Anyone deal with F-body motorsports?

[98-LS1]

I've read some bad things about them on the third gen forum and had a little run in with them this morning over ordering some polyurethane transmission and torque arm mounts for my 98. I'm needing these parts by Friday so I can install my new upper control arms, replace all the bushings and throw the eibach springs under it. I went ahead and ordered them but decided to look around to see if someone had them in stock so I wouldn't have to wait, well, Spohn thank goodness, had them in stock so I went ahead and placed an order. I call f-body motorsports back to cancel and she cocks an attitude, sorry but damn, I need this shit now, not two to three weeks from now. Where has customer service went? Spohn has always been good to me on parts and shipments so my business will stay with them.

[third_shift|studios]

they are hit and miss with me. That place has a lot of potential, but last i heard they are without a "used parts" crew and the place is hectic. If they got their shit together, they'd be leathel.

I'm with you, service isn't what it should be anymore. It's degraded to the point of "if you want it done right, shoot them."

[91Z28]

Stat away from thirdgenresource/fbodymotorsports/whatever they are changing their name to

[TMF]

I bought all my suspension components from BMR and Spohn, no problem there. I bought my subframes from AMS, asked them over the phone, if they were in stock and they said yes...........three weeks later, I'm still waiting, last time for them.

[98-LS1]

They used to be the place to buy third gen parts but now it seems like all they care about is 4th gens, being there's more money involved with the newer models, but like today I was ordering for my 98 yet they didn't seem to want to help me any. She had twenty excuses why they couldn't get it shipped to me by Friday, hell, if I pay for next day shipping then shouldn't I get it next day? Oh, well. They can keep their parts and I'll shop elsewhere.

[98-LS1]

Yeah, Spohn has always been good about getting their parts out, also the quality of his parts is extremely well. Most of the time I buy from Summit racing if they stock it, they have about the best prices and very fast shipping.

[Bigrus]

You did not give them any credit card info did you? Might want to call if you did and make sure they do not approve the order because they will charge you and then make it a huge headache to get any refund back.

[98-LS1]

I was afraid of that, hopefully they cancelled it correctly. That girl I talked to hung up the phone after I told her I wanted to cancell my order. I'll check my bank statement to make sure though

[Bigrus]

I was afraid of that, hopefully they cancelled it correctly. That girl I talked to hung up the phone after I told her I wanted to cancell my order. I'll check my bank statement to make sure though

I would not wait i would call the bank and tell them you cancelled the order and to deny the claim. They have been known to make it a huge hassle to get any kind of refund from them.

[jad628]

Well, it's here in Charlotte and I walk into the place, not just order by phone/computer. They have always been extremely nice to me and have had every part I have needed, IN STOCK, or available in a day or two. I can see how sometimes ordering from far away can be irritating, but if I read the first post right, you did ORDER a part from them, then buy it from someone else and ask F-Body Motorsports to cancel the order YOU made. I wasn't part of your conversation, but I have to feel like F-Body provided a service to you in exchange for an agreed amount, then you decided to back out of the deal. What is it that THEY did wrong? Didn't you know the part would take some time to get there when you placed the order? I agree that customer service, in general, isn't what it used to be, but when you don't want to honor a previous commitment, are you still a customer?

I know that the business has changed owners. I happen to know the new owner, but when I first walked into the store, no one working there knew that tidbit. My very first purchase was a new GM headliner (complete) that was in stock and priced less than anybody else was offering it for. I also bought an SLP lid, and without even having to ask, the young guy helping me actually installed it for me, cleaned out my MAF/screen and TB, and saw that I need a hood rest/stop that was missing. He went back in the store, got one, cmae back out an put it on the car...no charge. He also pointed out the free mods to do. I got a couple of little things too, but all told it was about $400 or so. I was impressed by how many used parts they had available in the warehouse.

I say this because I felt like I was treated very well. I'm sorry you don't seem to have had the same opinion, but with all due respect, if you did indeed cancel an order that would take some time to deliver (because you changed your mind and bought it somewhere else so you could have it immediately), I don't equate that with bad service. I don't mean any offense, but if that is the case, you sort of brought that on yourself. Please understand I'm not trying to be insultive, it's just the way I see it.

I sincerely hope you can have future GOOD dealings with the business.

Take care,

John

[98-LS1]

I understand what your saying completely, it's just been a number of things since I started dealing with them. Parts take forever to get shipped, they ship the wrong parts, etc.. Yes I did cancel after ordering but I told them, let's see if one of their employee's gets on here and says something, but I told them I needed the parts by this weekend. I was told they didn't have them in stock but would have them by Wednesday and would get them out to me. Out of curiosity I called Spohn to see if he had the parts I needed, which he did, so I ordered them and called f-body motorsports back to cancel. The girl I talked to cocked an attitude, I could tell by her voice, I apologized for doing that but told her I need these parts soon because this is my daily driver. Sorry but it's my money and if I need something tomorrow, then damnit I'm going to get it tomorrow. If I could go in person to purchase parts from them that would be a different story but believe me, they are slower than christmas on shipping.

[jad628]

I understand what your saying completely, it's just been a number of things since I started dealing with them. Parts take forever to get shipped, they ship the wrong parts, etc.. Yes I did cancel after ordering but I told them, let's see if one of their employee's gets on here and says something, but I told them I needed the parts by this weekend. I was told they didn't have them in stock but would have them by Wednesday and would get them out to me. Out of curiosity I called Spohn to see if he had the parts I needed, which he did, so I ordered them and called f-body motorsports back to cancel. The girl I talked to cocked an attitude, I could tell by her voice, I apologized for doing that but told her I need these parts soon because this is my daily driver. Sorry but it's my money and if I need something tomorrow, then damnit I'm going to get it tomorrow. If I could go in person to purchase parts from them that would be a different story but believe me, they are slower than christmas on shipping.

Cool beans dude. I will thank my lucky fortune that I have them as a local, walk-in, resource.

I know what you are saying about shipping. I've had problems with other places, so my sympathies.

Take care and good luck with your F-body.

John

[Blown25thT/A]

I have never cared for them from the frist time I walked into the place. I used to work right up the street from them, so I wlked in there one day to check about getting my car dyno'd and tuned, they acted kinda of snotty towards me. Since then I decided to quit dealing with them. My brother got a good deal from them on a tranny job, and thats its. He had some other problems with his car so he let them work on it. They started nickel and dimeing himon things. They would tell him one thing was wrong "fix it" then say that something else was wrong.

Those are my personal experiances with them. I have heard some people have nothing but good things to say about them. Maybe its who you know there.

[98-LS1]

Cool beans dude. I will thank my lucky fortune that I have them as a local, walk-in, resource.

I know what you are saying about shipping. I've had problems with other places, so my sympathies.

Take care and good luck with your F-body.

John

Thanks and the same with you. I'm trying my best to get my two camaro projects completed, as soon as I get my LT1 - T56 third gen done I'm going to swap the transmission in my 98 out for a M6. I definately have the work cut out for me but it'll be worth it in the end. Have a good one

[Bigrus]

I say this because I felt like I was treated very well. I'm sorry you don't seem to have had the same opinion, but with all due respect, if you did indeed cancel an order that would take some time to deliver (because you changed your mind and bought it somewhere else so you could have it immediately), I don't equate that with bad service. I don't mean any offense, but if that is the case, you sort of brought that on yourself. Please understand I'm not trying to be insultive, it's just the way I see it.

I sincerely hope you can have future GOOD dealings with the business.

Take care,

John

So him stopping an order they did not have yet, or even sent off is wrong of him and he deserves the shitty treatment?

It seems you are the only one sticking up for them and maybe its because you know the owner like you said, or you just deal with how they treat you. If he needed a rush on a part and found one that can have it to him sooner why not buy it? It is called freedom of choice and the business knows this so they should try to compete with other companies.

Regardless of how you think it should work or that your friend is a owner the way to have a customer come back is be polite and say "AWW im very sorry sir we could not get it delivered to you on time but i am glad you got the part you needed even if it was not with us" then you recommend he comes back again and you will be sure to help him in any way.

Not hanging up the phone and acting snotty. Just my .02

[jad628]

So him stopping an order they did not have yet, or even sent off is wrong of him and he deserves the shitty treatment?

It seems you are the only one sticking up for them and maybe its because you know the owner like you said, or you just deal with how they treat you. If he needed a rush on a part and found one that can have it to him sooner why not buy it? It is called freedom of choice and the business knows this so they should try to compete with other companies.

Regardless of how you think it should work or that your friend is a owner the way to have a customer come back is be polite and say "AWW im very sorry sir we could not get it delivered to you on time but i am glad you got the part you needed even if it was not with us" then you recommend he comes back again and you will be sure to help him in any way.

Not hanging up the phone and acting snotty. Just my .02

Hey, you have every right to view it anyway you want. The post was titled "anyone deal with F-Body Motorsports" so I'm replying. I'm the only one "sticking up" for them you said. Well, I find myself doing that a lot for many different reasons. What I said was true and based on my experience(s) with them. At the same time, I realize others could have had bad experiences with the same business. I'm just stating my opinion based on the way I see it. Take it or leave it, that's up to you.

Let me ask this though: How many businesses have you dealt where you never, not even once, had less than a perfect experience? Maybe I'm just lucky at F-Body, but I PM'd 98-LS1 with something that I didn't feel was appropriate here. Just suffice it to say I realize nobody's perfect.

Actually I've never met the elder owner of the business. I do regularly see the younger one though. We have some common activities and interests. I guess that places him and I as friends.

I am certainly no businessman, but let me ask you this:

If someone orders a part from a retailer, do they not require payment? If the part must be ordered from a distributorship, doesn't the retailer incur the cost of the part from the warehouse? Don't they have accounts that require funds be transferred to satisfy the account balance? Wouldn't retailers be risking the loss of their account by repeatedly failing to uphold their part of the agreement?

What I'm saying is that retailers don't magically have material items appear at no cost to them. Yes, they get the part for a lower price and then add an amount to it so they can sell it for a profit, but they first have a price they pay themselves. It sure seems like we forget that they are trying to stay in business, and keeping their suppliers happy is a big part of that. That statement may be a tad over-simplified, but most accounts have to be satisifed monthly, at least. Businesses go under when they don't keep up with their expenses. To me it seems like the general public thinks businesses don't have to work within a budget like we do on a personal level. I won't argue that some are money-hungry and out to squeeze every penny they can out of people, but most smaller operations cannot survive long if they adopt that philosophy. Ordering parts then having to cancel the same orders costs them money since no profit was made, and what if a restocking fee attaches? Who's gonna end up with that? Putting it in perspective, Wal-Mart will not go under because you return stuff, but smaller specialty type stores cannot continuously absorb shipping/stocking costs for ordered items without making sales.

I'm not disagreeing with you or 98-LS1. I had no part of the transaction or subsequent phone calls, and I do agree being "snotty" isn't going to bring you many repeat customers. As a matter of fact, I have been in a similar position a time or two myself. What I did was absorb the cost and keep both items. I figured it was my lack of patience that caused the duplicate order, so I ate the bill. That's just me though, I'm not saying that's how it has to be handled. I try to be polite and understanding, but if I get treated badly for long enough, I would prove that I have teeth as well. I'm with you there brother.

I will end by saying that I can sure understand why someone wouldn't want to do repeat business with anyone who caused them to lose faith in the integrity of the business. But in my case, I do not feel F-Body Motorsports deserves such branding. I am still happy to have them as a local - walk-in - resource. BTW, go to their website. They have an apology on the home page to customers because of a recent problem. Seems like they do care enough to do that, and it's worth considering.

Best regards,

John

[Tobynine9]

I had bad luck getting some parts from them. They charged my CC before they shipped and kept saying they'd be getting their stuff in "next week" or "sometime soon". After they finally shipped one of three ordered parts, I had to get them to reverse the charge for all 3 and charge me for just one. They tried to stiff me on shipping saying it should be around $15 for the one part I did receive when it was labeled as like, $7.00 for shipping on the box.