Buyer beware: My buyfordracing.com experience...

A couple weeks ago, I had a front caliper go bad, so I ordered a 10th anniversary front caliper kit from buyfordracing.com. I went to install them a couple days ago, only to find they didn't come with banjo bolts, and neither my stock ones, or the ones that came with my stainless lines would fit. I was pretty unhappy to have to wait till midway through next week and pay $18 for the two bolts, so I thought I would send the company an email and tell them they should advertise them as not coming with all necessary hardware for the install. What I got in response to my email was extremely unprofessional. Enjoy:

My initial email:

----- Original Message -----
> From: [email protected]
> To: [email protected]
> Sent: Saturday, March 21, 2009 11:44:15 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: problem with 10th Anniversary caliper kit
>
> I recently bought a 10th Anniversary cobra caliper kit from you. I went to
> install them on my 95 cobra, only to find that neither my stock banjo bolts,
> nor my bolts from my new braided stainless brake lines will fit. Why did
> these
> calipers not come with a banjo bolt? I mean come on. All they have is a
> rubber
> plug. I would think that since these are brand new calipers, you would not be
> expected to use your old banjo bolts. I am now having to put the car on hold
> for several days while I wait for my ford dealer to get them, and then I get
> to
> pay $18 for two bolts. In the future, you should advertise them as coming
> WITHOUT necessary hardware, as they come with none, other than the retaining
> pin to hold the caliper into the bracket. I just felt that I should contact
> you
> about this because I am very unhappy.
>
> my order number was 6461.
>
> -Dan McConnell


Response #1:
Quoting [email protected]:

> • Replacement front calipers with brake pads
> • Fits 1994-04 Mustang Cobra, Special Edition, and Mach 1 Mustangs
> • Can be used on M-2300-K  SHD Brake kit with the use of M-2321-A
> Â hardware kit
>
>
>
>
> Sorry that wasn't clear enough for you. Should we include EVERTHING else that
> is connected to the caliper like the chassis of the car? Take some personal
> responsibility here. If you didn't know what was necessary you should have
> asked questions PRIOR to ordering. The rubber plugs are to keep contaminates
> from getting inside the caliper.



-Ok, so apparently in that little area of part number nonsense, it somehow told me...but is that any way to respond to a customer? no. BUT wait it gets better! He decided to email me again, as if he had not been unprofessional enough the first time:

Response #2:
Quoting [email protected]:

>
>
> Sorry, now I see your email address and it all makes sense.

I could not believe that a company would email someone back in such an unprofessional way. So I emailed them back, and I am sure to receive a response, which I will post here if I do.

My response:
Quoting [email protected]:

> I'm glad that you have something against Virginia Tech, very professional
> thing
> to include in an email. I will make sure to post this email in every mustang
> forum I belong to. I was not expecting you to send me banjo bolts, merely
> just
> letting you know that in the future, you should include in the description
> that
> it does not come with all necessary hardware, that is all. But thank you for
> insulting me. I will make sure to never buy from you again.

Just thought I would share this with everyone. The response I would expect from a company would be "I am sorry for the confusion, but it shows here (insert that part number section) that you would need a hardware kit. We will try to make it more clear in the future." but instead I got some kind of personal belittling, which is completely unprofessional and childish. Not the way to thank a customer for spending $250 with your business, especially in economic times when the automotive aftermarket should be glad people are spending money on these pleasure vehicles.
 
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UPDATE! He responded with an even more childish email...

Quoting [email protected]:

>
>
> We appreciate any and all advertising you would do for us. Just for the
> record it wasn't the VT part of the email address I was referring to. Had we
> sent you banjo bolts they would have been useless to you since our crystal
> ball is broke and we would have no way of knowing you had bought aftermarket
> lines. The banjo bolts the Ford deatimler is getting for you are probably
> useless with the new lines. Have a nice day.

I guess it was my first initial and part of my last name that he was referring to, that makes total sense.

My response:


Quoting [email protected]:

> I guess the part of my email address that you were referring to was my first
> initial and part of my last name, that makes total sense, my mistake...
>
> Actually, the lines are direct replacement stainless lines for a 94-98
> mustang
> cobra, which thankfully, I did not buy from you. The banjo bolts I will be
> getting will work just fine. Thank you for sending me something to add to my
> posts in the forums though, you're just making it easier to show your
> business
> for exactly what it is. I have already received several responses showing
> other
> customers who have had similar experiences, some far worse and childish. I
> hope
> that without your crystal ball, you can still see that I am going to turn
> away
> as many purchases from your business as possible. You have a nice day too.
 
Ive bought quite a bit from them and never had any issues but what he said to you Dan is really stupid in this day and age.

Yes they should be thankful for anyone spending money on parts considering the economy. Second of all why would anyone take the chance on promoting bad business b/c all of these company's know that many of the people they sell parts to belong on msg boards across the Internet and any bad experience anyone gets from them will be posted all over the place. Its much more easy to say "I'm sorry and we will make it more clear" then to start a big $hit storm w/ a customer.
 
How on earth are these places in business with practices like that? I've been in sales for almost a decade and I can promise you that treating customers that way is a quick way to failure. Being professional seems like a trait that has been lost in much of today's market.

I can't say that I haven't seen or heard of similar reponses about them before though. I think it was about 2yrs ago that a very similar situation was discussed on here.
 
Quoting [email protected]:

> I hope you realize that alumni of Virginia Tech can use their email as long
> as
> they wish. I choose to not clutter my professional email account with emails
> such as yours, in an effort to be more professional, which I'm sure you know
> nothing about. My ears have been dry for a long time now. I am ending this
> childishness with you, as it will go nowhere. If you would like me to add
> anything else, feel free to respond.
>
> Quoting [email protected]:
>
> >
> >
> > If you read HALF of the forums you claim to you would never have bought
> from
> > us in the first place. Since you still don't get it it's the EDU part of
> your
> > address. You're stll wet behind the ears and think the world revolves
> around
> > you. Had YOU bought the correct brake lines for the calipers you would be
> on
> > the road right now. Is it the other companies fault for sending you the
> wrong
> > banjo bolts with the lines you bought? Had you bought the lines from us
> they
> > would have been supplied with the correct bolts. We can go on for days to
> > keep the post to the top if you wish. We only ask that you post the replies
> > verbatim instead of editing them to make your point. YOU bought the wrong
> > lines and hopefully learned that you should take responsible for your own
> > actions. We've sold 3 sets of calipers overnight. If any part of it is due
> to
> > you please accept our thanks.
 
His response is funny because while I was searching I read at least three threads where people had bought the calipers and lines from them. When the lines leaked they made fun of the installer and said that they had installed them wrong and took no responsibility. I have never bought from them, nor will I ever because I continually read things like this about them over the years. Its a shame that everyone buys on price only though because that is the only reason they are still around.
 
Wow. My BFR experience was nothing like that, but I'll be sure to sticky this, both here and in 5.0 Talk, so they can see the true customer service, or lack thereof that BuyFordRacing provides. Title changed slightly, to reflect the nature of the thread.
 
wow.... all i got to say is wow dan... i cant believe the emails!! evidently there must be a teenager at the email end who's getting off to fighting with you verbally through the internet... its obvious the guy is completely stuck in high school mode.

on the other hand, i cant say ive had bad business with them as ive ordered my aluminum DS and my front cobra kit through them. only complaint i had wasnt about them, but DHL who decided to ring my door bell and put the heavy box with my caliper kit in it in FRONT of my screen door so when i went to go open the door, i couldnt get out LOL... tool bags...

after reading all that, i dont ever plan on going to them again. theyve completely lost my business as i dont feel like going through something like that!!
 
Wow. My BFR experience was nothing like that, but I'll be sure to sticky this, both here and in 5.0 Talk, so they can see the true customer service, or lack thereof that BuyFordRacing provides. Title changed slightly, to reflect the nature of the thread.

Thank you very much, I just want to spread the word about what kind of business this place does. I realize that most of their customers get their parts, install them, and everything goes without a hitch. But customer service is what makes or breaks a business in my eyes, and this company will never get my business (or the business of anybody I know) again.
 
The ad on their site has that info in big red letters, did they just add that?

they must have, I'm sure they are covering their tracks. I really don't care about the parts, it was the childish response I got from him that prompted me to post this on forums.

i can say for a fact that was just recently added, i was looking the other day at stuff on their site and that wasnt there.. sneaky