[Hubby-Dale]

I bought a trim piece for my Chevelle. When putting the clips up into the trim slot, all of the fasteners broke, no matter how carefully I tried to get them into the trim. This is clearly a manufacture's defect, as the torsion rod falls off the clip base-connector when you try to collapse it into the trim.
When I reached out to the company (it has a 396 in the name) and let them know, they wouldn't make good on the bad fasteners or send me replacements. They told me to go to Mr. G's and by my own replacement clips. Mr. G's Enterprises - Home Page Which is a great source for clips and fasteners, that I hadn't know of before.

I guess I won't be ordering from them, unless I can't get the part elsewhere. I would return the item, but it's less expensive to buy my own replacement clips than it is to package up and return a long trim piece. Shipping companies charge people SO much more than companies, it's very frustrating.

I wish everyone was as helpful and return-friendly as Summit. They are the BEST when it come to support, returns and exchanges.

 

[msmith1.wa]

If you used a credit card to pay for the item. It might be worth checking with them to find out if they will help out. Might be able to get your money back this way.

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[shovelrick]

I quit ordering from the same place due to something similar and after spending $3K+ there then get Laughed at

 

[drivejunk]

This post touches on a whole raft of fundamental wrongs that have been accepted as common solutions worldwide. The main one for me is disregard for distance when making purchases.

Say you get so fed up with just trying to have a car old enough to require maintainence and decide its worth it to go ahead and just move to a city which has parts. So you can have transportation without scrapping two year old cars and buying a new one you hate each time. Well, theres not a city. Thanks, internet. The road is no fun now anyhow, its all slow giant semi trucks with little or nothing in them. Then just look at Amazon... Want to sell things? Cover the globe with a fleet twice daily and don't fail to offer any item manufactured on earth. Thats not the way. But it is.

One thing to keep in mind is that wanting usable parts is asking a lot or too much from so far down the totem pole of international priorities as muscle car parts. That seller may have searched the world over to find someone capable of producing a metal part that looks same in picture as a part that once worked. Same with the plastic part but maybe half a world away. Seller staples bag of plastic parts to bag of metal parts, places in box and ships. If one of the plastic parts was ever tried on one of the metal parts before you tried to put them together is an overseas mystery and at no point was there a Chevelle in sight.

But if the seller is asked for the part by a price and distance are no object just do you have it buyer, they can say yes. And they earned the right to with all the manufacturer hiring and box and bag stapling they do. Does any contact person at any involved entity have any idea about an issue? Of course not. No need. Cheaper to throw away all that manufacturing and selling effort plus all you did to earn the price straight into the counterproductive expensive waste pile and absorb the entire cradle to grave effort... than it is to trouble someone with responsibility. Because the seller's ended when the transaction was made. Even if all you recieve is an envelope full of air, thats the buyer's burden and justly so for buying unseen items.

Thats just how it is. No fault can be placed. Choose a strategy at your own risk but don't assume anyone anywhere had anything to do with anything. Because hey your seller offered the part and others didn't. Whether their offering constitutes a solution does not matter. If every one of that product goes into a landfill, every sale they ever made is proof that it was satisfactory.

They know they sell crap. They do what they can. You are supposed to continue despite instincts and force everything with money and never think anyone is bad because nobody had anything to do with any of your concern. Thats my understanding of that little sliver of reality. You gotta want that done old car really really bad.

 

[magicrat56]

Ever since they moved I haven't bothered to order from them. Got into a beef over a call tag to return a lousy part; was able to drive up state to do my returns but now in Florida a went back to Year One for parts.

 

[mark f]

I stopped doing business with that 396 outfit a long time ago, too many bad experiences.

 

[Pete 67]

Ever since they moved I haven't bothered to order from them. Got into a beef over a call tag to return a lousy part; was able to drive up state to do my returns but now in Florida a went back to Year One for parts.

I don't blame you for finding a new supplier, but Year One is an over the top rip off. Now that Hinshaws's is pretty much out of business (correct me if I'm wrong please), NPD should be everyone's first call. You'll save a ton of money & they have better custom service.

 

[shovelrick]

X2 NPD, I’ve ordered a couple things from Ausley and I’m happy with parts and price except for poor info on delivery date, email notices

 

[magicrat56]

I don't blame you for finding a new supplier, but Year One is an over the top rip off. Now that Hinshaws's is pretty much out of business (correct me if I'm wrong please), NPD should be everyone's first call. You'll save a ton of money & they have better custom service.

good to know, thanks

 

[B52bombardier1]

You are all a very tough bunch of customers to please. I am happy that most of this stuff is available at all and generally speaking, at a reasonable price and quality.

I'm sorry you had trouble but wow . . . .

Rick

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[1968 300]

Made in China.

 

[72soft-top]

I bought my entire interior from them including carpet. Well the carpet foot well pad was located too far to the center and went up the tunnel. They wouldn’t do anything. I had to buy another carpet from another source
Lost my business for life.

 

[sz0k30]

I wish everyone was as helpful and return-friendly as Summit. They are the BEST when it come to support, returns and exchanges.

Lately, it seems that even Summit is moving away from the BEST ever customer service. Used to be their phone number was in very large numbers at the top of their website.. Now you have to look to find it.

 

[AztecCamino]

My go to is NPD first. They may have a slightly higher price, but they're easy to deal with. I've spent thousands with them on my Mustang. I just wish they had as many parts as that for my El Camino. Rick, the owner of NPD is regularly on the Vintage Mustang Forum and has taken care of many parts problems via that forum when anyone posts about it. He takes customer service seriously.

 

[Pete 67]

My go to is NPD first. They may have a slightly higher price, but they're easy to deal with. I've spent thousands with them on my Mustang. I just wish they had as many parts as that for my El Camino. Rick, the owner of NPD is regularly on the Vintage Mustang Forum and has taken care of many parts problems via that forum when anyone posts about it. He takes customer service seriously.

Rick comes here sporadically as well & shares his thoughts about the repop sheetmetal manufacturing enigma.

I'm curious why you think NPD has higher prices & which vendors are you comparing them with? OPGI is not only more expensive, but they have absurd shipping rates & an awful return policy. Year One is the most expensive vendor by far, also with very high shipping rates. Ground Up actually offers decent pricing, but do a search here on their customer service, return policies & backorder issues...suddenly you realize saving a few bucks isn't worth the potential hassles.

When I still lived out west, I would drive to Muscle Factory which was the closest vendor to my Dad's shop. They have great customer service & decent pricing, but their selection is a bit limited. Matt's Classic Bowtie's usually price matches, but they seem to focus more on aftermarket pro-touring parts. I used them quite often when building my LS1 '67 with great results.

Classic Muscle in NC was a great resource that had excellent pricing with one of the most comprehensive & detailed catalogs. It's a real shame they decided to close up shop. Lutty's has a great catalog & I would've used them more, but when I was building my cars out west, the 4-7 day shipping times were a hindrance...especially when NPD or Summit would be at my door in one day at no extra charge for shipping.

None of the companies mentioned has a better selection of Chevelle specific parts with higher inventories than NPD does. Plus they offer fair shipping rates & I think free shipping at $300.

When building a car, it's good to have several resources including Ebay, Amazon, Summit, Rockauto & 2-3 Chevelle specific vendors. Even vendors like Inline Tube have their place... yes it's a soul-less company with awful customer service...but sometimes they are the only game in town for specific detail items.

 

[mjc]

I don't blame you for finding a new supplier, but Year One is an over the top rip off. Now that Hinshaws's is pretty much out of business (correct me if I'm wrong please), NPD should be everyone's first call. You'll save a ton of money & they have better custom service.

No Hinshaws's? They had more wagon parts than most.

 

[Pete 67]

No Hinshaws's? They had more wagon parts than most.

I bought a lot from James & Sylvia when building my 2 door wagon, but James had some health issues as I was finishing up. They shut their website down & I'm currently unclear what the company status is. I haven't called in about 18 months, so maybe someone else can chime in. I hope James is doing ok.

 

[blm]

Even vendors like Inline Tube have their place... yes it's a soul-less company with awful customer service...but sometimes they are the only game in town for specific detail items.

I’ve bought from almost every vendor mentioned here. In-line Tube was BY FAR the worst vendor I have dealt with in my life. In my 66 years I have reported one company to the Better Business Bureau and that was InLine Tube. I wouldnt relieve myself on them if they were on fire.

 

[Pete 67]

I’ve bought from almost every vendor mentioned here. In-line Tube was BY FAR the worst vendor I have dealt with in my life. In my 66 years I have reported one company to the Better Business Bureau and that was InLine Tube. I wouldnt relieve myself on them if they were on fire.

I bought a defective combination brake fluid valve & it was like pulling teeth to get them to refund my money. They wouldn't take my word it was leaking...they said they were going to test it somehow. I'm honestly still curious how they can test one of those without mounting it on a car.

I certainly wouldn't recommend them to anyone, but I've bought a couple of detail items like factory correct tailpipe hangers & clamps that nobody else seems to sell. Gardner Exhaust includes them in their $1200 full system kits, but they won't sell them separate. I bought my exhaust from Waldrons, but he doesn't offer the correct hangers or clamps. I was able to source the parts from Inline & the Walker muffler hangers, which look almost identical to the factory pieces, from Rock Auto & save over $600 on my exhaust system.

 

[RICH1965]

I think its great that there are companies like Mr G's Enterprises. I havent heard of them before either but its nice that they specialize in fasteners, including hard to find ones.