A.I.R - talk to me about their quality...
 

As the title suggests, I am looking for feedback on AIR (American International Racing). Interested in quality and after sale support.

I took a long time to pull the trigger on new and wider front fenders for my Boxster racing car as shipping to Finland was not cheap! Only supplier I could find when I was looking that did these was AIR. So after several emails with them to confirm that they would "fit" my 2001 Boxster S, I placed the order as a Christmas present to myself...

Now that they have arrived to Finland and I remove them from the box I discover that they are for the face-lift model boxster/996 and not the early headlights, which means that my headlights will not fit :(

But the main problem is the fit - they are not even close to the car shape. Is this normal for AIR parts, or have I got some Friday afternoon parts?

I have sent email to AIR to ask for feedback, but not getting much contact now...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1356674564.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1356674585.jpg

This does not look like a simple job to make fit :(

Isn't this Pelican a part of AIR?

Pelican Parts Technical BBS - View Profile: geshaghi

A.I.R. parts have not fit well for decades....

Scott

How did you pay for them? Hopefully with a cc or paypal. Send the parts back and ask for a refund from your cc company or pp. Take lots of pictures like the ones posted here. Good luck.

Fiberglass parts are hit or miss it seems. And they all seem to require some massaging to fit. The parts I got from Shaw were the best.

Be glad you didn't order from Better Bodies. You would have some assembly required to install it, since the ship broken, defective parts.

My understanding is that A.I.R. had a partnership dispute a few years back. It's now owned by a lawyer. Good luck with that.

I have an old A.I.R. IROC tail & decklid, fit like a glove. Can't say much about the modern stuff.

American International Racing aka A.I.R. located in Azusa, Ca. manufactures fiberglass body components. As Scott mentioned their crap hasn't fit well in years, customer service is non existent, Good Luck getting any satisfaction from them.

Automtive Innovations and Restoration aka A.I.R. LLC or A.I.R. motorsports LLC located in Van Nuys, Ca. as drcoastline and speeder pointed out is now owned by an Armenian real estate attorney after acquiring (screwing) the business from me.
Both business' IMHO should be avoided at all cost. YMMV.

I thought I would update this to set the record straight and clear any bad reputations...

Since I posted the original post, I have had a number of discussions with John at AIR and he has indeed demonstrated great customer service and stood behind his products.

As you can see from the pictures, the fenders after some help from John (advice on how to best mount the fenders and get them to fit) actually do fit quite nicely. If this was a road or show car, I would have to do the normal fine tuning to make them fit perfectly. But for a racing car that probably will have a few kisses with other cars during the season, I am happy with the fit...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1357823237.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1357823898.jpg

The other issue I had with the fenders was that although I specifically asked John before I ordered if the fenders would fit a 2001 Boxster S with the factory headlights, and got told without a doubt that they would - they do not :( I had not seen any pictures with the fenders installed on a car before I ordered and as such did not see that they were to fit the later face-lift model lights (like the 996 turbo etc). I had several discussion about this with John as well, and whilst I am still not sure what the best solution is to this, he has made up a set of headlight sections from his bumpers that he has put in the post to me for free that I can have grafted into my existing bumper if I want and will refund me back some of my money that I paid for the fenders.

I know there are many opinions on what makes good customer service, and some expect maybe more - but I thought John managed the situation nicely and I am happy with the results...

Now I just need to decide if I graft in the replacement headlight sections to the bumper that John has sent me, or make some plastic covers that will fit as in the cardboard template in this picture. I will be running a simple LED light rather than full headlights.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1357823699.jpg

It's good to hear they came through. Any way to make the headlights a removable part vs grafted permanently? Dzus fasteners maybe?