Well… I’m grossly disappointed in Auto Atlanta. I placed an order with them last week and had anticipated free shipping as their website advertises free shipping on orders over $100, except for oversized items. The online order processing clearly indicated no shipping charge, all was good. Guess what, I was indeed charged shipping and did not find out about it until the parts were received. The item that pushed my order into being oversized was a window seal. Their website does not state anything about their policy, but what it comes down to (according to their customer support) is any package over 10” X 10” X 10” is considered oversized! I was thinking more of big packages being oversized rather than just small and medium sized ones! I didn’t think a window seal would be “oversized” and there is no way to tell from their site (Pelican Parts does this though). A rational and reasonable call to Customer Support got me absolutely nowhere. They were standing by their policy even though they knew it was subjective and not communicated to the customers. Basically they told me I’d need to talk to George as he’s the one who sets this policy. Maybe he’ll see this and help me, but the main purpose of this post is to make other 914 owners aware of their ambiguous policy on “free” shipping and to use caution when ordering from them. Buyer beware.

To add insult to injury, in this order I also got a cap for my timing hole and a sun visor bracket. These were both reproductions. The quality of the material is disappointing to say the least. They appear to be very fragile and poorly finished. I’m definitely going to stay away from these kinds of repo parts in the future and just try to source used parts if new originals are not available. So, again, buyer beware.

Kirk

oh brother... another one?
George's phone number is in his signiature. call him, he'll fix it; he can fix anything... even broken hearts. (quote from a book I read when I was 4)

Would have done that, but customer support said he wasn't in today. They (Carrie and Brad at Customer Support) were VERY clear that there was nothing they were going to do.

Regardless, the main point is to make others aware of their policy as it is not defined on their website. So, do we all need to call George and follow up with every order? I think it's better to be an informed consumer and to know what your costs are going to be on the front end, rather than trying to fix it later. I thought I was informed, I was wrong, I'm informed now, and now I'm informing others.

Kirk

Rules are rules and the companies rules are made by the company. Now I understand it didn't state that the seal would be considered over sized but that could have easily been found out and clarified by calling their customer service and while you are on the phone with them you could have stated that it would be nice if they would put a note on the items that would be considered over sized. Throwing a storm doesn't solve any problems and doesn't allow the companies to fix issues to make things easier on their customers. Instead of making things worse you could make things better and give feed back. These companies rely on us and our purchases and rely on our feed back to make their company better for us. They could always just quit doing these promo's for us if all we ever do is complain about something; especially if its one of the companies policies even if it wasn't clarified.

So, do we all need to call George and follow up with every order? - I do If needed and George has followed up quickly and helped me complete my orders. I also had not been receiving the 10% discount from 914club and he fixed that as well. I don't think you should post difficulties here until you have talked with the owner of the company since he is usually very accesible to customers. I own my own company and have set policies for my employees that they can not change but I can. Maybe some constructive conversation will result in a policy change, Maybe not, but imo, you should talk with the boss before posting on the internet. Mark

Right ..... it's the constant bullshit from a supplier that causes people to post AND it is constant bullshit.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Just to clarify, I did send AA an e-mail and was not happy with the response. Rather than just post something nasty here I did call them and talked with Brad and Carrie in Customer Support at length. I did give them feedback on their ordering system and gave them suggestions for improvement. If nothing else, they could simply state their policy upfront. They were not receptive at all. Basically I hit a dead end with them and considered that the final word on the Auto Atlanta side. Yes, sure I can maybe work things out with George, but how does that help anyone else? Others will certainly run into the same issues with their "free" shipping and reproduction parts quality. I don't think it's wrong to open some eyes based on my own experience.

Yes, sure I can maybe work things out with George, but how does that help anyone else?-

Because employee's can not change company policies but owners can.

George's personal cell phone number is in his sig. Is a guy not allowed to take a 3 day weekend?


While I have never ordered anything from AA, I would still go to the owner who has made himself available and advertised in many threads such as this that he is available.

I was suprised also to see George once post something t the effect of "call me anytime, night or day!"

I woulda called him. I woulda said, "sorry Brad and Carrie, I don't care if he is IN, I have his cell number. HA!"

I'm sure he will do the right thing, and reverse the shipping charge, due to the ambiguity. It will probably cost him any margin he had on your order.

then, and more importantly, he and you should discuss your opinion of the reproduction parts. Anything reproduction should be better than OE, in my opinion.

Guys, I didn't bend over backwards to get in touch with George personally because it's not that much money. My personal money isn’t really the point of this thread. The intention is consumer awareness – YOUR money (well and maybe to vent a little ). Maybe I should have titled the thread “buyer be aware” rather than “buyer beware”. I mostly wanted others on here to understand their “free” shipping policy as you won’t get this information from their website and the offer is only good for web orders. Contacting George to resolve my personal issue is fine advice, but unless he changes his policy, this is what it is today – “free” is only what fits in a 10 X 10 X 10 box. Now ya know! Plus their Customer Service has a pretty strong “no can do” attitude, something that I’ve found now they have a history of from what I see on 914World. As such, I think one must be a well informed consumer when dealing with Auto Atlanta.

Well, we have in the past, I'll just leave it at that. A number only works if it is answered..

My HS football coach once told me - "its far better to be pissed off, than pissed ON..."

I agree.

I have read posts like this for years. Yet, I still order parts from AA. Why? They are, if not the only, major 914 parts place where I can find (most) everything in one place. I come to expect some issues (due to past information and experience) but generally, I have had good results.
George has a genuine love for these bastards and has for far longer than most of us.

If your part didn't meet your expectations. Call them. If their answer didn't resolve your concerns, call George directly. If he doesn't resolve it to your satisfaction, contest the charges with your credit card company.

Then come here and bitch.

Bristol,I think your absolutely right to post your experience here,to make us at least alert on some price-policies. Also to get informed about the quality of parts is very helpful.
Or is this forum controlled by G.H. like other 914-forums?

George really does love these cars and has done a good deal for the rest of us.

Nope ... We control ourselves around here ... (more or less)

I have no control when it comes to these cars. There I said it! More or less.

Just like a fine woman...

These threads are always fun to watch...

Every business will make mistakes, but it is the handling of their mistakes that makes the difference.

I'd absolutely give George a call and explain the situation. It is possible that there is a reason for the charges, but that should be explained at the time of ordering. Tough thing to do in this internet age, and sometimes websites are not quite as accurate as people would like. There's nothing as good as talking to those in charge as they are the ones that set "policy".

When goerge makes all of the wrongs right I'll look at the aa catalog.
We know that ain't gonna happen.

I believe it is wrong to post a beef without making the effort to resolve it first directly. it is more honorable to give the source of the problem first crack at resolution BEFORE you go public. call me first and we can work it out. talk a bunch of crap then call...I got nothin for ya but a well trained size 9 , but thats just my opinion.

How do you know? Have you made all your wrongs right? Well, have you? You have no way of knowing what George or anyone else will do! Do you know what I'm going to do next? Didn't think so.

I'd like to see pics of the cheapo parts.

Well, like I said before, I try not to order from AA, i've had my issues with them, but in the end it always worked out. I think George is a good guy, I just don't think his people care as much as he does.

Well, I don't KNOW that the Sun will come up tomorrow but I would be willing to wager....

I am down visiting my mother for the week in Florida, but just to give you guys something more to gab about:

The FACTORY windshield top seal that we are selling just below 200.00 cannot be folded very well without breaking it (maybe that is why mikey sells the three piece repro unit for more money) so it has to go oversize to california
The visor clip is of fine quality as compared to the discontinued last sold for over 64 dollars factory variety and just needs the pin. Mikey makes one of these with the pin if you would prefer and it is a good piece
The timing hole plug, no longer available at the factory is just as good as the last of the originals. 9.00 extra shipping to california for oversize as is stated on our site and all of the 75 and over standard size orders are free,, is not too much to ask for a safe delivery


NOW should Carrie have e mailed you about the 9.00 for the oversize charge? Certainly. They have their hands full this week that is for sure.

Keep the feedback coming. Whenever we can be everything to everyone is when we have arrived at the best customer service in the world. (so to speak)

When we experience issues like this I expect the complaint to be made to me or my team directly before being posted anywhere for any reason. Not doing this just isn't fair to the company, no matter the cost or situation.

I am not taking up for George at all, the fact is that situations occur and the company should have the opportunity to make the situation right before being grilled or put in front of a firing squad. If someone complains to others before they complain to me, they won't get a damn thing- period.

But thats just me and I am not always right.

I think it's pretty simple. Do business with the people that treat you right. I have only made a few purchases from AA. One went great and the rest of them caused me significant time and hassle to get resolved because they weren't what they told me or felt gouged on shipping. One was a turn signal switch. I wanted OEM and confirmed 3 times before ordering that it was OEM then it got cancelled. See thread below. Then I basically got told how stupid I was for wanting a more expensive part when aftermarket would work. The OEM was much smoother working but that doesn't matter. I REQUESTED OEM!

While George may come to the rescue for every problem that comes up, give you a refund, give out his cell phone, his home phone and birth certificate but if the problems went away you wouldn't need that info. The problems are told over and over here and no other company gets brought up as often for a problems as AA. My time is valuable to me and I choose to spend that time with companies that don't cause me grief when I buy from them.

In addition, I built an entire car and had no problem finding any part I needed from other sources and usually cheaper. However, I would pay more for a part than buy from AA again due to the hassle factor.

Yes, George loves these cars. No doubt. He has a lot of parts, he has a lot of knowledge, he generates a lot of threads but he didn't EARN my business. I think it's sad actually that a company with such potential generates this many horror stories. Bottom line?.....If you are happy than buy from them. It's your choice.

The turn signal incident is HERE George starts a thread by publishing my personal correspondence with him. You can make the call.....

Your turn signal story pretty much mirrors my experience. I could not have said it better.

Ferg

I will be cautious when others warn me but i will let you define yourself not by what you did to others but what you do with me.

ie. I hired a self proclaimed Porsch guru who many warned against. while he did turn out to be a turd, he did not hurt me or my business.

seems like the poster did contact the company first before posting here. Sure he didn't talk to george, but georges sales and order people should have been able to fix this. when you have a big bussiness you have to hire people to run it when your gone.

if no notice of a shipping charge is made during the order process, then no shipping charge should be expected. if the shipping charge should have been made per company policy then that charge should have been clearly spelled out.

i would think if the customer was Not told about the charges at the time of the order, then it would be good practice to refund the shipping amount. I mean it is only $9 a small amount to assure customer satisfaction. Ecspecially since george admits his staff should have emailed the poster that their would be a shipping charge.


That would have been the right way to handle this.


gearge has responed here, and is basically saying his staff should have informed you of the charges. but did not. with that admission I would hope your shipping charge would be refunded. Now we have the offical responce, the company forgot to inform you of the charge, but billed you anyway, but dispite this error on their part you should be thankful the part arrived safely????????

golly at give the man his $9 back, if it was not included in the total he was told then he shouldn't be charged it.


for credit card charges you have the right to dispute them in these kinds of cases.

the order taking should have included the total final cost. That is the problem, get it fixed Then there will not be bad feedback for this type of thing again.

Wow! I just read that thread Paul linked.

Paul isn't the only one in Sacramento who managed to find a new dash. They were out there a bit back...

I know Paul personally and count him as a friend. He seldom compromises on his projects. If he goes to the trouble to work to source something, you don't wnat to give him something else. He knows what he wants. Even if you think he's wrong (or me for that matter) you should explain your point and give him what he wants.

George does a lot for us 914 owners if you have a problem call him personaly I am sure he will make it right If you want to whine get a towel

You guys really need a good cheese and a nice loaf of french bread.

That way you'll have something to go with your whine.

This thread just reminded me why I never post here anymore.

Kart 54

A lot of people here have a problem with George or his company, but I think we all know that by now...

If I need 914 parts, I go to AA

We all have cars over 35 years old and some day the limited parts are going to be harder to find and lot more $. We should thank George for keeping parts competive and cheap. E-bay stuff is often as only as good as picture.

I have to agree as well. I only ordered once from AA, and never will again. Most places charge shipping by the order, AA ships in as many boxes as they feel like because they are charging you dearly for each one. Most places tell you they are shipping a reproduction part when you ordered OEM. Not AA, they ship you a piece that looks like crap and then let you "call the owner to work it out." The problem I had is that changes they made in my order were never communicated, and I would have canceled the order if I had known what they planned to do to me.

I had a similar issue with AA in reguards to shipping charges but i think the only real problem they have is in lack of communication about what you are actually going to be charged at the time you are ordering.

My case was a little more serious then $9. I ordered a single part online from them for around $250, and that was the only total given at the time of my checkout. I believe the part was backordered as it took quite a while to ship, then a few weeks later i have a ~$400 charge on my card from AA. Needless to say this was enough of a discrepency for me to call up AA and talk about it. The girl i talked to did what she could as far as looking into it for me, obviously their hands are tied as far as policy goes and shipping costs are what they are especally on large items, so i really have no complaints about that. What got under my skin a bit was that i had a chrage quite a bit larger then was given to me at the time of purchase that occured at an unexpected time 3 weeks later.

Now I dont really consider any of the charges I recieved to be unreasonable compared to other suppliers out there it just would have been less of a shock to me to know what the actual cost was going to be up front, or when the charge was going to take place, or both. Obviously increased shipping charges need to be passed on in order to stay in business, it would just be nice to not be supprised as to what these charges are at some unexpected time three weeks later.

I am sure most companies have some internal processes that could be improved upon, i think in the case of AA working to increase information given to and communication with the customer might improve the experince.

I dont see it as a deal killer for me and hope this is not viewed as AA bashing but more as constructive feedback for George. It would be great to see their customer service reach the same level as their parts availability and 914 knowledge.

James it doesn't matter. People are always going to bash AA that is something I have noticed. And those that do the bashing obviously must make a superior part and thats why they can. Funny though dont see them offering group buys for their stuff?

I don't have the funds anymore to buy all the cool 914-6 stuff I use to. But I can say I appreciate that AA has spent all the R&D to re-create things like steel GT flares (Which I've installed like 4-5 sets now) and many other 914 hard parts.

Anybody can have a beef with any company, it happens.

I've honestly never had a bad experience with AA, GPR, PP or anyone else I order parts from. Maybe I'm just lucky that way....or maybe I know we're all friggin lucky to have vendors and retail places stocking parts for long-ago obsolete cars. Every time I order anything from anyone, I always thank them for stocking the part so I can keep my 914 on the road.

I tried really hard not to post on this thread hoping it would die, but here I am, keeping it going.

Ditto.

I heard about this one time..that a smile from George brought a dead puppy back to life.

True story.

Sorry George, I just had to break up the thread seriousnes for a minute.

Disclaimer: Georges smile may not actually bring puppies back to life, please consult with your local vet prior to using smile therapy. Offer not valid in Canada, Kentucky, or parts of California.

It works in Kentucky too.

Good thing aa doesn't sell bowling balls for 100.00

So George smiles when he sees dead puppies? Thats one i have not heard before.