John, SpecialT, and his "business practices"

[Nuclearbacon]

Hello to DMCTalk! I'd like to share my recent experience with SpecialTauto. I ordered three things, a clutch bleeder, stainless sleeved slave cylinder and a down tube for my master. I placed the order online on Saturday August 10th, hoping it would come by Friday August 16th for the Back to the Future night that Friday. I placed my order with Paypal on his site.

On the morning of Friday, August 16th, I get an email from Sandra at SpecialT saying she needed my Paypal money. There is no place to put your paypal info on his site. I had a busy week at work and it kinda slipped my mind, then I receive the email the DAY I was hoping to have the unit in my hand. It obviously wasn't in my hand. No problem. I sent the money that minute, and wrote him an email to accompany the order, hoping I'd get some kind of conformation for my $146 I was sending into the apparent ether. In my email I wrote:

"Payment sent. I just called, but got a message machine. Is there a faster way to order? I placed my order last weekend, and was hoping I might have been able to install my slave cylinder this weekend, in time for my DeLorean show... but... guess not? This is also my first order with you guys.
Help!
thanks!
Luigi Oppido"

John wrote me back pretty quick:

"Luigi, I get 25 to 30 callas per day for all kinds of reasons and I try to call everyone back. Sometimes you may have to call more than once. If you don’t leave a message then I don’t call back. Also if you need something in a hurry then it’s best to put the order in computer and then leave me a message.
I’m a one man company and I do get behind.
Also, If you would use a credit card it would have already gone out by now.
Pay pal slows order processing down .
John"

And I had left a message. But never got a call back. No Problem John. I run a successful company with only one other employee. I completely understand the dynamics and wrote him back:

"Hello John!
I've heard great things from DMCTalk about you and your shop! I had no idea it was just you! I apologize if i came off snappy or short. I'll place my orders with my credit card in the future (its easier in my shop as well). Being a small business owner myself, I completely understand the phone situation, and the one man show, especially when you're in such demand! :)
Thank you again John! Hope you have a great weekend!
Luigi Oppido"

The week goes on, and I've received all my parts from DMCCA, waiting on my slave cylinder, bleeder and downtube from SpecialT so my dad (who's travelling 150 miles to come help me install it this weekend) can give me a hand.

And here we are on Friday, before the weekend my dad is coming down, and I've heard nothing. So I make my next mistake... and call John.

John answers the phone directly. He's not in the office he says, but he's answered his 1-800 number I used to call. I identify myself in a chipper voice and ask for a tracking number for my order. He tells me to hold on a second, not like "OK let me place you on hold" But a "now just hold on a second, how do you know I even have it in stock?.." then he goes OFF on me.

"You know, you did what other people do all the time, they 'drop and run' " as he called it. I kinda stopped in my tracks, not knowing how to answer his question of "if its in stock or not" I answered: "well sir, it's been about two weeks and I haven't heard anything from you besides for me to call. So here I am calling. Are you saying you don't have them in stock?" he responded: "I don't know I'm not in the shop, why don't you email me" "But I've emailed and you told me to call" This is where he got really upset.

"It says you need to call me and check on stock before you expect your part to show up. How do you know if I have it in stock.???" (he was getting pretty pissed at this point) "I tell everyone that orders that's the process. I'M NOT A MILLIONAIRE I DON'T HAVE EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME!!!"

I then explained about my fathers trip and how I've got to cancel it because he was't upfront with me when we've been talking. He gave me the same run around about him not being a millionaire and was incredibly rude.

This is my first order with him.

I cancelled my Paypal payment. Cancelled my order with him. and now I need a stainless slave cylinder, and his clutch bleeder, but I refuse to order from him. His business practices are......

Am I alone?

[ccurzio]

You're not alone. Hervey is awful with his customers almost universally. Every so often an order of his slips through with no issues, but more often than not people complain because he screwed something up.

And then he always falls back on his really old and tired excuse of:



I’m a one man company and I do get behind.


Hire some help or get out of the business, John. Either way, stop treating people like shit.

(This post represents my opinion and mine alone and does not represent the views of DMCTalk staff or management. But lots of other people will tell you he sucks too.)

[nullset]

If the "one man show" argument doesn't work, he'll tell you that no one else has had that problem out of the millions of cars his parts have been put on.

If you bought a sticker from DMC, he'll blame his part failures on the fact that you didn't buy HIS stickers.

I've removed everything from my car with his sticker on it, except for my bad shocks, and that's because I am saving up for a replacement set, and they will not come from him.

--buddy

[Silverbullet]

Ok... I read the whole thing... and am confused... You said you placed the order on the 10th with Pay Pal on his site... But it did not dawn on you that you never paid for it, as there is no place to put info?

Also there are different Pay Pal payments fyi, IF you have your account only tied a bank account, it takes like 6 days to verify, and if you ALSO have a credit card tied to it, it is right away... Not sure which you have.

I like you, expect that when people put stuff for sale on a web site, that they HAVE it to sell. If not it should say "Out of Stock", but to be fair, this does not always happen...

When I first got my Delorean, I needed a fuel pump Combo, and ordered from DMC in TX and paid for next day shipping, they took the order online... I waited, no pump... I called, and was told it would be a month untill they had it... and did I still want Next Day Shipping... They did not call to tell me it was not in stock... So I called DMC Mid-West, and they had in stock, and sent out Next Day Air to me... So, it happens, and maybe he had a bad day, and he is not well organized... maybe he is over worked... I know there have been a lot of issues in the past... But if I need a part, I don't wait a week, I have learned to ask "IF" it is in stock, and when it will ship, and get a tracking #.

Some people do not understand the value of a customer and future business.

It is sad it went down as it did...

Craig

[Josh]

My question is, where did you hear good things about Hervey on here? lol

[Chris4099]

I'll step up! LOL

Over the last 10 years of ownership (my God it's been a long time), I've placed dozens of orders from him. Last one was a year ago (haven't had a need to order anything else since then). Several of these items have included cores and pretty much never had any ordering issues with him. Here are the only issues I can think of:

-Rebuilt front hubs, one unit had blasting media work it's way into the bearings which I noticed before installation. Shipped it back with some other cores and he shipped a replacement out right away.
-New fuel pump arrived with a manufacturing defect. Shipped it back and he shipped a replacement right away.
-That replacement fuel pump developed a bad hum after about 6 months, he shipped a replacement and no problems since (I would have to check my records at home but that happened about 6 years ago).
-D110 alternator had a voltage regulator start to fail after 4.5 years (was purchased back when he offered a 5 year warranty on them). Shipped him the bad unit and he shipped me a whole new one and it has been working great since. I suspect the failure was due to a bad engine ground which I later fixed.

If I ever need a part urgently, I always call the vendor. Any vendor! Although I typically use Toby since he can ship out that day if I call early enough and he's close so the shipping is cheap.

All vendors have their pros and cons. I do however agree John needs to get a second employee. It's nice he can keep costs down a bit but some of his delays are hurting his business.

Reminds me of the time DMCH had their web site hacked and customer CC numbers stolen. So they shutdown their website for a few weeks to be fixed. This resulted in John getting overloaded with orders. I happened to be talking to him about an order and he said he was happy with the increased business but rather not have earned it that way. If he's not too busy, he could talk your ears off if he wanted to.

[ccurzio]

It's not just the delays that hurt John. It's his bad attitude, condescending tone, and self-assigned entitlement stature which plague none of the other vendors in our community.

Any of the staff at any of the DMC franchises as well as Josh at DPI are all very nice and totally happy, super professional, and grateful for your business. Hervey has an overall "you're lucky I'm around" kind of air to the way he conducts himself, talks down to you, and ships whatever he feels like shipping whenever he feels like shipping it. And if you dare call him out on it and he's backed into a corner, he'll get mad at you and explain via phone-rant about how he's only one person.

I started another thread recently asking about the long-term viability of parts vendors in niche markets, and I suspect the absolute only reason John has thrived for as long as he has is because there are few to no alternatives for some of the things he offers. If someone - anyone - could step up and offer all of his same parts at the same quality and add the unthinkable notion of decent customer service, he'd either be put out of business super quickly, or he'd scramble like a madman to whip his operation into shape. (As arrogant as he is, I can't see anything but the former.)

I really hate to speak negatively about a vendor because our community needs all the help it can get, but so many people have been burned by this guy (myself included) that everyone deserves to know both sides of the issue here. Does he fulfill some orders with no problems? Sure. Does that happen with enough regularity to be recognized as a decent operation with which to do business? Absolutely not.

[Bitsyncmaster]

I have not ordered from John in many years but I mostly got the things I've ordered. Was just wondering, how old is John? Wondering if he getting some age related memory problem. I've talked with him at DCS shows and seems to be a normal guy.

He does have some items that can not be found elsewhere. His easy lift door struts are one and the clutch bleed line is another.

[nullset]

I have not ordered from John in many years but I mostly got the things I've ordered. Was just wondering, how old is John? Wondering if he getting some age related memory problem. I've talked with him at DCS shows and seems to be a normal guy.

He does have some items that can not be found elsewhere. His easy lift door struts are one and the clutch bleed line is another.

I've got those struts on my car. They're 2-3 years old and have failed.......

How long do door struts normally last?

--buddy

[Rich]

I've got those struts on my car. They're 2-3 years old and have failed.......

How long do door struts normally last?

I've had the car a long time. Have had sets that last as long as 5 years, some as little as 2-3 years. Have never tracked them as to reliability.

Door struts are certainly considered to be a wear item on the car. A bit worse than a typical 12V battery, for example.

Keep in mind that the vendors don't always have the exact same lift struts they might have had when you last bought from them. They buy batches from one or more vendors themselves, so associating a vendor's name to a strut can be misleading, at least historically. On top of that there is probably batch-to-batch and even strut-to-strut variation in quality/durability even from one mfgr.

[Rich]

Sorry to hear when a D parts/services vendor lets anybody down.

I've used most of the various vendors from time to time, including SpecialT.

I've dealt with John H on and off over the years. Maybe 3 or 4 orders with multiple parts per order over the past 5yrs.

Didn't have any problems with any of those orders I can recall. The parts got here when I expected and they all worked fine. During one of those episodes John also spent time with me on the phone explaining some details about the parts installation, which I appreciated.

I'm certainly not defending the behavior Luigi reports he got; nobody would like that treatment. I can say that John's done better than that in the past.

Sorry to hear when a D parts/services vendor lets anybody down.

[Starglider]

I've ordered quite a lot of stuff from John with no problems. It does takes a long time to arrive (even considering that I'm in the UK) and you do have to stay patient and keep calling until it ships. In return you get lower prices. So John seems to be a good supplier for long-term restorations but probably not if you have a deadline.

[Screamin Yellow D]

I have never had an issue with John... always prompt service and quick turn around. As a matter of fact... every DeLorean vendor has served me well!!!... Ok, except DeLorean One... but lets not go there.

[refugeefromcalif]

I made my first online purchase from SpecialT on Aug. 4.
Seeing that PayPal was an option I went to checkout on the order. (His battery ground wires).

I found out SpecialT Doesn't accept PayPal payments online. I had to wait for an email, (Saying that he expects payment before he'll ship my parts), and the email I received Didn't tell me the PayPal account I could pay to.?
I called on Aug. 6 and was fortunate to get John on the phone. I went through the details of my order and asked about how/who to pay by PayPal.
His comment to me was that he didn't like how PayPal paid so, He wanted me to pay by credit card over the phone. (Fastest way for shipping he said).

I did that. He assured me that my order would ship the next day. (Aug. 7).
It's now the Aug. 23 and I haven't heard from John or, seen the cables I ordered?
Granted the day I called and paid him, he said he had 17 orders to process and he was a One Man business and working out of his home.? :rolleyes: :gunfire:

While I was on the phone with him he did manage to state, (Many times), that he'd been in business over X years and knew all there was to know about DeLoreans and had the best replacement/upgrade parts for them.
He then reminded me that he wasn't an Official DeLorean vender and then proceeded to Slam the DMC venders on their business practices and Integrity.?

This is my first order from Special T and while it isn't completed yet, It's my Last...

George

[Soundkillr]

I've made my last purchase with John. Unfortunately, I had issue after issue, and just re engineered his parts to work. The final straw was with his 3 core radiator with (x) years warranty. It leaked after 200 miles and being on my car for 8 months. He tried to pull the "user installation error", then when I shot that down, it was "I've sold hundreds of these, and this is the first problem I've ever heard of..." And I've heard that before, and shot it down. Headed it all off with, "look you have a warranty what can I do to get you to honor it?" He then informed me that the warranty was simply to repair the item but he had never had to do it. Told me to pull the radiator and take it to a shop and ask for a quote. He would never confirm that he would pay for any repair. At that point I informed him, if I pull the radiator out its never going back in. The radiator BARELY fit in the car with factory shroud. I asked him directly about a factory shroud (before i bought it) and he said it would fit no issue. When I called him out about it he said, it's not designed for a factory shroud, "shoulda bought my shroud and fans blah blah blah"
Another issue was being re billed for the same purchases months later (on two separate occasions) once for 450 dollars and the second time for 180. Calling him and my credit card company became annoying.
Most of his parts need work to fit. Even his condenser ends are so short, it's impossible to tighten the lines because it fits so tight against the radiator. Had enough of parts that seem to be off the shelf auto parts that have a nut welded on them to ease installation. Now I buy my stuff that is engineered for the car, isn't just a generic part, and will be warrantied by such a vendor who honors their word.

[NightFlyer]

I've got those struts on my car. They're 2-3 years old and have failed.......

How long do door struts normally last?

--buddy

I'm still using the OEM/stock door struts that came with my car when it left Dunmurry.

And no, I haven't made any torsion bar adjustments.

[Citizen]

I've got those struts on my car. They're 2-3 years old and have failed.......

How long do door struts normally last?

--buddy

Mine are going on 8 years now (that's right, eight), and are from DMCH. No problems with them at all. Granted, they get little use.

Thomas

...

[BTTF-1]

I have ordered thousands of Dollars in parts from John. On many of occasions the parts came slowly. Geez I have a D what's the rush I did not pay Fed Ex over night charges.

Generally what I do is purchase a bunch of parts at a time put them in a box in the garage, when the large box gets full take it to my mechanic and have them put on.

I am totally restoring my D.

One time I was having a problem with the D. This was a year ago. I ordered about 500 in parts. HJohn called me on the phone and asked what the problem was. I told him, he gave me some tests to run and would not sell me the parts. He did not want me purchasing any parts I did not need. Hey how many vendors would do that.

I really like John. It's really great he has so much to offer.

I have 5 cars. The parts for the D are cheaper than those for any of my cars.

Soon my D will all be new. "Joking".

Seems to me that if you are in such a rush you might want to make sure you communicate that you need the parts fast and pay the extra Fed Ex charges to ship over night.

Hell I spent at least 750 dollars shipping core charge parts back to John.

I wouldn't even get into the conversion price of making the BTTF props to my spec's and original parts for my car. I could have purchased at least two maybe three of the cars VB has on e-bay.

Just my two cents.

John Rocks however quite slowly.

ED:chairshot::smackbum::smackbum::driving1::drivin g1::chairshot:

[Cory W]

One time I was having a problem with the D. This was a year ago. I ordered about 500 in parts. HJohn called me on the phone and asked what the problem was. I told him, he gave me some tests to run and would not sell me the parts. He did not want me purchasing any parts I did not need. Hey how many vendors would do that.

Dave and Julee; Toby and Misty. I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones I have experience with. The differnce is in the way they approach it. I have had situations where they probed a little bit as to why I wanted a certain part, and suggested that I did not need it. They'll sell it if I am aware of the situation, but want it anyways...

If I just want to upgrade a part, or create a benchmark point for maintenance, and I am told I "will not" be sold a part, that is really not a service to me. I can appreciate going over different testing procedures, but "I will not sell you these parts" is likely to create an equal and opposite reaction in some people: "*I* will decide how to spend my money; I will get my parts elsewhere"


Seems to me that if you are in such a rush you might want to make sure you communicate that you need the parts fast and pay the extra Fed Ex charges to ship over night.

I did that my one and only order with him. He was the only person who had what I was looking for (AC barrier hoses, but I added some braided fuel lines). I mentioned the importance of speedy shipping more than once. I gave him my FedEx account number. I still waited three weeks for them in the mail. The excuse was "to save you money" Besides it not being what was VERY explicitly stated and requested, up here summer is measured in weeks. His unsolicited decision, against my specific request, kept my car off the road for an unacceptable amount of TIME. That was unforgivable.

To be fair, he was nice, never gave me attitude, and he was chatty when we did talk on the phone. Had he been brash or standoffish, that would have ended the transaction right then and there. He just cannot deliver what I want or need within a reasonable amount of time for me.

I believe most of it is that he spreads himself too thin. Do the Porsche and Mercedes customers get the same reception as us? I agree with him needing somebody to help out. The "one man show" routine is old, and is too limiting for the potential customer base he tries to reach.

[BTTF-1]

Geez

I think John is just getting old. It's a shame your first order flopped. However I trust him. How many business's can you say that about. John's company has a lot to offer the Delorean World. I would really hate to see him gone.

Then the prices would surely go up.
I have dealt with many of the D vendors. I could tell you stories I just wouldn't put here.

You should order a BTTF product from one of the BTTF Vendors. I have waited as long as a year and a half. I have an order I paid for 1 year and 4 months ago.

Shoot me!
ED:smackbum::driving1::driving1::smackbum:

[thirdmanj]

However I trust him. How many business's can you say that about.

Again; Dave and Julie, Toby and Misty, Josh Bengston. Sh-t, I've even gotten one on one tech support from Houston, Florida, and Washington. I've also never had to wait longer than two weeks for an order from ANY of the above mentioned businesses. John's got some good stuff for sure, but the way he runs his show turns people away. NOBODY should have to wait like Corey did, or you have been doing. That said, I've only ordered a few things from John and they came relatively quickly, and I feel his soft-lift door struts are noticeably better than Houston's.

[andy blackmon]

Several times over the years I have heard people with bad comments about SpecialT and John. I have ordered many parts from John over the years and several time he has helped me with a tech problem. I hate that John is building a bad reputation with this group because as I said never in several years never have I ever had an issue of any kind with him--maybe I have just been lucky.

[dmc6960]

I am one who ordered lots of stuff from him in the early and mid 2000's. During that time he was relatively new. Many of his own engineered parts I was very skeptical of and always steered clear of. Even then people were reporting bad reputations with him. I didn't understand how that could be as I've always had great service from him. I even gave him some leads on parts he later started selling.

Then 2006 rolled around and I wanted to completely rebuild my AC. When only half the order arrived, it was all downhill from there. I haven't ordered anything from him since. And never will again.

[jorge figueroa]

this is what I wrote in this forum 1-14-2013

at first when I got my delorean 9 years ago
buy john hervey parts without any problem
I've helped other friends of mine who have other delorean in restoration.
The problems started when I criticize only one product that sells john hervey

criticism was not to hurt their business but to encourage him to improve his product as it was built with low quality materials
since then I am the number one enemy of John Hervey in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico has over 25 DeLoreans in different conditions, some work some do not and others in full restoration.
I am well known in Puerto Rico as I have restored several DeLoreans and their owners are very happy with my work
Some owners have tried to buy the products only to receive threats
john hervey said that if you hear that your car is restored by me
never again sell parts to Puerto Rico
nobody threatens me or my people of Puerto Rico
for my part will never see a penny again
his obsession is such that told us by phone that uses Google Earth to see where all DeLoreans are located in Puerto Rico and if they are close to where I live
*
in Puerto Rico is said that a person with that attitude is not right in the head


john hervey last thing he said to one of my friends
was that in Puerto Rico there are no DeLoreans
and never will sell parts to Puerto Rico

as this current economy and close the Puerto Rico market
with over 25 DeLoreans visually counted (possibly more)
is only a matter of time before specialtauto is out of business
like other sellers of the past

[jackb]

I've ordered a few things from SpecialT, never has it gone as I hoped.
He'll say over the phone it will ship tomorrow... Two weeks later call back and guess when it will ship? That's right, tomorrow. Nothing but a condesending attitude from the man. He shouldn't even bother telling people he's a one man operation anymore, because he's said it so many times the whole world already knows by now, no doubt.
I won't order anything from him in the future more complex than a copper fuel washer, or anything I need sooner than a month and a half a dozen phone calls/emails asking about it while being ignored.

[TTait]

I bought a number of good parts from John over the years, typically about 2 weeks to get an order. I have spent many thousands of dollars there for parts for my 2 cars which both arrived DOA and probably totaled in the eyes of anyone with any good sense...

I have also gotten a few bad parts::
2 Bad otterstat
lug nuts paid for but never sent
fuel pump failed after 4 months
soft lift struts failed after 5 months and 9 months respectively
replated fuel system hollow bolts - 2 snapped on install after being overcooked when plating - the rest were thrown out
clutch bleeder burst after 2 months
second clutch bleeder leaked badly from day 1 and was discarded
heater core poorly packed and arrived damaged
replacement split AC hoses cut to wrong length
radiator #1 leaked immediately after install
radiator #2 started leaking after 10 months
standard door struts lasted 24 months
D140 alternator failed at 3 years
cooling tank sight tube installed - leaked
first steering rack - 15 degrees of play in steering wheel after install
second steering rack - 6 degrees of play but still so tight you feel it grinding
tie rod ends - so long that they had to be installed with no locking nut and welded to rack
8mm wires - 2 failed within 8 months
Front hub with bearing - bearing came apart during shipment
2 rebuilt axle assemblies - neither could be installed because boot clamps blocked bolt holes
Can of freeze 12 - all contents leaked out, apparently during shipping, because who would ship an empty can - right?

There may be more...

I should mention that I did buy the fuel baffle kit twice, it worked well both times, and actually came with some minimal installation instructions - but I believe that is the only time I ever got written installation instructions with a part from John.

Now, the other day as the new forum sections were coming on line, I had a little fun making a temporary post to them calling "first" (a popular internet meme for the first one to post on a comment or story). Those posts were appreciated briefly - but then they were deleted.

I'm going to try again - in a different matter. I hereby call "First!" on the above defects - I was assured by John each time that no one - ever - had any problems with any of these products. So, if by some really unlikely circumstance (ahem) any of you have any problem with any of these items, know that I was the guy that found the problem first. You're welcome?

Actually - that not entirely fair, one of those items does stand out where I was not entirely "First". When I called about the first defective steering rack John said that of all the steering racks he has ever shipped, only one was returned for being dangerously sloppy and unusable. He said that one was returned to him and "his guy" checked it out, and told him it was just fine. Now I did ask John what happened to that rack that turned out to be "just fine"? He said since there was no problem with it he cleaned it up a little and re-sold it again. It never occurred to him that he probably sold it to me. I hope he did at least - I'd like to think he sold it to me and not to some other poor bastard.

One other thing to keep in mind, friends: when you get a crap part - you often don't find out till after its installed and you have perhaps put your life on the line to test it for John. If you survive you then get to pull it off again, ship it back at your own expense, wait until a replacement arrives, and then install that one and hope it is better. It really adds to the joy of driving these cars to wonder if that replacement part is about to fail too..

I'm glad many of you have had good experiences with John - but it's worth mentioning that as much of a "problem customer" as I may have been for John, I have also made many purchases from Rob, Toby, Josh, Dave, Ed, and Byrne - and never had ANY problem with ANY purchase from any of them. I've had a couple returns with some of the other franchises and still gladly work with them, but these guys have consistently batted 1000. Consider carefully where you want to send your money.

Tom

[DrJeff]

If you're fine with the idea that you don't go to WalMart and expect Nordstroms services, then...

If you equate Specialt to WalMart, DMCH to Sears, DPI to Nordstroms, it all makes sense. You get what you pay for and the different vendors have identified the price/quality/service niche within which they can survive. If you want Delorean parts/service vendors to survive (which I think is generally the aim of Delorean owners) - then you should be supportive of the concept that having multiple diverse business models is a good idea. There are many types of Delorean owners and people like having options. I personally shop at WalMart and Sears because I like their prices and for the right items the quality/service differences are not an issue. I'm not a fan of places like Nordstroms because for me the prices are too high and the added services are not worth it - since I can do a lot myself and I don't give a sh*t about tags. If you want WalMart to provide the quality and services of Nordstroms, guess what... you'll be paying for it and probably a nice premium at that.

So this is where it gets down our (ie. Delorean owner's) behavior and not the vendors. It is up to us to be smart about what we buy from whom and keeping a rational perspective on quality and service. If you need or want the best quality and are in a time crunch - pick a vendor who can deliver on that. If you are looking for basic items, are less picky about quality (plenty of basic quality parts on the DeLorean have lasted 30 years), and don't want to spend a whole lot right now - pick a vendor who can provide that. The mistake isn't in the vendors' behavior or business model (business models are only bad if they don't make a profit and can't be sustained) but rather in un-balanced customer expectations of what they offer.

[Delorean Industries]

If you're fine with the idea that you don't go to WalMart and expect Nordstroms services, then...

If you equate Specialt to WalMart, DMCH to Sears, DPI to Nordstroms, it all makes sense. You get what you pay for and the different vendors have identified the price/quality/service niche within which they can survive. If you want Delorean parts/service vendors to survive (which I think is generally the aim of Delorean owners) - then you should be supportive of the concept that having multiple diverse business models is a good idea. There are many types of Delorean owners and people like having options. I personally shop at WalMart and Sears because I like their prices and for the right items the quality/service differences are not an issue. I'm not a fan of places like Nordstroms because for me the prices are too high and the added services are not worth it - since I can do a lot myself and I don't give a sh*t about tags. If you want WalMart to provide the quality and services of Nordstroms, guess what... you'll be paying for it and probably a nice premium at that.

So this is where it gets down our (ie. Delorean owner's) behavior and not the vendors. It is up to us to be smart about what we buy from whom and keeping a rational perspective on quality and service. If you need or want the best quality and are in a time crunch - pick a vendor who can deliver on that. If you are looking for basic items, are less picky about quality (plenty of basic quality parts on the DeLorean have lasted 30 years), and don't want to spend a whole lot right now - pick a vendor who can provide that. The mistake isn't in the vendors' behavior or business model (business models are only bad if they don't make a profit and can't be sustained) but rather in un-balanced customer expectations of what they offer.

But what do you do when the Nordstrom prices are the same as Sears but for a superior product?

[TTait]

I wasn't complaining about service, except when I mentioned the thing about instructions, and the shipping times. The fact that I have sent John more money over many years than I paid for both of my cars combined should illuminate that I understand the Walmart analogy.

As Josh pointed out, its not like the competitors are double the price. I would have saved money overall by shopping at "Nordstroms" is a more accurate point. A lot of what John sold me, may not you, was junk, or damaged. My savings from shopping at Johns were more than absorbed by added labor, shipping, and re-replacement of his parts... John cost me more - a lot more. Not just long term, even in the short term.

I'm simply offering up a list of the items I got from him that had serious problems. If anyone finds something there that they have had a problem with too, that could help them. I'm happy to elaborate if it helps.

I'm done with him, and that list is part of the reason why. Customer service and attitude are part of it too, but I chose to focus primarily on the quality of the parts, because that's cut and dry, and it can hurt you in ways more serious than some ruffled feathers.

[DrJeff]

But what do you do when the Nordstrom prices are the same as Sears but for a superior product?

Sounds like a good deal. Now if only I didn't have a bunch of parts bins in the garage full of good deals :)

[DrJeff]

...I'm done with him, and that list is part of the reason why. Customer service and attitude are part of it too, but I chose to focus primarily on the quality of the parts, because that's cut and dry, and it can hurt you in ways more serious than some ruffled feathers.

The reality is that some business models can get away with selling 'less than quality' items for a very long period of time, because customers value different things (Cousin Eddie : "...this here chair, it's a good quality item"), and depending on the market demand can actually make money at it. The downside of the low end business model is that you have to weather bad customer feedback. As such a business owner you would have to carefully find a balance between the prices that attract customers and the service/quality issues that drive them away. If you can't find that balance then you either go out of business or you change your business model. The issues raised in this thread may simply suggest that there are concerns about the price/quality/service balance at SpecialT.

As regards quality and "more than ruffled feathers", why do people still buy at Harbor Freight? When you shop there (assuming you have not just arrived from Mars) you have already taken into account the quality of the items, the service likely, the probability that it will malfunction after 1 use, the likelihood of damage or injury, and you've balanced that with the price you are paying. If you didn't like the trade off you wouldn't be there.

So here's my contribution to the Price/Quality/Service balance... I do wish Specialt would improve their website, it looks like it was put together by a high-school kid on Summer break.

[TTait]

I really liked that he had a section for new parts - I wish everyone would do that...

[Delorean Industries]

I really liked that he had a section for new parts - I wish everyone would do that...

Updated our site with a section on the main store page entitled "new products" I will throw a few of our recent additions into this category for now and maintain updates with new products.

[ssdelorean]

A couple of my Hervey experiences...

A few years ago I called Grady for a new brass radiator. He was out of stock and suggested that I call SpecialT since Hervey usually has a number of them in stock and that they come from the same supplier. About an hour after talking to Grady I had a break and called Hervey to place an order. On the phone with Hervey he stated that he was aware that I called Grady first (he and Grady talked prior to me calling Hervey) and that since I did that, he wanted Grady to get the sale and not him. Hervey said that he was just going to drop ship the radiator to me and I should call Grady back to pay for it. I was very impressed that he would not just take my money from this sale but wanted to honor my calling Grady first.

After experiencing this, and other interactions with Hervey, I am surprised to hear complaints about Hervey's integrity and business practices.

Now, at the same time I am aware of the quality of items and the timely service of the typical Hervey. Some items I am leery of and others are rock solid. Like the radiator mentioned above. Unlike another member here I had NO problems with my radiator leaking or fitting it when installing, or lining up to the stock shrouds.

On another occasion I ordered one of Hervey's stainless steel overflow bottles. I too had ordered over the phone and somehow it got lost and never shipped. A few follow up emails & calls later it finally arrived. And... it was the wrong one. I ordered the plain one and was sent the one with the level sight built into the side. I called Hervey to discuss and he sent the proper one with a return shipping label for the incorrect one.

----------

Two of the main problems I see is the fact that he is a one man band with a not so great organizational system and that we live in an instant gratification short attention span world.

If I need something now, or even in a few weeks - I don't call Hervey :-)

[kings1527]

I bought a number of good parts from John over the years, typically about 2 weeks to get an order. I have spent many thousands of dollars there for parts for my 2 cars which both arrived DOA and probably totaled in the eyes of anyone with any good sense...

I have also gotten a few bad parts::
2 Bad otterstat
lug nuts paid for but never sent
fuel pump failed after 4 months
soft lift struts failed after 5 months and 9 months respectively
replated fuel system hollow bolts - 2 snapped on install after being overcooked when plating - the rest were thrown out
clutch bleeder burst after 2 months
second clutch bleeder leaked badly from day 1 and was discarded
heater core poorly packed and arrived damaged
replacement split AC hoses cut to wrong length
radiator #1 leaked immediately after install
radiator #2 started leaking after 10 months
standard door struts lasted 24 months
D140 alternator failed at 3 years
cooling tank sight tube installed - leaked
first steering rack - 15 degrees of play in steering wheel after install
second steering rack - 6 degrees of play but still so tight you feel it grinding
tie rod ends - so long that they had to be installed with no locking nut and welded to rack
8mm wires - 2 failed within 8 months
Front hub with bearing - bearing came apart during shipment
2 rebuilt axle assemblies - neither could be installed because boot clamps blocked bolt holes
Can of freeze 12 - all contents leaked out, apparently during shipping, because who would ship an empty can - right?

There may be more...

I should mention that I did buy the fuel baffle kit twice, it worked well both times, and actually came with some minimal installation instructions - but I believe that is the only time I ever got written installation instructions with a part from John.

Now, the other day as the new forum sections were coming on line, I had a little fun making a temporary post to them calling "first" (a popular internet meme for the first one to post on a comment or story). Those posts were appreciated briefly - but then they were deleted.

I'm going to try again - in a different matter. I hereby call "First!" on the above defects - I was assured by John each time that no one - ever - had any problems with any of these products. So, if by some really unlikely circumstance (ahem) any of you have any problem with any of these items, know that I was the guy that found the problem first. You're welcome?

Actually - that not entirely fair, one of those items does stand out where I was not entirely "First". When I called about the first defective steering rack John said that of all the steering racks he has ever shipped, only one was returned for being dangerously sloppy and unusable. He said that one was returned to him and "his guy" checked it out, and told him it was just fine. Now I did ask John what happened to that rack that turned out to be "just fine"? He said since there was no problem with it he cleaned it up a little and re-sold it again. It never occurred to him that he probably sold it to me. I hope he did at least - I'd like to think he sold it to me and not to some other poor bastard.

One other thing to keep in mind, friends: when you get a crap part - you often don't find out till after its installed and you have perhaps put your life on the line to test it for John. If you survive you then get to pull it off again, ship it back at your own expense, wait until a replacement arrives, and then install that one and hope it is better. It really adds to the joy of driving these cars to wonder if that replacement part is about to fail too..

I'm glad many of you have had good experiences with John - but it's worth mentioning that as much of a "problem customer" as I may have been for John, I have also made many purchases from Rob, Toby, Josh, Dave, Ed, and Byrne - and never had ANY problem with ANY purchase from any of them. I've had a couple returns with some of the other franchises and still gladly work with them, but these guys have consistently batted 1000. Consider carefully where you want to send your money.

Tom

That story makes me want to throw up in a bag. I'd be so pissed if that were me. Probably the biggest item I've purchased from John over the past year was a water pump with a bolt-on pulley which I'm in the process of replacing with a DMC unit. This story is on another thread and his WP is probably ok on my car, but it's now getting to the point where the reputation of the part is becoming a factor for me, whether or not the part on my car is good or not. Parts are cheap, I think we can all agree. When we do the labor ourselves, it's even cheaper but the TIME factor and time away from driving and enjoying the car becomes pricey.

I'm getting real good at taking my manifold off and putting it back on and I don't know if I'm proud or embarrassed at that. But my list of Hervey items grows shorter and shorter. If the part is anything close to extensive labor in regards to installation, there's no way I'll put a Hervey part in it out of the liklihood/fear of doing it again. Copper crush gaskets? No problem. Double ground battery cable? Sure. Magnetic drain plug? Why not. Water pump, radiator, evaporator, etc. No way.

All that said, I was very happy with his split AC hoses and a few other things that I can't think of right away. And as far as customer service goes, he's been fine with me on the phone. But I've come to be very picky and choosey with him.

[zimvsdib]

Never had an issue myself and in fact he's been very helpful on the phone and super nice. The way the forum reads you would think there is a jekyll hyde thing happening, I don't think so.
I don't think this this guy an asshole. Now the crotchety old man at Delorean One, now that was an asshole.
I own 2 D's one being a BTTF car, i haven't had any issues with his parts. I use his smaller items, i haven't used his radiator or water pumps. Don't expect him to send things out the day you order them. He's slow so if you need your shit yesterday don't bother.
I can see how if i were him i could get easily annoyed with people in this community complaining about everything all the time. I'm just grateful he's there selling D stuff. I like having options. It's natural for me to talk to people without being insulting or demanding so i don't have problems. Be nice and he will take care of you even if you have an issue. That's been my experience thus far.

[djdogbone]

I have to tell you my first experience with John was not as smooth as I'd like but my subsequent purchases were like butter. In fact, I called him on Monday and he called me back and gave me a lot of advice. Yes, he did speak of other vendors but you gotta take some of that with a grain of salt; he is who he is. The parts I've gotten from him so far have been spot on and I'll continue to buy from him until I have a reason not to.

I can say the same for DMCH. New AC system installed by a great mechanic locally... I can only hope that I continue to have my run of good luck with suppliers and vendors.

My DMC is my daily driver and has over 70k on the odometer. Everyday I walk into my garage, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world..."I own a DeLorean!"

[kings1527]

So I finally got my car back together and in the process, took out Hervey's bolt-on water pump and installed a DMC water pump.

With Hervey's pump, my normal operating temperature was consistently about 170-175 degrees; about a full needleswidth above the first hash mark on the temp gauge. I never really thought much about it and figured I had some minor issue going on that really wasn't worth looking into.

With the DMC water pump, I'm now sitting right at the first hash mark at 160 degrees (normal operating temp per the manual is 160-220). There definitely seems to be a difference in capacity between the two.

I'm glad I made the change!:thumbup:

[Farrar]

With Hervey's pump, my normal operating temperature was consistently about 170-175 degrees... With the DMC water pump, I'm now sitting right at the first hash mark at 160 degrees

Fascinating! Is it the same thermostat?

[Ron]

The manual calls for the thermostat to open at 85°-89°C (185°-192°F). Sounds like you need one...too cold is not good either.

[Bitsyncmaster]

The manual calls for the thermostat to open at 85°-89°C (185°-192°F). Sounds like you need one...too cold is not good either.

+1

If your thermostat is broken or opens to cold, your oil will get milky because it can't burn off moisture.

[kings1527]

Fascinating! Is it the same thermostat?

Good question, Ferrar. I had a Hervey thermostat in there along with his pump and I never had any issues with bad operation of that. My fans would always come on at around spec. But I did buy a DMC thermostat on this go around since they're cheap.


The manual calls for the thermostat to open at 85°-89°C (185°-192°F). Sounds like you need one...too cold is not good either.

It seems everything is running within spec, Ron. It was a fairly cool morning (maybe 62-65) and I did most of my driving on the freeway at 65 mph or so. With my old setup, I would've been at about 170 degrees on this morning's drive but under the same driving conditions with the new setup, I'm at 160. The manual says 160-220 is normal. As I was bleeding air out of my system when I got everything going again, my fans would come on at just under 200 degrees according to the gauge.

[refugeefromcalif]

I ordered Special T's grounding wires on 8/4/13 via his website with PayPal. I paid on 8/6 having had to Call him for payment.
Not having heard, or seen, anything by 9/4 I called Special T about my order. John H. told me it must have fallen through the cracks and told me that he'd Bill me Today and ship the ground wires.

I received them on 9/9. (Finally)...

I received an email from John (And he tried calling my house), on 9/17 asking if I still wanted to buy the ground wires.?.?

Anybody else received something from John that he'd Forgotten he sent?
I haven't received my latest Snail Mail bank statement, (or bothered to check the latest one online), to find out if I ever got charged for the ground wires early this month?.

George

[Tillsy]

I ordered Special T's grounding wires on 8/4/13 via his website with PayPal. I paid on 8/6 having had to Call him for payment.
Not having heard, or seen, anything by 9/4 I called Special T about my order. John H. told me it must have fallen through the cracks and told me that he'd Bill me Today and ship the ground wires.

I received them on 9/9. (Finally)...

I received an email from John (And he tried calling my house), on 9/17 asking if I still wanted to buy the ground wires.?.?

Anybody else received something from John that he'd Forgotten he sent?

I've been having a conversation with him since 26th June. Every 2-3 weeks I follow him up and he has totally and utterly forgotten what we had discussed.

Last follow up was 20th September and yes, he had once again totally forgotten what we had discussed. Given how many months it has been, he assured if I reminded him of all the items in the order he would ship it the next day. I should point out that the entire e-mail discussion is in reply of reply of reply of reply of reply to the original order, so that subject name still has the order number and the bottom e-mail still has the order details. Copied & pasted the items from the bottom e-mail into the top e-mail anyway. That was four days ago, haven't heard anything back.

He is difficult to deal with at the best of times, but memory is never an issue - he's always on the ball with what you're discussing he's just always overcommitted as a one-man band. So I too have been wondering if something is wrong.

[rdarlington]

On day 31 of waiting for my core charges back for a clutch master/slave after my cores were signed for. No response in email either. I love the parts but I don't want to spend an hour on the phone if I call, or worse, I don't want to get yelled at.

[rdarlington]

On day 31 of waiting for my core charges back for a clutch master/slave after my cores were signed for. No response in email either. I love the parts but I don't want to spend an hour on the phone if I call, or worse, I don't want to get yelled at.

And sure enough, shortly after posting this he replied. Jumped the gun on complaining. Refund is on the way and I'm back to being a happy SpecialTAuto customer.

-Bob

[kbrown84]

Talked to Hervey last week about grabbing some coolant lines and vacuum lines...gave him my CC over the phone and let him know I needed them by the end of the week. Still hasn't charged my card, and my car still can't move because I haven't got the parts. Look like I'll call and cancel and just buy rubber hoses from DMCM, since I got their order the next day.

[Michael]

And sure enough, shortly after posting this he replied. Jumped the gun on complaining. Refund is on the way and I'm back to being a happy SpecialTAuto customer.

-Bob

So you paid, waited, waited, complained here which resulted in not getting the parts you ordered, but just a refund. So now you are exactly where you were one month ago with no parts and this makes you a happy Special T customer??

[rdarlington]

So you paid, waited, waited, complained here which resulted in not getting the parts you ordered, but just a refund. So now you are exactly where you were one month ago with no parts and this makes you a happy Special T customer??

I got my parts, but only after I called. I told John I was hoping to have them in by such and such a date and he got them to me by that date so I could work on getting the clutch hydraulics swapped that weekend. I then sat on the cores for a few weeks and mailed them in. Two weeks after they were delivered back to him I sent the first email. Two weeks after that I send the second email. I then whined about it here. 2 hours after that and I got a response saying I would have the core charge refunded to my credit card by Tuesday and sure enough he followed through. He's a good guy. I'd buy from him again, but only if I don't need it real fast. :-)

-Bob

[jcrubin]

I don't get involved in Drama.....

I will point out however, that I have been buying parts from John for 10 years now on two separate continents. Aside from minor issues here and there I have no complaints about the guy or his company. I don't know him personally, but I've met a lot of owners personally. Ive found many situations where people have had issues with misdiagnosis and bought the wrong part or installed it improperly go into panic mode and blamed it on the vendor.

Yes, His website is a bit strange, but I've grown to enjoy browsing through it.

John has supplied ample information about the parts he sells, and has cleared things up for me over the phone on a few occasions. I have not found his tone to be belittling, personally.

The volume of questions I receive over the years from people I don't even know, makes me wonder if people might be overstepping with him. Buying an idle speed unit does not constitute having him troubleshoot a customers idle problems over the phone.

I imagine DMC has the resources to personally spend more time on the phone addressing issues and maybe engaging in troubleshooting. John is a parts guy

[rdarlington]

Okay, I'm 100% done with SpecialTAuto after this latest order gets unfucked.

After roughly 2 weeks (okay, maybe 12 days) I email in asking for the status of my order. It had been almost 2 weeks and never heard a peep and my credit card wasn't charged. I told him that I didn't care if the order took a month, but to please just let me know he got the order and asked for a timeline.

So a day goes by and I get a UPS shipping email and tracking number.

Box comes in today. I ordered front lowering springs, tie rod end boot kit (boots, grease), and a 60" strip of trim for the top edge of the hood/trunk.

What shows up is a set of springs, ball joint boot kit, and no sign of the trim strip. So might any of you have dimensions for the Hervey front lowering springs? At this point there's a good chance these aren't even for a DeLorean, let alone the front end.

Incidentally I put an order in with DMCH for new floor mats (amazing, by the way, I recommend spending the $150. Just go do it). and a few other odds and ends. Everything I ordered was in the box. Clear communication. An email saying the parts were going out, another with the tracking number from UPS, etc. Basically, exactly what you expect from every other online store out there.

Yeah, I'm done. Never again.

-Bob

[rdarlington]

Well, the guy replied to my last email that's for sure. Basically he suggested I just return everything. Deal. Springs and ball joint boots are going back. I should've just gone to DMCH but figured I'd give him another try. Never again.

[Michael]

Well, the guy replied to my last email that's for sure. Basically he suggested I just return everything. Deal. Springs and ball joint boots are going back. I should've just gone to DMCH but figured I'd give him another try. Never again.

You will never get the total "Special" service until you get cussed out over the phone.

[ccurzio]

I remember hearing a while back that John was complaining that DMCTalk is ruining business for him. I love how he doesn't understand that he's destroying his own business. I'm no paid shill for the DMC franchises, but they - as well as DPI - are just SOOO much better to do business with.

John may have customers that enjoy buying from him and have "never had a problem", but the fact that so many people are having so many of the same issues over and over with this guy means that there's a definite smack of massive unprofessionalism and complete lack of consistency on his part. It's just not worth it.

[rdarlington]

We bounced a couple emails back and forth and I was brutally honest about what I expected out of a vendor. Communication -clear and accurate. I suggested that if he doesn't want people to email him, don't publish an email address. Don't want calls? Don't publish a number. Then mentioned how my buddy Jason called him. John was busy and said to use email. Jason said he called because he just got an email from him saying to call! Well, Jason got yelled at for mentioning this. I communicated to John that this sort of thing drives customers away and doesn't gain them.

I tried to be as professional as I could.

In the end, he suggested I just send everything back, so I am going to do exactly that. I'll be spending $400 on a set of Eibach springs now when I only need the front two. I'll probably end up throwing out the two rear springs. I told him directly that customers want a good product at a decent price with no hassle, and it's the hassle that lost him my business. It's not about money. He provides a real service if he could just stop being chronically disorganized (and I told him this too).

Hopefully he'll learn from this. He's not a bad guy, he's just a bad businessman.

-Bob

[Chris4099]

So might any of you have dimensions for the Hervey front lowering springs? At this point there's a good chance these aren't even for a DeLorean, let alone the front end.

Were the springs really short? If so, this is normal. The replacement springs are stiffer and compress less. So even though they may be say 6 inches shorter then uninstalled stock springs, they will not lower the car 6 inches. If you want a nice low profile, I have a set of used DeLorean UK front springs with only a few hundred miles on them. They were too low for my tastes, so I installed the EU springs instead. If interested, PM me and I can sell them to you for about $20 plus shipping.

[DMCH James]

Were the springs really short? If so, this is normal. The replacement springs are stiffer and compress less. So even though they may be say 6 inches shorter then uninstalled stock springs, they will not lower the car 6 inches. If you want a nice low profile, I have a set of used DeLorean UK front springs with only a few hundred miles on them. They were too low for my tastes, so I installed the EU springs instead. If interested, PM me and I can sell them to you for about $20 plus shipping.

I don't know how old your DeLorean UK springs are, but they had a bad run of them a while back where they were all sagging and many had to be replaced:

http://www.deloreanclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3568#p47314

Perhaps that's why they were too low?

[DCUK Martin]

The springs I sold via an offer on DMCTalk were not sourced from Chris P / DOC and were made for me by Lesjofors who supply Ford in Europe (among many others). I had two "generations" and refunded a couple of sets, the first got a small number of complaints for being too high (same as DMC EU) and the second, where I tried to correct this by taking half an inch of the uncompressed height, got complaints for being too low. I suspect Chris' were from the second gen batch. I tested a set returned for being too low on another car where the ride height was perfect. I can only put it down to variable underbody weight but have never confirmed this. I have had no complaints of springs breaking as happened to some of the DOC springs.

I got out of the spring game due to a combination of price-hikes which made them unviable to ship out to the US in individual pairs.

[Chris4099]

Sorry for taking this thread off-course. I just wanted to point out to Bob that his springs from John may in fact be good even though they appear to be really different. Here is a pic of a stock spring next to an aftermarket so he can compare:

24351

As for my UK springs, they were simply lower then I preferred. I've seen plenty of other Ds with lower ride heights, so it's not as if they were defective or anything like that. Martin worked with me at the time and the issue was resolved to my full satisfaction.

[rdarlington]

It's okay. I was really looking for a measurement since my factory springs are still in the car. I already sent the springs back earlier today. I'll be emailing John to let him know they went out and provide him with a tracking number. See? Communication is pretty easy. I really hope he learns before he runs out of customers. I'm going to contact PJ Grady on Monday about a set of front springs. Josh at DPI recommended them.

-Bob

[cdrusn]

Look, if you don't like the way John does business go somewhere else. I have had both good and bad with him and with DMC (I won't say which one). I have orders misplaced, defective parts, bad communications, slow shipment, etc. from both John and DMC. If I don't like either of them I will have to sell my DeLorean because they are the only ones with some of the parts. John has parts/work arounds that no one else has. I bought a fuel sending unit from him that worked perfectly and DMC didn't sell as they have a combination sending unit/fuel pump that they push. John's seat covers appear to be more like the originals unlike the DMC ones that have the worst wrinkles I have ever seen. When you call John remember you are part of the problem if you decide to test his ability to talk without taking a breath. He's from Texas and loves to talk but for every minute you are wasting his time on the phone, someone else suffers because he doesn't have the time management skills to place all the orders quickly and efficiently. My recommendation is to make your own decisions regarding who gets your business but personally I prefer to have all my options available to me and take the poor service with a smile. :thumbup2:

[OverlandMan]

Look, if you don't like the way John does business go somewhere else. I have had both good and bad with him and with DMC (I won't say which one). I have orders misplaced, defective parts, bad communications, slow shipment, etc. from both John and DMC. If I don't like either of them I will have to sell my DeLorean because they are the only ones with some of the parts. John has parts/work arounds that no one else has. I bought a fuel sending unit from him that worked perfectly and DMC didn't sell as they have a combination sending unit/fuel pump that they push. John's seat covers appear to be more like the originals unlike the DMC ones that have the worst wrinkles I have ever seen. When you call John remember you are part of the problem if you decide to test his ability to talk without taking a breath. He's from Texas and loves to talk but for every minute you are wasting his time on the phone, someone else suffers because he doesn't have the time management skills to place all the orders quickly and efficiently. My recommendation is to make your own decisions regarding who gets your business but personally I prefer to have all my options available to me and take the poor service with a smile. :thumbup2:

Meh... I think the fact that there's a thread on here dedicated to his crappy customer service is enough to throw up a red flag. My hope is that future/new owners read this and avoid the "experience" altogether. Had I known about this shortly after I bought my car, I would have avoided at least one nasty phone call.

I've never found a need to order something specifically from John or be humbled by his "knowledge". There are plenty of vendors out there who are more than pleasurable to do business with. I think this theme has been reiterated several times.

[Soundkillr]

Meh... I think the fact that there's a thread on here dedicated to his crappy customer service is enough to throw up a red flag. My hope is that future/new owners read this and avoid the "experience" altogether. Had I known about this shortly after I bought my car, I would have avoided at least one nasty phone call.

I've never found a need to order something specifically from John or be humbled by his "knowledge". There are plenty of vendors out there who are more than pleasurable to do business with. I think this theme has been reiterated several times.

Yea, this. As a side note, you do realize that the original seat covers when new had wrinkles correct? Johns covers look like drawn out stretched tight leather, that looks like you slip it on over the old cover. Doesn't look good at all...,

[louielouie2000]

Yea, this. As a side note, you do realize that the original seat covers when new had wrinkles correct? Johns covers look like drawn out stretched tight leather, that looks like you slip it on over the old cover. Doesn't look good at all...,

DMC-Texas not only correctly replicated the original pleated/ruched look, they also tackled the pebble texture DeLorean leather has, too. DMC-Texas repro seatcovers aren't perfect, but they're by far the best repro option out there. SpecialT's look like repurposed old school bus naugahyde in comparison.

[D Knight]

I've bought from Houston, MW, and John once. Notice I said once. MW is my vendor of choice. Their service is top notch and they really make you feel like you've made the right choice. People buy from people. Johns days are numbered which is unfortunate for him. I'm in the parts business. I can see where some of his stuff actually comes from. I'd rather get stuff that is guaranteed to work. Dave once told me he won't bring anything to market unless he tries it on his personal car first.


-D Knight-

[Domi]

Johns days are numbered which is unfortunate for him.

What do you mean, is he ill?

[refugeefromcalif]

What do you mean, is he ill?

I think it means that John is Killing his own business.

(That, or there's a Hit out on him)... :eek:

George

[ccurzio]

I think it means that John is Killing his own business.

This. His attitude and his disingenuous statements about some of his products are going to do him in. Sooner rather than later.

[Flicky]

So, for people that actually have received their order, how did you pay? I used the ole' pay-pal and I think that is the death blow to your order. Over a week now, no follow up; I called and no answer, left message...no call back.

[Michael]

So, for people that actually have received their order, how did you pay? I used the ole' pay-pal and I think that is the death blow to your order. Over a week now, no follow up; I called and no answer, left message...no call back.

No more whining about Special T allowed. You have been warned over and over and on top of that warned some more.

What exactly were you people expecting? It's like everyone you know tells you not to eat at a certain restaurant because they got food poisoning, but you want to roll the dice then come back and complain about it.

[Flicky]

No more whining about Special T allowed. You have been warned over and over and on top of that warned some more.

What exactly were you people expecting? It's like everyone you know tells you not to eat at a certain restaurant because they got food poisoning, but you want to roll the dice then come back and complain about it.


eh, who's whining? Just trying to figure out how the guys that don't agree that it is a waste of time are getting ANY service from SpclT. Nice thing about him not responding is that he never got my money. I'm a bit new to D part ordering, I'll take the abundance of advice given here. Just a pity given that he has one of the better sites for finding parts.

[DeLorean03]

No more whining about Special T allowed. You have been warned over and over and on top of that warned some more.

What exactly were you people expecting? It's like everyone you know tells you not to eat at a certain restaurant because they got food poisoning, but you want to roll the dice then come back and complain about it.

It makes for excellent reading : ).

[Chris4099]

I've placed dozens of orders, all with a credit card. Every time I've had the items ordered arrive in a week or so. Granted most were long ago with only a couple in the last 3 years or so. It's pretty clear he's starting to slip which is rather sad. He was a great resource back in the day.

[Michael]

It makes for excellent reading : ).

I so wish I had recorded my last call with him. I was nothing but polite and respectful and he was on crack. At the time I thought it was a unique experience but now I realize I'm just a voice in a crowd.

[alexwolf1216]

I will echo this, in 2006 he drive down from his shop to my house in San Antonio to help out this rookie. I sold my car, but I recently bought another one and I have a list of parts I need to buy, so his site was the first place I went. Then I saw this thread, and I am having doubts, so I reached out to DMCMW and DPI for some information instead. I havent heard back from DPI, but I am confident I will and DMCMW has been great. There is something to be said for peace of mind.

Alex

[Kerichbe]

I so wish I had recorded my last call with him. I was nothing but polite and respectful and he was on crack. At the time I thought it was a unique experience but now I realize I'm just a voice in a crowd.

I will agree with you, super polite and helpful. I had ordered a part from DMCH which according to the website was in stock, but really was not. Called John, who had the part but because he was a one man show it may be a few days before he could get to my order. Two days later, it was on my doorstep! Big thumbs up!

[ccurzio]

I will agree with you, super polite and helpful. I had ordered a part from DMCH which according to the website was in stock, but really was not. Called John, who had the part but because he was a one man show it may be a few days before he could get to my order. Two days later, it was on my doorstep! Big thumbs up!

I don't think you actually read the message you quoted.

[Farrar]

I don't think you actually read the message you quoted.

Glad I'm not the only one who was scratching my head over that one!

[Kerichbe]

Darned new bifocals:wink:you are kind of correct Accipiter, I actually misread the post, but I will stand by Special-T. For a first experience with him, it was a very positive one.

[Denverdelorean]

John has always been very helpful to me. I just got a set of seat covers from him and they are gorgeous!

[camus85]

I want to tell you my experience with him and a thought about "payment systems" in a lot of "delorean parts websites".

I ordered in 29/8/2011 these things:


radiator fans & metal cowling
coolant tank with sight glass
strut kit of 6


Total about 600 dollars.

The day 7/9/2011 he wrote me "hopefully will ship all out monday or sooner. fans came in today".

The day 25/9/2011 I asked him infos about my order. He wrote me the same day "my welder went on vacation. should ship on tuesday".

Then he shipped one part of the order the 28/9/2011 and the last part the 29/9/2011.

I think: if you say me "i will ship monday" i expect you tell me "i cannot ship monday, we need another two weeks".
I think the best thing is to communicate with customers! if you explain, he will be calm. if you don't answer emails and/or you don't explain problems and delays... the customer can be restless.


Another thought: I really HATE these payment systems! I love paypal, but these methods to pay with credit card is ABOMINABLE! No SSL! No security!
I buy, more or less, once a month from Internet... and only after placed orders in websites "not secure" (only "delorean websites" because you can buy ONLY in these, you have no choices!) I get my credit card stolen. Luckily was a prepaid credit card, so I lost only 20 euros, more or less. But it's no good anyway.

[OverlandMan]

Darned new bifocals:wink:you are kind of correct Accipiter, I actually misread the post, but I will stand by Special-T. For a first experience with him, it was a very positive one.

Be sure to let us know how your 2nd and 3rd experiences go...

[Chris4099]

Another thought: I really HATE these payment systems! I love paypal, but these methods to pay with credit card is ABOMINABLE! No SSL! No security!
I buy, more or less, once a month from Internet... and only after placed orders in websites "not secure" (only "delorean websites" because you can buy ONLY in these, you have no choices!) I get my credit card stolen. Luckily was a prepaid credit card, so I lost only 20 euros, more or less. But it's no good anyway.

I don't understand this. All "DeLorean Websites" are encrypted and use SSL, including John's. Even then, all will let you call them and place an order over the phone (which is usually less secure in many situations). The only time I can think of a credit card issue was when the DMCH web site was hacked. The site was encrypted, but somehow the hackers must have been getting the numbers on the server side. DMCH had to shutdown the web site for weeks before it was fixed. Was that the situation where your card number was stolen?

[camus85]

I don't understand this. All "DeLorean Websites" are encrypted and use SSL, including John's. Even then, all will let you call them and place an order over the phone (which is usually less secure in many situations). The only time I can think of a credit card issue was when the DMCH web site was hacked. The site was encrypted, but somehow the hackers must have been getting the numbers on the server side. DMCH had to shutdown the web site for weeks before it was fixed. Was that the situation where your card number was stolen?

Sorry, but I think is not a good idea to send my credit card number AND security code!! It's a totally crazy thing. Usually you pay directly via a bank webpage. You do not leave your datas.
I'm italian, I know english but I prefer to write and read it than speak and listen to it.

I didn't know the hacking of the DMCH website... probably hackers stolen there my credit card informations.

[ccurzio]

Sorry, but I think is not a good idea to send my credit card number AND security code!! It's a totally crazy thing.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing this. In fact, for a lot of payment processing this is required information. The security code exists for that reason - security.


I didn't know the hacking of the DMCH website... probably hackers stolen there my credit card informations.

This is one hell of an unfounded claim. You really should learn a little bit more about how credit card processing works before you start throwing around accusations like that. I understand that the lay person doesn't know (or care) about how this stuff works, but that means you're pretty much disqualified from assumptions.

Source: I'm a PCI QSA.

[Gfrank]

Sorry, but I think is not a good idea to send my credit card number AND security code!! It's a totally crazy thing. Usually you pay directly via a bank webpage. You do not leave your datas.
I'm italian, I know english but I prefer to write and read it than speak and listen to it.

I didn't know the hacking of the DMCH website... probably hackers stolen there my credit card informations.

That's what a credit card is for isn't it? Don't think I've ever paid via a bank page on a website. Perhaps that's not how works where your from but it is the way atleast North America works

I had asked about springs from John as he used the same part number as dmch's eibachs. Wasn't big on that, and he went right to talking down on the eibachs. Then i saw this thread and bought from dmc

[AugustneverEnds]

Recently ordered Bosch oil filters, magnetic drain plug and relay terminals from SpecialT and received them promptly. Also have waited quite a while for some other orders. What can I say? His prices are good but everything else is all over the board

[Flicky]

Yeah, I think he just needs to get some better pay-pal / shipping integration into the site, along with inventory tracking and expected dates. However, I can add that none of the sites that I see have changed SSL certs since heartbleed. So, who knows if even today the traffic is being unencrypted and stowed away.

That's why I like to pay with pay-pal. A company that does only 1 thing can't afford to have a breach of their one way they make money. Yes, I know that it is really ebay and they do more than pay-pal, but if pay-pal got hacked like Target did, ebay's stock would drop 50%.

To be honest, I don't want to ever have to interact with any parts vendor, I just want my parts ASAP. Now my service vendor, yeah, I want to know them well. Hope to meet the DPI people over at DSC...hell, I better get on the road.

[mpolzin]

I have done several restorations and have worked with almost every vendor that existed in the last 15 or so years. I have probably spent in excess of $10K with John, and although shipping isn't always the fastest, I have always received everything I ordered in good working order. When I got started in the Delorean restoration racket John provided me with many hours of completely free technical support and trouble shooting for which I will be eternally grateful because the first restoration is always the hardest.

I am sure there are horror stories about every vendor out there, stuff just occasionally falls through the cracks. The reason so many people buy from John is that his prices are some of the most reasonable out there, the way he does that is by keeping overhead low. He could hire help, but then you would be paying a lot more for the parts you buy.

On the flip side, I always call to place my orders and I always use a credit card, so perhaps that is the difference here. I also haven't ordered from John (or any other vendor) in the past couple of years due to moving out of state, so my restoration work got put on the side for a bit. I'm back and hoping to put another car back on the road within the next year. I will order from John again.

Customer service is everything for me, and I haven't seen any of this from John, but then again this is why I prefer to order from Dave Swingle when I am ordering DMC stuff, the customer care is just better.

Mike

[Kherns]

Every vendors have their good and bads.
I have no problems with John Hervey, always received everything in France.
Very cool price, cool parts, cool guy. I'm happy with the service provided.

[Rich]

My most recent D parts shopping involved two online orders, one each to John at SpecialT and to DMCH on the same week sometime in early July.

Both order processes were hassle-free. The parts I wanted were in stock at both places.

Both orders arrived here in California exactly on time.

One of the SpecialT parts involved a core charge that was no problem, same as in past with similar parts from John.

After years and years of D ownership and parts ordering I've yet to have a single problem with any of the several D parts vendors I've used. Very happy to have all of them backing me up.

[SIMid]

I think a few Aussie owners have tried to source parts off John, including myself and never got a reply back. This was ages ago before I got in contact with Julee and Dave. Rest is history.

[john 05141]

I am sure every vendor cannot please every one. Always someone will complain.

I have bought things from John serval times from Europe and all went perfectly well.
What I am saying is that there are not that many Delorean part vendores out there; +I respect those introducing new things to the market.
If you do not like to work with John, that is fine, get another source.

The message is clear, if it is urgent, call upon order. What are you trying to accomplish here? I'd rather still have a choice ampong vendors if you know what I mean.

Jan

[camus85]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing this. In fact, for a lot of payment processing this is required information. The security code exists for that reason - security.



This is one hell of an unfounded claim. You really should learn a little bit more about how credit card processing works before you start throwing around accusations like that. I understand that the lay person doesn't know (or care) about how this stuff works, but that means you're pretty much disqualified from assumptions.

Source: I'm a PCI QSA.

Most problem is my not quite good translation :) I know that security code is... a security code :P I'm sorry, I'm not lay... I'm a programmer, I'm sure you know more and more than me, I don't doubt :)
But... not always, but here in Italy it's more often that websites redirect on a bank page where you can enter the infos. I don't order a lot of international stuff, but in my opinion the "look" "not assures on security".

I apologize for what I've written if they were rubbish!

[Dangermouse]

There is a much more different approach to security of credit cards in Europe with their "chip & pin" terminals where the card never leaves the owners hand, so I can understand camus85's concerns.

In the US, we hand over our cards to any minimum-wage waiter/server that asks for it, so they introduced the "security code" as some sort of proof that the owner actually has the card in his/her hand (when purchasing something on-line), rather than someone having "skimmed" a copy of the actual card number (at least that's my understanding as a "lay" person ;0 )

They much prefer to do bank-to-bank transfers in Europe too. I am trying to but a couple of things in Europe from a company that doesn't take paypal, or credit cards over the phone, so I am trying to do a bank transfer using SWIFT/ICAN/BIC numbers which Americans just don't ever deal with.

many people there even have their own personal card readers connected to their homePC, in order to bank on-line

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2122/2437636717_73dba03f02.jpg


camus85 - it is very common on US websites to enter your card number, expiration date and security code. In many ways, the security code is just an extra 3 or 4 digits on the end of your card number.