product/company warnings
 

I haven't seen a consolidated thread on this topic, but I would like to start a thread that people post theirs and other's product warnings. The purpose of this thread is not to flame, but to inform and prevent future headaches for fellow forum members. Examples would include (but not limited to) shoddy craftsmanship or shady business practices.

I'll start with some posts I found around on this forum and others.

http://www.the370z.com/wheels-tires/...rnational.html
"Warning" Kranson Forged Lies and Bs - G35Driver
This Guy's Wheel Self-Destructed And The Company Who Made It Is Blaming Him

Berk exhaust.

Product: CBE for 370Z

Issues: Hooks kept sliding out of the grommets and exhaust kept hanging only by the mid-pip on the left side. This was caused by the hooks being angled and not having any swell on the end. Hit a few bumps, and they slid out of the rubber grommets, which only fit partially into, anyway, as the hangers were not long enough to fully pass through the grommets.

Attempted resolution: Berk acted surprised, said they would fabricate a new mount/hanger setup for me. They also accepted credit-card payment from me for new rubber grommets, as I ruined one trying to glue the hanger in.

Final resolution: I sold the car 2 years later never having received anything, nor being charged for anything, by Berk. It is my impression that shoddy work is their hallmark and they are fine with it, based on my experience and multiple contacts with them, during which pictures of the problem were sent, etc.

Never have had an issue with my Berk HFC or CBE.

My buddy's Berk HFCs have worked fine for years.

On topic, when can we add GTM to this list? :stirthepot:

And Mishimoto for making crap that could ruin your car? :stirthepot:

I'll give 10:1 odds that this thread is not long for this world.

I have had no issues with my Berk CBE...

IBTL? lol

I do find it very odd that this is the only car forum I've been on that doesn't have a separate subforum for product and vendor reviews.

Sweet! Time for some vendor bashing :ugh:

Not saying this is the case but vendors pay to keep the site running (along with premium membership).

If there was even a single bad review, chances are the vendor will see it, report it to the mods and ask to have it removed since it'll make them look bad. Gotta keep those that pay happy, you know? Otherwise, they'll probably get upset and not renew their vendorship, thus losing one source of income for the forum.

Also, each vendor here has their own subforum. I'm sure the reviews can be posted there. But for those that aren't paid vendors here, then yes, I agree with you that there should be a separate subforum for reviews for them as well.

I think there should be reviews for paid vendors as well. Accountability is good for everybody. I think deleting legitimate negative reviews is bad for the community.

:iagree:

LGSST sucksarse! :mad:

Reviews are ok if they are legitimate but you normaly only get one side of the story. Poor performance from a product can be an actual fault with a part or operator/installation error. Sometimes a part is actually at fault but it may only be one out of 100000 that were manufactured. That doesn't make all of a company's product junk and hence, trash the company in a review.

That doesn't mean we whitewash all negative reviews. There are some vendors here who need to do a better job taking care of the community, and removing any negative reviews dosn't help with that.

kinda reminds me of a thread I have going on about my headlights I did at 180 over the weekend over on FB. :wtf2:

But truthfully, like the saying goes 'for every 1 negative review on the internet, there's probably 10 positive reviews'. Of course, this varies from company to company, but it can apply for most companies out there.

Now if you're getting cheapo knock-off China parts off eBay and you blame poor fitment and it lasting you only 10 miles. You get what you pay for and shouldn't deserve negative reviews.

Oh, yeah, there's a certain amount of caveat emptor when buying Mishimoto. I assume that's the brand you're referring to with your statement. :rofl2:

reviews are good and welcome. :tup:

but im not sure if there is an obligation for a sponsor to have to "take care of a community".
sponsors pay a fee to advertise. where it goes from there is the store's own business and admin's choice.

kinda like how poor countries saying 'america should or needs to do this and that to help their country'.

f- mang, america (tax payers) does not HAVE to do anything to help you. :gtfo2: kinda...

Do tell.

Taking good care of the community is good business. It generates referrals and repeat customers. Removing negative reviews makes companies look good that maybe shouldn't. Just because they pay a fee does not mean that they should get special treatment. If they are screwing people, the people getting screwed should be allowed to tell others before they make the same mistake.

I was not singling out any brands specifically actually. I have no actual experience with Mishimoto as I sold the items without actually installing them. There's a whole bunch of other brands that do come to mind but I won't mention them, but they know who they are ;)

Nopeeeeeee :p

:iagree: to this.

See, that's exactly what we're discussing here. You've had negative experiences with brands and vendors here, and you're completely ok with others making the same mistake. Otherwise, you'd tell us the details.

:tup:

but then people get nervous posting shitt about an existing vendor cause the vendor might have something they might want in the future, and the victim might get blacklisted.

at the end of the day, i got tired of all this non-sense... so i buy most of my stuff directly from japan, or from their US office, or US manufacturer...

or just say f- it, buy it from a vendor, and hope for the best.

another reason why competent vendors should have a store-front at amazon. people can review not only the product, but the vendor themselves.

Oh no no, Chuck, don't misunderstand. I was just mentioning that based on stuff I read online but have no personal experience with. I do my research before hand based on these things I read online and order accordingly. Let others take the hit :rofl2:

The 'worst' customer service I've experienced is with Z1 where an item was on back order and I wasn't informed until I followed up a few days later. Seriously isn't a deal breaker for me since my order was placed during Black Friday so it's understandable.

Regarding the headlights, I had a positive review of the whole transaction, long term durability remains to be seen, but just one member didn't have as good of a time that I did (according to him, it took a LOT longer than expected) but his was done a long time ago so maybe things changed since then.

also packaging. you can review packaging on amazon. that's another criteria i comment during my review.

1) product
2) vendor performance
3) packaging

i know there is a luv/hate relationship with some of you and stillen.
i have to say, their packaging has been very good (swaybar)

vs some junk plastic baggie whiteline used on their kangaroo bar. lol

I have NEVER seen this happen from a decent vendor. Over on M4C, they are VERY Strict about negative feedback on a vendor. However, my threads got Noveske to replace a defective SBR I bought from them (All sorts of issues from an out of spec lower to multiple jams).

The rules were:

-Contact the vendor first, before posting, and work with them until no further resolution could be hoped for.
-Be honest.

If those two were met, the mods would stand with the reviewer, and it would NOT get whitewashed.

that's good to know.

but ive seen some vendors in the past on another car forum that ignored people that did not give good reviews. they kept making up excuses and the sad part was that other people believed them. :shakes head:

That's exactly how things need to be done here.

I didn't imply that negative reviews shouldn't be posted but readers of reviews need to be aware of "all the facts" before deciding whether to purchase or not. Look at ImportConvert with ref to Berk's. Neg review but most others are happy with the product.

this thread is still alive?


oh yea no mods get on until about 4pm eastern lol

:icon18: hahaha!!!

i thought i posted up a few good points. :D


... or not :ugh:

i thought you worked for LG or Maytag.


:rofl2:

just because a vendor is a "paying" one does not give them a right to crap on the customer. if they got a bad review and then PM a mod to delete the post, they have no business being a vendor in the first place and good riddance to them if they chose not to renew. not every transaction is perfect and there are issues but they should be good enought to take the bad with the good, learn how not to make that mistake again and drive on.

Edit.

I do work but you seem to be here a lot. Do you work or live off the government? :inoutroflpuke:

i think the poster's credibility also plays a part as well. :)

if you saw my review, people will know i speak from experience based on other similar parts ive tried over the many years of modding.

like take for example the kangaroo bar. wat a stupid design with that poly lateral collar that slips with the bar. added metal collars and it works, but the bushing still deforms. yes functional, but bad (and ugly) design.

never seen that on other bars ive tried... cusco, spoon, stillen, eibach, (oem ie nimos), and others.