"Desu-San-Desu" (Desu-San-Desu)
01/06/2016 at 23:13 • Filed to: None
5
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"Desu-San-Desu" (Desu-San-Desu)
01/06/2016 at 23:13 • Filed to: None | 5
| 24 |
This’ll be short and ‘sweet’ (read: sarcasm).
For those late to the game who would like to catch up on this ongoing saga of ‘FFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!’, you can find my previous updates and initial post on my
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Warning: A lot of pictures in this one.
Everything I ordered for the clutch repair arrived either yesterday or today. Including the new Valeo clutch kit, which arrived via FedEx this morning. As it so happens, I was doing some dishes at the time and saw the truck pull up. I headed to the front door to meet him and I watched as the FedEx driver hoisted my $400 shipment of clutch components over and onto his shoulder like a bag of dogfood. I could actually hear the contents shift violently in the box as he did this.
Fearing the worst but hoping for the best, I accepted the box and thanked him. Heading inside, I set the box on the dining table and unpacked it. Inside, the Valeo box was off to one side, unpadded on the bottom and on 3 sides. The bottles of Redline MTL, on the other hand, were swaddled in giant bubble wrap like the Baby Jesus. Removing the bubble wrap from the top of the Valeo box, I took it out, set it on the table, and looked inside. What I found was disappointing and frustrating and depressing, but somehow not in the least surprising:
As you can see, my brand new clutch kit looked like it fell down a mine shaft. The throwout bearing appeared to have been used as a chew toy at the local K9 Unit kennel, and the inside of the Valeo box was shredded.
I immediately contacted ECS Tuning and informed them of the issue. They requested pictures, so I emailed them the ones above and their representative promptly agreed to an exchange and emailed me the return shipping label and pertinent paperwork. I also made sure to request UPS instead of FedEx this time.
After some consideration, I then called them and then made a request that, giving them my explicit permission to open the manufacturer packaging for the clutch kit, they remove the individual components and wrap them separately in styrofoam or bubble wrap to avoid a repeat of this. They agreed to this, even as I felt a little selfish and entitled making such a request. But I can’t afford to take anymore chances of delays.
Once that was done and the box was dropped off at my local FedEx shipping office, I called Valeo USA and informed them of what happened and advised them to maybe review their packaging procedures. The phone representative, I believe his name was Phil, was really understanding and agreed that it didn’t make a lot of sense to package something like a clutch kit with nothing more than some brown paper separating the components, especially when the items are intended to be shipped across the country. For all intents and purposes, the items were metal-on-metal in the box.
Phil politely assured me that he would inform the packaging department of the problem. I have no way of knowing if it will do any good or if they’ll take the advice of some random guy over the phone, but I really do hope they do something to better protect their products during shipping. This experience has left a bad taste in my mouth, which is impressive considering the recent sequence of events in my life.
So at this point, we’re essentially an additional week away from getting my car back on the road, as we have to wait for the busted kit to arrive back at ECS’s warehouse in Ohio, then the replacement kit packaged more thoroughly and shipped to me.
I do not hoist blame soley upon any individual party in this. I consider this a combination of factors equally shared between Valeo, ECS, and FedEx. Each could have done something better in this situation, but no single entity is entirely responsible for the condition of my clutch components. Things could have, and should have, been done differently, but the most important thing is that all three have shown exemplary customer service once I made them aware of the problem and have made sure to make things right. Not only is that hugely reassuring for me, but it’s also very mature on their collective parts. For that I give them kudos.
But hey, the parts for the dryer are here now, so I can at least get that working. Silver linings, right?
bob and john
> Desu-San-Desu
01/06/2016 at 23:26 |
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wow that kinda sucks.
AMGtech - now with more recalls!
> Desu-San-Desu
01/06/2016 at 23:28 |
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At least they’re replacing it for you!
wafflesnfalafel
> Desu-San-Desu
01/06/2016 at 23:28 |
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jeez... what the heck did they do, drop it out of an airplane?
E92M3
> Desu-San-Desu
01/06/2016 at 23:37 |
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That’s unusual. I order a lot from ECS, and they’ve always done a great job packaging. The outside of the box is often crushed or has a hole or 2 in it, but I’ve never had damaged contents inside. Makes you wonder sometimes if Fedex employees like to act out the Jim Carrey scene in Pet Detective.
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Desu-San-Desu
> E92M3
01/06/2016 at 23:42 |
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Yeah, this is the first time I’ve ever had an issue with damage from ECS. They’ve always been in perfect condition before this, even when, as you said, the exterior boxes are beat all to hell.
6Cylinder
> Desu-San-Desu
01/06/2016 at 23:56 |
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Your resilience to every single fucked situation that has come your way is astonishing.
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Desu-San-Desu
> 6Cylinder
01/06/2016 at 23:58 |
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Thank you, lol.
NotUnlessRoundIsFunny
> 6Cylinder
01/07/2016 at 04:00 |
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Well said.
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NotUnlessRoundIsFunny
> Desu-San-Desu
01/07/2016 at 04:02 |
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Consider me one more on Oppo who is wishing you will catch a break, and soon. Geez, sorry you're experiencing all this!
Burn-Spaz1966-Burn
> Desu-San-Desu
01/07/2016 at 05:59 |
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Sorry about the wait Hang in there.
jkm7680
> Desu-San-Desu
01/07/2016 at 07:38 |
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They should have done that in the first place! Wrapping it up with bubble wrap.
Ecs is a bit overpriced, but still my favorite option for ordering parts for my Audi.
KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
> Desu-San-Desu
01/07/2016 at 08:07 |
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At least the dryer will be working soon and ECS has their situation in as much control as its possible to have.
And if you need anything, let me know. I am not that far down I-85.
Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion
> Desu-San-Desu
01/07/2016 at 08:27 |
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Damn, you just have terrible luck when it comes to this stuff don't you?
Meatcoma
> Desu-San-Desu
01/07/2016 at 08:28 |
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I’m surprised that they wouldn’t immediately send out a replacement kit as soon as your return was picked up and tracking became active. I’m sure if you explained the necessity to have it as soon as possible they could accommodate this. At least I would ask for it. It’s not your fault and they should bend over backwards to accommodate you.
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Desu-San-Desu
01/07/2016 at 09:02 |
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Yeah this makes me glad I ordered my clutch kit from Amazon. They are always good about packing shit. That two day shipping is pretty great too (or one day shipping for like $4). If you end up finding parts on Amazon, let me know and I can help you out with usage of my Prime account.
On another note, any updates with the Audi? You have quite the saga going lol.
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Desu-San-Desu
> jkm7680
01/07/2016 at 09:44 |
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ECS generally is noticeably cheaper than 90% of the other places I’ve found. Where are you finding your parts for less? o.0
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Desu-San-Desu
> KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
01/07/2016 at 09:46 |
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The dryer is back together, but there’s an issue of the frame getting slightly bent at some point while it was apart, so the panels don’t line up properly. It looks like I’m going to have to take it back apart and fix that, then put it back together again.
That or duct tape. >.>
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Desu-San-Desu
> Meatcoma
01/07/2016 at 09:47 |
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That’s essentially what they are doing. My replacement should, by now, be packed up and ready to go as soon as they receive the returned package.
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Desu-San-Desu
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/07/2016 at 09:49 |
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I have Prime (at least for 2 more weeks), but some parts are just really hard to find one their for both of my cars.
As for the Audi, it needs a distributor, front crank seal, front cam seal, and the rear suspension components loosened and re-torqued under full suspension load.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Desu-San-Desu
01/07/2016 at 09:57 |
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You ever try rockauto also? They have really good pricing and quality on a lot of stuff. And for me, shipping has always been fast but that is probably due to there being a warehouse less than 100 miles away from home.
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Desu-San-Desu
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/07/2016 at 10:07 |
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RockAuto has had more than a few problems with sending me the wrong Audi parts, lol. For my Audi, I tend to trust AutohausAZ out of everyone else.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Desu-San-Desu
01/07/2016 at 11:40 |
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Shit that is unfortunate. I have had the best luck with them, but I have a Mazda so parts are a little easier to come by lol. Japanese cars for life!
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Desu-San-Desu
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/07/2016 at 11:49 |
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My next car will be RWD and Japanese. I’ve already decided that, lol.
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jkm7680
> Desu-San-Desu
01/07/2016 at 15:57 |
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Audi.