polly_x Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 Having rebuilt my car and another in the last year I can honestly say I have spent thousands of pounds with other suppliers on parts. The fact that you cannot get through is the biggest problem. I guess most of us kit car builer types want things NOW so end up buying elsewhere when you cant even get through. I simply wont use the the online system as you have no idea where you stand and end up having to call anyway. It also really seems to be dependant as to who you get through to in parts. I dont know all the names but getting through to Gavin always seems to be a bonus! I find myself looking elsewhere now for parts unless they really need to come from Westfield and then it can be so hit and miss. Sometimes I am really surprised by the speed of service and other times really dissapointed with it. Quote
RichP Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 Lets hope things improve for the WSCC crowd. No consolation, but it appears that the GTM owners are also experiencing similar problems and lack of parts availability - sadly unless you're a registered member you will not be able to access their forum, as it's a closed shop but the guys are posting same kind of comments and looking to organise a list of direct questions to pose to the Potenza Sports Cars management team. No problem here - parts ordered from GTM arrived as expected and promised last Thursday Trouble is they were ordered 2 years (yes YEARS) ago and have been chased pretty much every 2 weeks throughout with ongoing promises of delivery, new suppliers, call backs that never came etc etc. It became a joke. I even suggested I'd get the parts made myself and provide them to GTM for cost, and also recommended some suppliers who I'd already spoken to and knew could help. But no interest it seems. The parts were promised to arrive with a "goodwill gesture" following all the grief we've had. I can only assume that the gesture was the cardboard box they were packed it. Quote
GeordieBarry Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 Julian needs to have a hard look at his technical support as well. During my build I had some issues that the local agent here in West Oz could not answer and so I emailed 3 times to them. Glad I was'nt hanging by certain tender bits for their answer as I'd still be waiting. Regards Greg Initially after buying an unstarted kit I contacted Westfield with questions regarding the kit. Responses took a very long time. Recently I have noticed that now I usually get a much quicker response. One thing I do find is that the website does not always have the infomation I am looking for regarding parts so is a little confusing. As has been previously stated it would be very useful to have a definitive list of the parts used from other manufacturers to make sourcing them easier. It may also encourage Westfield to be more competetive. At the moment newbies like me know if I buy from Westfield it will fit. They don't tell me the discs I need are Escort MK4, or the ball joints are transit drop links. If I had this infomation I could source them locally, and probably save myself a lot of money. Maybe then Westfield would start to take more of an interest, and realise they are not the only supplier. I do understand that for them to give this infomation is not in their interest, but if it was freely and easily accessible then they would have to look again in order to remain competetive. Just my 2 pennith. I know I will still be buying a lot of stuff from Westfield once I know exactly what I need. Quote
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 I don't know if the build manual for standard SE/SEi's has changed much in the past few years, but certainly when I built mine, most of the Sierra calliper on the rear , Escort rack at the front sort of info was in front of the manual. To be fair, if you're not buying a kit you did have to buy a manual if you wanted one, but then again it's a handy thing to have anyway. Of course if you do a bit of digging, all the info, along with recommended suppliers is on here too Quote
glenbo Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Trouble is they were ordered 2 years (yes YEARS) ago And the award for the most patient man goes too Quote
Hammy Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Caterham Cars - Designed for racing, built for living ------------------------------------------------------ Order Number: 7933 Detailed Invoice: https://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/account_history_info.php?order_id=7933 Date Ordered: Tuesday 21 April, 2009 The comments for your order are Your order has been updated to the following status. New status: Despatched Please reply to this email if you have any questions. I e-mailed Westfield with a query about engine mounts on the same day and have not heard anything from them Quote
Porkie Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 I've only ever had a problems and I have ordered boat loads of parts in the past 9 months! Just ordered some more this week! AWESOME service as usual from Gavin! Friendly, VERY knowledgable and VERY professional! Spot on! and I KNOW the parts will be at Stus by the morning as well! The phone answering problem seems to have got alot better in my opinion. Quote
XTR2Turbo Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 I spoke with Gavin a couple of weeks ago. Needed some mirrors for SVA test. Got them in the post two days later as promised. No complaints Quote
highwayman Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 Yes , there seem to have been a notable improvement with the phones even internally at Westfields but I've never really had too many issues. I have a life policy that seems to generally work " how you approach generally determines how you will emerge!". Now I live fairly close to the factory I pop in at 8am when everyone seems to be there and get top service. Quote
stevewi Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 Have ordered bits about 4 times over the last month. Always got through by at least the third ring. Got through on the second today so they must be improving. Always pleasant and helpfull though in the parts dept. Quote
Hammy Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 Nothing form Westfield ,Caterham part arrived today. Quote
Mark Stanton Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 Always pleasant and helpfull though in the parts dept. I pop in at 8am when everyone seems to be there and get top service. AWESOME service as usual from Gavin! Friendly, VERY knowledgable and VERY professional! Good to read the usual positive reports about the guys at the sharp end and their professional manner in which they deal with customers - lets hope those guys get the support and assistance they deserve When I first met various Potenza management over two years ago I said that they had inherited some very good staff and a team worth working with and from those comments, it looks like they're still doing their best despite whatever is happening with the telephone system and parts availability / supply chain From those type comments, it rules out any problems with the staff members working in parts Quote
Lurksalot Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 and problems seem to be getting back to normal. Just the normal problems then ........ sorted Quote
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