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Bob drake again I called Drake Thursday about a '33 radiator cap ( PN 40-8100-AR) that looks excellent on the outside but the threaded hole for the Cap Repair Kit (PN B-8100-RK) is corroding away. Bob actually answered the phone and after explaining the problem, he said (SUPRISE) "we have never had that problem before". He took my name and number and said they would call right back. Well one of his people called in a few minutes and said they have no record of me buying it. I said I may have bought it from one of the other dealers which have his products and I said that could be. I TOLD BOB THE CAP HAD HIS NAME AND PART NUMBER cast into the cap. At that point they said i would need to contact them and I started to voice my opinion and they hung up on me.
Buyer Beware They don't want to admit any fault for their products. Probably the last time I will deal with them. I have also taken MAC's off of my acceptable vendor list for the same kind of response. |
Re: Bob drake again Well.......WHO would'a ever thunk that BD's gang would act THAT way? DD
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Re: Bob drake again Poor business decision ON BD'S part. Your trashing them here will cost them a hell of a lot more than the cost of their crap cap.
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Re: Bob drake again It's really a shame the way they do business because many of their parts are fantastic. I posted a while back about the gas tank that I bought from them for my '40. The tank was too wide to be installed from the bottom, and, of course, they said few others have ever complained about it, despite the fact that they go to pretty good lengths to say that the tanks are EXACTLY like the originals. Instead of lying about this, simply say "these tanks might be too wide to be installed in your frame from underneath and will need 1/4" trimmed from the outer mounting flanges". Then expectations are clear and people would understand that the otherwise beautiful gas tanks would need 10 minutes extra work before being installed. Instead, they refuse to admit, to restorers who are used to making things work, that some minor adjustments will be needed.
It's baffling to me. |
Re: Bob drake again I have simply written B.D. off as a lost cause. It's profit before quality now. If he really cared, he'd take these complaints and get to the bottom of the problems. I don't mind paying a fair price for a decent product. But, we don't get that anymore. He's not the only one. Other areas of business in the country are the same way. Go to Lowe's and buy a paint brush and it's Chinese and of poor quality. On and on....
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Re: Bob drake again You whiners need to go to NAPA. The 'thread people' act like they have ALL the answers and everyone else is wrong, go figure. Bob Drake has done more for the Early Ford hobbie than any of you could dream about.
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Re: Bob drake again wspiker...Drake sells products that have their name on them and they advertise them to be correct for the applications they sell them for. Some of the parts they advertise do not fit the vehicle they say they are for and never would have fit because they assumed the part for a commercial vehicle and the passenger cars are the same which they frequently are not. Their battery trays they made for a 39 are one example where not only did they not have the same shape on the side, but the battery bolts for the pickup would not work on the passenger car tray, yet Drake marketed them for both passenger and commercial vehicles. Their 37 pickup grill stainless when it came out fit very poorly in the corners and was very difficult to get to lay flat resulting in a significant gap in the upper corners between the stainless and the grill. I have one of their stainless pieces on my streetrod. The streetrod has literally never been rained on, has only been wet when washed, and is kept inside the shop. The "stainless" rusted within two years. What is annoying is that they pretend you are the only one with a complaint, they insist they are right when they are not, and if they take back one of their incorrect parts, you pay the shipping even though they are the ones who made the error. The fact that Drake has made contributions to the hobby far in excess of the contributions of hobbyists is not relevant to those of us who purchase his products only to find they are defective, incorrect, or do not fit and then we are treated very rudely if we call their customer service.
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Re: Bob drake again I hear Mac's is pretty good.
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Re: Bob drake again I have ordered three things from "Back Order Bob". I received two of them and neither of them fit, though they were supposed to be a perfect fit. One of them I had to have machined to make it work. It cost me more to have it machined than I paid for the product. The third item was on back order for over 6 months. I found the product in southern California, ordered it and had it in two days. I canceled the order from Bob Drake.
Regarding Mac's, buyer beware. I can't say more, I promised Ryan I wouldn't. It is getting harder and harder to find good products made for our vintage cars and trucks. There are lots of people out there selling things, but many items don't work and the sellers/manufacturers don't stand behind their products. Finding anything of quality is getting harder and harder. I for one will never buy anything made by Vintique. Their products don't fit! Contacting them about their products is wasted effort. It is sad that we on this site fight among ourselves instead of standing together to force the sellers to stand behind their products. Our squabbling is what they count on to stay in business, because if we stand together they will go out of business if they don't stand behind their products. Just because you purchased something from one of them and it fit and worked doesn't make them good sellers. They need to stand behind everything they sell and the fact is they don't! You lucky buyers then argue with and insult those that have the backbone to complain about products that don't fit and the companies that don't stand behind their products. Mostly I just read on this site because of the many that know far more than I do about flatheads and old cars in general. I learn a great deal that I use in the restoration of my old pickup. I try not to get sucked into heated discussions, but sometimes I can't help but give my two cents. |
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Re: Bob drake again What I just CANNOT UNDERSTAND is how these vendors have such problems. Especially the fit of parts. Don't they give the manufacturer a part to look at and measure? It is almost as if they tell the vendor "The front is around 11 and 3/16 or so." Even if they don't have a part and find one on a survivor car the laser, computer etc. measurements should be perfect.
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Re: Bob drake again I feel and have experienced your pain. But try restoring something like my 1910 Hupmobile nothing is available and everything has to be hand fabricated. We are lucky to have any off the shelf parts for our cars. We could have perfect parts we just have to pay for them. Hands up who would pay $300 for a perfect part that now sells ( as an adequate but not perfect part) for $25 ??? Not many hands up out there I suspect!
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Re: Bob drake again I can see both sides, but will say I appreciate the post on problems with parts! It is nice to be forewarned, you can still order the parts if you want, but will know what you are getting and how much work is required to use it. On body parts I normally consider it a starting point "kit" type of thing that required you to figure out would it really needs to be usable. Sad, but that is the way it is most of the time.
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Re: Bob drake again I am sooooo thankful I restored my F1 in the mid '80's. In those days it was just an "old truck" that not many were interested in. Parts were easy to find and inexpensive. Been noticing on E-Pay how ridiculously high prices have gotten as well as the poor quality from many vendors. Too bad. Most of the parts I bought back then had a strange marking on them. "Made In USA!"
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Re: Bob drake again How long have you had the gas cap 6 months. 6 years? You don't seem to remember who you bought it from! I was in the automotive business for 25 years and a shop owner for 10 years how long do you guarantee your work? I would hear from 50 % of the customers I don't want to spend any money but they always came back for warranty when the job goes south. The company you bought the cap from probably made more money on it then Bob Drake did just because Bob Drake has his name on a part it doesn't necessarily mean he should own it for life. From my experience I would say the quality of Items I have purchased from BD have been in the top 10 % of the parts I have purchased from the early ford venders I have used in my project. In closing I have waited for back orders from BD but no one else had the parts neither. IMOP I need BD more then I need the other suppliers.
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Re: Bob drake again It looks like we are going back to the days of Argentine parts. Now it's China rather than Argentina. BD has fit problems, Carpenters rubber parts don't last. These were once the places where you could count on getting quality parts and now they won't even acknowledge that some things are wrong.. None stand behind their products. You would think that when they get the china made parts they would at least check them out for fit and finish. It seems like they don't.
And they are not the only ones that have poor products. Brake parts for instance - there used to be brand names we could rely on but now they all have China manufactured parts that either don't work or don't last. Quote:
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Re: Bob drake again I have bought several items from Bob Drake over the years and have never had an issue. Just sayin'.
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Re: Bob drake again i remember all the quality parts i used to get from JC Whitney in the 50's, sometimes they almost looked like the part you ordered. have one of their grills on my 34 now, looks good from a block away. in late 80's i needed some flex pipe, i had an old catalog i had saved from 1958, ordered pipe from that catalog and got in a couple days....
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Re: Bob drake again About 6 months ago I ordered a Rear Shock and Sway bar kit from Drakes for my 40 coupe. The package was shipped to Australia via a container so it took a couple of months to get here and when it arrived I found they had shipped the kit for the lowered suspension version not the stock suspension (different shock lengths) that I ordered.
I rang Drakes and asked for their Tech section to find out what the difference was and was put on hold until someone was avalible. Through their phone system I got back to the switch and explained that I was ringing from Australia and was put through in about 2 minutes. I explained to the rep what had happened, gave him my order and invoice # etc. and he said he would email me back very shortly to keep the phone call to a minimum. Within 10 mins I had an email back saying he had checked it out and indeed they had sent the wrong parts and apologized for the mistake and would get back to me. The next day I received an email saying they had forwarded the correct parts to me by airfreight, gave me the tracking # and again apologized. 4 days later the parts were delivered. You cannot get better service than that. |
Re: Bob drake again I think that some here are missing the point. As has been stated multiple times, many of his parts are top notch and I will continue to buy them. We all understand that it's not easy to mass produce parts to fit cars that are 75-80 years old, and I think that most accept that some won't bolt on without a bit of adjustment.
The issue for me is that they set very high expectations for all of their parts, but some of them are known by many (via forum discussions) not to right, yet they seem to always respond with "This is the first we've heard of that", which angers the customer. Exceeding customer expectations is just Business 101, yet they have found a way to do just the opposite too many times and have soiled what should be a great reputation in our hobby. Bobby |
Re: Bob drake again i'm finishing a 27 Tv8, i'm amazed at how henry could make and sell these cars for a few hundred $. having to rebuild doors [door latchs, window operaters] AMAZING that any one would make rebuild kits for them, springs, gears pins, clips etc., these came from Langs but same goes for Drake , Carpenter and others that actually have the parts made. many just sell others parts. i think its great that they make the parts, most are good. i try to buy most of my parts at flea markets, BUT i start looking for parts 10-15 years befor i start the project. will be 74 coupl weeks, have 1 more car a 34 roadster that i have all pieces i wanted, started looking 1999..plan ahead...Boo
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I have never personally heard the response (in bold above) that you and many others here mention, but then in the past 30 years of buying parts from Bob Drake, I have never had the need to call them to complain about anything. Now I have had them personally call me to request my feedback on some items I had purchased from them |
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That's all the informed crowd is asking for. BE HONEST. As a side note of sorts: I think it funny that those of us that expect honesty are labeled "whiners", etc. Since when did telling the truth become whining? |
Re: Bob drake again Damn, this thread has some legs! A little surprised the boss hasn't whacked it but there are a lot truths and a lot of anger being vented. From my point of view it is what it is and after you fix it you'll love it. I've always have tired to buy original parts when I can and not buy from usual suppliers, but that's me. One thing I do know is all of the bitching in the world will not change this unfortunately so it's time to deal with it guys. Les
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Re: Bob drake again If you have a complaint about your new Ford or Lincoln, you don't contact Ford directly but rather the dealer that you bought it from (or a facing dealer if you've moved). I think that same process applies when parts made by one party are sold by a second, not directly-related (as in no ownership), party in most businesses back in 1933 as well as today. If you don't buy something directly from Bob or Dennis, etc. your recourse is not directly to them, but rather to whomever you bought it from.
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Case in point: Some of you know I have a retail store. When, on rare occasion there is an issue with the product I sell, I take care of that issue NOW!!! A client does not want to hear "talk to the supplier". To them, I AM the supplier and as such responsible for what I sell. I insist on the best product from my suppliers but there are mistakes now and then. Fortunately, my suppliers are "good" and remedy the situation with me. |
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Re: Bob drake again Bob D and his number one man, his first employee stop by to visit me at my 39
on the show field Sat at Hershey. Ease up a little on him he's starting to show little ageing. Me too. G.M. |
Re: Bob drake again I knew Bob Drake back in early 70's while he was still working at Douglas aircraft in southern california. he introduced his first reproduction at long beach ford obsolete. first item was on/off switch plate and he was off and running. he borrowed a few nos items I had, to reproduce them and when his products were made in U.S. they were all high quality. I haven't bought much from him in last few years but can guess low quality has to do with off shore production. he was at one time considered to be a savior for restoring old fords.
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Re: Bob drake again What JM said above^....And, I'm just pleased/glad that Bob Drake and Mac's are still in business as a source for the parts I need.....The good and goods they provide far out number the bad. I've never felt victimized by them in all the years I've dealt with them. Too many 'pseudo' victims in America these days...."There is nothing noble about being a 'victim'."....
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Re: Bob drake again We usually don’t participate in the Bob-Bashing pastime, but a customer mentioned this particular thread and suggested we may want to comment and clarify. It is impossible to address such a large accumulation of remarks, so I will simply focus this post on the point at which the damn began to break.
As a policy, we do not hang up on customers. Even if a customer becomes irate, we attempt to calm the conversation to better resolve the problem. However, if a customer becomes excessively belligerent, profane or personally attacks our representative, we reserve the right to disconnect the call. If you purchase a part from us and find need to return it, give us a call, let us know what is wrong, and we will work to get the part back. We do have a 30-day return policy, but may extend the period in extenuating circumstances (that said, we do not generally take parts back that have been modified or suffer damage from wear, improper installation/handling or misuse). We warranty our chrome for a full year and rubber for three years against deterioration. If you purchase a part made by us, but bought from a different source (one of our dealers), we ask that you please return the part to that source. We do not demand a robust return policy from our dealers, but if you have an unjust experience with one of our dealers, we would like to know about it. As for corrosion of a brass part exposed to water (on the underside of a Radiator cap), this may be the result of chemical electrolysis. Basically, there is a chemical imbalance and the water has become acidic. Use a voltmeter to check if your water is holding a charge – if it is, you are suffering from chemical electrolysis. The causes are various (bad additives, long-term build-up of static electricity from a bad ground, maybe a short in the system) and the coolant system may need to be flushed. All aluminum and brass parts in contact with the water need to be checked for excessive corrosion. Always make sure you have clean grounds. We are not definitively stating this is the cause of a badly corroded radiator cap brass underside, but most likely the reason, and we will not accept the item for return. Brass will not so quickly deteriorate under normal conditions. Some of the other Barners will surely be able to chime in more here with some advice. Bob Drake, himself, does not answer calls in our call center and is very difficult to reach by phone out-of-the-blue. Our service manager, Peter, however is usually available and willing to help with a problem whether you purchased one of our parts or not. If you wish to reach Bob, all mail addressed to Bob Drake is delivered directly to him. If you are unsatisfied with our service or product, cannot reach a resolution with a member of our service team, have questions on a Ford part, or even part suggestions, please write a letter to Bob. It may take a little time, but he often responds. You may also be able to catch Bob at one of the shows - he likes walking around to look at the cars, so keep your eyes peeled. We know we are not perfect, but work hard to produce good parts for an often difficult array of vehicles in a niche market. We strive to be better and many of you have made us better. Thank you for your long term support and help. |
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