I've ordered stuff from just about all of them.
Like to "spread the wealth".

 

GM reproduction products seem to be made everywhere except in America! Bought a motor mount from Autozone that was made in India! Still good after 2 years.

Auto-Zone offered a distributor cap and rotor in a 'Duralast' box that was made in Mexico, I rejected that and went to Advance, same rotor and cap made in Mexico but in a AC Delco box and cost double!

I did my ground up restoration in 2001 and bought most of the parts from .CC, Ecklers and all the others have gotten some of my money and I've been happy with the parts.

If I was starting on another project I would go with Willcox only because they seem to care. There is no other supporting vendor that helps out the forum members as much as they do!. PG.

 

I also order from all of the vendors. It's amazing how many are selling corvette parts to a limited number of buyers. It's got to be an extremely competitive business. I've never had Ecklers do me wrong. In fact, they've gone out of their way to resolve a couple issues with some parts (not their fault) and I have been extremely satisfied with their service. Recently I've been ordering from Ken at Smart Parts 866-600-8388 because he ships very fast.

The one thing about ordering parts is shipping can add up big time. So, you want to order as much stuff as you can think of each time (to cut down on the number of individual orders). That said, you might find that some vendors hava a more full line than others on what you are interested in so you can get EVERYTHING from them at that time rathar than place 2 or 3 orders from different suppliers. And sign up for their internet notifications because the best time to order is during any sort of holiday because one or more will have a 10% or even 15% off sale and/or free shipping offers of some sort. Anytime I need to place a big order you can bet it is on a sale event. Free shipping is great if you are ordering body panels or large interior items.

Mark G

 

I've been happy with:
Paragon- they manufacture a lot of their own parts and have a large vintage parts department
ZIP- good prices usually
Wilcox- good prices and help on the forum
CC
Volunteer
Haven't tried Ecklers because of the negative feedback here on the forum and feel why chance a long running problem.
Will try Dr Rebuild in the future. They do have a lot of obscure parts! Don't forget the salvage yards also and the parts section here on the forum.
You need to do a spread sheet to compare prices for your order. You'll be surprised at the differences!
Glenn

 

I live about 45mins from Ecklers...I have spent 1000's with them but they have never made me feel like they valued me as a customer, prices well...
When this Mako project gets rolling I will do all my business with Wilcox, I like how he is right here making posts, helping people even if they didnt buy the part from him,
To me that friendly personal touch is worth a lot....

 

If you look to the left of the screen, the supporting vendors are listed there. Corvette Central, Ecklers, Zip, Mid-America, they are all listed there, plus more. In the last year+ that I have owned this car, I have ordered from several of the vendors and have found all of them to be relativley helpful and have gotten good service without exception. As others have said, the prices vary somewhat, so I always check 2 or 3 of them before making an order of any significant size. Wilcox does go the extra mile to help folks work on their cars, and they make a lot of technical "how to" type stuff available for free on their website.

 

Quality of parts, quality of service etc are pretty much the same between these two. CC tends to be a little more cheaper. Only downside with CC is that their website sucks and it also does not show if an item is available or not.

I've been waiting for a $20 part from CC for over a month.

 

Ive used CC many times & had no problems

 

Yes guys.. I'm watching and thank you for the kind words. I'm not so sure my head will make it upstairs tonight!

Tommy, Norm, Tony, Victor and everyone else here is a business owners dream come true. Personally I can't say enough good about any of them! Loyal, hardworking, and they put up with me! Sure, they will make mistakes! But they will also work just as hard to fix them!

I'm just glad they don't read the forum often... The words "multiple raise's" comes to mind.

Thanks again,

Wilcox Inc.

 

I probably use CC more often than Ecklers because they have been pretty mail-order-friendly, especially on deals on shipping with stuff like exhaust systems. Ive found Eckler's prices to be higher more often, but I have not encountered the Customer Service problems I've heard others talk about. CC could stand to improve on the fact that too much stuff is back-ordered and there seems to be a lot of deliveries from one order.

Many of the others like Zip & Paragon are pretty similar in performance. The couple vendors I won't order from any more stem directly from the unprofessional way I was spoken to, rather than from any parts problem.

My favorites are Al Knoch (obviously if you read my Customer Service thread). He could teach a few people a lot. And, I've used a lot of Smart Parts stuff lately... super convenient at the shows, nice stuff and Kent is a great guy.

 

Its Kent!

 

and there service it not much better!! i have started using Wilcox, there sevice and prices are much better.

I have just placed an order for a bunch of stuff from Wilcox and managed to save a few dollars.

looking forward to the delivery.

 

I have had limited experience with both but prefered my dealings with CC. I use Zip and Wilcox mainly for all my purchases. Both of them are great to deal with and have always handled any issues that arose.

 

I too live about 30 minutes from ecklers, and like having them close and have spent much there as well. However I have used Corvette Central, Zip, Bairs, My favorite is probably is Paragon and Doc Rebuild, Bairs they seem to have more correct parts.

Rob

 

Bought from Ecklers, CC, Wilcox all with no problems other than an occasional back order. I have bought in person at Ecklers and the folks there were very knowledgeable and helpful, and I especially like the degree of involvement Wilcox has on this forum with helpful advice.

 

which company will send parts to Canada , thru regular mail ?

 

Spocc.. USPS is about the only way we will ship to Canada! If you want details on options about this, send me an email to WillcoxCustomerService@Willcoxcorvette.c om. Tomorrow I'll send you some info on this.

Willcox

 

i prefer mid-america

 

thanks -email sent

 

I have used Corvette central, VBandP and Vansteel. I'm in Australia and the only gripe I have is that Corvette central don't know how to pack stuff. They use a box twice the size needed, which adds a bomb to the shipping. Also they usually have a wait on some parts, so it might take 4-6 weeks longer than you expect. Apart from that, I haven't had any problems rebuilding the rear of my car (including new shocks, trailing arms and a glass spring) via mail-order