Minoclan

German Auto Dismantlers came recommended to me by a well-known Porsche mechanic as a friend and reliable supplier of parts. I bought a few minor parts for my 2000 996 from David at GAD with no problem whatsoever.

In February I bought a 1987 Carrera (not from GAD) to set up for DE events. I bought everything new but thought that I would try used parts for the Fuchs wheels and Bilstein shocks. I called Dave and come to find out that he is no longer there. I am now dealing with the owner, JOE. He had 2 16X7 Fuchs that were promptly shipped and immediately billed to my debit card. NO PROBLEM.

I then asked Joe if he had HD Bilsteins for the front and back. He said that he would check and get back to me. Two days later there is a $250 debit to my checking account. I called Joe because I could not figure out how an inquiry turned into a debit to my account. He promised me that the shocks would be coming soon. I decided to not make a stink since four HD Bilsteins for $250 still sounded reasonable.

A week went by and no shocks. I waited and waited. Then I got an automatic email stating that GAD had sent a package. Another debit to my checking account for shipping. Again I decide not to freak out, and wait for the package. They finally show up, 2 rear sport shocks. I called to find out where the fronts were but Joe did not know. He also couldn't tell me why he shipped sport shocks instead of HD.

It has now been weeks that I have been waiting for my front shocks. I have heard every excuse like they just moved and only one of the turntables are set up, or it has been raining for 1 week and no one can get the parts, or the best was that it was very hard to locate the front inserts because you actually had to take the front end out. AMAZING!!!

Now I am mad. I called today after Joe's repeated assurances to call me with a status report. He told me that he did not have time to have me constantly calling him. This was valuable time that he could spend looking for my parts. Meanwhile I cannot set up my suspension or get to a DE Event. Seriously, the debit was unauthorized, the partial shipment was wrong, the balance of the shipment is who knows where for 4 weeks, and Joe is pissed because I call!! WTF?

What have I learned?
1.) Never deal with German Auto Dismantlers again.
2.) Cancel my debit card so that GAD cannot debit me at will
3.) Read Rennlist before I waste money. 5 pages of GAD posts don't lie.
4.) Just go to Pelican Parts

AOW162435

Sorry to hear of your experience. My recent dealings with Joe for $700 worth of 964/993 clocks was not the most heartwarming. While he did what he promised and sent 12 clocks at a reasonable price, not one was clean enough to use for my desk clock project. Each one needed at least a new trim ring and all had fogged glass. I was assured that the clocks would be clean and that he would pick only the best (that is, once the rain had stopped down there). While he offered to replace the worst ones, I finally decided to send the entire batch to North Hollywood Speedometer for refurbishment. Not a cost I was expecting...

You live and learn. Sometimes.

Andreas

Sonic dB

I called them once...they were rude and not helpful. I wont call again.

Sorry about your plight. File a complaint with the CC company for an investigation.

TonyG

Am I missing something...

Why would you buy used shocks/struts in the first place? (unless you plan to have them rebuilt)

You don't know the condition, you don't know that they even came off the same car and/or have the same mileage on them, etc...

Furthermore... he'd have to get you the exact set of correct front inserts as different inserts fit different strut housings depending on what the car came equipped with.

Wrecking yards are great places for some stuff. But not for wear items like shocks and struts.

New parts are a different story... then there are many web sites that can supply these parts fast, and at at competitive prices.

Good luck,

TonyG

Red9

Search Pelican on this company-- it says it all.

kd4yor

I worked there in the late 80's. I'm not suprised by any of these comments.

papaya9

Perhaps they should be called e-GAD

ventoGT

I would never give a vendor a debit card--I don't have a debit card as it is much harder to get your money back and someone can clean you out if they want to...use a credit card and you can always dispute the charges...

theiceman

Can you imagine the guy who buys his car at Victory and discovers all kinds of things wrong, so decides to get the parts from GAD.

oh my ...do we have a favorite shop who could do the work ?

This guy would certainly NOT be a rennlister....

r911

I agree - debit cards are very dangerous - I have one only for me to to use.

ebsalem

Just to chime in....

I paid $500 for a set of 2.7juggs to be re-coated from Joe. They showed up 6 months later and were so bad they couldn't be re-coated. (One is a paperweight in my home office, the other five I gave away as trophies)

The credit card was charged the day of the call. By the time his stuff showed up I'd bought another set from EBS for the same price intending to re-coat them but they were in spec. 20k and no problems.

Peter Badore

Joe at GAD misrepresents many of the cars and parts he sells. If the item is on eBay you might have a chance because I think his wife does much of the eBay businness. Transactions not on eBay should simply be avoided. This man is to avoided if you want to save yourself a lot headaches. I have a had number of direct transactions with his customers that were best dishonest if not outright fraud.

kick7ca

I don't know how the banks work in NJ, but here in Ontario all you have to do is sign a declaration at the bank and they will reverse the debit transaction, meaning you get your money back and buddy gets the shaft. You should talk to your bank, my bet is that they'll reverse it. It wasn't authorized. Sounds like Mr GAD is hard up for cash and taking liberties.

kick7ca

In addition you always have recourse with a credit card, regardless of the country.

ebsalem

Sorry to hear about your loss.

No matter the outcome of your situation I believe Joe and any he has 'sired' should be involuntarily sterilized so the gene pool is cleansed.