Advice on Huntley Racing
12-21-2002, 06:43 PM
#31
I've only dealt with Paragon so far, and here's my experience:
I ordered a new slave/ master cylinder. Came 3 days later, no problems.
After having the throwout bearing break while bleeding the clutch system, I ordered all of their clutch stuff: clutch kit, bearings, guides, alignment tools, etc. It took about 2 weeks to get here via UPS ground, but given that we're in the busiest shipping season, I wasn't expecting it any sooner. Heck, I just got the exhaust off today!
Well, they forgot to put one of the bearings in the box. I called them after triple checking to make sure I didn't miss it. The person I talked to seemed genionly concerned, asked how soon I needed it (I'm guessing they'd be willing to overnight it?), and then placed the replacement order right then and there. Should be here by next Friday, as I really didn't need them to rush it here.
Was I unhappy that they forgot the part? Of course. But since they rectified it in a very professional manner, I'll definately continue to do business with them.
If it were one of the *other* companies I'm sure the item would be "out of stock"
I ordered a new slave/ master cylinder. Came 3 days later, no problems.
After having the throwout bearing break while bleeding the clutch system, I ordered all of their clutch stuff: clutch kit, bearings, guides, alignment tools, etc. It took about 2 weeks to get here via UPS ground, but given that we're in the busiest shipping season, I wasn't expecting it any sooner. Heck, I just got the exhaust off today!
Well, they forgot to put one of the bearings in the box. I called them after triple checking to make sure I didn't miss it. The person I talked to seemed genionly concerned, asked how soon I needed it (I'm guessing they'd be willing to overnight it?), and then placed the replacement order right then and there. Should be here by next Friday, as I really didn't need them to rush it here.
Was I unhappy that they forgot the part? Of course. But since they rectified it in a very professional manner, I'll definately continue to do business with them.
If it were one of the *other* companies I'm sure the item would be "out of stock"
12-21-2002, 08:24 PM
#32
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I have ordered form huntley over 15 times, he never ever shipped anything to me beyond 4-5 days and that is from san diego to buffalo new york, if it was longer he sent it by overnight,, and paid for it himself, he suprised me many times and had almost 80 percent of the dealer only stock items "in house", i got widefire head gaskets, bearings, seals,plugs,gaskets,maf kits 2 times, hard pipe, and other stuff all on time and in perfect shipping condition, now if you call for him its very very hard to reach him, i cant tell you how many times ive called for tech advice for free.... but one annoying thing is when you cant reach a tech/derrick, and his secretary says can i take a message, which is her job to do, but if he had just 1 more tech their to help out on the phone the company would be much better off, anyhow, i also sent a bad wastegate back, a returned MAF kit, both items were taken care of and i gotr full credits, that made me very happy, he is good to deal with just hard to reach alot, give him a chance to make good its not his fault he didnt have every part of your head in stock, but im sure hes going to make you happy in the end, it just seems to me your mad about spending $1600 bucks, and its not really about bad service at this point, at least not yet, just my experiences to date sir.
12-21-2002, 08:46 PM
#33
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My experiences with Paragon and Pelican parts have been great. I have ordered from them and within three days, I recieved the items. They are great reliable companies. Simple as that. Now, I've spoken With Tim at SFR and I'm am going to buying a turbo from him pretty soon. He is a very nice guy. And GURU has been just great for me. They are by far the nicest and most reliable. Now it looks like to me (from all of these accounts) that Huntley really doesn't know what they're doing. Hey Derrek, You have anything to say for yourself? By you not posting just proves that you can't deny any of these accounts. So it basically comes down to this, Do business with everyone else (meaning GURU, SFR, Lindsey, Pelican, and Paragon, and anyone else who is reliable and has a good costomer service) except Huntley Racing.
12-21-2002, 11:25 PM
#34
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[quote]Originally posted by Geo:
<strong>
Oops.
Hold the phone.
In the 14 months I've been on Rennlist I've yet to read about a single person unhappy with either Paragon or Pelican. None. Zero. Zip. They have been impecable from what I can see and I know who I will do business with .</strong><hr></blockquote>
geo, you need to read my post more thoroughly. here it is again:
"it seems as though at least 1 in 10 people have been screwed by what seems to be almost every vendor currently supplying the aftermarket with 944 parts".
magic words here are what seems to be almost every vendor.
there isn't one portion of my post that singles out any specific vendor. i am not trying to place blame, but maybe those that need the business ethics refresher course will see what has been written and think for a moment or two on how to practice good business.
most of my parts have been obtained locally. but after months of scouring the boards i know who will receive my business when the time comes. they are those suppliers that have received nothing but praise by fellow rennlisters. and from what i have read there are a few that are obviously head and shoulders above the rest. and for that, they should all feel that much better about the work and information they supply us with.
hats off to the paragons, pelicans, gurus, and lindseys. and to any other i may have forgotten!
<strong>
Oops.
Hold the phone.
In the 14 months I've been on Rennlist I've yet to read about a single person unhappy with either Paragon or Pelican. None. Zero. Zip. They have been impecable from what I can see and I know who I will do business with .</strong><hr></blockquote>
geo, you need to read my post more thoroughly. here it is again:
"it seems as though at least 1 in 10 people have been screwed by what seems to be almost every vendor currently supplying the aftermarket with 944 parts".
magic words here are what seems to be almost every vendor.
there isn't one portion of my post that singles out any specific vendor. i am not trying to place blame, but maybe those that need the business ethics refresher course will see what has been written and think for a moment or two on how to practice good business.
most of my parts have been obtained locally. but after months of scouring the boards i know who will receive my business when the time comes. they are those suppliers that have received nothing but praise by fellow rennlisters. and from what i have read there are a few that are obviously head and shoulders above the rest. and for that, they should all feel that much better about the work and information they supply us with.
hats off to the paragons, pelicans, gurus, and lindseys. and to any other i may have forgotten!
12-22-2002, 04:26 AM
#35
Burning Brakes
Ive never ordered anything from Huntley, but my experiences with Lindsey, GURU, Broadfoot, and American International Racing have all been nothing short of excellent.
12-22-2002, 12:48 PM
#36
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Hey guys, I thought I should make a post from a vendors standpoint even though this post was not directed towards SFR:^) It is tough running a business especially when you deal with people who are very meticulous(some of them border on ****:^) about there cars. It makes it really tough to run a business when you start from scratch with no operating capital too. I am sure that more then a few of these Porsche shops started like this and we are no exception. Sometimes there is delays. Sometimes customers get put on hold. Sometimes customers are unhappy and sometimes there are disputes.I know that I had experienced all of these problems throughout the years and I have given away thousand of dollars in free parts, labor or service to try to make ammends when a situation like this comes up. Even then, sometimes things dont work out between us and the customer and you know the old saying, you cant please all of the people all of the time. However, you can try your best! Now the one thing I dont think I have ever been guilty of is telling a customer that something has shipped out when it hasnt.Tracking numbers prevent this situation from occuring. OK ......well maybe I made an honest mistake once or twice but this is a very rare occurance. Usually, I will suck it up and prepare for the wrath which I will recieve(and you guys can let us have it like we are two year old kids that got caught tracking mud through the white carpet). I then let them know that their order has not been shipped, give them an approximate date of shipment and apoligize for the delays. Sometimes free parts or discounts work to smooth the situation out and I have taken this approach on more occasions then I would like to admit;^) In conclusion......its tough doing what I love and customers who want there parts yesterday make it tougher! LOL.
Now this is to a few of our customers who have not recieved there parts yet. We are very sorry. We just expanded our shop and had to do some remodeling.On top of that we were getting one of our project cars ready for a Photoshoot for Popular Mechanics Magazine! Yes Popular Mechanics. I know it is not really a car magazine but hey I dont mind being on the cover of a well known magazine where such things as the Space Shuttle, Stealth fighter, jets, land speed cars, etc.......have made there marks. Actually, I feel honored to have made the cover of this proclaimed magazine because of something we achieved which has never been done before!
Here is a little more about the car featured in an upcoming issue of Popular mechanics.....It is a Toyota Supra twin-turbo.It makes over 1000 horsepower at the wheels out of a 3.2L motor. The car is my new partners. We decided to re-do most of the engine componenets because the guy that put it together(who also built the Hot Rod of the year in Hot Rod magazine last year, hacked everything together) Anyways we started with an equal length twin turbo exhaust manifold made of 321SS. This manifold is a masterpiece if I do say so myself:^) Then we put two T-66 turbos on it with 3" stainlss exhaust downpipes and 4" 6061 aluminum intakes.The intercooler piping is 2.5" 6061 aluminum. The intake manifold is a custom sheet metal manifold(which we did not do) but we will be putting our new design on it very soon.The intercooler is massive and had to be reworked because of some very poor aluminum welding.The car also has a crazy wide body kit, aluminum wing, huge rims and tires, carbon fiber this and that, basically the best of everything.The car is so impresive and brutally fast that it has set records on the dyno for this model of car and we hope to set some records at the dragstrip and possibly some road races, very soon. Anyways, I am pumped up! Driving in the car is shear terror! It pulls so hard you almost blackout and it stops so fast with the eight piston Brembos your eyeballs feel like they will be ripped out of there sockets. HE HE. I want one. Take care and Merry Christmas to everyone and hey dont get your panties in an uproar(you can wait till after Christmas for that:^)
Now this is to a few of our customers who have not recieved there parts yet. We are very sorry. We just expanded our shop and had to do some remodeling.On top of that we were getting one of our project cars ready for a Photoshoot for Popular Mechanics Magazine! Yes Popular Mechanics. I know it is not really a car magazine but hey I dont mind being on the cover of a well known magazine where such things as the Space Shuttle, Stealth fighter, jets, land speed cars, etc.......have made there marks. Actually, I feel honored to have made the cover of this proclaimed magazine because of something we achieved which has never been done before!
Here is a little more about the car featured in an upcoming issue of Popular mechanics.....It is a Toyota Supra twin-turbo.It makes over 1000 horsepower at the wheels out of a 3.2L motor. The car is my new partners. We decided to re-do most of the engine componenets because the guy that put it together(who also built the Hot Rod of the year in Hot Rod magazine last year, hacked everything together) Anyways we started with an equal length twin turbo exhaust manifold made of 321SS. This manifold is a masterpiece if I do say so myself:^) Then we put two T-66 turbos on it with 3" stainlss exhaust downpipes and 4" 6061 aluminum intakes.The intercooler piping is 2.5" 6061 aluminum. The intake manifold is a custom sheet metal manifold(which we did not do) but we will be putting our new design on it very soon.The intercooler is massive and had to be reworked because of some very poor aluminum welding.The car also has a crazy wide body kit, aluminum wing, huge rims and tires, carbon fiber this and that, basically the best of everything.The car is so impresive and brutally fast that it has set records on the dyno for this model of car and we hope to set some records at the dragstrip and possibly some road races, very soon. Anyways, I am pumped up! Driving in the car is shear terror! It pulls so hard you almost blackout and it stops so fast with the eight piston Brembos your eyeballs feel like they will be ripped out of there sockets. HE HE. I want one. Take care and Merry Christmas to everyone and hey dont get your panties in an uproar(you can wait till after Christmas for that:^)
wow..i want to ride in that thing tim!!
12-22-2002, 05:45 PM
#38
Race Car
Tim, I am glad you added the supplier's side of the story, but if all businessmen had your attitude there wouldn't be much need for threads like this. The sad fact is that not everyone is as worried about customer service as you are, maybe that's why you don't see SFR in the complaint topics all the time.
Tecart, You need to reread the original post, if I was quoted a week and had spend a month waiting I'd be pissed too. If I were lied to during that month, I'd be really pissed. If I had to originate all the phone calls in order to be lied to, I'd be livid, and when I found out my card had already been charged before my order was shipped, I'd file a complaint. Hey...look at that, you were right, it's not about service. It's about fraud.
We all have our lists in our heads of suppliers we will buy from again, suppliers we haven't yet tried but would buy from, and suppliers that really should do everyone a favor and close up shop. When enough customers move you into the last catagory, closing up may be the only option. Good customer service may not "please all of the people, all of the time", but it will keep most of us coming back. Isn't that the point of being in business?
That's one of the benefits of a community like Rennlist, we have the opportunity to learn from each other's experience.
Tecart, You need to reread the original post, if I was quoted a week and had spend a month waiting I'd be pissed too. If I were lied to during that month, I'd be really pissed. If I had to originate all the phone calls in order to be lied to, I'd be livid, and when I found out my card had already been charged before my order was shipped, I'd file a complaint. Hey...look at that, you were right, it's not about service. It's about fraud.
We all have our lists in our heads of suppliers we will buy from again, suppliers we haven't yet tried but would buy from, and suppliers that really should do everyone a favor and close up shop. When enough customers move you into the last catagory, closing up may be the only option. Good customer service may not "please all of the people, all of the time", but it will keep most of us coming back. Isn't that the point of being in business?
That's one of the benefits of a community like Rennlist, we have the opportunity to learn from each other's experience.
12-22-2002, 08:13 PM
#40
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I think what Tim said has happened to everyone in business- there are sometimes delays and in my particular business sometimes the customer changes thier mind( like just this week a customer has decided they wanted a Fabcar shifter instead of the stock G-50) or there are problems that have been forseen, attended to, then an outside influence undoes all the careful planning(like recieving a standard G-50 from a customer who was carefully told to obtain a G-50/50- but hey it isnt his fault really- we should have insisted on supplying the tranny ourselves to avoid this sort of thing, after all we are the specialists)and when these things happen delays occur. And thats without little things like holidays, employees out sick, other customers emergencies, and outside supplier suddenly falling down on you. However it is always much simpler to simply pick up the phone and ring the customer and explain things, and re-establish that all-so-important communication, than it is to lie and/or wait for the inevitable angry phone call. I myself am currently two weeks behind on a promised car, and will be working late the next few weeks and on the 23rd and the 26th to try and get back on schedule.
Again- I think it irks me more when I see a response like tecarts- who has had excelent(he says) service from HR, and then read about HR's impending race season. To my way of thinking each customer is as important as the next- and for Huntley to brag about getting out to the track when there are customers waiting for parts just pisses me- and I have never had any dealings with him. Thinking on it- Im fairly sure I wont either.
Just so those reading this wont think I am talking outta my hat- I currently work with a shop that does Professional(Speed World Challenge GT), Vintage(RMVR and HSR as well as others with Porsches, big-block Corvettes and Camaros, and prototypes)PCA, and SCCA club racing in addition to concours quality restorations and paintwork. In addition I build high performance motors for Porsche and Formula Vee, build and sell and race-prepare Formula Vees, down to molding my own body and building my own chassis(anyone in the market for a Vee should contact me- as I am currently selling a new design at a VERY attractive price) and am fulfilling a prior contract to prepare and maintain a World Challenge Touring Car BMW.
Although I am having to cut back on some of my activities(read as I am so busy with my new position that am no longer accepting engines to build or cars to prepare, but am still building and preparing Vees) ALL of my customers know where they stand, and I honestly feel it brings me more business this way.
Again- I think it irks me more when I see a response like tecarts- who has had excelent(he says) service from HR, and then read about HR's impending race season. To my way of thinking each customer is as important as the next- and for Huntley to brag about getting out to the track when there are customers waiting for parts just pisses me- and I have never had any dealings with him. Thinking on it- Im fairly sure I wont either.
Just so those reading this wont think I am talking outta my hat- I currently work with a shop that does Professional(Speed World Challenge GT), Vintage(RMVR and HSR as well as others with Porsches, big-block Corvettes and Camaros, and prototypes)PCA, and SCCA club racing in addition to concours quality restorations and paintwork. In addition I build high performance motors for Porsche and Formula Vee, build and sell and race-prepare Formula Vees, down to molding my own body and building my own chassis(anyone in the market for a Vee should contact me- as I am currently selling a new design at a VERY attractive price) and am fulfilling a prior contract to prepare and maintain a World Challenge Touring Car BMW.
Although I am having to cut back on some of my activities(read as I am so busy with my new position that am no longer accepting engines to build or cars to prepare, but am still building and preparing Vees) ALL of my customers know where they stand, and I honestly feel it brings me more business this way.
12-22-2002, 08:54 PM
#41
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[quote]Originally posted by tecart:
it just seems to me your mad about spending $1600 bucks, and its not really about bad service at this point, at least not yet, just my experiences to date sir.[/QB]<hr></blockquote>
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If I was gonna be mad about spending $1600, why would I have agreed to spend $1600 in the first place? However, I AM mad about spending $1600 and getting a bunch of broken promises and unreturned phone calls for it. Wouldn't you?
[quote]Originally posted by tecart:
it just seems to me your mad about spending $1600 bucks, and its not really about bad service at this point, at least not yet, just my experiences to date sir.[/QB]<hr></blockquote>
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If I was gonna be mad about spending $1600, why would I have agreed to spend $1600 in the first place? However, I AM mad about spending $1600 and getting a bunch of broken promises and unreturned phone calls for it. Wouldn't you?
12-22-2002, 08:54 PM
#42
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I figured I should weigh in here. Unfortunately, my post will echo the same that all of you above have written. I have been on this forum for 3 years now, having read thousands of posts like this. Almost every vendor you can contact visits the forums now and then. I hope what I have to say sinks in to each one of them.
Being the end of the year, I dug out all my recipts since I have owned the car. I started thumbing through and adding up what I have spent since the 1st tank of gas I put into the 951. I also took notice of the names on the recipts. In 3 years of ownership, I have driven 23,946 miles in 7 months time. The rest, the car has been in the garage, in one state or another.
I have delt with every supplier or tuner I have ever heard of. I have recipts from Zims, Vertex, SFR, Brumos, Huntley, Pelican, Anderson, Ian's, PP, PowerHaus, 928 International, Performance Auto Works, Speedhut, Granny, Buslick, Terry Simon, John Dunkle, AIR, ARP, Raceware, Iceshark, KLA, and some local speed shops. Some I spent a few bucks with, others I spent thousands.
$30,989 on parts. $10,000 of it to Paragon, and it went to the right place. I bought a few bearing shells from Ian's and he did backflips to get it out to me next day, and did not charge. I then ordered rings, and the same thing happened. I will spend more with him.
I have had issues with all the suppliers. Huntley has always been bad, SFR has been slow, Anderson does not communicate well, Vertex quality sucks, PP is overpriced and customer service has gone south, AIR was great, Garrity is out of business, Pelican was slow, Paragon is rock solid, and on and on.
I am not alone here. I think everyone should send a little message to some of the bad, and some of the good by posting their experiences.
The good ones will take notice, and hopefully the same for the bad. I do not want anyone to go out of business, but something needs to change.
Post away! Thanks for reading this too.. I know it was long.
Being the end of the year, I dug out all my recipts since I have owned the car. I started thumbing through and adding up what I have spent since the 1st tank of gas I put into the 951. I also took notice of the names on the recipts. In 3 years of ownership, I have driven 23,946 miles in 7 months time. The rest, the car has been in the garage, in one state or another.
I have delt with every supplier or tuner I have ever heard of. I have recipts from Zims, Vertex, SFR, Brumos, Huntley, Pelican, Anderson, Ian's, PP, PowerHaus, 928 International, Performance Auto Works, Speedhut, Granny, Buslick, Terry Simon, John Dunkle, AIR, ARP, Raceware, Iceshark, KLA, and some local speed shops. Some I spent a few bucks with, others I spent thousands.
$30,989 on parts. $10,000 of it to Paragon, and it went to the right place. I bought a few bearing shells from Ian's and he did backflips to get it out to me next day, and did not charge. I then ordered rings, and the same thing happened. I will spend more with him.
I have had issues with all the suppliers. Huntley has always been bad, SFR has been slow, Anderson does not communicate well, Vertex quality sucks, PP is overpriced and customer service has gone south, AIR was great, Garrity is out of business, Pelican was slow, Paragon is rock solid, and on and on.
I am not alone here. I think everyone should send a little message to some of the bad, and some of the good by posting their experiences.
The good ones will take notice, and hopefully the same for the bad. I do not want anyone to go out of business, but something needs to change.
Post away! Thanks for reading this too.. I know it was long.
12-22-2002, 09:50 PM
#45
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Giving life back to something that was dead sure does cost a lot. <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" /> But I am glad I did it, it is better than ever.
I will be doing a 911 in some point of my life as well. And this time I will do a lot more research into who I deal with.
What I said was not an attack on any company or individual. As people, a lot of the tuners are very cool. Derrek knows his ****, and Tim and John do as well. Garrity was one hell of a Machinist. Communication is what they lack, that's all. Perhaps it is because they are in the shop working a ton to fill the orders, or they are out racing enjoying the car they love, or just lazy.
I will be doing a 911 in some point of my life as well. And this time I will do a lot more research into who I deal with.
What I said was not an attack on any company or individual. As people, a lot of the tuners are very cool. Derrek knows his ****, and Tim and John do as well. Garrity was one hell of a Machinist. Communication is what they lack, that's all. Perhaps it is because they are in the shop working a ton to fill the orders, or they are out racing enjoying the car they love, or just lazy.