number3

Ive been buying most of the parts for my resto at ecklers and ive spent thousands , all of a sudden paypal stops working, then i cant bring up or track orders , it took 2 1/2 weeks to get my "coupon" from a special promo, i sent emails made phone calls all to no avail. Then today i started checking and comparing prices and shipping and handling and ecklers turned out to be the most expensive even with thier special promos with a percentage off if you order so much blah blah blah. So today , i checked on ecklers for the rear suspension mounting kit , hardware kit ( i couldnt find the combined kit like most others offer ) and a differential rebuild kit, ecklers price with a 15 % discount plus shipping was $585.46 ! I jumped on ebay and found the complete rear suspension kit w/bushings and hardware , and the differential rebuild kit w/free shipping for $420 So i saved $165.46 that i applied to other parts that i wanted . So long story short ecklers shipping and handling is very expensive and their parts seem to be for the most part more expensive also . It pays to shop around . Merry christmas

hedgehead

Yup, lot's of competition. Also Ecklers does not cater exclusively to vettes.

Nowhere Man

when shopping and comparing make sure your getting the same parts. for most Corvette only parts there is mostly one manufacture for the part. but some common parts there is a few different manufactures. some are better then others. for mid year parts you can't beat Paragon and Long Island Corvette. they are one of the two biggest manufacture of mid year only parts

fyreline

I have about a half-dozen vintage Corvette parts suppliers I have used regularly during the "rolling restoration" of my 1962. Occasionally I will find that a part I need is only available from one place, but more commonly it's available from most or all of them so I usually go with whoever is cheapest. The difference is not typically that much, really. Plus, I attend Corvettes at Carlisle and the NCRS Eastern Regional meet in Lakeland, Florida every year with my "want list", and save on shipping . . . and, you meet some great people. I don't think I have purchased anything from Eckler's since I owned my new 1972 LT-1.

number3

your right they have it seems bought out a lot of other companies like macs auto parts who i used to buy parts from as well. Seems when they get bigger the quality of customer service gets smaller

59BlueSilver

Ecklers is the highest price out there. I never buy from them, and yes, it does pay to shop around even with the other vendors. I like Keen because they can charge you actual shipping rather than a standard $10 or $20 like most do. Hate shipping and/or handling charges!

Frankie the Fink

As Keith stated Paragon and LICS are top notch...Zip is good too; Dr. Rebuild has some one-of-a-kind and many correct items....but his outlook towards other vendors and certain Corvette organizations makes me shy away unless I HAVE to have something only he has....

58n65

I like ZIP and Long Island. Ecklers has been fine but a little more expensive. Corvette America was fine up until I received a dented muffler and contacted them twice to see if they thought the part would be okay....NEVER got a response back other than "Will pass to our ____ Department". Very disappointed!!!

Thanks,
58n65

Brucebodyman

I used Paragon exclusively when I built my 62 Restomod. Any stock part I needed I bought from them. Sometimes I would call with over a hundred part numbers and very rarely would they not have it.. In fact one time I ordered some parts and there were 2 parts they didn't have. When I got there the next day to pick up they had overnighted
the 2 missing parts at no charge to me.. I forgot to mention they are only 30 miles from my shop so I'm there a lot.

David Moroney

I like Paragon too. They stock almost everything I have needed and their 15% "Stick With Us" discount once you qualify always ensures very competitive pricing. Also, because I am a long way from the US it's great when they offer four different shipping options.

63 Coupe

Paragon

rfn026

I'm big on Corvette Central. They stock the full Paragon line so I can get all the Paragon parts from CC. CC has a huge eBay presence.

I just had problems with Eckler's on a Porsche order. The order was for a couple of hundred dollars worth of obscure parts that they had in stock. The phone people were just clueless.

They were very nice people and extremely polite but they had no clue about the parts they were selling. To be fair though these were strange parts.

Eckler's is a privately held firm - Baird Capital Partners. They have investments in more than 290 companies. They manage $3.1 billion in capital.

Here's all about them.

Richard Newton

watson

I also like Paragon, but the shipping cost there seems to be higher than others for West coast buyers. I now use Corvette Pacifica. They have a good Web site and the quality of the parts is very good. The owner is a Corvette guy and he understands the problems with bad parts. While the retail part of the company is not all that well known, they make a lot of the parts that other companies sell. They are located in Atascadero, California and I suggest that you check out their Web site.

Doc

Frankie the Fink

I'm not sure I give a tinker's damn about who owns a company and how big they are. I just want the parts in stock, quality components, fair pricing, reasonable delivery times and techs who half way know what they are talking about.

For my Chevelle, I dealt with a Mom and Pop shop in Texas who have almost anything you could ever need... Every phone call got Pop, or Mom...

Nowhere Man

for me I am on a first name bases with the owner of the place I bought most of my Chevelle parts. and in the early and mid 90's when Richard owned Paragon Dad was on first name bases with him as well. and all the employees who come to Corvettes at Carlisle all know me since I was 7. I know them quite well. other parts houses I can not put a name to a face. its funny dad knows the owner of the Corvette specialties of MD since the early 70's but we never dealt with them.

after restoring 3 cars we learned a lot about where to buy parts from

Bruski

I have dealt with Ecklers for years, since back in the '70's when they were in Milan Il.. Ralph started out making correct restoration parts. For many years after the move to Florida, they still had quality parts. Ecklers of today are overpriced and quality suffers. I ordered a fan shroud for my '66 sbc and it came from California and had poprivets holding it together instead of being bonded. Really disappointed, I'm going to have my original shroud reglassed and reinstall it

DZAUTO

I buy NOTHING from Ecklers. For MOST Corvette parts, I use Paragon or Corvette Central.
For Chevelle parts (new or used) I call James Hinshaw first and ask for James himself. He's usually available. If Hinshaws can't help me, then I call Ground Up for Chevelle parts. You have to deal with Hinshaws direct, he does not do online business.

BD104X

I mostly use Paragon but I shop around a lot. Unlike most, I found LI Corvette a pain to deal with. When I converted my '64 to front disc I used Rock Auto for most of the mechanical parts, and I found the best prices on the front & rear bearings, shim kits & installation tools on eBay & Amazon - all Timken bearings and far cheaper than any of the Corvette specific vendors. I am a parts manager by trade, so I usually have researched all of my part numbers before hunting them down so I know exactly what I'm after!

Sky65

For Corvette specific parts I use Zip and Corvette America. Plain ole GM parts I use my local Chevy dealer, FLAPS or Summit. One thing I think is important is I call in all orders. No impersonal internet orders. I have a specific person I deal with at ZIP and Corvette America. They now know me by my voice and take care of me. Any returns or questions are handled quickly and professionally. I can count on both of my guys.

Tom

C2 Hot Cam Guy

I get good service & decent price from volunteer vettes