Bill,
I am tempted to quote some trite statement, like, "None is so blind as he who
will not see."
But I won't! :)
Actually, I'll tell you what I discovered on my restoration.
I was blinded by TRF's Winter sale that year and ordered all my Upholstery
pieces from them to get the "free Shipping". I didn't need
them at the time since I was doing the body and mechanical work at the time, so
I wasn't too put off that the seat covers were placed
on backorder. Now, I have 1500 seats in my Mk1 so the age of the car had
little bearing on availability of the seatcovers. So I
waited and by march, I was getting ready to do the interior but no covers.
Call after call after call yielded only the cursory, "They
are not in and I can't tell you when they are expected!" So after several
weeks of that, I started calling around. Everybody else had
them in stock and I ended up buying them from BPNW and had them the same day.
Sure I had to pay for shipping, but the price even with
shipping saved me $25 over the free shipping price I was quoted from TRF.
And I keep hearing the same horror stories repeated over and over again.
I still buy from TRF. But I always shop price because I have not been
disappointed with the quality of parts that I get from both BPNW
and SpitBits. In fact, I am convinced their parts more often than not are
purchased from the same suppliers that Charles uses. I will
always inquire if the part is in stock, however, because I am not blessed with
a whole lot of patience when it comes to my cars!
TRF seems to be centered around the TR line of cars rather than the Spitfires
anyway and in light of their recent financial concerns,
it appears that when parts are being bought for inventory it generally is for
that series of cars rather than the Spits (particularly
the early ones).
Just my couple of Pesos worth! It works for me. by the way, I have been
buying a whole lot of stuff recently from Ted Schumacher for
my Race Engine.
Regards,
Joe
BILL McDEVITT wrote:
>
> C'mon Joe, I wasn't born Yesterday and you are trying to
> tell me that the two places you mention will have any part
> I should need all the time?? Yea, sure!! In addition don't
> knock the TRF accent, as its the same as mine!! Was born
> and raised in that area, but left before TRF. You may shop
> where ever you desire, but I shop for QUALITY!! I don't have
> to repair mine and replace the same parts every three
> months!! Also might be able to help you with those missing
> license plates?? Bill
>
> > Bill,
> > When you run into that magic part (and sooner or later you will) that TRF
> puts on their backorder list for an eternity, give Nigel a
> > call and either he will have it or British Parts Northwest will and at a
> substantial savings!
> >
> > Been there, done that!
> >
> > There was a time that TRF was the preferred option. Not any more,
> particularly on Spitfires. They have let their leadership position
> > dwindle so badly that the "Johnny Come Lately's" have taken up the slack.
> Besides all that, Nigel speaks with a "proper" accent!
> >
> > Joe
> >
> > BILL McDEVITT wrote:
> > >
> > > Mitch, Never heard of them until recently. Must be Johnny
> > > come lately people!! I've been buying Spitfire parts since
> > > 1982 and have no reason to shop anywhere other than the
> > > TRF!! Thanks, Bill.
> > >
> > > > Bill, Spitbits has an "early Spit catalog. I've had nothing but good
> > > service from Nigel and his crew.
> > > > Mitch.
|