tonymission

- Is there a dismantling company that doesn't operate like a junkyard and does business in an ethical manner?
- Has anyone ever dyed their leather seats? I've already modded a bunch of this car and intend to change it from Guards Red to Signal Yellow or something equally fun next year so I don't care at all about resale or maintaining originality. I'll either keep the car forever or it will be so awesome when I'm done with it that someone won't care that it's not original.
- I've already ordered the complete Lakewell interior kit including carpets, rear quarter panels and B pillar replacement. Should I just add the seat covers to the list? A lot cheaper than new/used seats and I have a great upholsterer / interior guy to do the work. How would this compare to dyed seats? I like the idea of retaining the original patina of my seats. They're in great condition for 88k miles!

If anyone cares to read: I was lucky enough to get enough red flags before I signed my purchase authorization form with LA Dismantlers. They say they require a signature for anything over $600.

1. He told me on the phone that the console was $450 and the parking brake $150. When I told him in email he told me $300 and $150 for a total of $450 he said they would never sell a console for $300. I told him the date and time of the email and then he reluctantly agreed to honor that price.
2. They said the black 964 seats were 1200-1500 depending on condition. So he said he had some perfect 8-ways that he would do for $1500. "Looks like a 40,000 mile interior." He tells me to send him a picture of my seats so he could see if they were 4 or 8 -- at the time, I didn't know. So I send a photo of my 4-ways and next thing I know I have an invoice to sign. Price was still $1500 for the seats.
3. I asked for photos of the seats and he said they're already boxed up and ready to ship. I said OK, just send me the link to the product listing. No answer, twice. Please just send me the photos from the product listing if it has been taken down. Nothing.
4. I said what about the 8 ways for $1500? He said they normally charge $200 more for 8 ways so naturally I said you charged me $1500 for the seats before you even knew I had 4-ways so did I pay $200 extra for those? Why wouldn't the 4-ways be less if the 8-ways are extra? His response was he already gave me a discount on the shipping and center console. Um...
5. I then asked about the free shipping listed on the website. He said they don't do that and have never done it. I copied the text from their product listing page which clearly states: WE OFFER FREE SHIPPING IN THE CONTINENTAL US AND INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY IS AVAILABLE. No direct response to that.
EDIT: Got a response on my email about the shipping. Said I would pay more with the free shipping on the items themselves.
6. So at this point I decide to Google LA Dismantlers reviews and sure enough, RL and Pelican are full of these cautionary tales. I should have done that to begin with but I've seen a lot of people write "just grab it from LA Dismantlers" so I assumed it was a reputable company.

None of this is probably new to anyone here. I'm sure having a company like this for people who live in LA is awesome. Just not for me.

goofballdeluxe

Yes you found out what most of us know. LA Dismantlers is not so bad if you go there in person and deal with them face-to-face.

BUT, as you see, any other experience is awful, and you're lucky you walked away, because there are absolute horror stories about their shipping.

Glad you learned this lesson the relatively easy way

HDA

Damn, horror customer service story...

John McM

“I've already ordered the complete Lakewell interior kit including carpets, rear quarter panels and B pillar replacement. Should I just add the seat covers to the list? A lot cheaper than new/used seats and I have a great upholsterer / interior guy to do the work. How would this compare to dyed seats? I like the idea of retaining the original patina of my seats. They're in great condition for 88k miles!”

I’ve gone both routes:

1. I bought all leather seat covers from Lakewell. While the fit was great I have a few thoughts to pass on. Firstly, it is a false economy to fit new covers to old cushions. Buy the new foam seat cushions from Lakewell. Secondly, the leather is not the same as the originals. It is good quality Nappa leather but it won’t have the same look as the OE leather.
2. For my other C4, I bought a re-dye kit as the leather was in good condition. I will re-dye the seat faces to OE colour to get a newer look. As the seats are leather faces / vinyl backs I consider it too hard to re-dye to a new colour. I will do the work in the coming month.

As for buying parts, go to Autobahn. Their items are ex cars going to Singer and they are straight up. I wanted to buy a C4 transmission off LA Dismantlers and ship it to New Zealand. A LA local warned me strongly to only deal with them in person.

tonymission

Now they're threatening me and giving me "two options"... one includes a 20% restocking fee. Let's see who Amex sides with (they took my number over the phone and said they would send me an invoice to sign and return before the product goes out) after reviewing all the emails.

John McM, thank you for the response. Good to know about Autobahn. I'm in no hurry to do this project and just want it done right. Good to know about the seat cushions, I never would have considered that as one of my options.

911 jared

I’ve been to LA dismantlers before. I cant say i had an awesome experience. They seem like a bunch of snobs trying to sell over priced used porsche parts.

tonymission

Just got off the phone with Mike at Autobahn. Can't believe I didn't go this route to start out with... night and day difference just in the phone conversation. We actually had one without 10 different back and forth arguments about quoted prices. Seems like a very good guy and is getting me sorted with everything I need.

911 jared

Yes! Mike at Autobahn is awesome. I’ve ordered from him a few times now. One time the part i ordered was incorrect and was my mistake. He quickly reimbursed me and i was shocked i didnt get a restocking fee.

John McM

I wish I hadn’t said anything I trawl Autobahn’s stock on a regular basis trying to justify shipping more parts to New Zealand. To a long term owner their parts are a window of opportunity that won’t last for ever if Singer stops breaking up 964s as I suspect few cars are now dismantled for other reasons.

tonymission

I also hesitated before posting my good findings with Mike, but he just seemed like such a good guy that I wanted to spread the word for him. He's got such a treasure trove down there that you kind of want to keep it to yourself! LOL

melman911

+1 Great guy and company to deal with. Excellent customer service and product.

Antonov

+1 for Autobahn, not so much for LAD