WARNING - Bad rods from CIP1

Hell no. You paid for something and got less than you paid for. That would be similar to ordering a brand new fiberglass hood and having it arrive at your house with a big crack in the middle of it. Screw that. Thanks for the warning. Burn their asses.

"Stupid people are funny." - me

Clearly, the tried to screw over the wrong person this time. CPI's on the s*t list now.

Bob, i don't think its an isolated case either...read on another forum that the rods were not well matched as far as weight goes...

I ordered a 1600 sp set of heads from CIP1 in January. I was not an authority on heads so when one looked different than the other, I figured they are the pros so I installed them. Plus the shipping back and forth across the country to exchange the questionable head was going to cost as much as the head itself. The warranty card in the box said that I had a one year return/exchange window - "no questions asked." After driving my car about 50 miles, the fact that the heads weren't the same started bothering me. I called CIP1 and spoke with the general manager, Kris Ingaldson, and he said that since I installed the head, it was mine. Luckily, the people at GEX who rebuilt the head for CIP1 were decent enough to exchange it and even paid the shipping. It turned out that the head in question was a 40hp head that was bored out to fit the 1600 barrels. I will say that Kris gave me a $30 gift certificate for my trouble. Of course my trouble included R&R the engine.

I'll still order from them because I have had trouble with almost every supplier at one time or another. Unless you can actually go into the store and hand pick your item, you are at their mercy.

IF one was to open a website where "bad reputation" shops were listed along with reasons why, and a bunch of testimonials from various unhappy customers, do you think it would

a) be well received among car enthusiasts b) generate a lawsuit or other threats from the listed vendors?

I started one quite a while ago but didn't have the energy to keep it going or build it up properly.

I don't have time right now, but a "Black List" would be cool. The shops that get their names listed could contact the site admin and give their own version of what happened, and a shot at making things right with the customer. The correspondence would then be posted on the site as well, and eventually they'd get their name off the list if they can prove that they have changed their wicked ways and tried to correct their mistakes with their unhappy customers.

(I don't see GEX getting off the hook ever, lol)

Jan

---------------------------------------- Ditto. Normally where there's a glitch I simply swallow it since it usually cost more time & money to send the junk back. But $270 for parts that can't be used in ANY engine is a bit much to swallow.

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Agree. And I've said as much many times. But the steady decline in the number of registered Volkswagens has precipitated the demise of many of the best after-market retailers; the ones who carried only quality parts. Given the present cost of gasoline, driving all over southern California to track down a needed component is a dead loss for a pre-paid engine deal. Then too, a lot of the surviving retailers are monuments to schlock business practices such as 'erroneous' double-billing and deceptive advertising. Many KNOW the stuff they are selling is junk and will not allow you to gauge a part right there on the counter where other customers can see.

In this case I needed some 5.6" rods and couldn't find them from local sources, hence the order to cip1, which I've used off & on without problem for a couple of years. I checked the bores & ctc on receipt and found them within spec but didn't get around to the balancing until I was ready for final assembly.

-Bob Hoover

.................You might want to do a Google search of this group with the word GEX. They do have a decent reputation for taking back bad parts & engines but they have a LOT of experience in dealing with unhappy customers. Even here in a small community in upstate NY, I know of a couple of horror stories involving rebuilt engines from them.

...............When I order from Aircooled.Net, I know that I'll never have this kind of trouble. Mr. Hoover's H-beam rods would have cost about 10% more from them vs CIP's price, but it isn't always smart to shop around for the best price. You and I along with most others in the ACVW community are not experienced enough to deal with a retailer like CIP without running the risk of getting burned. They'll probably regret their attempt to cheat Bob Hoover though. There is no real risk when you're at the mercy of Aircooled.Net. They actually want to do the right thing by their customers.

BTW............I have a new set of level 3 heads from Aircooled.Net and I can tell you that they're brand new OEM VW castings from Mexico and they were never in the hands of those idiots at GEX.

I can second Tim on

, first rate service anywhere in the world!!

Jørn Berg.

That's because they take the defective items and sell them to another unsuspecting customer for full price again. Not all of us bother to complain and demand our money back. Apparently their volumes are so big that they can afford to do this. Oh and don't ever think of letting them BUILD something for you...

*shivers*... the stories are numeroud and to every "good" GEX engine there are dozens that were build wrong, carelessly, or with defective or used parts KNOWIGLY, yet you pay the price of new parts.. :)

I second that.

:D

I have witnessed this first hand, seen them do WAY more than their part in rectifying something with a business customer (My friend's shop)

Jan