This is an interesting thread... and I would like to add my two cents.
Everyone has gotten bad parts from this or that supplier at one time or
another so that is nothing new. Some of the previous emails certainly
detail at least some of the problems. At least one email correctly
stated that for the supplier, there isn't any modivation to
intentionally sell a customer "bad" parts. So why do we get bad parts?
Having done some manufacturing in both Taiwan and mainland China, I can
say from experience that you can get excellent parts from both of these
countries. I'm certain that we all had gotten bad parts from the US,
England, Spain etc. So where does the root of the problem lie? In
manufacturing they have a "trueism" that I have found to be true. The
"trueism" goes, "You can only have two of the following items at the
same time; Quality, Low Price, or Service. If you pick Quality and Low
price you will sacrifice service. Thus a firm that offers great(or at
least reasonable) quality and a low price can't offer great "service"...
they can't because it will drive up the price. Ask this type of firm to
research where the original steering wheel came from for your 1963 TVR
and they will laugh at you. If you pick Quality and service then you
will pay a lot of money for that part. On the other hand, they may be
happy to research that steering wheel or perhaps they even have someone
on the staff that is an expert on low production cars. They can afford
to, since they are getting top dollar for their parts. If you pick
service and low price then the resulting quality will be poor. This
firm can't spend the money to get better vendors and parts because they
have already spent all their money on service and their low price is a
constraint. So, (hopefully I am not sounding like too much of a bore)
where do we go from here. We all want good quality (that is where I
came into this thread) so how do we get it. Before I answer that
question, I would like to go in another direction... what have you and I
done to get lousy quality. Now don't get me wrong, we are not totally
to blame, but does any of the following ring a "bell". "I have a local
supplier that has great quality, and the service clerk really knows his
stuff, but I am going to mailorder that big expensive item from out of
state since it is 30% cheaper". Sound familiar? If you like buying
your books from Amazon.com (and I do!) realize that you local bookstore
will not be there in a couple of years so when you want to browse
through a bookstore you will be out of luck. "I called up ____ (insert
you favorite supplier in the blank) and asked the price of MG widgets.
When I heard the price I said no way, I can get a Taiwan knockoff for
half that price! (guess what your quality will be and in order to
compete you local supplier will lay off his service clerk and start
buying inferior parts because he needs to survive) "I went down to XYZ
and had them figure out the offset in my rims and what kind of tires I
need and then I went across town to buy them from "Bubba" because he is
cheaper. And the list goes on and on. Another old saying that has some
truth in it goes," buy the very best that you can afford and only cry
once!" Most of us don't have an unlimited budget to spend on our cars.
Those that do (have unlimited budgets) don't have quality problems. If
you don't believe me, go to the Pebble Beach Concour. Those owners have
gotten excellent quality in the same world that you and I live in. If
we could afford their vendors we wouldn't be having this discussion. I
believe that we, you and I, can be part of the solution to the "quality"
problem. When you find a good vendor or supplier,use them in a
responsible way. Show some loyalty. Recommend him to your friends.
RESPECT what he does. Don't ask him to do things that drive up his cost
(and price to you) that you can do for yourself. Know, for example, the
part # for what you need. If you don't know the part #, look it up. If
you can't look it up, at least know all the particulars on you car like
year, make, model,transmission type etc. Don't make him guess what you
want and blame him when he is wrong. In the event that he sells you a
bad part (and eventually he will) don't start "bad mouthing" him and
taking your business elsewhere. Give him a chance to make the problem
right. If he is a good supplier he will be happy that you gave him a
second chance because you have been a loyal customer (remember).
Also,remember that this good supplier needs to make a reasonable
profit. If he doesn't, he won't be around to help you the next time you
need him. And the list goes on... Most of what I have said also applies
to mechanics, machine shops and I suppose to all the people we rely on
as we live our daily lives. Before you start critizing firms or
individuals, asked yourself if you contributed to the problem. If you
are honest with yourself, you will often find that you are not totally
blameless. We all want "everything for nothing" but there really isn't
any "free rides".
Mike Denman
1966 Marcos
1965 Lotus
type79@ix.netcom.com wrote:
>
> Kelvin,
> So, If I understand you correctly,
> - In the interests of economy, it is better to offer a poor fitting repro than
> an expensive but correct replacement part.
> - In certain cases, your company is unable to find suitable manufacturers of
> correct replacement parts.
> - You wrote: "Many of the parts we supply are made by cottage industry
>companies
> in the UK and elsewhere." Why is your company so afraid to mention the name
> Taiwan? You don't mention it here and to my knowledge, you don't mention it in
> your catalogues.
> - For the sake of discussion, let's accept all of your statements at face
>value.
> How does that account for the poor quality soft goods that are sold? I
>purchased
> a tonneau from your company. It "fits" the car, but is not really for the
>model
> specified and has large plastic zippers that look like something from a ski
> shop.
>
> I have no problem with a company selling such items, but you should inform the
> buyer. Fancy catalogues that mimic factory parts manuals and list or picture
> almost every part for that vehicle create the illusion that all parts are
> available, correct fitting, and of high quality.
>
> Jay Fishbein
> Wallingford, CT
>
> "Dodd, Kelvin" wrote:
>
> > Andrew has some very valid points.
> >
> > At this time all suppliers are under the gun to supply good quality parts.
> > Unfortunately in many cases the market will only handle one poor quality
> > reproduction item. The alternative is to restore original components. Many
> > times this costs much more than an equivalent new reproduction item. I had
> > a vendor complain that someone almost throttled him for asking twice the
> > price of a repro bumper for a straightened and "show" chromed original.
> >
> > The MGA grille is a perfect example. There is no "definitive" original
> > shape. We have the factory drawings, and a grille made to those
> > measurements will not fit any MGA. The reproduction unit on the market is
> > not made by Moss Motors, and the market will not support two manufacturers.
> > There are some quality issues with the reproduction that we are very
> > concerned about, and there is a wealth of documentation flowing between we
> > the vendor and the manufacturer. The reproduction however retails for a
> > fraction of the cost of restoring an original. There is no question that a
> > restored original grille will probably look better and last longer than the
> > reproduction, but how many of us are willing to shell out $5-700 for a show
> > quality grille?
> >
> > The answer is brand named quality goods. Unfortunately the brand names that
> > we have relied upon are no longer supported. Lucas, AE, Vandervell,
> > Holbert/Eaton are a thing of the past, many have disapeared, others have
> > been diluted with sub-standard parts. N.O.S. is not the answer either, as
> > Kai has pointed out. I don't care how good the parts were originally, I am
> > not going to put 25 year old seals in my brake system.
> >
> > We have been in the process of taking a very hard look at the parts being
> > supplied, and purchased. We have a one year satisfaction guaranteed
> > warranty period which gets to be very expensive if the parts we send out are
> > substandard. There are enough problems supplying parts for old British cars
> > without adding known poor quality to the equation. Many of the parts we
> > supply are made by cottage industry companies in the UK and elsewhere.
> > Unfortunately in many cases there are no other alternatives as production
> > runs are small. Many of these parts may have fit problems, we have a team
> > who tries to document these problems and correct them. Once we know a part
> > is "good" it would be nice to identify to the trade and public that this is
> > a part you can depend upon. That is something that I am working on.
> >
> > regards
> >
> > Kelvin.
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