Wait time on Classic Retrofit AC?
 

Hi. I’m looking to purchase one of CR’s units. My question is how to handle the purchase when wait times on the website are stated to be 3-4 weeks. Are people putting down money that far in advance? If so(or not) what’s your experience in actually getting the unit in your hands? Best regards,

I ordered may 20th paid in full. It was delivered June 18th.

Thank you.

We are hitting our delivery targets at the moment. We do ask for payment in full up front, since the systems are made to order.

We have absolutely no intention of delaying build or delivery but there is the odd shipping drama from time to time!

At least they are honest. The shop I used to work has bought many of their kits. They had to wait a long time when they were first introduced but they like them and keep on purchasing.

Hi Bill,

I plan on purchasing one as soon as my car is ready. There are a ton of posts out there on these guys and it seems that they are top-notch. I would order without worry. Check out Rennch, he talks very highly of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcTf8Lt1E8s

Good luck,

Rodney

+1 to everything mentioned here.

The payment-to-shipment time for me (most recent group buy) was totally fine. To Jonny's point, it's the customs/shipping than can really slow things down. Mine was held up by 2.5 weeks due to paperwork issues in Belgium. I had 2 boxes deliver already, still waiting on the third. None of this is CR's problem, it's entirely FedEx and US Customs.

Pay the money, get the product. Fantastic ac, my car is cool on the hottest day.

Thank you all. I am going to order based on your observations.

I am glad to see that Jonny is up front with his above statement since I had the shipping drama. My order consisted of three boxes. Two were delivered in record time, the third box (alternator) was lost in Memphis Tennessee customs for about three weeks. Unfortunately, TNT/FedExpress has corporate protocols on handling shipments that go astray in their care. The stray package sat in customs until someone finally found it on a shelf and cleared it for delivery. This issue had nothing to do with CR and their logistics process and it can happen with any freight carrier and customs. All said and done the package was roughed up on the outside but the alternator was packaged in a round plastic tube and well insulated so no damage.

My experience with shipping is that if CR could ship via DHL the headaches and drama with shipping may disappear, for the most part.

Nothing but praise for Mr. Hart and his products.

DHL is highly reliable to the US also. But my experience importing items during Covid is that US Customs is backlogged and the express shipping people prefer to deal with stuff that is not lost. If something is hung up in FedEx land get on the horn and open an inquiry. Call the international number until you get someone interested in your problem. And make sure the shipper gives you the tracking number and you are listed as importer.

I said something similar when I chatted with Johnny on the phone. DHL import of expensive things has always been low effort in my experience.

I hear you and am researching DHL. Right now we have a very good deal with TNT/FedEx that we pass straight to customers. Last time I looked at another courier (UPS) they could not get close - they were almost double the price!

I personally don’t like UPS international to the US. FedEx or DHL is the way to go. Perhaps you can offer international freight express if you don’t already.

Does anyone who happened to have theirs delivered already know the rough dimensions of the box in which the main blower unit is shipped in?

FedEx has delivered my alternator, and a smaller box which includes some electrical bits for the AC, but the main box seems to have gone missing somewhere in transit. I've filed a case with FedEx and hoping to provide them some info other than "it's in your warehouse somewhere, so go find a bloody big box with ClassicRetrofit branded tape on it".

24x24x14 is the size of the box mine arrived in. Buy it was a few years ago.
Yeah, took me a while to install it…

^. Yep, still the same size big box.

In fairness, with the state of global shipping right now, very few parcels actually get lost.

We had one do a World Tour recently before ending up at the right address after a month on the road. I guess it got bored of its rock and roll lifestyle and wanted to settle down. :)

Since 70% of these kits go to the US, we will always send a replacement if the issue isn’t resolved in a timely manner. We then rely on the generosity and good nature of the Porsche community to forward any duplicate parcels to other customers. rather than ship them back to the U.K. rather than have to go through customs again. This has worked out well so far.

Thanks Dennis and Jonny.

Fedex showed up at 9PM last night with a box that looked like it had been beaten with lead pipes, but thankfully damage was limited to the outside box. The great packing job by the CR team seems to have protected all the contents. I'll be doing a full inventory today to confirm, but I'm guessing we're good to go.

Now, I just get to wait until I get my car back from its engine rebuild. :)

My boxes from one of the group buys got stuck in FedEx Memphis customs purgatory for a few weeks. Not CR’s fault at all and given the pandemic and how stretched shippers are it was just a minor headache.

Best advice is to be as nice as possible to the folks at customer service if you have a problem. I was and I got a case manager who called me every day to tell me that there were or weren’t updates. Once they located the boxes they were delivered ASAP by some sort of priority FedEx driver in an suv.

Pay the money, get the product and chill. Best decision you can make.