• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

I'm sick of pooptastic parts

Share this page

Well, apparently according to you guys, a bit older'n dirt. :shocked:
 
Happy Birthday, Doc!!
 
Older than dirt, not quite as old as fire?! :laugh: Happy Birthday in any case! And now go out and enjoy a case! LoL
 
DrEntropy said:
...and oddly enuff, TODAY is in fact my birthday.
Click to expand...

Woo hoo!!! Happy Birthday Doc!!

:banana:
 
Thanks guys.


Another successful thread hijack... sorry Stew. :shocked:
 
I'll bring it right back on track. Just received another angle drive from moss. It's a much nicer unit with C clips holding the guts together. This one should last. Now if they could improve the speedo cables so they don't lock up and blow out the angle drive. But this is a good sign and at least this time it was the cable below the service indicator so it will be a quick fix with no under dash contortions needed.
 
WHOA!! WHOA!! You just said something "at least this time it was the cable below the service indicator"....have you still got that thing in your car? Are you sure its not the culprit?
 
Yep still have the indicator in the 75. I tested that with half of the old cable and it was nice and free by hand and ran fine when using a drill.
 
You make a very good point.... here is the flip side... When I was a kid, we had mom and pop neighborhood places that provided hair cuts, hamburgers, hardware, home appliances and furnishings, car repair.... and we all knew the proprieters by their first and last names... we should.... they lived in our very midst in our neighborhood. Somewhere down the line A mega store so lovingly nick-named Wally World came along... So did the Golden Arches, the mega beauty shop places, big chain store car repair places, King Depot.... et.al. and put the mom and pop places right out of business.... all because the myopic consumer could get a slightly "cheaper" price for what they needed... Where was any loyalty towards those that had dwelt amongst them, huh? You allude to the consumer driving up quality with their power in dollars.... but my consumers who hire me to fix their cars are just as likely to use another shop to save 10 buck as to use me... there is NO loyalty. And the cost of doing business keeps sky-rocketing. So, am I supposed to compromise my principals in order to keep up my bottom line by using el-cheap-o parts? These days, I give customers chioces and the "quality" menu is for them to choose and warranty coverage to reflect such choice. It's, sadly, how I survive.... I'll just bet you aren't on first name terms with the folks at Wally World, etc... and they likely live on the other side of the tracks. Consumers HAVE sent a clear message.... They want champaign quailty for beer prices. Mom and pop places can't compete with children in 3rd world countries who work for maybe a dollar a week. And I'll just bet some of those chincy parts come from such "sweat shops".
 
I make it a point to buy from those that treat me right, irrespective of price. I was pretty sure I needed new springs as my left rear end was lower than my right, I happened to be on the coast today so I stopped by BritBits in Rye, NH and confirmed that it was the shocks. I told Ben the parts mgr. about another Moss parts source who discounts by 20%, but charges freight. BritBits discounts 5%, but there's no freight. I asked Ben if he could do better than the 5%. He said no, but he was sure the other guy would be able to give me tech tips and wait for me on a Sat. nite to pick up the bearing kit that I suddenly needed.Ben will have the spring order in the morning. Tony gets about half of my parts dollars, Brit Bits gets the other half. I could pay less, but I'd get less. Sherman's right about how shortsighted customers can become.I will not shop at Walmart for anything at any time under any circumstances. I avoid the big box whenever possible and buy from the local Ace hardware guy. The price difference really isn't that much, and certainly not enough for those of us fortunate enough to indulge ourselves with the toys. If we don't let our suppliers make a profit, what will do when all we're left with are the price cutters? No Thank You!
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I will not shop at Walmart for anything at any time under any circumstances.[/QUOTE]
Jerri & I have been called 'elitist' and 'unAmerican' because we also refuse to shop there!

Thanks for the nice words...no, I probably won't be waiting for you on a Saturday nite to give you a part that you suddenly needed because I try not to keep lots of parts on hand (& as most of you know, don't maintain a storefront!)...but I can get it drop shipped directly to you overnight! There's room in this hobby for both types of suppliers.
 
I agree wholeheartedly, NO WALLY WORLD!!. No other sweatshop stores either. We have a local chain of Hardware stors here called Strosniders. Family owned. They not too long ago became Ace affiliates. I don't know anyone there by name, but I sure know some faces.They have REAL hardware, Stainless nuts and bolts, and metric too. They have bins of grade 3 bolts, but they offer grade 5 and 8 also. They are more "expensive" than Big Box Mart perhaps, but I can buy an electrical fixture that will work more than once or twice too. I will go out of my way to shop there.

I have a small one man shop here, and I have a lot of what I call "legacy" customers. These are the folks that patronised me when I was in DC and they have "normal" cars (Volvos, Toyota, GM etc.)Even though I now mostly do LBCs, they still come to me out in the 'burbs, and none of them ever complain about the price. I have weird hours, I get here late in the AM, and stay late into the night. This enables them to get here at a time that is convenient to them. I pick them up at the metro, and if I really like them I will pick up and deliver the cars. I find that offering honest and decent service, owning up to mistakes, and always being straight up with them keeps my shop full, pretty much all the time. Customer service is what being in business is all about. Now, if I could get all of my suppliers on that plan I would be a happy camper.
 
I also am a one-man-shop. And I do have "legacy" customers... but not enough to keep me in business from only their patronage. I do exercize my option and right to "fire" customers... have had to do so only a couple of times in 5 years.
 
Gota love it, fireing customers. I can just see that.

Good on ya.
 
We're in a different type of business, but we strongly adhere to the principles of 1. You can't lose money on jobs you don't take. and B. Be careful what you wish for.
 
Two relevant "rules" for about ANY business. :thumbsup:
 
I have only fired one "customer" in the last couple of years. She ROYALLY deserved it. There is some guy who has started an internet "customer blacklist" I have never had to go there. After more than 30 years you can smell the bad customers coming, and I just head them off at the pass. Life is much too short to deal with.... well, you know.
 
:iagree:

You just KNOW when someone is gonna be awkward. Last one I had to dig my heels in over was an Alfa Spider owner. He'd reefed his oil pan on a concrete curb and smashed all that nice cast alloy... THEN when he comes to pick up the car says ~I~ put the "outtie" dent in his HOOD!!!

I went off on him 'til he thought he was at a Fourth of July celebration. Called him everything from a thief to an idiot. Even showed him the paint still left on his oil filler cap. He had to pay to get his car, I had the cops there to witness him leaving th' pitch. I'm ~still~ insulted. Mostly at his lack of imagination. Or his assumption I'd "fix" his bonnet for free...
 
tony barnhill said:
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I will not shop at Walmart for anything at any time under any circumstances.
Click to expand...
Jerri & I have been called 'elitist' and 'unAmerican' because we also refuse to shop there!
[/QUOTE]

I rarely shop there either. They're open 24x7, so if a kid is sick, or we're in dire need of something ... I'll go. Thats it.

Same deal with BestBuy. I use the local audio guy or OneCall.com
 
Back
Top