Fiberglass hood damaged in shipping need advice

[Barracudadan]

Thanks for the suggestion moparclown I`ll consider it.As far as the shipper goes I didn`t have anything in writing.All I was told was that they would call first so no nothing legally binding I guess.My name and phone # was printed clearly on the box a lot of good that did!

[AZDAN]

I have due here tomorrow from the same place and same shipper. Hope they packed it better.

[Katfish]

I would think you could have that repaired for less than the cost of all the back and forth shipping.
Ask the vendor to split the repair cost, packaging was definitely not what it should have been.

[challengermaniac]

I would think you could have that repaired for less than the cost of all the back and forth shipping.

I seriously doubt it. 

A reasonable person is going to say the shipper screwed up and inadequately protected it.  They can't sit there and tell me that's the way they package & ship all of their hoods----- there's no way that can be correct or they would have 100% shipping failure.  It's time for you to go up their chain of command until you talk to someone who takes ownership or you get to the top of their ladder.  If that person does not own up, they are going to have a reputation problem that is going to cost them a lot more than covering the shipping for both hoods. 

Initating a Small Claims Action with lots of pictures of the hood in the box without protection is going to result in a slam dunk!

[Topcat]

That sucks and I bet the shipping wasn't cheap the first time and now again it looks like.

I had a similiar incident years ago with a heater box. I lost my shipping fees that should've also been refunded on that transaction. E bay policy.

[AARCUDADEN]

As much i hate to say it, but i think in the long run its gonna be cheaper to have it fixed than to fight a more than likely losing battle  I feel for ya man 

[Barracudadan]

Hey Azdan who did you buy youre hood from?Also if it`s not too much trouble can you post a picture of how it was packaged if it`s from the same manufacturer and packaged right maybe I can use that for my cause.Good luck on yours hope you don`t have to go through what I`m going through!

[ntstlgl1970]

I had this same problem with my YO hood - cracked grill, cracked corner. Sucks they didn't package it well.

[AZDAN]

Hey Azdan who did you buy youre hood from?Also if it`s not too much trouble can you post a picture of how it was packaged if it`s from the same manufacturer and packaged right maybe I can use that for my cause.Good luck on yours hope you don`t have to go through what I`m going through!

It should be here on Thursday. I will let you know what I get.

[Cooter]

Had this very thing happen on a set of fenders....Vendor told me "This is juts like you southern guys, call up gripeing bout a little crack when it could be fixed in no time"....After that, I simply REFUSE to order/ship ANYTHING fiberglass through the mail....I'll simply wait until Carlisle, or similar show and buy it right there, as I trust myself to ship it home undamaged...We once had a radiator come in the shop run over by a Semi truck..You could CLEALRY see the two tire treads across the box...Now what I wondered was Why the F*ck even deliver something that clearly shows you drove over it?? They did, and we had to send it right back...

[shadango]

I am watching this thread with interest cause I am planning on a hood myself...leaning toward usbody....

For the issue of having to drive to the hub twice, you could offer to have the vendor put a temporary charge on your credit card, and then when they recieve the bad one they cancredit you...

Still sucks eggs though....

On one 'glass site they do spell out in big red letters that you have to check the hood upon delivery or they wont hep you......

Truck delivery isnt exactly convenient.....do they tell youwaht day it will be delivered? You would have to take a day off from work hoping they deliver that day.

[ntstlgl1970]

AAR Quality Fiberglass uses just about bombproof packaging with those bags of expanding foam on all the corners - absolutely no marks or anything on my hood when it arrived.

[Barracudadan]

Well I might as well say who all the parties involved in this are I bought the hood on E-bay from Meltzerbern (sp?) who deals with Penstar reproductions they made the hood.I am not totally thrilled with the outcome but it is the best it`s going to get.I`ll make one trip to drop off damaged hood and pick up new hood and pay for return shipping.I guess this is my penalty for my wife signing for the shipment without inspecting it.
I will order hood springs,pin kit and brackets from Penstar I was going to buy them at a later date but I`ll get them now and he will ship them with hood so I will save shipping costs on those items sort of taking some of the sting out of the return shipping I have to pay for the hood.
Bernice from Meltzerbern is talking to someone with the shipper`s to get me the lowest possible rate since they really damaged it in the first place.

As far as the hood goes it looked like a quality piece and was made very well they recently re-tooled their mold so this hood is an improved version over their last design. Something underneath the hood was improved flange or something i`m not sure really,I can`t speak about the fit on my car since it never got that far I`ll cross my fingers on that.
This has been lousy deal for everyone involved and I`ll be glad when it`s done.I wont bash Penstar for the hood it looks good they just need to figure out how to get it to a customer in one piece so they do get an "F" in packaging.

Bernice seemed like a decent person to deal with and I believe did the best she could under the circumstance.

So unless something drastic changes thats about it.I`ll update when I get the new hood back and try the fit on my car.

My advice if you are going to buy from Penstar or Meltzerbern ask how is it going to be packaged,pieces of cardboard at the bottom of the box just doesn`t cut it and above all else inspect it before you sign for it!

[AZDAN]

I also got my hood on E-bay from Meltzerbern. It was packaged well. No Damage. Maybe they learned from your experience. I hope you can get your issues with them resolved. The hood looks to be good. I checked the fender side edges with a laser beam level and they are straight. Overall the quality is good for a fiberglass hood. This is a bolt on hood  from there new improved mold.

[shadango]

Well, I'll say it here:
Melltzerbern and/or Penstar needs to step up and take one on this.....

Packing a part like this with cardboard at the bottom of the box is BS....one of THEM made the mistake.....yes, it got damaged in transit -- or maybe it was broken beforehand?? 

Had you inspected for damage first and refused it, the shipper would have been fighting it out with Meltzerbern and then they with Penstar......however, because you acted like a normal consumer and TRUSTED both the shipper and meltzerbern, they took advantage of the situation and you got screwed...they both avoid the fight and its all on you.

How is that right?

If they are really making you pay for return shipping, that sucks...

Let them both know that your story is posted here for all to see.  We are a large community.

Did you pay by way of credit card?  Did you talk to the credit card company at all?

Thanks for the heads up...i wont be buying from meltzerbern or penstar anytime soon....because ONE of those two companies are at fault here for crappy packaging.....and NEITHER is stepping up to take the hit.

I emailed showcars and artfiberglass.....

Showcars emailed me back to tell me to call them with my questions.    Sorry, that sends up flags in my eyes.

Artfiberglass did get back to me with thorough replies...but said shipping to my house would be $220......!!!!!   They are on the west coast, I on the east.

So it may be a wash if I buy from usbody/carhoods.com......

I asked a whole lot of questions of artfiberglass and here is some of what they said:

"the holes are not cut out normally because these are light weight for racing and they dont
want them to blow off. but they will do it for you i think there is a $30 fee for it."

(so I guess artfiberglass doesnt make them after all...they are the middle man.....so wonder who makes them? I am also a little taken back by the "blow off" thing....I thought the bolt on hoods were heavier?)

"they do have a crate fee of $20 on a hood and we have a handing fee to process the order.
box fee = $20.00, Handling fee = $15.98"

(for that $20 box fee I would assume they package it really well.....I wont adress the handling fee...I am not very keen on paying "handling fees" when I am buying something and already paying a large freight fee.....I mean, as a company I know they already mark up the cost of the hood...why do they have to charge me a handling fee to sell me the hood?)

They also said that if I ordered today it would be five weeks before it was shipped....and that the hood would need to be used on the car for 30 days to cure or baked prior to paint.