Parts Suppliers - SNG vs DMG vs Martin Robey

[288gto]

Yes Steve, only to be told that they have sold hundreds without any problems. I emailed photos but as yet they still haven't got back to me.

Really not about supplier bashing, more to say whichever one you use don't expect manufacturing tolerances or quality to be anything like original equipment. With this in mind try where possible to salvage or refurbish original items.

Another example. You would think that machining and supplying a short sleeve to fit in the top of the rear shock absorber mount at approx £5.00 each would be straight forward.
Evidently not.

Same part numbers, different lengths.



Back to Phil I think it was,who asked the original question.

On the whole the three mentioned provide a good service but be prepared for a few frustrations along the way. And probably more importantly search or ask on the forum, I didn't even think about Ken Jenkins for a decent handbrake cable until Geoff and Christopher mentioned it.

Simon

[288gto]

Chris and Geoff,

Unfortunately Ken Jenkins no longer makes the handbrake cable as apparently people didn't want to pay the extra £10 for something that fits.

In a roundabout way this is still relevant to Phil's original post. Smaller companies producing high quality items cannot compete with companies mass producing cheap and cheerful poor quality items possibly overseas.

I find it not only frustrating but rather saddening.

I"ll also add to my list of poor quality items a water pump bearing kit that lasted less than an hour.

What I would say, and I'm as guilty as the next man and having spoken to the very knowledgeable and helpful Ken Jenkins, is that we must support these companies by buying from them.
No they don't have glossy interactive web sites but they do provide a wealth of personal experience and advice, something that has been lost in this click and collect age.


Simon

[Jeremy]

When I spoke to Ken about this, he urged me to reuse the original cable as they were v well made. Clean it up and spray some Wurth HHS2000 adhesive lubricant grease in there (high capillary action initially so it gets sucked in, then stays put even under pressure.
It's a real shame...he invested in tooling to remake these cables, they sold only v slowly, and now the supplier has lost or ditched the tooling. So he lost a lot of money and time over this.
So if anyone is thinking of replacing their old cable with a shiny new one....best to think again...

[Philk]

Many thanks for all the posts above. As this was my first set of purchases, I decided to buy a number of different parts from all three in order to see how things went. One delivery is not due until Friday. For the other two, one arrived perfectly with no issues with the parts. For the second supplier:

- I ordered four short bolts and four far longer bolts arrived. On querying this, I was told they no longer had the shorter ones. Rather than query it with me, they decided to not only send the longer bolts but, additionally, to charge me more too!
- I ordered a pair of speaker mesh covers. These did not have the holes cut out for the mounts (I was informed that this was the only part they now did under this part number and I would have to cut them out myself). It is worth noting that the other two suppliers do sell them with the holes cut out.
- A heater air flap bracket and spring bore no relation to the original parts that should have been supplied under the part number. These will need to be returned.

This particular supplier does not have photographs of their parts. A lesson learnt for the future.

[Philk]

Yes, me!

Am very envious!

[cactusman]

Worth remembering the consumer rights act that states that good must be of satisfactory quality, fit for the intended purpose and as described. If they fail to meet any or all of these criteria you have a right to return them for a full refund which the retailer is legally obliged to provide. So wrong size bolts or parts that are simply not as described....send them back and demand a refund. You have 30 days to do this.

[288gto]

Julian,

In my case I'm sure a full refund won't be a problem and hasn't in the past. My frustration is that I was all set to finish building the IRS and with a view to fitting it this weekend.

Someone picked, packed and labeled, so that I "can be assured of (their) commitment to quality by (their) ISO 9001 accreditation" items that even at a casual glance were the wrong size and downright shoddy. Even more worrying is that they are brake and suspension parts.

The last message I got was that it had been passed on to their quality control department.

Again to Phil, I usually try to order parts with enough time to check them and re order if necessary but I'll be honest hadn't anticipated that four small sleaves and a handbrake cable could go so wrong.


Simon

[Philk]

As a final follow-up, I finally received all the various parts I had ordered. My only recommendation is to be conscious of websites which do not have photographs of the parts you are ordering. You may not end up with exactly what you thought you were ordering. If a photograph is present, you are on good ground to then query things if the parts do not come through as you thought.

[richard btype]

Yes, me!

Am very envious!

David

I have a beautiful new and never 'read' CD with all the bulletins, problem is - despite concentrated effort by myself and far greater talent roped in for the purpose have never been able to get it to reveal its secrets!

Tried to get the supplier to swap, supply a replacement but that became more difficult than to hand write the bible! Any other ideas where to source this material?

Thanks

Richard