victoria British spares.

[Mychael]

Apologies if this should have been in the vendors section but it's a query not a review so I'm asking it here.

Is victoria British still operating, I hear Moss and TRF getting mentioned a lot but not VB, what has become of them?

Is their supply source from the same place as everyone else or are they independent in where they get their stuff from.

Has anyone used them recently. I've not had a need to buy anything for quite a while now so I'm out of touch and the last parts purchase I made was from TRF anyway.

Just curious.

 

[DNK]

Mychael, this thread was started last month. So to answer your question,yes.
Vicky Brit

 

[Mychael]

Ta mate.

 

[UmmYeahOk]

Is their supply source from the same place as everyone else or are they independent in where they get their stuff from.

 

I would like to know this too. Since the last thread I started I have been finally assembling many of the VB parts I've purchased months previously. Many of them are shoddy and break instantly!!!

The leads in my distributor instantly broke and started spinning. The furflex seals (window and door) started coming apart in my hands during installation. (poorly sewn and doesn't respond well to bending) My door hinges which I mentioned later on in the above mentioned thread doesn't resemble my original ones at all. And a rubber elbow for my vaccuum hose tore open after a few days of being installed!!!!

I've got a pile of $&@! that I plan to return but the question is refund or replacement? If replaced, who's to say it isn't just as poorly made? But if I get a refund and buy from another vendor, who's to say they aren't using the same crappy supplier?

 

[TomMull]

I would be surprised if any of these pars suppliers got their stock from a single source, although I have no idea of their contractual obligations. I can give a couple of examples from my personal experience. VB is, I think, the only US supplier of a TR3 repair apron repair panel, or at last the only one I can find on line, so I would assume they have a different supplier for this item at least. TRF seems to be the only British car parts supplier that provides a complete TR3 fuel pump repair kit (includes the pushrod seal). In addition, general auto parts suppliers, NAPA e.g. still provide a few parts such as belts, tune up parts, brake parts, etc. Engine parts, pistons, rings, bearings, valves and the like are available from a range of general engine parts supplies.
I don't make any recommendations here, prices and quality vary widely and not necessarily directly. What I do recommend is that you do your homework, shop around and don't take anything for granted. From my own experience, all the suppliers I've dealt with tried to resolve issues, some of course, much more enthusiastically than others. Tom

 

[71MKIV]

My experience has always been that VB was the "price leader" (wink-wink).

I bought my fuel sender from them, and it's fine but as other posters have mentioned some things aren't.

I've never had a quibble with anything I've bought from the others, starting with Nigel at SpitBits.

 

[TR3driver]

My experience has always been that VB was the "price leader" (wink-wink).

But they do come up with surprises from time to time. For example, a few years back, they found some NOS TR250 water pump pulleys at a time when no one else had them.

Basically all of the retail vendors spend a lot of time searching the world for parts suppliers. At the wholesale level, some suppliers only offer a very few parts (for example Ian MacGregor only makes rubber body seals) so a "full line" vendor has to deal with a lot of suppliers.

Sometimes they wind up buying the same parts, sometimes not. And sometimes it is their suppliers that are inconsistent. A few years ago I got some defective parts, and was told that the entire shipment had the same defect. (Fortunately it only took them a few weeks to get a new shipment from the same supplier, which was perfect.)

In some cases, our vendors even collaborate on having a run of reproduction parts made to order. This makes sense when the tooling and/or setup is a major portion of the price. If they can pool their orders and, say, order 100,000 pieces at a time instead of 3 separate orders of 30,000 each; the cost may be half of what it would be otherwise.

 

[PeterK]

I received a couple of NOS pieces from VB as well, also some not so good. But that's the same from all of the big-3.

 

[Guest]

VB is always the last source I use due to past quality and customer service issues. When dealing with them,in my mind,I picture a gigantic warehouse in the middle of a cornfield,with an 18 year old girl in a cubicle,with her head set and computer. Kinda like that credit card rewards commercial where the guy on the phone is a bushy bearded guy named Peggy in Siberia and the answer to every question is yes...? and hit the hold button. Price isnt everything.

 

[Mickey Richaud]

C'mon, folks. Rule #6 for the Forum:

6. No vendor bashing! If you have a problem with a vendor (whether supporting or otherwise), take it up with the vendor. Don't use this forum for registering complaints about any vendor or business. However, we do have a Vendor Review forum where you can post a review and rate vendors. All posts in that forum are fully moderated. Please read the rules posted in that forum before posting there.

Please?

Thanks.


Mickey

 

[swift6]

VB does source from some different suppliers but they are also Moss's biggest customer. Moss can even cross-reference a VB part number and will often have parts in their warehouse that are not in their catalogs, these parts are typically what they sell to smaller vendors, some markets that they feel are too small for them to bother with, but they will also sell to you if you know the number.

 

[swift6]

When dealing with them,in my mind,I picture a gigantic warehouse in the middle of a cornfield,with an 18 year old girl in a cubicle,with her head set and computer.

Which is why they can often be a "price leader", less overhead to deal with and fewer salaries to pay for.

 

[mikecyc72usa]

I've been very fortunate with VB. No problems with anything at all. But parts are made in batches, and I just had 2 u-joints from Spitbits disintegrate in 2 weeks on my car. Not Nigel's fault, just bad luck. No problem, just got 3 more. Any time I've had an issue with any supplier, I've just called them up and problem solved.

 

[Mychael]

But parts are made in batches, and I just had 2 u-joints from Spitbits disintegrate in 2 weeks on my car.

And to me that's the crux of the problem with most of the suppliers, you never know if something is going to be good or rubbish till you fit it/use it.
For those who live in the same Country as the retailer it's slightly less of an issue but for us here in Australia it becomes a big problem. Sure we can send stuff back at our expense but you don't know if the replacement bit is going to be just as bad.

 

[Geo Hahn]

...When dealing with them,in my mind,I picture a gigantic warehouse in the middle of a cornfield,with an 18 year old girl in a cubicle,with her head set...

You're thinking of Victoria Secret British Spares.

My experience was similar to Randall's example -- an unusual part they laid into a stash of. For me it was a British made TR3 windscreen that featured the Stanpart open-book logo etched on it. So cool & cheap I just had to get one as a hedge against the day when I need it.

 

[Andrew Mace]

You're thinking of Victoria Secret British Spares.

:lol:

My experience was similar to Randall's example -- an unusual part they laid into a stash of.

Same here, although this was at least 25 years ago. Back then, and for probably a good year or two, they were the very last of the "Big" suppliers in the US that even acknowledged the existence of a taillamp lens only for the 1970 model year Spitfire and GT6...and had stock of same. If I'd ever realized how valuable those lenses would become, I'd have bought more than one back then.

 

[Bob_Muzio]

I spoke to the owner of a well known British car parts supplier and restoration facility about the variance of parts quality and after a long sigh he said, "Bob, we all buy from the same vendors".
There are not that many choices for Moss, TRF VB, etc. I think at times it's a crap shoot.
Bob

 

[Mychael]

I think though that some retailers take more care with their quality control then others. Maybe some take the time to check out an order before shipping it to us the buyer or perhaps they take more interest in what sort of quality the stock is that gets sent to them.

 

[SkinnedKnuckles]

VB was a primary parts supplier to me 15 or so years ago. Not so much lately, however.

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Well, just to put my Polyanna spin on things, frankly, I think we're pretty fortunate just to have some vendors interested in supplying bits for our dinosaurs! I'm sure they could find more profitable enterprises...

Oh, and I STILL like cheese!