TTait
05-15-2012, 02:41 AM
The following review should be considered "fair". Yes - I am annoyed but I'm taking great care to be forthright and fair in my reporting here.
I had a CV joint start clicking a few months back, when I put the car up on stands and took a look the boots were beyond tired, ripping. They looked pretty good last fall, but time ravaged them pretty quickly in the meantime. I looked around and was pleased to see that Hervey had a pretty good deal, so I ordered a set.
http://specialtauto.com/delorean-parts/suspension.html
They looked fine when they came in, and I went about installing them. On the first unit one of the end caps did not line up well and I had to persuade it gently for a while to get them close enough for the bolts to go through.
I got the first one hung, with 11 bolts in place, but number 12 was a problem. The stainless clamp was installed blocking the last bolt hole - which kind of sucked a little. I took some photos and sent them it to John...
1040610407
We chatted on the phone about it and he warned me that I could damage the boot or loosen the clamp if I tried to spin it, instead he suggested that I should just cut it off and use a cable tie. My other option was to find someone to fix them locally to my satisfaction, and at my expense. Sending me a clamp and a pair of pliers to return with the cores was not an option. (Actually, John said today that he had suggested exactly that when I first called, so decide for yourself).
I then thought to check the other axle he sent, and yep, it too had a clamp installed blocking a bolt hole on one end... At this point I thought about the guy who did the rebuilding... Seems to me this is a mistake that you maybe make the first time you rebuild axles. I decided (like a high maintenance moron apparently) that the guy who did the rebuild may not have really known what he was doing.
I have some bad history here - ask me some time about the really crappy rebuilt steering racks probably done by the same guy, but I digress.
At this point I wasn't really sure if the CV joints had been properly serviced, or even if the tech had been sober when he rebuilt the units, so I sent John a message that I was going to return them.
At this point Josh posted that he had units available too. His cost a little more, but he specifically states what is done in his rebuild, and in my experience he tries to go above and beyond - so I ordered his units.
Full disclosure here - I travel a lot with work, and I did not return the axles to John right away. I left town and didn't send them back for 3 weeks. He did have the money, and an extra $400 for the cores in the mean time, and did not even respond to my message about returning them until he was annoyed that they were not back yet... When he asked me to get them out I did ship them within a few days, but he was not happy at all by that point. (" If you don't know or don't remember that I'm a one person operation" - something like that) I did my best there, but it wasn't timely until he asked.
In the meantime, Josh's units came in. Here is one of Josh's (bottom) side by side with a Hervey one (top)...
10405
Josh had a good deal on new hardware as well. I got the new mounting bolts and tabs etc. Josh had dry fit them in advance of shipping so there were no problems with the end caps not lining up, or clamps improperly installed. They are powder coated instead of painted, and they use a synthetic grease.
https://www.deloreanindustries.com/shop/refurbished-axle-set.html
I've installed Josh's axles. They went right in, no problems. After a few days I double checked the mounting bolts to make sure everything was still tight. All looks good, and I even have steel clamps on the boots instead of cable ties (which I've read are fine - but not what I was paying for).
Josh's service has been top notch - he shipped immediately (gasp) and the parts actually worked when they arrived.
It was particularly annoying to have to pay shipping to allow John to send me crap, and then again to send it back. That was about $70 down the drain.
After this experience, coupled with two even worse rounds of steering rack BS (paid for 3 rounds of shipping here to eventually get a second piece of crap rack from John), being told I was lazy and dumb for complaining, I decided I was never again going to spend money with John on anything that wasn't built in a factory. Anything remanufactured, or custom built (read - crappy slave cyl. bleeders) was off the table. I have met John however and I think he's an ok guy. We have 8 years of history and I figured after a month of cooling off I'd place another order to test the waters - or at least to remind him I was still out here and maybe he'd like to send back my $650 odd bucks he was happily sitting on.
After 5 days of waiting to see if he would contact me and ship, I sent a polite and simple inquiry as to if he had noticed the order... After several exchanges where I have really tried to take the high road, it appears I'm on a black list. I sent him a paypal invoice for my refund - I suggested I wouldn't complain about the shipping fees for sending me defective stuff if he wanted to consider dropping the optional 20% restocking fee. He did send most of my money back, but since he did nothing wrong and I severely wasted his time, he thought it best to keep a restocking fee. Since he does mention a restock fee in his policy, and he does not spell out who pays for what when he ships you crap and you have to return it, we'll just have to live with that. He also mentioned that he gave me explicit instructions on how to rotate the clamps using WD40, and that I was unwilling or unable to follow that simple request.
So, I'm officially on a black list I guess, and posting here about the unhappy parts of my experiences with John will only solidify that. It means nothing really because if I ever feel I must get something from him in the future, I can order through any number of friends. Perhaps that's why D1 cross checked VINs on all orders - they were much more efficient with their black list.
So (whining aside) - bottom line on axles - Josh does have a notably better product than even a theorhetical top quality Hervey rebuild on the axles. Are they worth the added cost - yes. Does he communicate well and ship quickly? - Same day. Is the customer service better? Oh my, yes! Will I ever have anything nice to say again about John? Sure. John is John and you learn that by about transaction #2. Most of his stuff is cheap, and some of it is also good. I'd still recommend his fuel pump pickup over stock - (if Houston didn't just build something better). I don't mean to trash the guy, but I'm tired of biting my tongue for fear of pissing him off. That is done, and so am I.
<end drama>
Anyone have any questions I can answer about refurbished axle sets?
Tom
I had a CV joint start clicking a few months back, when I put the car up on stands and took a look the boots were beyond tired, ripping. They looked pretty good last fall, but time ravaged them pretty quickly in the meantime. I looked around and was pleased to see that Hervey had a pretty good deal, so I ordered a set.
http://specialtauto.com/delorean-parts/suspension.html
They looked fine when they came in, and I went about installing them. On the first unit one of the end caps did not line up well and I had to persuade it gently for a while to get them close enough for the bolts to go through.
I got the first one hung, with 11 bolts in place, but number 12 was a problem. The stainless clamp was installed blocking the last bolt hole - which kind of sucked a little. I took some photos and sent them it to John...
1040610407
We chatted on the phone about it and he warned me that I could damage the boot or loosen the clamp if I tried to spin it, instead he suggested that I should just cut it off and use a cable tie. My other option was to find someone to fix them locally to my satisfaction, and at my expense. Sending me a clamp and a pair of pliers to return with the cores was not an option. (Actually, John said today that he had suggested exactly that when I first called, so decide for yourself).
I then thought to check the other axle he sent, and yep, it too had a clamp installed blocking a bolt hole on one end... At this point I thought about the guy who did the rebuilding... Seems to me this is a mistake that you maybe make the first time you rebuild axles. I decided (like a high maintenance moron apparently) that the guy who did the rebuild may not have really known what he was doing.
I have some bad history here - ask me some time about the really crappy rebuilt steering racks probably done by the same guy, but I digress.
At this point I wasn't really sure if the CV joints had been properly serviced, or even if the tech had been sober when he rebuilt the units, so I sent John a message that I was going to return them.
At this point Josh posted that he had units available too. His cost a little more, but he specifically states what is done in his rebuild, and in my experience he tries to go above and beyond - so I ordered his units.
Full disclosure here - I travel a lot with work, and I did not return the axles to John right away. I left town and didn't send them back for 3 weeks. He did have the money, and an extra $400 for the cores in the mean time, and did not even respond to my message about returning them until he was annoyed that they were not back yet... When he asked me to get them out I did ship them within a few days, but he was not happy at all by that point. (" If you don't know or don't remember that I'm a one person operation" - something like that) I did my best there, but it wasn't timely until he asked.
In the meantime, Josh's units came in. Here is one of Josh's (bottom) side by side with a Hervey one (top)...
10405
Josh had a good deal on new hardware as well. I got the new mounting bolts and tabs etc. Josh had dry fit them in advance of shipping so there were no problems with the end caps not lining up, or clamps improperly installed. They are powder coated instead of painted, and they use a synthetic grease.
https://www.deloreanindustries.com/shop/refurbished-axle-set.html
I've installed Josh's axles. They went right in, no problems. After a few days I double checked the mounting bolts to make sure everything was still tight. All looks good, and I even have steel clamps on the boots instead of cable ties (which I've read are fine - but not what I was paying for).
Josh's service has been top notch - he shipped immediately (gasp) and the parts actually worked when they arrived.
It was particularly annoying to have to pay shipping to allow John to send me crap, and then again to send it back. That was about $70 down the drain.
After this experience, coupled with two even worse rounds of steering rack BS (paid for 3 rounds of shipping here to eventually get a second piece of crap rack from John), being told I was lazy and dumb for complaining, I decided I was never again going to spend money with John on anything that wasn't built in a factory. Anything remanufactured, or custom built (read - crappy slave cyl. bleeders) was off the table. I have met John however and I think he's an ok guy. We have 8 years of history and I figured after a month of cooling off I'd place another order to test the waters - or at least to remind him I was still out here and maybe he'd like to send back my $650 odd bucks he was happily sitting on.
After 5 days of waiting to see if he would contact me and ship, I sent a polite and simple inquiry as to if he had noticed the order... After several exchanges where I have really tried to take the high road, it appears I'm on a black list. I sent him a paypal invoice for my refund - I suggested I wouldn't complain about the shipping fees for sending me defective stuff if he wanted to consider dropping the optional 20% restocking fee. He did send most of my money back, but since he did nothing wrong and I severely wasted his time, he thought it best to keep a restocking fee. Since he does mention a restock fee in his policy, and he does not spell out who pays for what when he ships you crap and you have to return it, we'll just have to live with that. He also mentioned that he gave me explicit instructions on how to rotate the clamps using WD40, and that I was unwilling or unable to follow that simple request.
So, I'm officially on a black list I guess, and posting here about the unhappy parts of my experiences with John will only solidify that. It means nothing really because if I ever feel I must get something from him in the future, I can order through any number of friends. Perhaps that's why D1 cross checked VINs on all orders - they were much more efficient with their black list.
So (whining aside) - bottom line on axles - Josh does have a notably better product than even a theorhetical top quality Hervey rebuild on the axles. Are they worth the added cost - yes. Does he communicate well and ship quickly? - Same day. Is the customer service better? Oh my, yes! Will I ever have anything nice to say again about John? Sure. John is John and you learn that by about transaction #2. Most of his stuff is cheap, and some of it is also good. I'd still recommend his fuel pump pickup over stock - (if Houston didn't just build something better). I don't mean to trash the guy, but I'm tired of biting my tongue for fear of pissing him off. That is done, and so am I.
<end drama>
Anyone have any questions I can answer about refurbished axle sets?
Tom