DC Auto doesn't honor website

[Paul Thomas]

I ordered a drivers side exhaust tip for my 997 to go with the one I just got on ebay. The picture matched the part diagram so i clicked on it for $45. Seemed reasonable since I just bought a right side for $30. I had to order an addtitional $30 worth of stuff that i didn't need because they have a $75 minimum order.

Got a email from Jeff letting me know that I should have noticed that the other side was $250 but he would let me have it for $200. Someone on their end priced it wrong based on the part number and didn't bother to look at the picture or part diagram. They won't honor the price and I was also told that I need to take some responsibility for the error because I should know it wouldn't be that cheap.

I have order 3 times over the years and has never been a good experience. 3 strikes.

Paul

[brads911sc]

Have you ever been to a real automotive junkyard? Picked parts? Tried to get a straight answer on price? They usually make this stuff up as they go...

Not making any excuses for DC Automotive... They should honor the web price if they publish one, but they are far better than most I have dealt with. Nothing like Coggs... Just sayin. Really cant expect this type of vendor to be like Pelican Parts. Its not how that industry works. If I were running their business I wouldnt have any prices on my website at all. You submit a request with a part number for a quote or call. Its nice they actually have the Porsche Catelog with parts numbers.

[DaddyGlenn]

Originally Posted by Paul Thomas

{snip}... I have order 3 times over the years and has never been a good experience. 3 strikes.

Paul

Yet you continue to purchase from them and complain when you have another bad experience?

[myamoto1]

There are mis-prints on prices all the time in just about any retail industry. Many print corrections/retractions on the mis-print. In this economy fewer and fewer stores honor their mistake and I don't usually have a problem with that. For some reason society (in general) has come to accept that it's OK to take advantage of others mistakes. I see this all the time on another forum that post deals on tools. An item worth hundreds gets inadvertently gets listed for a few dollars. A bunch of people jump on the "deal," knowing the price was a mistake and then complain when their order gets cancelled. I'm not sure that's the case here, but a 997 exhaust tip for $45 sounds too good to be true.

All that being said, I've ordered several things from DC and have had a positive experience each time. They even tossed in a few of the bolts I needed for free. Not a huge "added value" but the gesture was greatly appreciated and has made me a repeat customer. My suggestion is to check other places for the going rate on an exhaust tip. If DC is way off on their price (may want to confirm new vs used - they sell both) don't order for them. If $200 is better than the market price, thank them for knocking off the extra $50 and enjoy your new exhaust tip.

[brads911sc]

Well stated...

Originally Posted by myamoto1

There are mis-prints on prices all the time in just about any retail industry. Many print corrections/retractions on the mis-print. In this economy fewer and fewer stores honor their mistake and I don't usually have a problem with that. For some reason society (in general) has come to accept that it's OK to take advantage of others mistakes. I see this all the time on another forum that post deals on tools. An item worth hundreds gets inadvertently gets listed for a few dollars. A bunch of people jump on the "deal," knowing the price was a mistake and then complain when their order gets cancelled. I'm not sure that's the case here, but a 997 exhaust tip for $45 sounds too good to be true.

All that being said, I've ordered several things from DC and have had a positive experience each time. They even tossed in a few of the bolts I needed for free. Not a huge "added value" but the gesture was greatly appreciated and has made me a repeat customer. My suggestion is to check other places for the going rate on an exhaust tip. If DC is way off on their price (may want to confirm new vs used - they sell both) don't order for them. If $200 is better than the market price, thank them for knocking off the extra $50 and enjoy your new exhaust tip.

[Jerome74911S]

The thing that annoys me about DC is the minimum order of $75, although they state, "No part is too small." Right, as long as you order a bunch of them.

[Paul Thomas]

You're right Glenn, but the other times i wasn't looking at a picture of the item.

I didn't know what the going rate on a 997 tip was either, until i bid on one on ebay and got it for $30. After that $45 sounded like maeket value.

Bottom line is that i ordered something that has been priced at $45 for while, got no apology for their mistake, and was treated like i was trying to get over on them. I think if you make a mistake, you eat it, make a customer happy and move on.

Paul

[flatsixjunky]

"I think if you make a mistake, you eat it, make a customer happy and move on. " from Paul Thomas

Aaah, the good old day's.

[gamin]

I've done a lot of business with dC in the last few years. dC is a resource. I am very happy that they are there. Less than an hour drive for me so I just drop in. Fuss about price sometimes but I only have to check retail to bring me back to reality. Those of us living east of the Mississippi should be happy that they are here. And Mr. Thomas, you live not that far away in the middle of the state. It's a day trip for you to dC. Take a day off and visit. You will be surprised.

[kanadary]

i have only ordered from them once, it was some rear shoulder belts from a 964, i was going to use them on my carrera. the guy quoted me $100 on the website and later said, he meant $100 for each side. i said, well you said $100 for the two sets, they honored it. not sure if it was because that was the going rate and then some.

[Paul Thomas]

Everyone will have differing opinions on everything and everyone. Happy customers tell 3-5 people of their experience, so far it looks like ive told 513 that i had a bad one. DC has millions of dollars in parts, including a wrecked CGT, fixing this would've gotten them this sale plus future ones. The response i should have gotten was, "man, we messed than one up but its yours", not "i'm sure you noticed that the price was wrong".

[allaircooled]

I really don't think it was your responsibility to know what the current market price was for your part. Of course it is a good idea to research before you buy, but say if you needed it in a hurry. Not your job to "notice that the price is wrong." My opinion.

[83-911SC cab]

I too will never deal with DC again...I was looking for a factory turbo tail about 5 years ago...I called and they said they had a couple, which I confirmed with them had "No cracks in the Screen area"...they stated nope no cracks...
I wasted the whole day driving down only to find out the stuff they had were cracked worse than mine..then they showed me a whole shelf of Cruise servos with cables that were cut and broken that they were trying to sell me as "operational"..
It cost me a tank of gas and a day of my time to learn that lesson..of course it could have been the salesman that "mislead me" and that person may not be there anymore...but neither am I as a possible customer. too bad because they are a little over 3 hours away and it is a huge warehouse of parts..3

lie to me once, shame on you.....lie to me twice, shame on me...you only get one..

[drmatera]

So if you were selling your house and mistakenly left out a zero on the price you would go ahead and honor that price to the guy that found it?

[mtech325ic]

Originally Posted by drmatera

So if you were selling your house and mistakenly left out a zero on the price you would go ahead and honor that price to the guy that found it?

LOL. Thats funny.
All kidding aside, trying to compare selling your home vs. a retail outlet selling auto parts is not even close. Paul has a valid point, but, Caveat emptor.

[porschenut]

As long as Jeff wasn't rude, I don't believe he did anything wrong here. In fact, his offer to knock $50 off the price is nice. I've bought things from them a couple of times, and both experiences were positive.

[drmatera]

there is no difference.. everybody makes mistakes. Not sure where this "entitlement" idea comes from in this country.