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Great! Any chance you know of replacement fog/driving lenses for 89 S4?
I do not have any, but I bet Mark at 928 Intl would have a good used one for you. The lens is not separate from the lamp - so you have to replace it as an assembly.
Cheaper than replacing it is not getting them broke by a stone thrown up to begin with.
From Nicole:
We agree, and that is why we are not including gaskets when a dab of RTV is cheaper and will do a better job. Those little foam gaskets were so delicate - they tore during installation way too often.
Hmmm... I do not remember getting complaints that they tore frequently. Either people were too nice to tell me, or it was not really that frequent. I used Loctite 454 to glue them together, and always pulled on the seam before packing things up.
The only complaints I got was from 944 owners who complained that they had a seam, and smeared me on their message boards.
I strongly disagree that the seals don't do anything. They serve as an important cushion between the assembly and the sheet metal. If you install the assemblies without the seals, and tighten the nuts reasonably well, it's just a matter of time when temperature changes and vibrations cause the lenses and the housings to separate.
These are not fused thermoplastics like the originals - they are resin, which is glued. Glue will never be as strong as fused thermoplastics, but is totally adequate, if treated properly.
In the beginning I had to replace quite a few units - either because customers over tightened the nuts and the pieces separated or because of fitment problems with the bulb socket. We were able to resolve the latter with some changes in the cast, and the former with better instructions.
My pricing was higher to leave room for warranty replacements, and to allow for reseller discounts.
Thank you Nicole, I will see how it goes. We do agree that the price of the OEM little seal from Porsche is too high. Hence the home-made gasket or some RTV to create a cushion.
Again - anybody that wants the foam seal I have the raw material and I can supply with the lamp assembly so you can make your own if you like.
Of the foam string material, you need 12" for a Euro side flasher, and 16" for a US side marker. I have not found anything other than Loctite 454 that works well for gluing the ends together.
Would've been nice if someone (either seller or vendor) would have contacted me about their plans.
See, I was the US source for this vendor and Carl was a reseller of mine. But now apparently I'm not in the mix. No word from the vendor in this regard however.
And no need for me to contact said vendor for supply as I'm sitting on overstock, where some vendor overstock was shoveled on me right before the Euro took a dump and I lost near all international sales. And this business unit had not yet recovered.
Arrangements with another seller without discussion, and have that be one of my resellers is just in poor taste. No wonder Carl was able to reduce price!
And if either party was diplomatic, it would have been kind to contact me about purchasing existing inventory as I sit on at least $2k cost product. No discussion.
And Nicole, I graciously took over your business unit (per your request and offer) and treated it and you with respect, the entire time I sold Thommy's and your product. I've always been thankful I believe I did you well.
Now, part of me really just doesn't care. Another part of me finds this typical of some in this community (not you Nicole, you are a class act). And the other part of me is just plain pissed of, and for good reason.
Carl, you new existing the arrangement. And you weren't a big buyer for resale because your old prices were ridiculous... not because the product wasn't available. I mean really, you hardly ordered from me and at one time cancelled an order.
I'm just trying to understand how this situation arose without me being involved?
I'm sorry to hear that anyone is not happy with matters relating to these products. It was not easy to bring these to market and refine them to the point where they are today. The intention was always to give fellow 928 owners options in subtly updating the look of their cars without having to make any permanent changes.
When I decided it was time to wind down Hooked on Cars, I was very happy when Jim offered to purchase this part of my business. This ensured continuity and availability of all 928 related pieces, including the ones that some of my resellers did not promote or carry at all.
I was surprised, though, that Jim's website went down during his move. When it was online again later, I could not find the lenses. I just assumed that Jim had dropped the product; feared that my baby had died.
I never discussed this observation with either Carl or the manufacturer; I've been completely out of this since I closed the business. So I really can't comment beyond what I said above.
I do hope, though, that a solution is found that doesn't put Jim at a disadvantage.
^^^ Nicole, you and I are cool as a cucumber. No worries and much respect.
This has to do with what seems typical in the 928 business community. I may have expected this from Carl because he tries so hard, but I'm a little disappointed with Thommy (my vendor for those playing along at home).
And this isn't an isolated situation because Rich at Garage 928 has been steering buyers directly to the vendor, and doing so publicly. Which is strange because I used to supply him as a reseller. So he should know better, as well as Carl.
Very sorry, Jim. I bought from Nicole and I do not believe I ever bought from you. If I recall, when I tried you had no stock or very low stock and we could not fill our customer's order. From that experience I learned you were not going to stock them either. When your website went off-line, I assumed you had closed your endeavor.
I dumped my remaining stock on them only because it appeared I could not get any more from either you or Nicole. That is when the manufacturer (who saw the thread) contacted me directly.
Please post your stock quantities right here and lets see if we cant sell them for you.
I didn't know Jim was selling them anymore either, I've been sending customers to the same guy Randy. I had ordered the rubber surrounds from him and never heard anything and ended up seeing a refund a month later.
Then again we'd had an agreement that I was going to provide harnesses to him then found out from a customer of his he was using someone else.
01-25-2017, 11:37 AM
