Roush Yet more Saleen customer service woes...

Acheron315

New Member
Oct 23, 2003
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Charleston, SC
I had ordered a rear strut tower brace for my saleen over 8 months ago. I am a team Saleen member and ordered this and the new caster camber plates. They didn't give me my discount, because the RSTB was on backorder. They also shipped it to the wrong zip code 28621 vs. 29621, they must have transposed the number. I called and told them of this mistake.

I made another order one month ago and told them to cancel the RSTB because I ended up buying one from Kenny Brown. I asked them to apply the pending discount money to my new order. They of course didn't do this. Now, this week I got an invoice from them saying my RSTB had shipped! To the original WRONG 28621 zip code! And they never gave me my discount!

I know they are shortstaffed, but am I the only one who thinks this is completely crazy?
 
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No, youre not the only one crazy. Fortunately for me I have always lived only a 1/2 hour to 45 min drive from Saleen, so I can always drive there to pick up my parts.
I have had to order things in the past like a duplicate console plaque for my 89 and waited a year.
Saleen has had their up's and downs through the years. It sounds as if your problem should have been an easy one to fix, but???
The aftermarket business is the only thing that really makes them money. If I was the parts guy, I would make sure they were sending out your order on a silver platter!
Of course, it's easy for someone else to complain(like us) who don't know what's really happening down there right now. There are hundreds of other guys that don't have problems with their cars of parts orders, but they have no reason to complain so they don't post here. The same reason the evening news is all about the bad for 58 mins. and 2 mins of the nice story of the day. No excuse for your zip code F up though.
Those of us who really love the special and uniqueness of Saleen just deal with it. After saying that how many people stop a guy at the gas station, stop light. parking lot etc, and ask about their Cobra. NO ONE! That's because there isn't anything special about it. Not to offend anyone, but this is the Saleen threads, and I did own a 95 Cobra, so I can say what I say. I can't go anywhere, I mean anywhere in my S351 and not have men and women asking all about my car. That's on top of the fact that it does perform also. You have an S281, tell me I am wrong.
It is like a cycle down there. The late 80's they (Saleen) were making almost 800 cars a year, then early 90's just a handfull of cars. Bankruptcy ...woe is me. Then through the late 90's and through 01 they were making almost what, 900 cars again? I bet that S7 sucked a lot of money from the coffers.
I hear it is kinda tight over there right now. Fortunately they have some bright spots like Bob Root, and Liz to always answer questions.
I can tell you first hand about Shelby customers going through the same Sh#* back in the 60's from parts to warranty work. Try to find a clean 65-66 Shelby GT350 for under 75 grand right now. YOu know?
I know what was said here did'nt fix any of the parts problems you are having, but owning a "real" Saleen for me just puts a little smile on my face every time I drive it.
Sorry for getting off topic.

:D
 
I know exactly what you mean Marcus, about the fact that we only hear the bad things. But come on, ill give my little story.

I got into an accident messing up the front end of my car, i wanted an authentic saleen heat extractor hood so i was willing to pay the $750 (that is from memory, price might be +/-). I was told it was going to be on back order but i'll be damned if it didnt show up on my door step by the end of the week!! The hood looked to be in good shape but to make a long story short i took it to the dealer doing my repair (a large dealer very familiar with saleen and thier parts) and they told me it was junk. I guess the hood was made slightly wrong and it had a bow in it. So much that if you stook sqauting down next to the driver side fender you could see under the hood (i have pictures)

I technically bought the hood from speedworx and notified them immediatly. They told me that they would have to relay the message to saleen and they would have to give me a responce. Again, long story short they said no way. I said **** it, and saleen and bought a replica hood for litterally half the price ($350) and fit perfect!!

The dealer also had to get a new front bumper, SAME thing, saleen sent the original one, but it was junk so the dealer bitched at them so saleen sent another front bumper. The second bumper they sent was usable.

Not to mention every time i try and call them i get a smart ass on the phone (assuming i can even get though).

Saleen has lost a customer, if i ever sell my car i am getting a Roush.

:OT: doesnt saleen have a new CEO or manager:scratch: i thought i read that somewhere. If so i would like to see how he addresses these problems.

-Mike
 
Saleen201 said:
:OT: doesnt saleen have a new CEO or manager:scratch: i thought i read that somewhere. If so i would like to see how he addresses these problems.

-Mike

Saleen is under new ownership.

thread


Don't get me started about Saleen's parts department. :bang: By far the worst service I have received from ANY company!!
 
Don't get me wrong. I purchased my first Saleen back in the late 80's so if anyone has had poor experiences with Saleen parts it's me! And I'm not the only one. The sad thing is back in the old days when they were in Long Beach California, the parts dept was insane and very helpful. Warranty too!

I can come up with more (parts) stories than anyone. I'm not defending Saleen or the way they do business. You would think that after 20 years of being in business someone over there could figure it out. EVERY time I have ever been down there they have one guy doing everthing in the warranty & parts dept. It is F ing frustrating! I get pissed, then see what they have to deal with. Without co-owners coming in and angel investors, they would have gone out of business a long time ago. I have heard stories from Roush customers also having the same problems with fitament and other things. Only more horror stories about Saleen because they are larger and produce more vehicles. I am curious to see what happens with the new owner. Only time would tell.

I wish they could at least get the sub's that do their paint match it once and a while.
I saw a red 02 S281E the other day and the paint on the ground effects, hood and wing were 1 shade of red too dark. A blind man could tell the difference. My carbor fiber hood on my S351 fits just barely. Not perfect, but a little too far off for me and the paint does not totally match and it's white!
I even had some paint on my 02 S281's C-pillar flake off. I went down to Saleen, documented it, had a local Ford body shop re-spray it. They waited for payment, 60 bucks, but never recieved a p.o. They called me (a friend works there) so I went down a payed it. Still waiting for that one. Now you guys have got me started. Oh, and by the way, ALL of their hoods, composite and full carbon fiber are hit and miss with fit. They are hand made, and they know all about the problems. I know exactly what you are talking about there Saleen201.
Anyway, like I said before, there are plenty of guys out there that have zero problems with their cars.
I think it is important even if we have only this thread on this messageboard to chat and gripe. It's venting of the perfect kind.
Everyone has there opinions and that is just human nature. How boring would it be if we all looked the same and drove the exact same cars.
I love my Saleen Mustangs and that's just one guy's opnion. :nice:
 
Yea, If it stops raining here in Los Angeles, I'll post some tomorrow. I have 35 mm and slides, but no digitals, and I'm looking at my camera right here.
Your red 97 S281 looks sick. I have always loved that really deep red color. There is a vert on e-bay right now that is just like your car (without any mods though) and I think it looks fantastic! Man, if I brought another car home right now my wife would kill me.
 
Head Paneer said:
Don't get me started about Saleen's parts department. :bang: By far the worst service I have received from ANY company!!
and Maximum Motorsports is the best. They dis-assembled a pair of chrome camber caster plates to build a pair of black ones, and shipped them the same day for me. They LONGEST shipping time that I have had from them is 2 days after the order and if you lost a reciept, they will make you a NEW one!
 
marcus95 said:
Yea, If it stops raining here in Los Angeles, I'll post some tomorrow. I have 35 mm and slides, but no digitals, and I'm looking at my camera right here.
Your red 97 S281 looks sick. I have always loved that really deep red color. There is a vert on e-bay right now that is just like your car (without any mods though) and I think it looks fantastic! Man, if I brought another car home right now my wife would kill me.


Thanks for the compliments :nice: I am considering selling it, but i am still unsure. I would like to get the new 05 stang, but there are so many options.. :shrug: I seen that stang on E-bay, there have been a couple actually.

-Mike
 
Reading through this thread comforts me in the fact that I went with a Roush Classic instead of an S281. I had only heard rumors about their customer service and warranty issues. I had even put a deposit down on an S281 but there were some paint flaws. So the dealer was trying to get me to take delivery and then they can fix it. I didn't take delivery and it turns out they couldn't even get Saleen to fix it prior to a sale. I am glad I went a new 02 Roush Classic instead. I have heard nothing but good things about their service. Only time will tell though.
 
Okay, here's a story from the other side of things.

18 months after buying my 2000 S/C coupe, I had problems with very high temps with the intercooler. This was 6 months AFTER the 1 year warranty ended. Took the car to the local Lincoln-Mercury Dealer, (had a bad service experience w/ local Saleen dealer).

Found several problems with the IC system. Saleen reps coordinated all work with the L/M dealership and I didn't pay for any of it--even though my car was out of warranty coverage.

Even had a few little problems with my new SA 20 and Saleen has provided the correct items and paid for the work to be done at a local speed shop.
 
Well i am glad to hear somebody has had some good experiences, the company has so much potential. Everyone loves thier cars, and they are arguably the best looking mustangs on the road. Its just the customer service/parts problems that keep people from buying them.

-Mike
 
Acheron315 said:
I had ordered a rear strut tower brace for my saleen over 8 months ago. I am a team Saleen member and ordered this and the new caster camber plates. They didn't give me my discount, because the RSTB was on backorder. They also shipped it to the wrong zip code 28621 vs. 29621, they must have transposed the number. I called and told them of this mistake.

I made another order one month ago and told them to cancel the RSTB because I ended up buying one from Kenny Brown. I asked them to apply the pending discount money to my new order. They of course didn't do this. Now, this week I got an invoice from them saying my RSTB had shipped! To the original WRONG 28621 zip code! And they never gave me my discount!

I know they are shortstaffed, but am I the only one who thinks this is completely crazy?

Ha,
Saleen and poor customer service were meant for each other. its a nightmare everytime i have to order something. deffinatly poorly managed
 
Saleen has had a lot of problems, there is no disputing that.

Like Chuck and Mike have said, there are those of us who have had problems and
Saleen went out of their way to resolve. I've had several repairs and parts replaced
after the warranty expired and Saleen paid for everything. It basically depends on
whom you are dealing with and how you approach them. I've had better luck working
on the car myself and dealing directly with Saleen than going through a former "Saleen authorized
dealer" here in NJ that shall remain nameless due to their ineptness.

Chuck and I both had intercooler problems that Saleen dealers said were working
fine or they could not determine what the problem is. Once we got the wiring
layout from Saleen and found mechanics that could actually fix things, both of
our cars have been fine since.