amodal1
SILVER Star
I hate to write a bad review of any provider who supports small communities. I especially dislike doing so for a small family business. This is long due to the drawn out nature of how I came to write a bad review of some folks who I think are probably decent folks. At least decent when they don't have to admit their wrong or failed at something.
That being said, I have to inform the community of a very expensive experience that I had with Cruiser Parts ( www.cruiserparts.net ).
My 97 LX450 started knocking and I had the choice of rebuild the engine or buy a rebuild. I shopped around and Cruiser Parts had a good reputation, had the engine I needed and seemed to stand by their products. The problem was that they stood behind their product so closely, that they cost me over $3000 more than it should have.
They shipped the engine to the dealer who was doing my install. It took longer than expected, but I was willing to wait for a quality top and bottom rebuild that should last me another 20 years.
Instead, when the engine arrived, the service manager called me and said that he didn't want to put the engine in until I looked at it. I went down and saw what he saw: dirty oil inside the cylinders, foam when looking into the valve chambers, it looked like it had been pulled it off a rig and shipped without so much as a cleanup. Thinking there most be a mistake, I contacted Cruiser Parts and they said that they would speak with their rebuild shop (external provider). I sent pictures and they replied that after looking into it they thought the oil must be from when they test ran the engine after rebuild and the foam was normal.
Both the service manager and I were skeptical. I wanted them to be clear that they were confident in this engine before I paid to have it installed and they were very clear that they had no worries. They insisted that there's no way this engine wasn't a sound and clean rebuild.
$3k later ( Bay area prices aren't cheap), my engine was installed. The first time we started the engine, it knocked worse than the engine I had pulled out if it. I contacted Cruiser Parts who assured me it was probably a bolt on part that they sent and we installed. No change.
After conceding that they had sent a bad engine, I waited several more months to receive a replacement engine. That one arrived looking clean and as expected. We installed it for another $3k and everything was great.
I contacted Cruiser Parts to see if they would help rectify their mistake. While they assured me that they had given a stern talk to their rebuild shop and it shouldn't happen again, I was still out six thousand dollars in install costs. They refused to cover any of that cost, clearly stating that their policy will cover parts but not labor. My problem was that we had raised this issue before we installed the engine trying to avoid this situation, and they refused to send another engine and instead assured me that there was no way the engine that they sent could have been a mistake.
I contacted a lawyer and was going to sue after they left me no option and would not even offer to split the cost of the second install. The problem was that I live in California and their policy clearly states that any disputes must be settled in New Hampshire. The cost of travel for court would offset the cost that I had already lost.
Long and short. Their quality was terrible on first round. They were so confident that they nor their rebuild shop partner could make a mistake that they ignored all photos and input from mechanics. They held to this when the crap engine knocked after being installed. And then when they finally acknowledged their mistake, they refused to assist with the $3000 extra in costs that I had to swallow due to their arrogance and sloppy business practice. I'll never order from them again and believe that this community should be aware of the combination of sloppiness and arrogance that leads to (what seems like) good people doing bad business.
All they needed to do was offer to eat the cost of the second install or at least half of it. At this point, I have no qualms in saying that they're a decent business when there are no issues, but if there are, they'll rip you off to avoid taking responsibility for their own mistakes.
That being said, I have to inform the community of a very expensive experience that I had with Cruiser Parts ( www.cruiserparts.net ).
My 97 LX450 started knocking and I had the choice of rebuild the engine or buy a rebuild. I shopped around and Cruiser Parts had a good reputation, had the engine I needed and seemed to stand by their products. The problem was that they stood behind their product so closely, that they cost me over $3000 more than it should have.
They shipped the engine to the dealer who was doing my install. It took longer than expected, but I was willing to wait for a quality top and bottom rebuild that should last me another 20 years.
Instead, when the engine arrived, the service manager called me and said that he didn't want to put the engine in until I looked at it. I went down and saw what he saw: dirty oil inside the cylinders, foam when looking into the valve chambers, it looked like it had been pulled it off a rig and shipped without so much as a cleanup. Thinking there most be a mistake, I contacted Cruiser Parts and they said that they would speak with their rebuild shop (external provider). I sent pictures and they replied that after looking into it they thought the oil must be from when they test ran the engine after rebuild and the foam was normal.
Both the service manager and I were skeptical. I wanted them to be clear that they were confident in this engine before I paid to have it installed and they were very clear that they had no worries. They insisted that there's no way this engine wasn't a sound and clean rebuild.
$3k later ( Bay area prices aren't cheap), my engine was installed. The first time we started the engine, it knocked worse than the engine I had pulled out if it. I contacted Cruiser Parts who assured me it was probably a bolt on part that they sent and we installed. No change.
After conceding that they had sent a bad engine, I waited several more months to receive a replacement engine. That one arrived looking clean and as expected. We installed it for another $3k and everything was great.
I contacted Cruiser Parts to see if they would help rectify their mistake. While they assured me that they had given a stern talk to their rebuild shop and it shouldn't happen again, I was still out six thousand dollars in install costs. They refused to cover any of that cost, clearly stating that their policy will cover parts but not labor. My problem was that we had raised this issue before we installed the engine trying to avoid this situation, and they refused to send another engine and instead assured me that there was no way the engine that they sent could have been a mistake.
I contacted a lawyer and was going to sue after they left me no option and would not even offer to split the cost of the second install. The problem was that I live in California and their policy clearly states that any disputes must be settled in New Hampshire. The cost of travel for court would offset the cost that I had already lost.
Long and short. Their quality was terrible on first round. They were so confident that they nor their rebuild shop partner could make a mistake that they ignored all photos and input from mechanics. They held to this when the crap engine knocked after being installed. And then when they finally acknowledged their mistake, they refused to assist with the $3000 extra in costs that I had to swallow due to their arrogance and sloppy business practice. I'll never order from them again and believe that this community should be aware of the combination of sloppiness and arrogance that leads to (what seems like) good people doing bad business.
All they needed to do was offer to eat the cost of the second install or at least half of it. At this point, I have no qualms in saying that they're a decent business when there are no issues, but if there are, they'll rip you off to avoid taking responsibility for their own mistakes.
