on the 9th april i found myself in a position where i could afford to purchase an replacement
now, i was faced with the options:
1: find a original lip spoiler in good condition
2: purchase an aftermarket lip style spoiler from a recognised and established special vehicles workshop
3: buy a generic copy of #1 or #2 from a run of the mill bodykit supplier
now, #1 had the obvious problem that the original fault would eventually re-occur, so it came down to #2 or #3, wanting to do the right thing by the workshop that had been in business for at least the last 25 years, i referenced an email i'd recieved mid last november (less than 6 months before i ordered it) stating:
Dear ****,
Yes mate $285.00 ready to be painted
- recognised workshop
and dialled..... after a brief chat i established that i was now up for $385, a $100 increase (yes, more than 25%) in 6 months, but with a car show looming just a month over the horizon, i swallowed my annoyance, gave my credit card number over the phone for the $405 (including postage), explained the importance of speedy delivery, got told it would be posted that day, and sat down to wait
fast forward a fortnight (to the 25th), it still hadnt turned up, so after phoning the local post office, i phoned the guy on the friday, he didnt know what was going on, took my phone number and promised to find out over the weekend.... moot point considering i needed it there and then to get it painted so i could fit it in time for the show
next monday (28th) i phoned him, and he said the spoiler had turned up in his brothers boot after he'd given it to his brother to post, and that he'd ensure it was posted that day
still hadnt recieved it by mid afternoon today, phoned him up, and pretty much the first thing he says is that its still there in melbourne...... turns out australia post gave it back to him after 3 days because its too long, and he didnt have my number so he could make alternate arrangements.....
he gave me the option of either organising my own freight, or paying an extra $68 to cover the freight charge he'd been quoted
now, i'm thoroughly fed up with it all by this point, i've tried to do the right thing by someone who did the development work (instead of just making a mould of the XR lip spoiler), and not only do i feel like i'm getting ripped off on the purchase price, but ive been messed around with delivery, and have been forced to present a car that looked worse than it shouldve for a car show, just because i tried to do the right thing
my solution? had a yarn with the panelbeater we deal with at work, he put me in touch with his guy, and all should be sorted out by the end of next week...... just disappointing that an established workshop cant get thier together
:rant:
