TURBOSMART - worst buying experience ever.

[Guest JimmyTheSaint]

Holy hell man, it's taken 2 and a half months to get a silly assed blow-off valve from TURBOSMART - and I STILL can't get what I need to make it work. (Funny name for the company since they're all slow and dumb).

I bought the parts initially from Speedfreaks.com but after waiting three weeks they sent me the wrong parts. Then they tell me it's going to be another three weeks to fix the mistake, so I take my hunt to the main supplier.

It started out that their main supplier has a phone but won't take orders over it, so you've got to email them, to which they don't respond. So you gotta call them long distance to see if they got your email. They got my email BUT they're sending the parts COD - because that's they only way they have of doing business. Fine, but they never gave me a tracking number, or a total price including shipping, nor did they inform me that COD no longer stands for Cash On Delivery because UPS DOESN'T TAKE CASH!

They guarantee me the parts I need will be here today - so last night I tear the intake of the Lotus apart and get the prep-work done (I should've known better)...

So then they screw up the address. Then they screw up the COD price by $28 bucks so that even if I did have a cashier's check ready for f**king UPS they weren't giving me the part.

I got a $300 BOV in my garage that I overpaid for and spent 2 months trying to get (ultimately I had it to get it from the manufacturer in Austrailia who got it here faster that their stateside suppliers could but charged me more for it - go figure) - but I STILL can't install it because the supplier can't seem to find a way to sell me a f**king $9 adapter.

What a joke, seriously.

I probably should calm down but this has gone on for almost a quarter of a YEAR trying to buy two parts from one manufacturer.

Now I gotta go put my car back together so I can drive it while I wait another decade for a silly assed part I saw the box for today, but UPS wouldn't let me have. (Don't get me started on UPS)

I'm so mad that once I finally do get what I need, I'm gonna hate it just because of what I had to go through to get it.

Anyway, it might be great (I couldn't tell you) but if you were thinking about a Turbosmart product - good luck getting it!

Edited August 24, 2006 by JimmyTheSaint

[andrewp1989]

Sounds about as bad as the experience I had with Electro-Lift (of Germany). A local supplier had me pre-pay this special order for a pair of rear hatch struts. They arrived after 14 phone calls and 6 months of waiting.

AP

[islandbloke]

Lottie has been off the road and in the local specialist workshop for 10 weeks now...and there's only a CHANCE she'll be ready tomorrow.

Simple brief - replace all bushes with a poly set (bought online and supplied by me - took just a few days to arrive here from Germany), supply and fit new rear upright, various other worn joints, reconditioned rack, fix loose chassis/body mounts.

Parts suppplier sent wrong hub carrier, then went on holiday for 2 weeks without sorting the replacement first. Didn't have the promised recon rack. Mechanic had to butcher some rusted bolts to remove - replacements apparently had to be blast mined, smelted and made especially for me as they'll never rust on another Esprit (!!).

Still need to source a rack and still waiting for Lotus to release the SE shock/spring set...although at least the delay will let me save up again!

Lesson I learned is that next time I take her in for work (I'm useless with spanners), I'll organise the parts (AND any bolts/hardware) first. I mean, if you put a value on NOT running your Esprit of - say

[Guest JimmyTheSaint]

Yuck!

Maybe we could start a list of shops and parts suppliers that've given us all the run around so that we can avoid them?

Edited August 24, 2006 by JimmyTheSaint

[Feffman]

Hi All:

Not to start a pissing match, but aren't there firms who support the Lotus marque, clubs, forums, etc. to buy from without hunting around? As an example, doesn't LEW have some affiliation with blow-off valves for sale? I know WC engineering has turbos; JAE, Dave Bean, R&D Enterprises, etc. (despite opinions) have nearly everything needed for a Lotus.

Just amazes me the same story surfacing over and over again, from a variety of us (and yes at one time I was guilty as well - no more), when we go outside the known Lotus channels, about crappy service, long delays or no delivery, wrong product, etc. Maybe we should take care of the firms that take care of us. These firms run the buisness risk of being beholden to Lotus and us. Yes, we all have stories, but for the most part, they are far fewer then the good stories and years of free advice we receive from the Lotus supplier community.

Just my normal (annoying) $0.02 opinion and yes opinions are like a.. holes, everyone has one! Happy Lotusing!

Feff

[USAndretti42]

Jimmy,

Are you familiar with Victor Meldrew?

[islandbloke]

Feff - I agree with you. But my parts problem was with a very highly-rated (by LEF members) specialist in the UK.

Whether it's because I'm 'offshore', a new customer, or my mechanic was partly at fault, I'll probably never know. I'm just hoping mine was a one-off problem case, but I'll be investigating other suppliers before willingly going back there.

[M Blur]

My mechanic sources Turbosmart - no problems - excellent products -

[Guest JimmyTheSaint]

My mechanic sources Turbosmart - no problems - excellent products -

The product may be great - but in the US, parts supply thus far has been a najor fiasco and the suppliers have been serious assholes. I'll be honest, at this point I don't care how awesome the BOV turns out to be, I'd never recommend them to anyone for any reason.

Jimmy,

Are you familiar with Victor Meldrew?

Thanks for chiming in. Got anything else usless or self-revealing to add?

Edited August 25, 2006 by JimmyTheSaint

[M Blur]

Sounds more like you have a bad US distributor - or did you deal direct with Oz..?

[USAndretti42]

The product may be great - but in the US, parts supply thus far has been a najor fiasco and the suppliers have been serious assholes. I'll be honest, at this point I don't care how awesome the BOV turns out to be, I'd never recommend them to anyone for any reason.

Thanks for chiming in. Got anything else usless or self-revealing to add?

I think you missed the point. The Victor Meldrew character always has justifiable complaints. It's the way he expresses them that gets him into more trouble. You've had major issues with 2 suppliers that others find pretty reliable. You've found them both unhelpful and unwilling to put things right when they make a mistake. Are you sure you are approaching them in the best way when you have a problem to work together to get it fixed. I know it's their fault but everyone screws up sometimes so giving them an earful, as the Meldrew character does, just gets their backs up and makes them think, "Screw you." It certainly does encourage them to help.

Now I don't know if that is the approach you are using that they need to jump to it and put things right but you may want to think about how you are speaking to them when they mess up.

[Guest JimmyTheSaint]

Sounds more like you have a bad US distributor - or did you deal direct with Oz..?

The only way I've managed to get anything at all was dealing directly with the manufacturer. Even ordering the adapter, Turbosmart had to call the US supplier and get it handled.

As far as the way i've treated the people I've dealt with, I was as nice as humanly possibly for as long as I could be. David at Turbosmart actually turned out to be a great guy - it's his supply chain that's ruining it for him. If I knew everyone I suggested Turbosmart to were going to be dealing directly with David - I'd give them two thumbs up and tell 'em to go for it. The way things are now with the US suppliers, there's no way I doubt I could recommend them and expect that person to ever take my word for anything again.

If Turbosmart managed their sales over the internet and had a center located in the US that dealt strictly with shipping - I think all of their problems would go away. Their 'middle man' supply chain is an unmitigated disaster.

The product (in theory thus far) is a great idea. It's annodized, serviceable, requires no tools for adjustment, looks awesome and they have different models for different desired sound levels - they even have a 'sleeper' series so that the parts look 'factory' so as to not draw attention from the authorities looking for illegal mods (that's a big deal here in California right now).

Anyway, I can't wait to try it out - but unfortunately I have been for months.

This is the one I got....

They have others...

[Jonathan]

You seem to have a lot of bad luck - I must admit nothing irritates me more than paying for something that doesn't work etc and having the feeling I've been ripped off. I've been dooped a few times which I was in my late teens but now I really dig my heels in and I don't let them get away with it.

My only suggestion is that if you're buying from parts suppliers try and build up a series of small orders with a suppler and then ramp it up for the big money ones. Suppliers get to know you're a valued customer then and tend not to botch you over....searcing for the best deal for a few dollars is usually a false economy as it can cause HUGE probs down the line.

I buy EVERYTHING from 2 companies, my primary supplier is UK based and if they havn't got it (usually Lotus spares) I goto PUK in Germany mainly becuae marcus is on the forums here and an Esprit enthusiast but also I like their tuning products. Recently I've found eBay to be fantastic as well to get parts (ie general engineering etc) - my 2p.

[M Blur]

I've got the last one pictured - it's spec is best suited to circuit use where the sound level produced is not a benefit - it's a quality peice of kit.

[Guest JimmyTheSaint]

I've got the last one pictured - it's spec is best suited to circuit use where the sound level produced is not a benefit - it's a quality peice of kit.

That's good to hear, I can't wait to use mine....

Just out of curiosity, do you happen to recall how many clicks out you set yours at?

[M Blur]

Set it somewhere in the middle - first part is if it's too soft then car wont idle happily - every car will be different depending on spec - after that listen for any turbo chatter/stall - if you're getting some then it's wound down too tightly.. wind back slightly then try again.. easiest way.

There's also a marker to stop you unscrewing it off completely.

Trial and error for first few times

[Guest JimmyTheSaint]

UPDATE!

After waiting 5 days for a new adapter JRP (Turbosmart's supplier) sent me the wrong part AGAIN. When I opened the package I actually ran out of regular curse words and had to make a few up to help complete my expressions of incredulity. These guys are just Incredible. I even gave them the correct part number to make it easier for them. They've got to be doing this stuff on purpose...

I emailed David at Turbosmart and he's a helluva nice guy. They're sending me the part today from Austrailia and he tells me it'll be here on Friday.

Thus far the only correct parts I've been able to get have been from the supplier.

[M Blur]

I just had an adaptor fab'd up.. much easier.

[Guest JimmyTheSaint]

I just had an adaptor fab'd up.. much easier.

If only I still had my shop...

[1984_lotus_esprit]

so is this a bolt in replacement of the Lotus pop off valve?