity to get the damaged item back to them. i ended up dropping the whole matter and keeping the valance because of the inconvenience. now the valance is an ornament sitting in the corner to remind me of my lovely experience with tamraz.

after a couple of months, i installed a set of wheel well mouldings i received from them in the same order as the valance. i thought i had looked them over pretty good after i received them. i didnt pull them out of the plastic because i didnt see any apparent damage. one of the mouldings was actually bent pretty good. i contacted tamraz about this to see if they could do anything about it. they said it was past the time to file a claim on it,so i just ordered another one from them and it arrived damaged also.

i talked to the rep that i ordered from. a guy named (dave),who also seemed pretty nice at first. i reminded him about the expired time on the first damaged moulding and he said he might be able to get me credit on both of them anyway, even after he said he couldnt the first time i reported it to him.i thought this was kind of odd that he was going to change tamraz policy for me. he asked for a few pictures. i gladly sent them. after a couple of hours he called back and said "i can't help you". i said that i understand that he wasnt able to help me out on the first moulding, that time expired on and he said "no, i can't help you out on either one" i asked him what he meant and he said that i purposely bent the two mouldings in order to file a claim. i was totally taken aback. i didnt know what to say. i just wanted them to replace the mouldings and i get accused of doing something underhanded.

i filed a complaint with my credit card company on the valance a couple of months ago. they couldnt do anything about it. i filed a complaint for the mouldings a couple of days ago and i somehow doubt that my credit card company will be able to do anything in regards to this matter either. i think tamraz knows the credit card companies only have so much power to pusue complaints and uses that as leverage to deny claims.

all i can offer in regards to my experience is a warning. be very careful what reproduction house you are buying parts from. the way i was treated by the employees at tamraz was criminal. i lost in the neighborhood of about $100.00 and needless to say,i will not be giving tamraz any future business. i am tempted to call back and speak to the owner about his employees,but for some reason,i think that he must be aware of what his people are doing and it will do no good. i can't be the only customer that tamraz has slighted.

thanks for your attention.

regards, dave

This is just my opinion, but I think some if not most parts vendors purposely send out damaged parts that have been returned, hoping eventually someone will not return them. It's also my opinion that they tend to send those damaged parts out to customers that aren't big spenders with them. I believe the customers that are familiar to them and spend thousands each year, get special treatment and undamaged parts. Maybe I'm way off base but I'd bet it happens at some vendors.

wow, accusing you of intentionally damaging parts. Not a good way to get return business.

It don't matter how cheap the parts are if its not backed by customer service. Basically all the parts are chinese from different the venders here so customer service is what seperates them from the competition. X them off the buy from list and so shall I. Sooner or later they will go out of business because that kinda crap like you described will catch up with them. I've been dealing with Ausley's and NPD and have had all good experiences. I've heard good things about Hershaws also. Stay with sure bets and you will limit your problems by dealing with upstanding dealers based on how they deal with these type problems. All the above guys have competitive prices also.:yes:

I haven't dealt with Hershaws, but Ausley's and NPD have had great service and customer concern. i call Ausley's, order the parts, wait till the next show they attend and pick them up at the show - 3 times and the parts were in perfect condition. I call NPD one day and the next day they are on my doorstep - with regular UPS. Short trip from their NC location to Atlanta. They sent the wrong liscense trim plate, I called them at 6:00 one evening ant the correct ones were there the next evening. FWIW, Ed

I've ordered several parts through Tamraz with good parts and reasonable shipping times ecspecially compared to all of the big vendors I've ordered from (except Jegs/Summit). Though the parts have been fine for some reason the shipping times have been way too long.

The other vendor you speak of is "Hinshaw's" not Hershaws. Owned by James Hinshaw, who has a stellar reputation around this forum.

I have bought from Tamraz a few times with no problems/issues. They arrived in a timely manner with no damage.

My brother and i are redoing 67 chevelles and have spent more money with Ausleys than either of us will admit to...We catch them at Moultrie Ga. in the fall and dicker with them on price..they bring loads of parts..hoods, fenders, deck lids, core supports, most everything they sell. This way we get to see the sheet metal we are buying, negotiate for cash discount, save shipping...heck, half the fun is going back and forth with them on negotiating a better price...great guys to do business with..Hinshaws also great people, highly recommed them..no problems with either:thumbsup:

I have read to many ups and downs about Tamraz, thats enough for me to know not to risk ordering anything from them. Why take a chance with them with well known good repro dealers out there like Hinshaws and NPD? I know I wont take a chance.

[QUOTE=von;2077254]This is just my opinion, but I think some if not most parts vendors purposely send out damaged parts that have been returned, hoping eventually someone will not return them.

hi von; i believe you have a very valid point. i think that tamraz knows they are sending out damaged items and they figure that sooner or later it won't be returned. it's one thing to received damaged goods,but it is another to be accused of damaging those goods in order for the merchant to weasel the customer out of their money. i have heard horror stories about some of the parts houses,but this is by far the worst i have ever had to deal with. i hope the owner or owners of tamraz get their act together in regards to their policies and employees. if they are implementing this policy and are aware of what's going in regards to their employees,i hope their treachery puts them out of business eventually.

word of mouth is a very powerful thing,especially when warnings about certain parts houses can be shared in an open forum. maybe they will think twice before they continue to screw over their customers when they find out that their actions are being discussed in an open forum for thousands of potential customers to view.

regards, dave

When I was buying parts for 65, I watched Ebay pretty close and I remember all of Tamarz ads say that the item listed may not be in stock and you should call for availablility. I thought how stupid it was to list an auction on Ebay for something you may not even have in stock! That was enough for me to never deal with them. I wondered why the original poster ordered from them a second time after having so many problems with the first order. There are quite a few great suppliers out there. GU and OPGI have both been great. Matt's Bowtie Classics and Standard Sheetmetal(Bob's General Store) also did good with me. I would reccomend them all. OPGI had some out of stocks, but they shipped everything as it came back in stock and I was happy with that. GU made a mistake on 2 orders and quickly sent me return labels and replaced the mistaken part with the right part.

I'm fortunate to have a guy here in Spring Texas (45 miles from home) to deal with on all my chevelle parts.

tamraz is not far from my house about 20 miles and I do not deal with them for a reason, I was dealing with the owner and his wife if you dont like the way the employees treated you really wont like the owner I had so much trouble with them on the first order I did not bother to take the order home I left it on the floor and walked out!!!!!!!!!

I had nothing but problems with these guys. Or should I say woman.
Because it was a woman I talked to all the time. Sorry I don't remember her name. I was using E-Bay to buy my parts (sheet metal-outer wheel wells, trunk drop panels, front fenders.) from them. I think the passenger side front fender was used by someone before. All the bolt holes had marks from bolts. No a very good fit.

Late shipping. Had to start stop payment with E-Bay. Not complete. Extra charges. Custom problems. etc..etc..
Never again...The folks over at OPGI were %100 on there game. No problems. Shipped to my door. No extra charges.