gregh Posted September 3, 2002 Share Posted September 3, 2002 Just getting this off my chest cos I'm p*ssed off! Exhaust cracked and fell off at Elvington 20th August, ring Westfield parts Friday 23rd of August to order new front section of exhaust for a Zetec. Assured it is in stock and will be with Paul at Playskool Tuesday 27th. Get car booked in for Monday 2nd Sept on my return from hols to get it sorted. Monday 2nd Sept - no exhaust. Ring Westfield parts who apologise and promise me one by 9am today. Noon today - no exhaust, ring Westfield, promised a call back when they investigate. Paul at Playskool tries them as well and they tell him they are out of stock and none in until Friday. Gutted, I have my father-in-law over from Oz and he goes off Saturday and he was really looking forward to a drive. Sorry for the rant, but has anyone got a Zetec manifold front section they don't want ;^) Regards, Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick M Posted September 3, 2002 Share Posted September 3, 2002 I think they do their stock keeping on an Etch-a-Sketch. Causes all sorts of problems if someone wipes it clean and takes down a new order..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregh Posted September 3, 2002 Author Share Posted September 3, 2002 LOL Nick, bought a smile to my face!! cheers, Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westy Posted September 3, 2002 Share Posted September 3, 2002 as with any company in a mail order role they are limited by how good there computer systems and logistics are. In Westfields case it can be a bit sketchy as the right hand ignores the left sometimes. A mail order company has two purposes 1, to get the order right and 2, To deliver it on time, the rest is not our problem as a 'consumer' Now where the #### are those chocolate tea pots I ordered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furtive Posted September 3, 2002 Share Posted September 3, 2002 Anyone need an exhaust heat shield jubilee clip for a wide bodied car? Or want to swap it for one for a narrow bodied car. Probably easier than sending it back to Westfield to get what I asked for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stueyboy Posted September 3, 2002 Share Posted September 3, 2002 Greg Ask Steppenwolf nicely and he may let you borrow his as he has recently changed his for a raceline one and I would imagine he still has the old manifold hanging around. That's as long as you are near Surrey of course. I've had my Zetec Westie for 18 months or so now and I have to say that I wouldn't buy another Westfield exhaust as my engine is doing a good job of blowing my original one to bits. See the previous post about exhausts around the message board and look at Steppenwolf's new one from raceline. I have my eye on one of them and it's going on Santa's list this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregh Posted September 3, 2002 Author Share Posted September 3, 2002 Stuey, Nowhere near Surrey I'm afraid. Do the Westfield factory ones not have any sort of guarantee with them? Fingers crossed I may have a resolution, will know first thing tomorrow. regards, Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stanton Posted September 3, 2002 Share Posted September 3, 2002 Methinks your exhaust may arrive very soon and you can then post your Thanks to all the chaps in Kingswinford message Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterrosey Posted September 3, 2002 Share Posted September 3, 2002 From my experience building my Megabusa ('complete' kit less engine and wheels - in theory) I was quite amazed at how many bits were missing. I think a lot of us are blinded by our enthusiasm for the cars. The chaps at Westfield are all really friendly and generally post things when they say they will... BUT the number of parts supplied wrong, or missing entirely, was quite ridiculuous. Example - took four attempts to get the right flanges and oil cooler pipes for the dry sump tank over a three-week period. While I accept that you have to cut them some slack for the massive options list and number of variations, plus the fact that in many case they're reliant on other suppliers (eg Ford etc), the point is that we spend a serious amount of our hard-earned with them. I spent over £13K with Westfield - which is a #### of a lot of money to me - and for that sort of outlay I think it's reasonable to expect a more efficient supply of the correct parts. Having insufficient rivets (to the tune of about 500) is an easily avoidable dangler-up. Rant over!! Passed SVA today and got Busa on the road!!! Yip Yip Yippppeee!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo Posted September 4, 2002 Share Posted September 4, 2002 I know this seems hard but is this not par for the coarse these days with any company,its seems that when you order anything it takes longer and longer to get delivery,but when your on the phone ordering its a totally different kettle of fish,so westfield arn't alone infact there in the majority section i would say,sad state of affairs but its reality i'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike H Posted September 4, 2002 Share Posted September 4, 2002 All I can say is I've always found the service to be pretty good. On my old car which was complete modular build from the factory, the only thing they couldn't supply on time was the ECU which was duly sent as soon as they got them in. Didn't really make any difference to me as I had no idea what to do with it and wasn't intending to start the engine before sending it to Westfield to be mapped. The only problem I had was with silencers which cracked around the tailpipe exit. I had two replaced under warranty with no problem whatsoever. Not bad considering they contained a CAT and cost about £400 a piece. Bit of a hit on their suppliers I guess. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick M Posted September 4, 2002 Share Posted September 4, 2002 I know when I got my kit I had all sorts of fun and games with missing nuts, bolts and parts as well as items which had been incorrectly supplied (chrome instead of black headlights, etc., etc.) I shrugged it off at the time but I'm sad to see it still carries on today. It can't be that hard to employ someone cheap to specifically bag up the right nuts and bolts, check parts lists for kits, etc. I've had mixed experiences with them when ordering parts too. Sometimes they're spectacularly good, other times they've not sent the full order or have sent the wrong bits. Fair play they collected the wrong part (a roll bar) at their expense but it's just the hassle factor that's associated with having to sort it all out. Sitting here with perfect hindsight and not knowing the ins and outs of running a kit car company it's easy to be critical, but I do think they could make an effort to at least make sure the right bits are in the boxes they give to customers. First impressions and all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moomin Posted September 4, 2002 Share Posted September 4, 2002 I think alot of people would agree here. I've built from a complete kit, and there have been numerous bits missing or wrong. It's not great drama but it's bl**dy frustrating at the time. And I have to admit that sometimes getting the parts sent out has required numerous requests/reminders. It sounds easy from this side of the keyboard, but surely it would make sense for Westfield to get a couple more technical people to field questions and get the picking of parts more accurate? I know they've said to me that they were working on updating/completing the build manuals when someone left (Chris Masters?). To me it seems obvious that if they got the manuals updated and complete, then surely there would be less of the same technical questions asked of people like Mark & Mick at the factory? Some short term effort required for sure, but surely the longer term gains for both Westfield and more importantly it's customers, would outweigh this investment? I even offered to do the job myself... but I think they will be using some of my build diary to help finish the 'Bird manual which runs out once you get as far as putting the engine in... Having said that, what do I know abot running a business... Rant over. Moomin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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