please help me get the word out on poor suppliers
 

This is a mail that I'm going to try to get out to every car list I can
find....

I know it always seems like one person can't make a difference, and I'm
hoping this e-mail will *somehow* make it's way around to a key person
*somewhere* to make some impact...

I have been working on a turbo charged Porsche 914 project for the past half
a year, and have sent out many orders for many parts, one item in
particular, was silicone connectors and reducers for the turbo plumbing.
After shopping around online, I settled with Baker Precision in Long Beach,
CA. After placing my order, I promptly received a confirmation, followed 2
days later saying that there would be a delay because the factory's moving.
that was fine with me because the project wasn't at that stage yet, and I
could wait. a month later, I'm closer to the point of needing the parts,
I'm told that "it'll be here anyday".. I waited.. It's now been a full 2
months, with Baker telling me "anyday now" for most of the 2nd month. Now
I'm at a CRITICAL stage of the project that I can't proceed without the
part. I called Baker up earlier this week, and found out, "we've got all
the parts except for the 90 degree elbow".. "fine, just send me *all* the
other parts you've got in stock right now, send them today so I can get them
before the weekend". "I'll get right on it".. this is with the
understanding that I live in Huntington Beach, and Baker's only about a 25
minute drive away, UPS, or ANY other shipper would be able to get it to me
in one day, assuming baker shipped it out in the morning of the day prior
like they promised.

it is now Friday night, I'm home after a long day at work, I'm tired, but
I'm excited, and ready to get working on the car, because I've got a lot of
work planned for the car this weekend. THE PACKAGE IS NOT THERE...

to try to make this shorter, I'll just say that I'm VERY disappointed at the
entire transaction Baker Precision has conducted.. they have lied to me, and
caused my project to be delayed by no less than another full week (most of
the work has to be done on the weekend). I hope this e-mail will warn away
any would-be buyers from Baker's..

thanks for spending the time to read this, and please pass this on to any
other car list you might be on.

Jeff Shyu - turbo 914 project, now on hold.

Have you tried NAPA. Look for an older counterman/woman and ask to look at the comertial truck radiator hose catalog for any low (220 degrees and below) temp hoses. I have a 90 3" elbow as an intake on my Lighting. They also sell high temp silicone exhaust hose, but we only stocked the small stuff for air injection and EGR hoses. See if they have a deisel turbo supplier, that may have what you need.

BTW tried Otto's twice. Both times I had to call them (weeks later) to find out my parts were, the first time, NLA. and the second time they said the price had gone from $210 to $370 ("plus I have to ad $40 to that to cover my cost. But then you should have known that they cost more.") excuuuuuuse me. I'm suposed to know the their 6 month old catalog is out of date??? Oh, I'm sure they still list 1.7L BB kits for $165 NLA and 2.0L MPS for $220, but YOU should know that they cost $410...

We've been watching John's (Otto) site for quite a while, seeing the $220 price tag for the Pressure sensor, wondering if we should buy a 100 of them http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/smile.gif

Needless to say, in defensive of Baker, the part that you are looking for is not a common part, and probably has to be special ordered. I hate it when people assume that a bolt used to attach a widget on a 1969 911S with extra trim is sitting on my shelf waiting for that one person in six years to call.

Now, Baker should have let you know that this was hard to get, or that it didn't come in, or that it might be hard to get when you placed the order. We try to do this in every possible case.

-Wayne

Wayne - I agree with your point in general, but in Jeff's instance he has been waiting for over 2 months now and has been fed numerous missed delivery date promises by this person/vendor.

Even if a part has to be fabricated or shipped by slow boat from the old country, the supplier should not overpromise on something they cannot deliver.

Unfortunately, during my recent projects I too experienced a number of blown delivery dates. Seems to be a common occurrence in the automotive parts/service world.

Just my .02.

Chris C.

Try http://www.vwturbo.com . Talk to George. Tell him Jim Osborn sent you. They have all sorts of Silicon hoses in stock. Good luck.

------------------
2000 Jetta GLS 1.8T 5speed Silver/ Black chip(AMS), exhaust (TT/Borla), abt filter
1973 Porsche 914 HO2.0L Black/Black
"Some people have shrinks, some have garages"

[This message has been edited by Jim Osborn (edited 03-04-2001).]

thanks for the support guys..

like i said.. i was willing to wait for the parts.. until now, and i told them to forget the part they don't have, and just get me the parts that they *said* they did. Wayne, you know, as a supplier, that if you got the call weds. morning for an order, there's no doubt you can get the part to me by friday afternoon (huntington beach).. Baker has no excuse (i don't think).. i'm just pissed because they promised me something, and i counted on that promise, they didn't deliver (literally)..

-Jeff

If the guy is only 25 miles away why dont you go over to his shop and talk to him? Thats what I did. BTW DO NOT BUY ANY THING from Bill and STEVE'S in LAKEWOOD CALIF. THEY ARE TOTAL RIP OFFS. Steve