Ordered my ROW M0303 suspension kit from an as yet unnamed board sponsor. Brought the car in yesterday to have the kit installed and got a call later in the day informing me that the wrong parts were sent. Phone calls were made and it was determined that they did in fact send the wrong parts. As you might guess, there are none available in the US and have to be ordered from Germany. They "might" be here next week.

In the meantime, the car is in pieces tying up a bay in facility that makes it's living using bays. They are currently putting the car back together thereby adding another 4 hours to the install. Am I wrong in thinking that the people that sold me the parts should pay for the additional 4 hours?

I have made that request and will let you know how they respond. Hopefully, I can follow up with compliments.

 

That is a tough situation. This is a good example of why your mechanic should check all part numbers before touching your vehicle. Especially when bringing in parts supplied by you. You can not really hang it on the Parts vendor. These things happen. It sounds like they are living up to the mistake and getting you the correct parts for your order which is good. It was a mistake and those things happen. It is unfortunate that many of these parts are stocked in Germany so that adds to the hasle.

Sorry to hear the bad news.

 

I guess the parts vendor doesn't have the responsibility of checking those part numbers before sending them out? If you're gonna be in the biz of making a profit, part of what you should provide for that profit is service that represents 5 to 10 minutes of work to be sure what you send is what was ordered so you don't both inconvenience your client and cost him/her 4 hours extra labor. How many end users know what the correct part numbers are to even check? That's what we pay parts vendors for! The labor should be on the vendor IMO. Unfortuneately all the wasted time (including 4 trips to the shop instead of 2) should be on the buyer. If the vendor steps up and does what's right with the labor, everyone makes mistakes and I'd do biz with them again. If they don't, I wouldn't and would just figure they're not into learning from their mistakes and would prefer their customers suffer the consequences of their mistakes.

 

I still have not recieved an answer from parts vendor as to when I can expect to recieve the correct order. In the meantime, the shop reassembled the car but is lacking proper alignment so is not driveable and parked outside. Upon further research I find that I was only sent the coil springs and shocks. Other sites indicate the ROW M0303 kit consists of shocks, coil springs, stabilizers, compensation plates, and bump stops. Does anyone know the correct parts numbers for the entire kit for an '02 C2 Cab? I was sent the following parts:

996-343-041-21 shock
996-343-531-19 coil spring
996-343-043-23 shock
996-343-533-25 coil spring

I'm trying to determine whether I was shot at and missed, or sh*t at and hit!!

 

i agree with ben on this. you have to remain cool, because mistakes happen. the supplier is at fault though. if i was the supplier, i would eat the cost. thats very good service and you should go out of your way to do business with them if they do that. if they dont, such is life and just dont give them the benefit of your future business or referals.

 

I'm also in agreement with Ben. The parts supplier clearly made the error. Your mechanic is just being paid to swap out the parts. A reputable firm would make good for the consequences of their mistake. Screw ups happen, but it shouldn't cost you money (the inconvenience you can live with).

Let us know how it works out.

 

If they don't do the right thing, be sure to name this board sponsor!

One reason I always use gert @ Carnewal.com is because he is the best at customer service. Very responsive. Once had a part sent that was missing a few pieces, it was the supplier, not Gert, who made the mistake, but Gert did not try to pass the blame -- he just made it right! I haven't purchased items from other board sponsors (well, one small item) because the ones I have contact have not impressed me with their pre-sale customer service (ie answering emails) so I'm not about to find out how thier post-sale service is. With Gert I know I will always be treated right.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I spoke with parts vendor this morning (Brandywine Porsche) and they indicated that the parts were on their way from Germany and should be here tomorrow (Friday). I also questioned then as to whether what they sold me (Springs, Shocks) is really the total ROW M030 "kit". The research I did (after the fact, of course) indicated that the "kit" should also include stabilizer bars, compensation plates, and bump stops. Brandywine Porsche said that these additional components would not make a significant difference in handling but would give me a "deal" on these components due to the situation. When I brought up the question of "What about the additional 4 hours I may be charged because of your error"? The reply was "I can't do anything because the price I gave you originally was wholesale and I'm giving you a super deal on the additional components". In other words, "F*** Y**".

That being said, I won't do business with Brandywine Porsche again. I can understand that people make mistakes but they expressed no remorse and made me do all the follow up. Next step - let's see what the repair facility says!

 

There's one side of the story.

Somebody's got some splainin' to do, Lucy.

 

It is important tonote that the correct information must be supplied to the vendor. This is a sitsuation that is unfortunate and Brandywine is usually the best when it comes to customer service. I suspect someone of limited Porsche knowledge ordered the parts and your technicion should be responsible for the four hours labor. After all, it is his job to inspect the parts prior to installation.

 

this is exactly the reasons why many people contemplated modifying their cars with aftermarket products.,besides forking out extra cash to dismantle a perfectly driveable car,you are left with a load of frustration.imo the product vendor should be held responsible.

 

You are correct, someone of limited Porsche knowledge did order the parts---me! In this case, I did speak with someone at Brandywine and described my vehicle correctly. You are also correct in that this is an unfortunate situation. That being said, I thought that it would make sense to call and order the parts from someone who has extensive Porsche knowledge. That is what I did.

I decided this morning that this suspension mod was just not meant to be and called Brandywine and told them that I would like to send back the incorrect set of parts and get a refund. They agreed. I later spoke with Justin regarding my posts on this board. He told me of his efforts to try and correct the situation and I believe he was trying to correct the problem. He also said that this never happens and this was a mistake and apologized. I accept his apology and do believe this situation "is what it is".
I will say that Justin understood my frustration and was sincere in his apology. After his apology, I do feel compelled to say that people do makes mistakes and you must offset my experience with others positive experiences.

I told the repair facility they should have checked the parts. Their reply was that some of the parts were correct and some were not. I paid the bill and took my car. They will not see me again.

I view this as my $400 lesson and should I decide to do additional work to the car I will do all the due diligence required.

Case closed!!!