John Hervey Problem

[JMS]

Just wanted to share a transaction I had with John Hervey and see if others have had the same troubling experience. In Nov. '12 I contacted him about a warm-up regulator, Bosch 0 438 140 034, and was told it was in stock. Paid immediately with Paypal for the rebuilt unit then sent my old exchange unit one week later. For the past 2 months he has only responded once to my e-mails, claiming that he has not seen my old unit, and knew nothing about the order. I have a claim filed with Paypal for the money I sent (and he accepted),and according to them he has yet to respond. The unit was for my '84 Renault R5 Turbo but as he is a Delorean specialist I wanted to share this with your community.

[OverlandMan]

Doesn't surprise me. I refuse to give him my business because of his attitude and he's only 30 minutes down the road.

[sdg3205]

He mailed me a piece of garbage once. Literally. I sent a WTF email with pictures of the garbage and he said my pictures were too bad to make anything out.

You'll find varying opinions of mr h. on here.

[pezzonovante88]

I dealt with him when I initially purchased my car, but I feel his operation is a bit sketchy and I'm reluctant to do any more business with him. Long response times, questionable quality on products. I shouldn't say I've have a 'bad' experience with John, but from all I've heard, I just don't feel comfortable anymore.

Ps. I'm also about to order a new warm-up regulator, but I'll be going through DMCMW.

[LEVY]

Just wanted to share a transaction I had with John Hervey and see if others have had the same troubling experience. In Nov. '12 I contacted him about a warm-up regulator, Bosch 0 438 140 034, and was told it was in stock. Paid immediately with Paypal for the rebuilt unit then sent my old exchange unit one week later. For the past 2 months he has only responded once to my e-mails, claiming that he has not seen my old unit, and knew nothing about the order. I have a claim filed with Paypal for the money I sent (and he accepted),and according to them he has yet to respond. The unit was for my '84 Renault R5 Turbo but as he is a Delorean specialist I wanted to share this with your community.

I he fail to respond to PayPal, then you will get your money back.

LEVY

[Rich]

Have dealt with John 4 or 5 times in the past 6-7 years; I've also dealt with other D vendors.

John has been helpful and prompt on all transactions, including two that involved core exchanges.

[Jacko]

Since I feel like this may turn into a 'piling on JH' event I'll say that I've dealt with John on several
occasions, sometimes involving cores, and I've had no problems with those transactions.
I actually have had more problems with DMCH not responding to my emails.

[Chris 16409]

I would call him on the phone. If he doesn't answer leave a message. He is usually easier to get a hold of on the phone. He once talked to me on the phone for over an hour about the car. I just received an order from him today. He has the best deal on the German made Bosch oil filters. I've never been able to find them locally.

[SS Spoiler]

I don't know Johns business like a lot of you but has anyone considered what will happen to it if he goes down? He does have heart problems and maybe other issues. I don't see anyone in the wings ready to pick up the pieces. It would make sense to have a plan in place. Does he need to take on some help to carry the load? A lot of the problems seem to stem from the " one man shop" He does a great service to the community and we should be seeking ways to help him out if possible. I have dealt with him in the past and had some service issues. Does he need to take on a partner to smooth out the customer end while he continues to research parts.......? Jus thinking.


Paul Cerny #2691
Kalispell, MT

[galbiati]

I just bought a bunch of items off of him about 3 weeks ago, carpet set, clutch master cylinder, strut kit, weather striping kit. The man spent almost an hour talking to me on the phone and I just met him. Gave him my debit card # and items came by mail in like 3 days. No problems here.
If you are sending back a core, what was the tracking number of the package you sent? Something doesn't make sense.

[Jeff K]

My dealings with him have been fine. He also has been helpful when I just called and asked a question.

Jeff

[pezzonovante88]

True. He is basically a one-man-show so it must get pretty darn busy. He might also have a life outside of cars.

[sdg3205]

Yup. Everyone has different encounters with different vendors. I had a negative experience, others have as well. Some people rave about John, but despise DMC. What ever works!

[mowpow]

I've replaced my entire brake and fuel system through John and yea he's unresponsive sometimes but he's also taught me a bunch of stuff so everything's a trade off. Give him a call and I am sure he'll make it right.

[ccurzio]

Does he need to take on some help to carry the load?

He has needed help for years. He constantly bitches at people who complain about his service, saying over and over that he's just a "one man operation" but he doesn't seem to have any interest whatsoever in fixing that problem. He'd rather let his customer service fall into complete disarray and alienate his customers than hire help.

Hervey knows his stuff for sure, but he's a horrible businessman and his attitude and ego takes precedence over his customers.

[Michael]

He has needed help for years. He constantly bitches at people who complain about his service, saying over and over that he's just a "one man operation" but he doesn't seem to have any interest whatsoever in fixing that problem. He'd rather let his customer service fall into complete disarray and alienate his customers than hire help.

Hervey knows his stuff for sure, but he's a horrible businessman and his attitude and ego takes precedence over his customers.
BINGO!!!

He lost my business a few years ago when he popped off on me over the phone. I was merely asking a question about my order, I wasn't even upset, (His webpage was wrong and not updated causing the problem) When he rattled off the tired "one man show" bit I was thinking to myself "why is he getting so upset?" When he started yelling..scratch that screaming at me over the phone(for his mistake) I told him to forget it. I hung up the phone and never looked back.....Psycho.

[Ryan King]

I've done multiple transactions with John Hervery. Yes, he can be hard to get ahold of but all my experiences with John have been pain free and speedy. He had helped me out of some serious binds and has overnighted me parts for free of charge. He's an asset to the community. I guess everyone's experience is different. No complaints here

[OverlandMan]

BINGO!!!

He lost my business a few years ago when he popped off on me over the phone. I was merely asking a question about my order, I wasn't even upset, (His webpage was wrong and not updated causing the problem) When he rattled off the tired "one man show" bit I was thinking to myself "why is he getting so upset?" When he started yelling..scratch that screaming at me over the phone(for his mistake) I told him to forget it. I hung up the phone and never looked back.....Psycho.

Yep he got shitty with me on the phone and I hung up and never looked back either.

[DeLorean03]

I have done business with John going back to January 2004. There have been some difficulties here and there, but he has also given me some really awesome discounts and honored all of his warranties.

I do have to admit; however, lately I've been a bit nervous with him. I used to be able to get transactions done quickly. My most recent one took two entire weeks before I heard anything about my order being sent. Nearly 3 weeks before I got what I ordered, and by then the resolutions I came up with negated the parts I ordered from him.

As a college student up to my time joining the AF, I did some MAD money with him. I am bummed to say that lately things have been a bit unpredictable. If you're still getting parts accurately and quickly, milk it for all it is worth. Once the faltering begins though - eek..... (I've had some "hit and miss" times with him now since June 2012).

[SamHill]

He promised a lot and delivered... Some.

What hurts more is that some people through the years have enabled him with this "one man show" nonsense. I'll give you the advice I wish someone had given me:
1) Only buy one item at a time
2) Wait until it comes and decide if you are satisfied
3) Use paypal

[DMC5180]

Hervey knows his stuff for sure,

It's Debatable. I suppose if your a newbie owner it would probably seem that way though.


he's a horrible businessman and his attitude and ego takes precedence over his customers.

No argument here.



On a positive note, his Website is a great resource for photos of system components with detailed info.

[Starglider]

I've found John to be fine as long as you accept that you may need to keep prompting him and reminding him about your order (over phone : much more reliable than email). I ordered a lot of parts and they all turned out quite well, although I had to scour forums first to find out which bits had a good rep and which parts people had problems with. The order did take two months to arrive but that wasn't John's fault, Royal Mail sent it to the wrong depot and then failed to tell anyone it was sitting on a shelf there.

[SS Spoiler]

There's a lot of comments pro and con about Johns business. Think about it, one guy has to research parts, order them, stock them,set up web page, answer phone, respond to e-mails, pack up parts, ship them out, repair stuff sent in and find time to breathe. It's a wonder he has'nt collapsed already. Is it time for us to step up to the plate? In order for us to have a variety of options on parts maybe we should help him out by volunteering our time. Hopefully he may see the light and the need to hire workers. A small bump in price for faster better service will benefit us all. I know it's his business and his call. Keep in mind he also serves other car lines that could get on the John wagon. Jus speaking out of turn.......


Paul Cerny
Kalispell, MT

[ccurzio]

There's a lot of comments pro and con about Johns business. Think about it, one guy has to research parts, order them, stock them,set up web page, answer phone, respond to e-mails, pack up parts, ship them out, repair stuff sent in and find time to breathe. It's a wonder he has'nt collapsed already. Is it time for us to step up to the plate? In order for us to have a variety of options on parts maybe we should help him out by volunteering our time. Hopefully he may see the light and the need to hire workers. A small bump in price for faster better service will benefit us all. I know it's his business and his call. Keep in mind he also serves other car lines that could get on the John wagon. Jus speaking out of turn.......


If he wasn't such an arrogant person that's incredibly hard to talk to, maybe people would be willing to help him out. But nobody is going to volunteer their time to help run a business. That's silly. (And I personally believe that he'd refuse any offers for help even if it was free.)

If he fails he fails, and it will be of his own doing. The fact of the matter is, if he was running a successful business and he treated all of his customers with respect, he'd be doing fine. But instead, he bad-mouths his competition, talks down to people, and is very VERY flaky when it comes to shipping parts and fulfilling orders. (I gave up trying to get the Bosch spark plugs he still owes me.) That's not a business that deserves to succeed.

[nullset]

I've had both good and bad experiences with John. DO NOT BUY SHOCKS FROM JOHN! His refurbished brakes calipers are pretty good. DO NOT BUY AN ALTERNATOR FORM JOHN. DO NOT BUY A STEERING RACK FROM JOHN.

I've removed almost everything from my car with his sticker on it, shortly after it failed.

If you buy something from him, reasearch research research. John will say that "I've had it on my car for 5 years and 150000 miles and no one else has had any problems, so it's not my fault". It's up to you to prove him wrong if something does happen, and even then, he isn't likely to honor his warranty.

I've got two failed shocks on my rear that failed after just under a year, and he refused to replace them because "no one else has had this problem", "it's been fine on my car", and lastly, because I have Houston's lowering springs, not his.

My very first order from John annoyed me. He sent half of my order, and didn't tell me that. It arrived and I was very upset, because half of the stuff was missing. Several phone calls and emails later, he says "what are you so upset about? The rest is on its way!". Two or three weeks later the rest of it showed up. No tracking number, no advance notice that he was splitting the order, and no answering my phone calls for several days. No thanks.

--buddy

[Patrick C]

I've put roughly 40,000 miles on John's D140 alternator over the past 7 years without an issue.

[Jimmyvonviggle]

There's a lot of comments pro and con about Johns business. Think about it, one guy has to research parts, order them, stock them,set up web page, answer phone, respond to e-mails, pack up parts, ship them out, repair stuff sent in and find time to breathe. It's a wonder he has'nt collapsed already. Is it time for us to step up to the plate? In order for us to have a variety of options on parts maybe we should help him out by volunteering our time. Hopefully he may see the light and the need to hire workers. A small bump in price for faster better service will benefit us all. I know it's his business and his call. Keep in mind he also serves other car lines that could get on the John wagon. Jus speaking out of turn.......


Paul Cerny
Kalispell, MT

Why would anybody do this? He's a big boy, if that's the way he wants to run his business who are we to say anything. If you don't like his practices buy from someone else. Let's not get out of hand with this.

[OverlandMan]

I need a new carpet set and according to Hervey's website he sells one for $549.95. DMCH sells their repro for $795. I've weighed paying a friend $50 to go buy Hervey's set for me just so I don't have to deal with him. I doubt I'll do that though. What if there's a problem (ie: missing piece, tear in one of the pieces, etc.)? Then I'll be stuck dealing with Hervey.

I'd rather eat the $250 and pick up the set at DMCH next time I'm in Houston (unless they throw in free shipping, which I honestly haven't looked into yet). That alone should speak volumes about my disgust with Hervey's customer service.

Also I hate his website. Case in point: 15862

Look at all the grammatical errors. Hey I'm a terrible speller but bad grammar on a business website is a red flag for me. Plus it's a nightmare to navigate.

[David T]

All of the Delorean venders have their strengths and weaknesses. Does anyone remember Delorean One? As a community we have seen junk come from DMCH too. A while back John H had his appendix taken out and no one could communicate with Special T for weeks. It IS a "One Man Show". That is also a good thing, by keeping costs down he can pass along the lowest prices. An unfortunate side effect is the damage it causes to the customer service side of the business. By patronizing ALL of the Delorean venders it gives everyone a choice when they order parts. If customer service is more important to you than NEW (not NOS) parts and price is not so important then maybe you don't want to deal with Special T on all of your purchases. There are some parts I would NOT buy from Special T just as there are some parts I would not buy from DMCH. Each vender has it's loyal following but you do have to understand the nuances of dealing with each vender. They all have a place. As for using a credit card, that is just good advice no matter who you use in case there is a dispute (can also get you some free miles!). No matter who you are, in dealing with the public, you will, along the way, accumulate some dissatisfied customers. Happens on the service side too with fixing cars. At least John will (eventually) try to "make it right" as it seems all of the Delorean venders try to do. In some cases that can never be enough for some customers.
David Teitelbaum

[ILM1010]

When i first got my car i gave him a few calls, and he was very stand off ish. I don't want to be yelled at for discussing things with someone i am going to pay. Im s greatful to DMCmidwest for oustanding help whenever i need it, any questions..etc, plus Dave is on here all the time. I run my own company and couldn't dream of treating my customers like john hervey. He gets business because he sells things cheaper. Delorean One same thing, they are a suck fest. I remember the one thing i got from John was busted.

[chenderson2k]

One has to keep in mind that John is a car guy who knows his stuff. He isn't the best business person but I can honestly say he has been good to me. He ships stuff pretty slow sometimes but its worth it if I need a new part that I can't get from DMCMW.

About two years ago my brake booster failed due to a leaking rubber diaphragm. I had two options. Option one was to replace the brake booster with a 30 year old unit from DMCH. The 30 year old unit would feature a 30 year old rubber diaphragm. Option two was to purchase a rebuilt brake booster from Hervey with new internals. I chose te rebuilt model.

It does suck that John doesn't seem to have a plan for the business when he is no longer able to run thing. He really does seem to have a lot of good resources for parts. While he does seem to sell a lot of cross referenced parts, there is also a lot of stuff that he has custom built.

I put one of his angle drives on my car over a year ago. Last year I documented 12,000 miles with no angle drive failure and it was using Hervey's unit.

Before putting his angle drive in my car I went through two or three (I lost count) DMCH units.

I do buy DMCH parts and some of their stuff is really good. But it's nice to have an alternative. The more competition there is, the better it is for us customers.

[nullset]

I've put roughly 40,000 miles on John's D140 alternator over the past 7 years without an issue.

My car had one on it when I bought it, and it ate alternator belts like crazy. They'd last less than 3 months. I pulled it and found out that the bearings were completely shot. It was not very old, and did not have many miles on it. It's just wasn't well built.

I bought an alternator from a chain parts store and modified it to fit, and have never looked back.

--buddy

[Bitsyncmaster]

It's been a few years since I bought parts from John. Like most new owners (6 years ago) I bought a lot of things from him back then. I've always got the parts, maybe a few wrong small parts. A few times I had to email him to get an order that seemed to be misplaced. I think John needs to just keep his paper work in order and get in a routine of what he does each day (send orders, then make parts). I can see problems with a one man operation, after all there has to be times when he has personal obligations and takes time off.

[Patrick C]

My car had one on it when I bought it, and it ate alternator belts like crazy. They'd last less than 3 months. I pulled it and found out that the bearings were completely shot. It was not very old, and did not have many miles on it. It's just wasn't well built.

I bought an alternator from a chain parts store and modified it to fit, and have never looked back.

--buddy

Keep in mind that John's alternator is a modified GM alternator as well. Maybe you just had bad luck.

[yellowmxwheels23]

Bought a 110 Alt and ss airbox off John at DCS Vegas a few years ago and it took him almost a year to charge my credit card. He's gotta be pretty busy to take that long to charge a card.

[Domi]

I ordered a few parts from him, and never had a problem with him.

[Rich06]

I've also ordered from John a few times with no issues . He's been more than willing to spend time with me on the phone when I've had problems although I'll admit he isn't always the easiest person to talk to. But I can work around that.
Rich

[DMC3165]

I picked up a stock 90 amp alternator off him 3 years ago. 18000 miles later it's still working fine. it was a fairly ordinary transaction and it took him about a week to process my order. On the flip side some off his postings on here and his reputation as being difficult to deal with have deterred me from dealing with him further. Besides there are so many vendors now owners can pick and choose whoever they prefer. Long gone are the days of one or two sources selling OEM parts (and not necesssarily for the better).

[JMS]

JMS here, originator of this thread. I had my claim with Paypal decided in my favour so at least the payment will be refunded. Thank you for your input and detailing your experiences with this vendor. Think I will go back to ordering Renault parts from France from now on!

[chris williams]

Never had any major issues with John, his service or his parts other than sometimes hit and miss with Email's! I know a lot of Uk owners use him and he's a really good suppplier of parts who is happy to ship over to the UK.
Chris

[1batt4u]

Nothing major, just might have shipped wrong item, or didn't send all parts I ordered, sent them after I emailed him. Charges my credit cards late also, sometimes 2 months later.

I also ordered a warm up regulator from him during the summer. He told me he won't ship till I send the core. I was like ok. I sent mine out right away, next day I get the new warm up regulator, which was shipped 3 days before. Weird, but got everything I ordered.

[DMC5180]

One of John's biggest complaints is people not returning CORES in a timely fashion. Perfect example is a customer orders refurbished or rebuilt parts. Receives the order then for what ever reason puts them on the shelf and doesn't get around to installing them for months. In the mean time he still needs core inventory to replenish what was just purchased.

[DMCMW Dave]

One of John's biggest complaints is people not returning CORES in a timely fashion. Perfect example is a customer orders refurbished or rebuilt parts. Receives the order then for what ever reason puts them on the shelf and doesn't get around to installing them for months. In the mean time he still needs core inventory to replenish what was just purchased.

That is a problem for everyone. I would NEVER have predicted that people would apparently throw away hundreds of dollars worth of cores but they do. We push pretty hard for "send in the cores first" for this reason.

[andy blackmon]

I have owned my car for over 30 years and i have dealt with all the vendors we have now and a bunch who have gone away. I have never repeat never has an issue with any of them. As for John I have dealt with him many times on both large and small items, i have never gotten a part from him that was not exactly what i ordered and I have never had one bit of trouble from him, in fact he has always been of help. i think that if you have trouble with a man, don't whine about it, pick up the phone and call him, you will find him to be a fair and honest man.
Andy Blackmon 03513

[Ryan King]

This needs to have poll added.

[john 05141]

I bought a carpet set from him 3 years ago, no complaints at all about service or product.

Jan

[OverlandMan]

...I have never had one bit of trouble from him, in fact he has always been of help. i think that if you have trouble with a man, don't whine about it, pick up the phone and call him, you will find him to be a fair and honest man.
Andy Blackmon 03513

Or just use a different vendor! If he was the only parts vendor available then I'd likely be forced to take your approach or find a different car to enjoy. But the fact is there are plenty of vendors. So why give him another shot when he's got a crap attitude? Pass

[ccurzio]

Or just use a different vendor! If he was the only parts vendor available then I'd likely be forced to take your approach or find a different car to enjoy. But the fact is there are plenty of vendors. So why give him another shot when he's got a crap attitude? Pass

Not only that, people are well aware of the attempted solution of trying to call the guy. When he actually does pick up the phone (or return your calls), 9 times out of 10 he'll find something to have a bad attitude about, and out of those 9 times, maybe 5 of them will result in you EVENTUALLY getting what you need.

Seriously, while you might be one of the lucky ones to have had no problems with John, you're playing Russian Roulette every time you place an order. Except the cylinder is more than half full with bullets. This isn't a matter of "I've never had problems with John so everything is fine", this is a matter of "despite the people who haven't had problems with John, why are so many people saying they HAVE had problems?" The answer is bad business. And I don't give bad business my business. *shrug*

Everyone is free to do business with whomever they choose of course. Personally, I'd much rather deal with one of the vendors that cares about their customers and goes out of their way to make things right - DPI, and any of the DMC affiliates.



One of John's biggest complaints is people not returning CORES in a timely fashion. Perfect example is a customer orders refurbished or rebuilt parts. Receives the order then for what ever reason puts them on the shelf and doesn't get around to installing them for months. In the mean time he still needs core inventory to replenish what was just purchased.

This, however, I can totally understand.

[jorge figueroa]

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 a 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

[jorge figueroa]

on another occasion I made an order individual air conditioning hoses
for my delorean
when I receive the order I see that all hoses are poorly made
immediately it took several photos and sent them to john hervey to see the problem with my order

he calls back and accused me of thief
alleging that I change the air conditioning hoses to claim
warranty and ask for more hoses

after a heated argument
I return the box with all hoses
john hervey get the box to realize that I was telling the truth
and their ac hoses are poorly made

then sends me right hoses and never apologized for the mistake in the order and call me a thief

[DeLorean03]

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


I would like to know why this is.



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

If this is true, that sure sounds an AWFUL lot like another out-of-service vendor ...... man, sure hope it's not coming to that....

[DeLorean]

Well, I just ordered a parts order from him, and there was 1 item mixed up. One e-mail, and it was corrected. He mailed me the right part, no cost, and did not request the wrong part back. So, I have no problem and will continue to order from him!

[krs09]

I gotta say, i just ordered a water pump kit and a whole other mess of parts and everything was correct, the copper seal kit was layed out nicely (for a newbie). There was a little delay at first but he did email me a few days later and told me what was goin on. I didnt hear anything for a about 2 weeks. When I gave him a call he told me everything was going out that day and they did, I got them in the mail 2 days later. He gave me all kinds of little tips in hour long phone call, once I told him I was a new owner he went over a check list of things to check while I was finishing up the pump. It was good talk and it wasnt a big sell job trying to sell me other parts. Until I have a REALLY bad transaction his prices will keep me comin back as long as I dont need it quick. He just seems like a guy who might be too busy to enjoy what does.

[Hcloud13]

Haven't been to the forums for awile...still haunt it from time to time.
Don't deal in D's anymore and moved on to Vehicross!

BUT after vin 5549 & 2 other D's "can't remember there vins" lol I Delt with DMCH,DMCFL & Hervey.
All of them had ups and downs,but to be honest as long as I called Hervey"Grumpy ass n all" I got what I needed. I know when my D died on the side of the road he talked me through some paperclip trick with a bad relay to get me going.
And honestly,i'm sure he'll screw up time to time...he's is a one man show by his choice which is not an excuse. But Topics like this one help new D owners decide on who to buy from and what to expect.

And I know Warren ant DMCH was no better at Phone etiquette & Shitty attitude. "not sure if he's still there anymore,it's been a couple years"

One thing I KNOW John never did was Compromise my Credit Card and have over 2000$ worth of fraudulent charges on my account! Happend to a bunch of us a fue years ago! Thanks DMCH!
Or my horror time at DMCFL whit plug wires...

Not here to bash anyone,just wanted to point out that all vendors have there ups n downs and weather we like it or not we have to deal with it! And learn from it.

-Out

[dmcfan]

While this shows this as my first post I am hardly a newbie. People will know me from certain products I sold in the past and was very active before the prior sites crash.

Most veterans here know what I think about him or his company. You get what you pay for. If you are the kind of person that relies on a business like this in order to keep your car going then you probably bought the wrong car to begin with. Perhaps you are the type of person that would rather spend money on door launchers than standard maintanence so when something breaks from neglect you do not have the money for better/correct parts so you go this route. Dislike this post if you will but remember everyone has opinions and this is just mine.

I look forward to the day this operation closes down and I really do not care if anyone replaces it. Keeping a car going with crap you are going to have a crap car simple as that. I rather pay higher prices to DMCH, Grady, DPI or anyone else in that market because they are the companies that are crucial to the logevity of this car not a backyard shack operation. It will also force those that cannot afford the car to sell and perhaps an owner that can restore the car properly will buy it and increase the value of the cars in general. I like knowing that the extra I pay will go towards funding new molds, dies, etc to make new parts that actually resemble NOS parts or improve them using quality parts. I didn't just buy my car because it was something I always wanted; I made sure I could afford the damn thing in the first place.

[David T]

That last post was pretty strong! As a point of fact, many of the parts John sells are sourced from the same places the other venders get their parts. On top of that, John doesn't sell (and can't get) NOS parts which by the way, are over 30 years old! He is just another choice and customers are free to patronize whomever they choose. John gives Delorean owners another choice and that is good. I am sure every vender has a group of unsatisfied customers that will never deal with them again. Sh-t happens. Since you are from the "old site" you can probably remember there was a person who, upon seeing P J Grady's yard, was horrified at the conditions of some of the parts cars in the yard. She thought it was sacrilege. From time-to-time we hear about an owner who overpaid for a POS and upon bringing the car to one of the Delorean centers and being told what he really bought and what it will take to fix, goes ballistic on the vender and makes the claim they are trying to pump up the job and make a lot of money off of them. Then there are the ones who are upset they must wait to get their car serviced and that it takes too long once they drop it off. An unfortunate fact of life is that you can't please everyone. Another reason the more venders the better. More choices.
David Teitelbaum

[Ron]

+1

I think John greases the squeaky wheel....

[Starglider]

Most veterans here know what I think about him or his company. You get what you pay for.

Some of John's parts are simply the best available (from an existing DeLorean vendor), regardless of cost.


I like knowing that the extra I pay will go towards funding new molds, dies, etc to make new parts that actually resemble NOS parts or improve them using quality parts.

In that case you should be buying from Josh / DPI.

[Delorean Industries]

Some of John's parts are simply the best available (from an existing DeLorean vendor), regardless of cost.



In that case you should be buying from Josh / DPI.

All proceeds from ANY parts sales at DPI are allocated towards replenishing existing product lines or developing new products. With a large number of new items being released as we speak!

[louielouie2000]

Threads complaining about John seem to come up every so often online. When I owned DeLoreans ('00-'05) he was one of the easiest & most reliable vendors to work with. John was always very personable & pleasant, but then again, everyone I bought parts from in the community went above & beyond in regards to customer service & support. I'll never forget at DCS '04 my DeLorean suddenly died on the side of the road, and who rolls up to help but John Hervey himself. He helped my diagnose the car (ended up being a bad pulse coil), and helped me get back on the road again... free of charge (sans the pulse coil of course). The one area I had problems with John were his electrical components... I had issues with an early "Fan Fix" which came with my car, which quickly burnt up leaving me without cooling fans on a 300 mile round trip on a very hot day. I wasn't pleased to say the least. John tried to make it right by replacing the "Fan Fix" with a newer improved version, but I believe I'd already tossed mine in the garbage & replaced it with a FanZilla. The other issue I had was with his alternators; my cars chewed through them. I believe they were GM sourced, and I always had similar problems with my GM cars burning through alternators during that era as well. Long story short: John was always amazing to work with, but I'd stay away from his retrofitted electrical components.

[TTait]

I'd stay away from his retrofitted electrical components.

I'll elaborate on that a bit, stay away from ANY part he has had manufactured himself, identified himself as a generic cross reference, or that he has had refurbished. Alternators, rebuilt steering racks, rebuilt axles, fan controller, tie rod ends, AC hoses, clutch bleeder hose, radiator - anything like that just stay away. All of those items, and more - failed on me prematurely or were defective from day 1. Half the time I took my lumps and didn't even tell him unless it arrived defective. Every time I had a problem, it was the first time in the long history of that part that anyone had EVER had an issue.

If you want a set of copper washers or headlights - you should be fine. You will probably get them some day. Maybe.

[David T]

There have been a large # of complaints about his alternators. In his defense, many times when an alternator is called bad, the problem is something else in the car that is not right and is damaging the alternators. But you are correct, there are some venders selling parts that are better bought from other venders. There is also the ever-present possibility that the person doing the installation is doing something wrong that is damaging them. To balance this discussion, we have heard complaints about parts from DMCH too. Especially the newer parts they are having reproduced. And on occasion some of the NOS stuff that didn't age well. In reality every vender will have it's bad days. Once a problem happens you can really judge how important it is to them to take care of their customers by the way they rectify the problem. There was a cartoon on a parts counter once and it said something to the effect that "Will it make you happy if we shoot the salesman, give you the part for free, install it and pay you?". Point is sometimes there is just no pleasing a dissatisfied customer. At that point the company may just give up.
David Teitelbaum

[AirmanPika]

Well I haven't had any bad dealings with John. He's even went as far as given me sone good advice regarding the related work I was doing when he saw what I was purchasing at times. I've had 4 or 5 transactions with him with no problems.

[TTait]

There have been a large # of complaints about his alternators. In his defense, many times when an alternator is called bad, the problem is something else in the car that is not right and is damaging the alternators.

Short term the only problem with the alternator was that it did not charge the car at idle - apparently common with higher capacity alternators. After buying the alternator John explained that there were trade offs for getting 140 amps of output - that it should charge by the time I hit about 1000 - 1100 rpms - he was right, it did. That fact was not on the website though, nor did it help when I had both the AC and the headlights on and would be sitting at a light watching the voltage dive.

The alternator ran fine for about 4 years - about 20k miles - then it dropped 1/3 of its output and needed to be rebuilt. As I wasn't interested in waiting to send it back, have it rebuilt at my expense, and then wait for him to ship it back to me - I just ordered a new one from Houston and have never looked back. Yes, it charges at idle.

I have purchased a lot of items from him that I am satisfied with, but as stated above, there have been a number of disappointments too. I've mechanically rebuilt 2 cars with many of his parts.

20k for an alternator on a well maintained car might be bad luck for NOS manufactured circa 1981, but not for a modern design. That alone is not enough to upset me, but the low quality of his rebuilt items, his constant bitching about other customers and vendors, poor communications, constant delays, incomplete orders, and poor customer service are enough to upset me. I'd rather support others who act like professionals, or at least adults.

Tom

[galbiati]

Ordered a waterpump kit on Wednesday, told him I needed it asap, gave credit card number. Needless to say its Friday evening and my D is ripped apart in my garage stall and I have nothing. I called him and I don't think he even shipped it yet.

[Delorean Industries]

Ordered a waterpump kit on Wednesday, told him I needed it asap, gave credit card number. Needless to say its Friday evening and my D is ripped apart in my garage stall and I have nothing. I called him and I don't think he even shipped it yet.

In stock at DPI. I can get one to UPS before they close and overnight one if it would help. Feel free to call at 330 573 4129

[Nicholas R]

Ordered a waterpump kit on Wednesday, told him I needed it asap, gave credit card number. Needless to say its Friday evening and my D is ripped apart in my garage stall and I have nothing. I called him and I don't think he even shipped it yet.

This was always one of my biggest complaints with John. There were several times where I even opted for quicker shipping times, but it ended up a moot point since he took so long to ship. I'd place an order on monday (over the phone!), that I would assume would have arrived by friday (if it were DMCMW it would arrive by Wednesday), just to have friday come along and get a click-n-ship notification from USPS, saying that my order had just been electronically received. Needless to say, that pretty much meant I wasn't getting it until about the following friday.

[ccurzio]

I think I'm going to start slacking off at work, and when my boss asks me about it I'll tell him (in a condescending manner) "LOOK, I'M ONLY ONE GUY OVER HERE."

[DeLorean03]

This was always one of my biggest complaints with John. There were several times where I even opted for quicker shipping times, but it ended up a moot point since he took so long to ship. I'd place an order on monday (over the phone!), that I would assume would have arrived by friday (if it were DMCMW it would arrive by Wednesday), just to have friday come along and get a click-n-ship notification from USPS, saying that my order had just been electronically received. Needless to say, that pretty much meant I wasn't getting it until about the following friday.

+1000

[Ryan King]

I think I'm going to start slacking off at work, and when my boss asks me about it I'll tell him (in a condescending manner) "LOOK, I'M ONLY ONE GUY OVER HERE."

I honestly laughed out loud so hard to that. And you need to say it in a Texan Accent.

[SamHill]

When people who dont always agree with each other mutually agree on something, I tend to give it more credibility. The dcomplaints are all too familiar and coming from unconnected sources. I don't think asking for a minimal level customer service is too much to ask.

[Starglider]

My most recent order with John was for a heater core, some AC system parts, wheel nuts and some bolts. Placed January 7th, asked for an update on Jan 18th, got an update that it would 'ship in two days' on Jan 29th, nothing by mid Feb so called John, got a shipping notification on Feb 21st, box arrived at the local parcel depo today. I knew it would likely take a couple of months when I placed the order, so I don't hold it against the company, but certainly you shouldn't be ordering from John H if you need parts urgently.

[OverlandMan]

I honestly laughed out loud so hard to that. And you need to say it in a Texan Accent.

Easy w/ that Texas accent business... :D

[Ryan King]

Easy w/ that Texas accent business... :D

HAH! I meant to disrespect. :wave2:

[ccurzio]

HAH! I meant to disrespect. :wave2:

Nice Freudian slip there. ;)

[uhhair]

Not to dig up an old thread, but has anyone gotten ahold of him recently? I placed an order a few days ago, have called and left messages, e-mailed him, and received no reply? Just wondering if I'm alone in this treatment lately or not.

[Ryan S.]

I just talked to him this morning regarding the injector cleaning service and some orders.

[DrJeff]

I have ordered and received a bunch of items from John over the last month. We exchanged a couple of emails on the details and getting the items shipped. Otherwise no problem.

[DeLorean03]

Talked with him in late March/early April. Placed an order with him - got it I think in 2-3 days flat.

So far, back on the right track!

[Nicholas R]

Ordered two sets of rear lower control arm bushings on April 8th. Apparently they finally shipped out yesterday (16 days later). I'm pretty upset about how many times I've planned on installing these then had to postpone because they still haven't arrived yet.

[darylfelsberg]

Saw him today at his place. Had not returned my calls for a few days, and apologized. He said he was several days behind and he was clearly busy. We swapped alternators and I was on my way.

[Domi]

Same things for me, placed an order on April 4 and received my order on April 24. It was shipped the 16.
Had a few e-mail with him and he was pretty busy.

[Kenny_Z]

I like his parts but I learned that you never buy anything from him with the intention of getting it right away. I'm sure this is a busy time of year for a lot of auto parts vendors. Cars are being brought out of storage and winter projects are getting wrapped up.

[pezzonovante88]

He does have some good alternatives and some useful kits and such, but yeah, it can take a while for delivery. I haven't ordered anything from him for ages, but I would for certain things.
I'm pretty much exclusive with Midwest now because their service is nothing less than fantastic.

[nullset]

I've decided a long while ago that I'm not buying any more parts from him.

I've had to replace too many things with his sticker on them to count, and they're all parts that were installed in the last five years.

Between that and the slow service, I'm done, as are a few other owners I've talked to.

--buddy

[LEVY]

I bought bunch of small parts from him some time ago, I spoke to him and he asked why I wanted to buy all those parts, informed me that some of those rarely go bad. I bought those parts anyway.

Very smooth transaction, quick shipment.

LEVY

[thirdmanj]

I'm selling wicker Hervey dolls on eBay. Free matches with purchase of five or more. Lighter fluid not included due to USPS shipping regulations.

[nullset]

I'm selling wicker Hervey dolls on eBay. Free matches with purchase of five or more. Lighter fluid not included due to USPS shipping regulations.

How long does the shipping take? Will you ship half my order, then not answer the phone or emails for a week, and finally ask me why I'm so upset and ship the other half three weeks later?

If so, I'll take 100!

Make sure your auction talks about how those other wicker dolls are so old and crappy, but yours are brand new and the greatest ever.

[uhhair]

I'd like to just update that he did get in touch with me late last night finally. I've usually never had problems with him, was more concerned than anything. However, it appears all is well.

[David T]

Every vender has his strong points and his weaknesses. You get disappointed when you get overly optimistic when you know a vender doesn't have great customer service but you expect it anyway. SpecialT has it's place as an alternative source for many things. From time-to-time every vender has had some complaint about something, you cannot please everybody every day. Some take a long time to ship, some take a long time to issue credit, some have bad parts, etc. You place your order and take your chances. Use a credit card in case of disputes (and you also get miles!). The Delorean community is VERY fortunate in that we have multiple venders. Many orphan car Marques have only 1 place to go and in many cases many parts are NLA at ANY price.
David Teitelbaum

[thirdmanj]

Every vender has his strong points and his weaknesses. You get disappointed when you get overly optimistic when you know a vender doesn't have great customer service but you expect it anyway. SpecialT has it's place as an alternative source for many things. From time-to-time every vender has had some complaint about something, you cannot please everybody every day. Some take a long time to ship, some take a long time to issue credit, some have bad parts, etc. You place your order and take your chances. Use a credit card in case of disputes (and you also get miles!). The Delorean community is VERY fortunate in that we have multiple venders. Many orphan car Marques have only 1 place to go and in many cases many parts are NLA at ANY price.
David Teitelbaum

Yup.

[Michael]

I just placed an order with the lovely Julee today and something occured to me...I know without a shadow of a doubt that my order will be at my doorstep in 2-3 days, if it isn't I know that I will get a call letting me know of any delays before the fact.

If some people like taking the chance of waiting weeks(if not months) in limbo with no parts or no information just to save a few bucks on cross matched parts...that's no skin off my back, knock yourself out. I know where to go to keep my DeLorean on the road and not stuck in a garage waiting for parts. If after reading this thread you still choose to use Special T and get shafted, don't complain. You have been warned.

[Jeff K]

I've used pretty much all the vendors. Had good experiences overall except once. But that got resolved too eventually.

John is a one man shop and has been good to me. He has been informative and responsive. I don't remember anything shipping late. But.. I ask if the item is in stock by phone before ordering from anywhere.

One item got damaged in shipping, he sent another quickly.

[DMCflux]

I just placed an order with the lovely Julee today and something occured to me...I know without a shadow of a doubt that my order will be at my doorstep in 2-3 days, if it isn't I know that I will get a call letting me know of any delays before the fact.

If some people like taking the chance of waiting weeks(if not months) in limbo with no parts or no information just to save a few bucks on cross matched parts...that's no skin off my back, knock yourself out. I know where to go to keep my DeLorean on the road and not stuck in a garage waiting for parts. If after reading this thread you still choose to use Special T and get shafted, don't complain. You have been warned.

Completely agree. DMCMW has the best customer service of any business I have ever dealt with, period! Always someone to talk to through email or phone, parts arrive asap. If something is on backorder I don't have to check in to see the status, I just know when it arrives it will be shipped. Email verifications that the order has shipped and recieved etc... I wish doing business with everyone was this easy. :thumbup:

[Denver DMC]

I like John. I understand his strengths and his weaknesses. When I do business with him, I am cognizant of his strengths. I avoid his weaknesses. He offers value for many in the community with some of his products. He oversells (or undesells, depending on perspective) some products, so for those, I don't recommend him. He sometimes is cavalier about so-called "similar" parts. LCA ball joints are an example. We have difficult cars to maintain. I am thankful for the number of quality venders we have, many of which also have weaknesses, some of which are just flat-out winners. The point of this post is that there is no benefit to the community to kevetch about one vendor or another. We need them all.

[Bitsyncmaster]

I like John. I understand his strengths and his weaknesses. When I do business with him, I am cognizant of his strengths. I avoid his weaknesses. He offers value for many in the community with some of his products. He oversells (or undesells, depending on perspective) some products, so for those, I don't recommend him. He sometimes is cavalier about so-called "similar" parts. LCA ball joints are an example. We have difficult cars to maintain. I am thankful for the number of quality venders we have, many of which also have weaknesses, some of which are just flat-out winners. The point of this post is that there is no benefit to the community to kevetch about one vendor or another. We need them all.

+1
Well said.

[Ryan S.]

Every vender has his strong points and his weaknesses. You get disappointed when you get overly optimistic when you know a vender doesn't have great customer service but you expect it anyway. SpecialT has it's place as an alternative source for many things. From time-to-time every vender has had some complaint about something, you cannot please everybody every day. Some take a long time to ship, some take a long time to issue credit, some have bad parts, etc. You place your order and take your chances. Use a credit card in case of disputes (and you also get miles!). The Delorean community is VERY fortunate in that we have multiple venders. Many orphan car Marques have only 1 place to go and in many cases many parts are NLA at ANY price.
David Teitelbaum



I like John. I understand his strengths and his weaknesses. When I do business with him, I am cognizant of his strengths. I avoid his weaknesses. He offers value for many in the community with some of his products. He oversells (or undesells, depending on perspective) some products, so for those, I don't recommend him. He sometimes is cavalier about so-called "similar" parts. LCA ball joints are an example. We have difficult cars to maintain. I am thankful for the number of quality venders we have, many of which also have weaknesses, some of which are just flat-out winners. The point of this post is that there is no benefit to the community to kevetch about one vendor or another. We need them all.

+1. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[seventy4burban]

I called John yesterday to see if he had a couple parts on hand. Turns out he did so I went ahead and placed an order. Checked today and the transaction is pending on my card so I'm assuming that means he has shipped it. We will see how longs it takes to get them. I've ordered a few things over the years from him. I've gone back and forth about a few things but he has always made it right in the end.

[seventy4burban]

Well much to my pleasant surprise, when I got home today my order from John was on my kitchen counter. I must say that is the fastest order I've ever received. Via the USPS even. Kudos to John, hopefully this will solve my problems. If not I guess its a replacement fuel pump/sender unit from DMC.

[John U]

I have learned the hard way to stay away from his "alternative" parts, especially things like rear shocks!!!

[nullset]

I have learned the hard way to stay away from his "alternative" parts, especially things like rear shocks!!!

Oh, he told me I was the only one that ever had that problem out of the millions of people he's sold those shocks to!

[John U]

Oh, he told me I was the only one that ever had that problem out of the millions of people he's sold those shocks to!

I didn't even install them....didn't trust those collars! The worst part is that he grinds all the markings of his "special" products so that you can't tell what car they are actually from. I asked him to take back the shocks, but he said they would have to be pristine and uninstalled (which they were). Shipping them back would have cost me half of what they were worth, so I asked him if he could tell me what car they were from, thinking that I could list them on ebay as mustang shocks or whatever they are from. He wouldn't tell me of course :rolleyes1:

[jawn101]

Oh, he told me I was the only one that ever had that problem out of the millions of people he's sold those shocks to!

That's a common line I've found... I was the only person ever to have a problem with one of his alternators, too. And the only person ever to need a thermostat gasket.

[Domi]

Today, I received my brand new fuel accumulator from John without any problem.
A very fast shipping, I'm very happy :thumbup:

[yianni]

I didn't even install them....didn't trust those collars! The worst part is that he grinds all the markings of his "special" products so that you can't tell what car they are actually from. I asked him to take back the shocks, but he said they would have to be pristine and uninstalled (which they were). Shipping them back would have cost me half of what they were worth, so I asked him if he could tell me what car they were from, thinking that I could list them on ebay as mustang shocks or whatever they are from. He wouldn't tell me of course :rolleyes1:

Yes I had the same problem with his rear shocks. When I saw them, I didn't like the setup. But he assured me that they would be fine. Unfortunately, I have installed them in my car. Will not know if they work properly until I get the car on the road. If others have installed them (KYB with double collars), I would appreciate hearing about any problems you may have.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Yes I had the same problem with his rear shocks. When I saw them, I didn't like the setup. But he assured me that they would be fine. Unfortunately, I have installed them in my car. Will not know if they work properly until I get the car on the road. If others have installed them (KYB with double collars), I would appreciate hearing about any problems you may have.


I have had his early easy riders (all four shocks) installed for 5 or 6 years with no problems. But I don't drive it much and drive like an old man (which I am):wink:

[Delorean Industries]

Yes I had the same problem with his rear shocks. When I saw them, I didn't like the setup. But he assured me that they would be fine. Unfortunately, I have installed them in my car. Will not know if they work properly until I get the car on the road. If others have installed them (KYB with double collars), I would appreciate hearing about any problems you may have.

Take them off and send back. The shock body is not designed to have a collar installed like that. These shock combinations are a disaster waiting to happen.

[nullset]

Those KYB shocks bottom out and can damage stainless panels.

I speak from experience. John did not honor his warranty when I told him of the problem, either.

[Soundkillr]

Those KYB shocks bottom out and can damage stainless panels.

I speak from experience. John did not honor his warranty when I told him of the problem, either.

I got the "you're the only one that's ever had that problem...." Excuse, and I also have a situation where he won't honor a warranty issue either. I think I'm just gonna stay away from him from now on....

[ccurzio]

I love how a warranty exists to fix problems, but if you're "the only one with a problem" it voids your warranty.

That's horseshit.