Aftermarket Vendor ReviewProvide questions and comments about aftermarket part vendors for the Third Gen F-Body.
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I had to file a complaint with the BBB against Strange Engineering and here it is. Let me know what you think
I had bought a 3000 dollar rear end for my 88 camaro. I had it installed in June of 2008 for 150 dollars at my local shop. I then had problems with it making loud whining noises, the first day I drove it. I called the Strange (since that is who I bought it through) and they told me I had to take it to one of there dealer shops. The closest which is 3 hour round trip away. I asking many times if I could take it to my local shop which is 5 minutes away. They said no, so I then took it to ............... The first time I took my car to ..... motors, Doug had to test my car to make sure it was the rear end that was making the noises, and it was. So he called Strange to send him a new ring and pinion set to be installed. They sent it and was the wrong one. So I made another appointment to drive down to .... to drop off my car so they could send in the whole rear end to be fixed. They sent it back all fixed and works great but now Strange wants to charge me for the labor and shipping of the rear end, which is 550 dollars. Edwin, the rep from Strange NEVER told me over the phone that I was going to have to pay for labor of the rear end, if he did I would of gone to my local shop who charges 35 dollars an hour to remove my rear end not 95 which this shop is trying to charge me for this. The rear end that was originally purchased in June 2008 was defective from the start and never worked right. And now Strange wants to charge me 550 dollars for it to be removed and replaced because of a factory defect they had to fix and then charge me again to remove and replace it. This is horrible customer service and was never told about me paying for labor, even though Edwin said he told me this once. Which I know is a lie, I would of never agreed to this. I called Strange several times about this matter and talked to Edwin and he says he is going to do nothing about it, I then asked to talk to someone else higher up, and he said they will do nothing for you and I never get to talked to anyone else but him. I hated working with this company and will NEVER do again, and I will spread this to all my friends and people on car forums. Edwin also said they will do nothing to help me, and said its all one me.
Let me know if you guys think I am in the right or not. It all started when they said I HAD to take it to one of their dealer stores and no one else, and of course my local shop is not a strange dealer store. I am so frickin pissed about this
THE BIGGEST THING FROM THIS STORY IS TO NEVER BUY FROM STRANGE ENGINEERING, FOR ONE THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS AND GIVE THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Oh yeah and by the way the first time I called Strange Engineering and talked to Edwin he said all there rear ends make noise, and I called bullshit, and they he said I should of bought a MOSER rear end!!!!! WTF?
__________________ 383 Forged Stroker. Splayed 2 bolt mains, TPIS Miniram, ZZ409, Probuilt 700r4, Dart 200cc Alum Heads, 3500 Stall, 12 bolt 3.73, Dyno Dons Headers and Y, Spohn suspension, relocated battery, 3.5 inch cutout, custom 4 inch custom airbox by 1bad91z ,3 core radiator, stage 2 stewart water pump.
You're absolutely correct, by law if they do not even offer you an estimate in writing, you're allowed to make up your own price. Get some kind of proof that they've never given you an estimate.
Dunno what the law is where you live but if a mechanic does work on my car without my approval, costs, parts etc. discussed before hand and my signature isn't on the work order I don't pay. They could try to slap a mechanics lean on your car but without the work order signed, all the parts and labor estimated before the work commences, they haven't got a leg to stand on.
Was there no warranty with the rear end? Warranties usually lay out who's responsible for what and who pays for what. If it was one of their approved "shops" they should have known this before hand.
I once had a mechanic remove the outdrive on my boat for new bellows and an upper drive shaft seal. About a 1 day job and $100 in parts. He tore the whole drive down (without my approval) and replaced all the seals, bearings, shims etc. The drive is a Volvo Penta which means parts are very expensive. He put in over $800 in parts plus 3 or 4 days labour then tried to doctor the work order (my carbon copy proved that). I eventually had to forcibly remove the drive from his workplace and take it to another dealer for reassembly ($1400). Once I said to him: "My lawyer and I are awaiting your invoice". It was the last time we ever exchanged words. 18 months later I still haven't seen his invoice.
I had to file a complaint with the BBB against Strange Engineering and here it is. Let me know what you think
I'm not trying to sound mean, judgemental, or anything of the sort. I'm simply giving you a third party perspective. Not trying to come down on you, OK?
With regards to what amounts to a written legal document, I would suggest putting effort into correct spelling & such.
It's just that.....It can imply, to the "legal-ese" guys, that they are dealing with an less educated person. And therefore, they think they can take advantage of that person who wrote something, may not be the brightest person, or less....(whats the word I'm looking for here?).....someone who will pursue & pursue the matter, instead of giving up easily.
If that person drops a matter easily.....Case closed. If they have to keep responding over & over (in this case, Strange Engineering) it costs them time to deal with that issue, rather than spending thier time on other issues that may need addressing.
I had to file a complaint with the BBB against Strange Engineering and here it is. Let me know what you think
I had bought a 3000 dollar rear end for my 88 camaro. I had it installed in June of 2008 for 150 dollars at my local shop. I then had problems with it making loud whining noises, the first day I drove it. I called the Strange (since that is who I bought it through) and they told me I had to take it to one of there dealer shops. The closest which is 3 hour round trip away. I asking many times if I could take it to my local shop which is 5 minutes away. They said no, so I then took it to ............... The first time I took my car to ..... motors, Doug had to test my car to make sure it was the rear end that was making the noises, and it was. So he called Strange to send him a new ring and pinion set to be installed. They sent it and was the wrong one. So I made another appointment to drive down to .... to drop off my car so they could send in the whole rear end to be fixed. They sent it back all fixed and works great but now Strange wants to charge me for the labor and shipping of the rear end, which is 550 dollars. Edwin, the rep from Strange NEVER told me over the phone that I was going to have to pay for labor of the rear end, if he did I would of gone to my local shop who charges 35 dollars an hour to remove my rear end not 95 which this shop is trying to charge me for this. The rear end that was originally purchased in June 2008 was defective from the start and never worked right. And now Strange wants to charge me 550 dollars for it to be removed and replaced because of a factory defect they had to fix and then charge me again to remove and replace it. This is horrible customer service and was never told about me paying for labor, even though Edwin said he told me this once. Which I know is a lie, I would of never agreed to this. I called Strange several times about this matter and talked to Edwin and he says he is going to do nothing about it, I then asked to talk to someone else higher up, and he said they will do nothing for you and I never get to talked to anyone else but him. I hated working with this company and will NEVER do again, and I will spread this to all my friends and people on car forums. Edwin also said they will do nothing to help me, and said its all one me.
Let me know if you guys think I am in the right or not. It all started when they said I HAD to take it to one of their dealer stores and no one else, and of course my local shop is not a strange dealer store. I am so frickin pissed about this
THE BIGGEST THING FROM THIS STORY IS TO NEVER BUY FROM STRANGE ENGINEERING, FOR ONE THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS AND GIVE THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Oh yeah and by the way the first time I called Strange Engineering and talked to Edwin he said all there rear ends make noise, and I called bullshit, and they he said I should of bought a MOSER rear end!!!!! WTF?
most warranties will say something along the lines of "have it installed by a professional or no warranty"(in more legal terms of course) in their eyes a pro is one of their own guys. you are right about you not paying for prices not discussed from the start. so did you pay them or do they have your car?
Ya wanna get their attention? Print out this thread 5 times. Tape all the sheets together in one long strip. Feed this into a fax machine. Tape the ends together so it forms one complete loop. Dial up Strange at 5:15 on a Friday on a long weekend. Press "Dial" and let her rip! They'll come in Tuesday morning and find a pile of paper on the floor and an empty fax machine!
I agree with the above about the extra fees, if you did not agree to them in writing they can go pound sand.
As far as installation, if strange cant set up a rear properly for $3000 it doesnt much matter who put it in short of a wrecking ball operator. You cant do anything wrong to R+P alignment attaching LCA's.
Ya wanna get their attention? Print out this thread 5 times. Tape all the sheets together in one long strip. Feed this into a fax machine. Tape the ends together so it forms one complete loop. Dial up Strange at 5:15 on a Friday on a long weekend. Press "Dial" and let her rip! They'll come in Tuesday morning and find a pile of paper on the floor and an empty fax machine!
I lol'ed at that
Good idea, if they still don't want to discuss the matter any further, do it again except with 10 copies lol.
i had a good experience with them. i ordered the S-60 (it doesnt whine) but after about 300 miles it somehow sheared 4 of the 5 studs off while going down the highway. i gave them a call they were like wtf! As was I. Well they sent me a new bearing,seal, and studs to fix it myself. i paid for overnight shipping(they offered free standard shipping, It was my daily driver at the time) Only thing i was out was the labor to have Napa press the reluctor wheel and bearing back on. So it cost me $20 I can live with that. Sorry you're having such a hard time with them. I can't remember the guy I talked to on several occasions but he helped me out a lot!
most warranties will say something along the lines of "have it installed by a professional or no warranty"(in more legal terms of course) in their eyes a pro is one of their own guys. you are right about you not paying for prices not discussed from the start. so did you pay them or do they have your car?
The only problem I have with that is if the thing wasn't set up properly when Strange assembled it, they should be responsible for repairing the damage THEY did. It shouldn't matter who put the thing in the car, a brand new part should function like a brand new part. If it was me I would've sent the whole thing back, no way would I put up with a $3000 part that didn't function flawlessly. If they didn't want to make the matter right they'd be hearing from my attorney. Unfortunately, no offense but as the man said, you should've bought a moser.
What was the time frame between when you purchased the rear end and and 6/2008 ? and why is this an issue a year later? Did you drive it for awhile and then take it in to be repaired (recently?) Maybe it's a time frame issue.
It doesn't make sense on Strange's part for several reasons. They don't require that you have their shop install it when you buy it, they have no warranty, and they don't allow for store credit on a part thats been installed. So what's the reason for their shop doing the work? It's not a warranty job because Strange doesn't provide a warranty as far as I can tell on their web site. They weren't going to take care of the problem without a fee, the shop isn't going to do the work for free, so you're right. Your shop could have easily done the work. Hindsight is 20/20 but I guess the questions you should have asked "Edwin" was, "Who's paying for this?" I'm also curious as to why the rear end went back. You said that they sent the shop a ring and pinion gear but it was the wrong one. Why didn't they send the right one? Why send back the whole assembly?
they initially were going to just replace the ring and pinion set. But the one they sent to the shop was a piece of **** according to the guy who was going to set it, and he had been doing rear ends for 40 years. And it was the incorrect one by the way. So they said just to send the whole rear end in and they will fix it. By the way they did pay for the labor to remove and install the ring and pinion that they sent, but not to remove and install the rear end when it came back.
What was the time frame between when you purchased the rear end and and 6/2008 ? and why is this an issue a year later? Did you drive it for awhile and then take it in to be repaired (recently?) Maybe it's a time frame issue.
I had bought this June 2008 and had problems in July. I called Strange and told me to take it to a dealer store. I did that in September. I left my car there in September and they were really backed up and finished up November. I then drove it back home and it made a louder whine noise. i called Strange back and they told me it was the gear set they sent me. So then I took my car back early January to have the whole rear end sent in. I finally just picked it up early May. Right now is a very busy time for me and was hard to find time to pick it up. Hopefully that gets rid of any confusion
I have one of there rearends also It was not set up right when i got it. I had to send them pics of it so that they would believe me, I didn't know what it was at the time but a barring was not pressed on correctly. Not big deal, but I don't think they are very carefull when they set them up. I'd say double check every thing when you get it. BTW I'm glad I have it, I don't think I could ever break it.
After reading this, I wanted to go the couple of miles from my house and give them a lawn job! I got warranty on my extra set of tires anyway.
What you should do, instead of printing out this thread and faxing it to them, fax them black sheets of paper taped together so it uses up their paper and their ink! Screw the bastards. $3000 and they can't get it right. Damn, I'd be more pissed then if I went out to my bird and found a D15 vtec under the hood! Um, ok, maybe not that pissed off. LOL
It is not uncommon that the vendor wants the part back as they provided it, in other words, if they shipped it to you, and you installed it, that you have to "uninstall" it yourself if there is a problem, you didn't pay them to install it, so they are not responsible for that portion.
Having said that, after having their shop of choice check out the installation and determine it was in fact a defect in product, that you should have been free to "uninstall" the rear end however you saw fit, they should have picked up the freight and labor/parts to pick it up, fix it and return it. That they didn't even come close to this is pretty bad, and makes me re-think the Strange 60 I was considering.
so they received my complaint from the BBB, and they said they could partially refund my 550 dollars or I could bring the rear end back to them and they would refund my money, but I would then be out 550 dollars for the R&R work. I was like what the ****, so they are going to give me some of my money back and I closed the case with the BBB. I will never buy a rear end from them again. And they even said that the high whining noise is normal, I do agree to that somewhat, but when your stereo is up almost all the way and your exhaust is barely streetable and can still hear the whining, that is where I draw the line. WARNING TO ANYONE BUYING STRANGE, they WILL make a whine noise in your car. The rep I was talking to said its a real hit or miss if the gear will make noise, saying that they can't make them all identical.
I will be buying from MOSER next time. Oh yeah Strange gears are made in Italy, I never knew that
__________________ 383 Forged Stroker. Splayed 2 bolt mains, TPIS Miniram, ZZ409, Probuilt 700r4, Dart 200cc Alum Heads, 3500 Stall, 12 bolt 3.73, Dyno Dons Headers and Y, Spohn suspension, relocated battery, 3.5 inch cutout, custom 4 inch custom airbox by 1bad91z ,3 core radiator, stage 2 stewart water pump.
most warranties will say something along the lines of "have it installed by a professional or no warranty"(in more legal terms of course) in their eyes a pro is one of their own guys. you are right about you not paying for prices not discussed from the start. so did you pay them or do they have your car? 
