Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Please pardon my rant this morning, but I thought I might pass along my recent experience with Mac's to those who may be considering ordering parts through them. When I built my last Model A project, I used Mac's a good bit since I had a friend that had a standing 15% discount with them, and he had allowed me to purchase parts through his business relationship with them. Last night, however, I went on-line to take advantage of their advertised 10% one-day discount, and thought that I might be able to save a little change by going through them for a few parts. In placing my order on-line, I was bounced back and forth between screens a few times before being able to finally complete my order. When I checked the order confirmation this morning, I noticed that the order was short one item, I was charged state sales tax even though I ordered these pieces from their location in another state (I live in Georgia, and the sales rep says that Mac's has a location in Georgia, but it is not open to the public - therefore they have to charge tax??), and when I called in, after a 20 minute wait, had to negotiate to receive the 10% discount on the second item that I thought I had ordered last night. Regrettably, this will be my last order with Mac's. There are too many good venders around to support this type of "service".

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

I think that you have come away with an experience like a number of others have had with Mac's.
As far as them charging you sales tax that really shouldn't matter as we all are supposed to self report and pay our state sales tax on items ordered on line from out of state.
We ALL do that........ right??

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Yep! I received rusty wornout old parts! Their catalog said nothing about selling parts out of a junk yard! Called them and was told that what I order where rare parts! I sent their rusty worn out parts back, two months later received a check. My last experience with them. The parts I needed where for early V-8 transmission, ordered nice old, clean parts from Vanpelts! Good people! He hand picked/checked and sent ready to use old parts.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

We are fortunate to have several very good parts suppliers. We also have a very few bad apples in the barrel. So when your hand comes out of the barrel smell your fingers.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

I never had any bad dealings with these folks, but haven't ordered from them in at least 12 years. Back then was some Flathead parts, I get what I need now mostly from Joe's out in Massachusetts. Super nice guy. Kinda hard to understand that accent they have out there sometimes but I usually figure it out.

Got a Mustang parts catalog from Mac's just yesterday, I get that stuff from CJ Pony Parts they have excellent quality parts plus free S&H! Hard to beat that.

But in summary, I guess it's good to have a variety of parts places to order from. It can't be easy to make a living trying to sell old car parts.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Do a search here on Mac's.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

I not 100% sure but I think the old Macs is gone and ecklers bought them out big company just trying to make big profit on less quality parts just my thought !!!

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

It is Ecklers now. In the beginning not knowing any better about A's I ordered a ton from Mac's but now use only a couple of others for my project. The thing with Mac's is you place a order and then find out its on back order for months. My time is limited so I like to receive my parts in a timely manner. Go with vendors that start with B.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Has anyone tried Mike's A-fordable? Not bad prices, quick shipping and on-line ordering. Some of their pictures could be better. I used to always use Mac's but now I am shopping around and ordering from multiple folks for best price.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Mikes has some good deals and shipping is always fast. I buy his package deals mostly.(mikes money savers) Good customer service as well.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

A little off topic, but you guys might find this amusing:

My wife wanted a new carpet in the Roadster. No problem, pretty much all vendors have the same thing at the same price. After having a nice conversation with Walt a couple months ago, i decided Brattons deserved the business. MAC's and Rick's Camaro had caused me some issues so I did not want to give them the business.

I ordered the carpet from Brattons, and MAC's delivered it yesterday.........

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Why would Macs make the delivery?

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Price matters, but first is quality, then service, then price.

I've had good luck with most of the dealers.
A&L, Bert's, Bratton's, and Snyder's are good for quality, service, and price on most items.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

I think we'd all be surprised how many of our new parts are shared by all suppliers. The market is just not big enough for every supplier to be sourcing their own parts. It is a time consuming an expensive activity even for the simplest part. My guess is that Mac's has taken the lead in this (with some exceptions of course).

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

It's called a drop ship. Amazon (and most other non brick and mortar suppliers) makes good use of this.

You order a part from supplier X. They pass the order to supplier Y and collect a fee for providing the sale. Supplier Y ships the part.

That way, supplier X does not have the expenses of maintaining an inventory on the part.

Basic supply chain management. Push the costs as far back into the supply chain as possible.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Mac's owns Cartouche, who probably made the carpet for Bratton's. Jeff

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

OK... that explains it!!!

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Vintique parts are always good:eek::eek::eek:

Big supplier in the antique car parts circles for many vendors. Parts made to print. Whose prints we don't know but made to print.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Car-Douche interiors and Macs auto parts ,...the perfect combination

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

So supplier X is not really a supplier, just a parasite.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

It's called a drop ship. Amazon, you got that right! ---- I will no longer buy more than a single item from Amazon, maybe nothing ever , I purchased 2 thread cutting dyes, a Left and Right, 1 came from New York and the other from somewhere else, they charged me shipping from both places, however a quick complaint they did reimburse me the charges.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Yes,
The interior components and kits ordered through Brattons unless noted come from Cartouche, and they are drop shipped.

If a company has a facility and does business of any kind in your state you WILL be by law charged sales tax. If you aren't as was said you are suppose to voluntarily pay it... and of course the sales tax loopholes online will be closing in fast.

Larry

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

l guess you could say that, but...

It is easier and more profitable for some companies to stick with sourcing, receiving, warehousing, order fulfillment, volume forecasting and farm out the sales, marketing, order taking, dealing with end customers.

It is easier and more profitable for other companies to take the orders and farm out the physical operations.

Sears, Montgomery Wards, and others used to do it all. There are fewer and fewer that can make a buck doing everything.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

There was a problem...the supplier took care of it to your satisfaction...you'll never buy from them again.

:confused:

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

You can order a LeBaron Bonney interior form Snyder's if you wish!

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Have dealt with Mike's for years, as I have with Snyders and many of the others leading providers with never a problem, and wonderful informed people when you need to ask a question. With what I read about Mac's even a while back, I have no need to take chances.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Sorry to read of your poor experience. As with any small mom and pop small business, they know they must do right by their customers.... The non-mom and pop larger business employee others who don't have a whole lot invested or on the line... Those listed by TomW and others are where you'll get service by the owners who know how to treat you. Good luck.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Living in a very rural area the ability to order parts and goods on line is a real plus.
I still try and buy as much as I can from local business in my community.

On line commerce while great; just take a look at what has happened to small business in your communities. Small towns are becoming ghost towns.

I personally think all internet sales should required sales tax be paid and the tax split between the source state and the delivery state.

I knew a fellow that actually had product sent to a friend in a no tax state and he drove over 100 miles to pick it up so he did not have to pay the sales tax! The item was less than $100 bucks!

I have had various antique cars over the years... we forget how lucky we are that our Fords are so well supported. Use the vendors of your choice.. but bashing them only hurts our hobby.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Mitch - Well spoken !!!

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Ah yes, you are correct. A few months ago I ordered a book from Amazon. The book came in, in 2 days from Ingram Micro, not Amazon.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

I'm not going to tell anyone where to order. I do though recommend that you keep a list of several of the vendors. Not any one vendors will have all the parts that are needed for your specific car.

Please also keep in mind that several of the vendors make an exclusive part for the hobby that others do not, but are sold through other vendors. And then there are several sources for the same part with differences in quality, fit and finish. It is there that we often have frustration. We shop around to try and find a "good" part at a "good" price and expect a certain level of service.

Some vendors have great days and the same vendors have bad days.

We in the Model A hobby are truly blessed with the shear number of vendors we have and the wide variety of parts both big and small. If you can get another part from another vendor then we do. This was a huge factor in deciding out of all the old cars there are for sale to pick a Model A.

Maybe they will get better if you have had a bad experience, maybe they will continue if you have had good experiences.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

So supplier X is not really a supplier, just a parasite.



not really- you do use their catalog and there is no way to order wholesale.

you want to keep costs down-correct?

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

That is correct Eckler's (Mac's) owns Cartouch. We (Bratton's) have been a supplier for their upholstery for years. I'm not saying we have not had any issues with the upholstery kits that we've sold, but I will say every issues has been quickly addressed and made right.

Due to limited space and lack of equipment we have opted to not produce our own upholstery kits.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

Ok... now I understand Mitch's reference to Cartouche.....

Cut the heel pad holes (wish they would have done that... but guess they are not sure what you are doing with it??). Now that it is cut and in the car, it is too big. About 3/8" on all dimensions with major interference with GAV.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

And look at the seat in my avatar... hardly gets used and is worn out, as is the door panel where my knee touches it.
Im suprised that many of our quality jobbers carry this junk...
Never again
Im going to fix it with a lebatrron bonney interior.. im not interested in getting a fix through warranty. Its not worth the labor to me for it to happen again

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

When I have ordered from Mac's a "black cloud" appeared. Something always would go wrong. TomW's recommendations are the ones I use.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

As an update to my previous rant about Mac's, I thought that I should post a follow-up for anyone considering prospective purchases with them. For explanation purposes, I had ordered two fender wells and left and right sidemount arms. The arms were on back-order, but Mac's went ahead and shipped the two fender wells ... in two separate shipments arriving one day apart from each other. Then the right sidemount arm arrived ... with a broken casting (there were no broken casting pieces in the container, causing me to wonder if this had been shipped broken). And finally the left sidemount arm arrived (thankfully intact). After being place on "hold" for twenty minutes, I was finally able to provide Mac's with the five (5) day notice of broken/defective parts that they require in order to receive either full value or a replacement part without having to pay re-stocking fees... but return shipping is not included, so today I returned this piece as required in order to hopefully comply with their return policy. This evening, I received an e-mail request asking me to provide them with feedback, and a similar request to be able to use my response in their advertising. The response which follows is what I have provided them. I am providing a copy of my response here on the off-chance that they might decide NOT to publish my "endorsement".

Mac's has provided me with the greatest reason and future opportunity to shop elsewhere for restoration parts and supplies for my most recent Model A restoration project. Not only were parts back ordered and not disclosed at the time of purchase, but even duplicate pieces were shipped separately so that I could pay even higher shipping costs than was originally quoted. At this point, my shipping costs are only $37. 00 more than I was quoted, but because one of the pieces shipped was broken upon arrival, I'm sure that this expense item is still low. Did I mention that Mac's return policy requires that the purchaser pay return shipping costs on defective parts? Oh, and then there is the additional wait time involved with the hopeful part(s) replacement, and further delayed shipping time and expense involved. This has truly been a remarkable experience, and one that had I not personally experienced it myself, I would have been hard-pressed to believe. Thanks Mac's for a truly unforgettable experience!

By the way, I was also asked to provide a user nickname ... I chose "Duped by Mac's".

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

I had an order where the shipping they charged me when they debited my card was more than the quote on the order and when I suggested in a nice manner that their system may have made a mistake with the shipping they instanly refunded the overcharge without any problem.

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

When you order parts know if the person you are speaking to drives a Model A. :D

Re: Caveat with Mac's Auto Parts
 

I always mentioned the issues with their return policy on the other Mac's threads.
What u mention is just one thing...everyone should read the whole debacle....