NO MORE ORDERS FOR CLASSIC INDUSTRIES!!

[Red63440]

Over the past two years I have spent a lot of money at CI. I ordered an alternator from them and it arrived damaged and frozen solid….long story short, it was returned and in the end I was refunded the purchase price but not the shipping when the refund was due to poor packaging of the product. I should have purchased locally because I learned that the item I received is also carried by Napa right down the street. Lesson learned but no more Classic Industries! I have placed a complaint against them which is on Facebook.

 

[Tony Tee]

I had a aluminum radiator arrive damaged. Same as your alternator. Wasn't packaged real good.
Luckily I was able to bend the mounting side rails back out. Not able to buy this locally. So sometimes we have no choice but buy online. And buy insurance if possible. Or buy from a business that has free return shipping. $hit happens!

 

[pnora]

Classic sucks the big one. No more of my money.

 

[AR67GTX]

I ordered a console plate kit from them which they kept telling me was back ordered due to lack of console doors. Day after one call to check on status (and told still 3 mo out) it shows up on my door step. Except when I opened all the boxes the one marked console door has a second front plate in it. I called them up to get a return authorization on the second front plate and to tell them they still owe me a door. The guy immediately says “we don’t bother with returns on this stuff as it’s not worth the return shipping”. I replied I think you might want this back as it lists for $400. Long silence and then he said can you hold on for a minute. After being on hold (again) for ten minutes he returns and says OK, we will send a return label for it. Yeah, good decision. I still use them as so far they have corrected for there (numerous) errors and often give me a healthy discount for my trouble. But they are a little error prone and stuff sits on their back order lists for months.

 

[Mike67]

I beleive they are a vendor here, maybe a reply to these issues is warranted..
@ClassicIndustries3

 

[moparedtn]

Classic is what is known as a "drop shipper" - meaning a substantial portion of what they sell,
they don't actually physically have under their control, in hand, in stock at their facility.
Instead, orders are shipped directly from the manufacturers (or their own logistics subcontractor).
This same business model is followed by many of the larger suppliers in the hobby (like Year One).

Think of Classic Industries as more of a broker than anything else and you'll get the picture.
They do actually physically possess some of what they sell, but most likely not what you're ordering.
Extra hands in the process means more delays and more opportunities for stuff to go wrong....

 

[Coronet67guy]

I'll never buy from them again. Sold me plug wires that didn't fit, then told me they knew they wouldn't fit they had just forgot to change the website, then only offered me 10% off another set so I could have enough fitting wires. I sent them all back and went with Firecore.

 

[DeltaV]

Their catalogs usually (and eventually) show up in my mailbox in good working condition.

 

[AR67GTX]

Pretty hard to ignore their pretty comprehensive catalog and parts stocking. And I pretty much always get free shipping on every order which seems really high from some vendors anymore. They are not always the cheapest but sometimes if you call them up they will give you a deal. I can’t throw too many stones in their direction for back orders - seems everything has supplier problems and shortages any more. I didn’t receive one order from them and called them. Guy said they sent my order to someone else by mistake and he seemed genuinely upset no one had informed me. He re-shipped with 2 day delivery and knocked some money off of it for my trouble.

 

[Ron H]

Things are 'different' seems no matter what the items are...wood, appliances, etc. Ordered $2500 in new composite deck boards and waited 6 weeks for them...then order arrives plopped in my front yard. I start unpacking it finding crushed boards from banding AND the wrong boards. Call them and they say will reorder and pick up the wrong boards. Those sat in my yard about a month killing the grass and a truck finally arrives to pick them up. Well chit - driver says he would need a forklift to load them...well duh, yeah, they're 16 ft long. He makes a call and I go in the house saying I'll be back in a minute. Come out and see the back of his semi going down my driveway. NO clue what's to be done here. So I call HD asking what gives. They have no idea; gotta check. Meanwhile those boards sat another 2 weeks in my yard. Finally got the correct boards and the wrong ones picked up. Since I have a 600 sq ft southern exposed deck, my plan was to be putting in new boards in May/June ordering them in late Feb, so I wouldn't be doing this in July/August when you can fry eggs on it. Yep - did the job in July/August! I had to use towels to keep my tools covered cuz otherwise they felt like picking up a hot iron...

 

[69 GeeTeeX]

Classic Industries is my absolute last choice when buying parts. I’ve been burned by them many times! I’ve learned it’s cheaper in the long run to pay a little more to get good customer service / parts upfront.

For those who say did you call them, yes lots of times totaling up to many hours on the phone explaining issues, does nothing but piss me off more after the phone calls.

There’s a lot better suppliers to buy from and some actually have cars and use their own products.

 

[ClassicIndustries3]

Over the past two years I have spent a lot of money at CI. I ordered an alternator from them and it arrived damaged and frozen solid….long story short, it was returned and in the end I was refunded the purchase price but not the shipping when the refund was due to poor packaging of the product. I should have purchased locally because I learned that the item I received is also carried by Napa right down the street. Lesson learned but no more Classic Industries! I have placed a complaint against them which is on Facebook.

Hi Red63440,

Sorry to hear about the damaged alternator. As you can probably imagine, we have no control over how the carriers handle the packages that we entrust them with, but we do take ownership of how things are packaged and prepared for shipment. Shipping damages happen from time to time, whether it's was the carrier's fault or our fault, we never expect the customer to take a loss on shipping costs. It definitely wasn't our intention to short you on the shipping. If you could send me a DM with your order details, I'd be happy to check into this for you and make this right.

Just to be clear, it's not our policy or practice to short customers on shipping charges, it was likely a human error that can easily be corrected. I look forward to hearing from you and working together to straighten things out.

Sincerely,

Gabe Flores
Brand Manager
Classic Industries

 

[ClassicIndustries3]

Classic sucks the big one. No more of my money.

Hi Pnora,

Did you have an issue that you need assistance with? If so, please send me a DM and I'd be happy to work with you on whatever the issue was. It seems like people sometimes prefer to harbor negative feelings about their experiences rather than making contact to work things out. I'd be happy to hear you out on whatever the issue was to see if we can make things right.

Sincerely,

Gabe Flores
Brand Manager
Classic Industries

 

[ClassicIndustries3]

I ordered a console plate kit from them which they kept telling me was back ordered due to lack of console doors. Day after one call to check on status (and told still 3 mo out) it shows up on my door step. Except when I opened all the boxes the one marked console door has a second front plate in it. I called them up to get a return authorization on the second front plate and to tell them they still owe me a door. The guy immediately says “we don’t bother with returns on this stuff as it’s not worth the return shipping”. I replied I think you might want this back as it lists for $400. Long silence and then he said can you hold on for a minute. After being on hold (again) for ten minutes he returns and says OK, we will send a return label for it. Yeah, good decision. I still use them as so far they have corrected for there (numerous) errors and often give me a healthy discount for my trouble. But they are a little error prone and stuff sits on their back order lists for months.

Unfortunately, we cannot inspect the contents of every product we get from our suppliers. This industry is still run by humans, and as such, human errors are bound to occur. We mostly have to rely on our vendors to ensure that the included components are what they're supposed to be. But in the case that they're not, we get to work to make things right. Sorry for the trouble you experienced with the console parts, I'm glad to hear that we were able to straighten things out.

Similarly with backorders, we have to rely on our suppliers to fill orders in a timely manner. We do our absolute best to keep our shelves stocked avoid backorders, but, supply issues arise from time to time and we all have to do our best to deal with that.

 

[Kern Dog]

I have made a few orders with this company and did NOT have any troubles. Every company relies on their employees to make the business run. Sometimes a single POS employee can affect the buying experiences for many, many people.
With the trouble that ALL businesses are having attracting quality employees, it is entirely possible that CI is experiencing the same trouble.

 

[ClassicIndustries3]

I'll never buy from them again. Sold me plug wires that didn't fit, then told me they knew they wouldn't fit they had just forgot to change the website, then only offered me 10% off another set so I could have enough fitting wires. I sent them all back and went with Firecore.

This sounds very unusual... If the product wasn't right, and it was something we could've prevented, we would normally offer you a return label and an exchange or a refund. Could you please DM me more details about this? I'm very curious about this 10% discount proposal as a resolution to the issue.

 

[ClassicIndustries3]

Classic is what is known as a "drop shipper" - meaning a substantial portion of what they sell,
they don't actually physically have under their control, in hand, in stock at their facility.
Instead, orders are shipped directly from the manufacturers (or their own logistics subcontractor).
This same business model is followed by many of the larger suppliers in the hobby (like Year One).

Think of Classic Industries as more of a broker than anything else and you'll get the picture.
They do actually physically possess some of what they sell, but most likely not what you're ordering.
Extra hands in the process means more delays and more opportunities for stuff to go wrong....

If you had one look at one of our warehouses, you'd know that we're definitely not a drop-ship operation. Anyone who's been to our showroom in Huntington Beach can attest to that. We try our best to stock everything that we sell, with few exceptions (custom/special-order items, unusually large items{ie body shells}, etc). We couldn't serve customers through our showroom if we relied on drop-shipping.

 

[ClassicIndustries3]

Classic Industries is my absolute last choice when buying parts. I’ve been burned by them many times! I’ve learned it’s cheaper in the long run to pay a little more to get good customer service / parts upfront.

For those who say did you call them, yes lots of times totaling up to many hours on the phone explaining issues, does nothing but piss me off more after the phone calls.

There’s a lot better suppliers to buy from and some actually have cars and use their own products.

You'd be surprised how many employees owned classic cars and buy parts at Classic Industries. We got Mopar, Ford, and Chevy guys on staff.

We do our best to keep our sales and service department well staffed with "car guys and gals." But as you might have heard, much of the country is dealing with labor shortages due to many people not wanting to work. I can assure you that we are implementing new resources to reduce call times and simplify other processes to minimize frustrating situations.

 

[pnora]

Hi Pnora,

Did you have an issue that you need assistance with? If so, please send me a DM and I'd be happy to work with you on whatever the issue was. It seems like people sometimes prefer to harbor negative feelings about their experiences rather than making contact to work things out. I'd be happy to hear you out on whatever the issue was to see if we can make things right.

Sincerely,

Gabe Flores
Brand Manager
Classic Industries

Two times I called and could not get through. So I set up two separate complaint cases. 1st case 2-12-2021 Ticket ID # is: 303869101
Ticket name is: This kit is missing the correct rollers. There are rollers in the kit but they are not correct. 2nd case 2-22-2021 Ticket ID # is: 311978640
Ticket name is: Open claim no one has responded. Over 10 days. Customer care claim 303869101 . No one did anything. WTF 3 times your out.

 

[Red63440]

Hi Red63440,

Sorry to hear about the damaged alternator. As you can probably imagine, we have no control over how the carriers handle the packages that we entrust them with, but we do take ownership of how things are packaged and prepared for shipment. Shipping damages happen from time to time, whether it's was the carrier's fault or our fault, we never expect the customer to take a loss on shipping costs. It definitely wasn't our intention to short you on the shipping. If you could send me a DM with your order details, I'd be happy to check into this for you and make this right.

Just to be clear, it's not our policy or practice to short customers on shipping charges, it was likely a human error that can easily be corrected. I look forward to hearing from you and working together to straighten things out.

Sincerely,

Gabe Flores
Brand Manager
Classic Industries

Mr. Flores,
I thank you for your quick response to my post about the alternator. I appreciate your position in Classic Industries and the importance of it and as you stated, this may have been overlooked but based on your response on Facebook it has been rectified.

Thank you again,
Red63440