I could go on and on... Most times I get disgusted but don't bother to use or return the part. This lower dash pocket costs me $90. Again, manufactured by Corvette America and sold by Willcox. I ended up dying my original pocket after looking at this new one. The original pocket is on the car attached to the previously described defective lower dash part bought from Willcox. I'm not against restoring parts but many are too damaged to restore.

Notice the thread different between the parts? The new part is not spaced properly. The original part has 63 stitches across the top. The new Corvette America part has 49 (the stitches are very wide and look like crap). Also the Corvette America thread is not automotive grade (looks like what my wife would use to hem my pants) and not the right color.

Original part dyed and installed


New Corvette America part (trust me it looks much worse in person)


As, I said, I did not bother to return this part. I likely would have just thrown it away like hundreds of dollars of other similar crap parts (the door pulls on the rear compartment door are hilariously bad, but also not returned, I dyed the old parts). I hate the trouble of returning things.

Back to the door pockets... How hard would it be to match the spacing of the stitches? How how much more would it cost to use automotive grade thread? Pennies? Why do these manufactuers continue to sell us this junk? Because we let them think they are our friends. They are not. Shame on them. Shame on us. I mean I have been frustrated for months before venting. Why? Because I wanted to be part of this C3 community. No more. This has to stop!

 

Any Vendors care to respond ?

 

Corvette America has been selling crap for years you would think that they would have some sort of quality control. A lot of these reproductions sell almost what a good used part sells for. They can control the quality, I would pay more for a good reproduction.

 

I completely agree with your complaints about parts, but being too lazy to return them and losing "hundreds of dollars" is completely on you.

There's just no reason for that.

 

Well time is money. I have been very lucky in life so I can value my time more than a few hundred dollars. Calling the vendors, answering the vendor questions, taking pics, wrapping the packages, & driving to UPS. That is a lot of time. Unnecessary time I sometimes don't care to sacrifice. But also unnecessary if I just received quality parts in the first place.

 

I too would pay more FOR GOOD PARTS THAT FIT !
Very frustrating.....

 

After reading all this and finding out first hand about "shody" workmanship on most parts, When the time comes to replace my exterior door handles. I will go for original GM and not the imports! The time not wasted and the look will be worth it. Good luck Clubby99

 

That aftermarket map pocket IS pretty ugly

It is a PITA sometimes.
But, you already have the pics on here and you could put stuff like this in the F/S section easily enough and get something back for it instead of the hassle of phone calls to vendors, ebay, and on and on. Throw it in the box it was shipped in, USPS it, and maybe someone here can put it to good use.

 

YEAH put it in the for sale section so another corvette owner can buy poor fitting parts! then again some dont care if the parts fit correctly or not hence the reason this vendor is probably still in business.

if it were me I'd call the vendor, get an RMA and send it all back on the boat to china where it was probably from to begin with. Then move onto a different vendor who people here recommend.

 

So who makes better parts? Are there alternatives?

 

Not really. For those who demand a part just like the original, it is probably better to look for a salvaged 'original' part and clean it up. That wouldn't help the difference in the thread color (although I suspect that the 'dark' thread in that photo has probably gotten dirty/dark over time...I don't recall the saddle interior having dark thread sewn into it, but I've been wrong before). Redying everything to match would eliminate the different thread color, however.

In general, I've been surprised at the lack of good fit for new parts. Just had a similar thing going on with the inner windshield pillar trim pieces (from Corvette America). The 'build' quality was pretty good...but the execution of assembly to configure it exactly as the original parts was really poor. I had to grind off two of the plastic attaching clips from the old parts and epoxy them to the top of the new part's attaching clips because they wouldn't even come in contact with those on the pillars! So, after reworking them, redying them so they would be the same color, and bending the part to shape it correctly, I finally got them to fit decently.

 

Guys if we don't send the items back how is Corvette America going to know something is wrong. I got to believe CA wants happy customers. If enough people send a product back, CA will get back to the manufacture to make changes or they will go and get the product from someone else. So if it is not correct please send it back so hopefully the next guy doesn't get junk.

 

Thank you for posting these problems...I am nearing the point where I will be restoring/purchasing new parts for my 73 rebuild....Looks like I will go right to the salvage/NOS yard and suppliers.

 

Andrew...Nice job on the restore! Most of my parts were restored as well...needless to say, as long as they were not actually broken...your better off with the real deal! Muddy

 

Exactly... That is how it's supposed to work. I would imagine most folks in the supply chain are not Vette owners and have no clue there is an issue. $90 sitting on the shelf or in the trash is certainly worth it to me to spend an hour to return it (since I don't make $90 an hour). I understand companies are in it to make a profit but if quality is not there, customers won't be either.

 

I get the impression you like to complain. Isn't this the third post on the same theme?

If you don't like the parts you received, contact the vendor and send them back.

If you choose to keep and install the parts, post after post complaining about them is nothing more than b*tching.

 

Some of you have missed the point.

Trust me I have returned many parts. That was the purpose of my original e-mails. That all of us should return defective parts. That is the only way Corvette America (and drop shippers like Willcox) will improve. These treads started when I described how Willcox created roadblocks to make returns more difficult. I tried to return a defective $69 windshield header panel. Instead of just sending a UPS return label, I was accused of returning too many items and told to accept the quality as normal. When I insisted, I was forced to make several phone calls, told to wait while Willcox inspected another '72 at their store (made no sense to me), and then asked by the owner Ernie to send him photos of the crappy part to him on e-mail. Well he can keep his $69. I did not send him any photos. Instead I posted the photos here.

So please!!! Return all your defective parts. Corvette America advertises a 1-year return policy. Hold them to it. Too long, a large inner circle of posters have protected these vendors and attacked anyone who complained about obvious quality issues. Corvette America and drop shippers like Willcox are not our friends. They are businesses. They will only improve the quality of their products when their "bottom line" of profit is impacted.

 

This is my last post on this issue

 

Thanks for posting and venting your frustration in our forum.

As I posted before there are supporting vendors that advertise and support the forum to get our business, I will no longer support them.
Your frustration and posts have confirmed my opinion that customer service is secondary with a lot of suppliers.

 

Once again

Any Vendors care to respond ?

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