Dennis Carpenter made it right- well done

[roadster36]

I inquired via e-mail about ordering some door handles for my '40 convert.They responded that they had them and supplied the part number. I ordered them, they arrived, and they were wrong. The parts that arrived fit a closed car not a convertible. I was told to call and get a return authorization number and send them back. I did so and was refused a refund on the shipping charges to me and for the return of the parts back to them. When I called an inquired about the partial refund I was told that "Cliff' had specifically declined the full refund amount. The upshot is that they still insist that '40 coupe and '40 convert. door handles are the same. I will never deal with Dennis Carpenter Reproductions again. It's not the $25.00, it's the principle. If my employees make a mistake I eat it and hopefully the employees learns from it. At least Bob Drake made it good when they were issues. UPDATE- I have since been credited for the full amount with shipping both ways. All is well. Thank you.

[mike in tucson]

Gee, you would expect a company that specialized in old Ford parts to know the difference between a coupe and a convertible and understand that the bodies are different....guess not, eh? Isnt it neat when some parts pusher argues with you when you have the car and the original part in your garage and can touch the stuff?

[TagMan]

If you paid via credit card, contest the charges.......

[wga]

Try to go beyond Cliff, and get his superivsor or get to Carpenter directly. What a PIA. Good luck

[ford38v8]

Roadster, as we all know, there are two sides to every story, and we've heard only your side.
Be careful in badmouthing Dennis Carpenter, as there is no finer man in the hobby than Dennis.

[roadster36]

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Perhaps you would make up the shortfall then since you stand behind the man. I stated FACTS, which you know nothing about. I would love to challenge Carpenter Industries in court should it come to that.

[roadster36]

I believe you said the same thing about Paul Bradley as well. That speaks volumes about your (in) ability to judge character

[ford38v8]

I think I've pegged your character pretty well. My last post on this thread.

[sonny]

Now Now boy's.

[DICK SPADARO]

I'm taking some time to respond to this because I feel that may issues of product installation are being created by those relying on e-mail or blind ordering from shopping cart point of sales stores. Unless the purchaser is exceptionally skilled at parts, this is not the smartest thing to do. When ordering you need to specifically talk to a sales person where you can you can inquire about or they can explain any potential problems that may surround your purchase.

I'm not so sure that this is being explained correctly on both sides so let me interject some information. If you need to purchase a set of reproduction outside door handles for a 1940 convertible you have two choices, those made Drake or the generic Taiwan import units by Specialized. Drake did have a correct threaded end handle but I am not sure that they are still in production. What I believe you received is the Specialized unit which is a generic unit. This is the correct handle but requires the end of the shaft be massaged to replicate the design of the handle being replaced, in this case threaded for the nut. The generic handle has a shaft that is 3 .25" long and the convertible takes a shaft that is 3" long so there is enough extra material to thread the handle and make it work.

Was the part sent correct, well yes, but the handles do not have any instruction sheets included to spell out the differences or fitment so it could lead to some confusion. Are you subject to a refund on shipping, this I'm staying out of.

It is kind of like the rest of the antique car hobby, a big model car kit with no instruction assembly sheet.

[roadster36]

Thanks Dick, I appreciate your response. I called you first, Drake second, and then Carpenter. Drake was out of them and you didn't have any in stock as well. The handles do need to have the threaded ends, etc. I am irritated because in my e-mail and phone conversations specifically asked if they would fit a convertible and I was assured they did. The sales people still don't know the difference. I checked again and they still try and sell the same part number for both applications. If it was an error on my end I would eat it and be on my way. It is good to know your operation is run efficiently, thank you for your input.

[ford1]

as for my two cents worth, when you order a part, a reproduction or not, you should not have to do any thing to it to make it fit, if its the right part no alterations needed, if they are you were sent the wrong part and you should get a full refund, including shipping both ways, stand up companys do this, i dont know why it is but it seems the bigger the company gets the less they care about the customer, greed takes over

[DavidG]

Dick,

Like in many endeavors, not just in this hobby, there is no substitute for an educated buyer, nor for an educated seller. When the latter is missing (we can't all deal with you or Dennis or Bob directly), the former's responsibility increases. There's a reason that the expression "caveat emptor" is as old as the hills.

[Charlie ny]

R '36
I can tell you this from very very first hand experience....the staff at
the places mentioned ( with the sole exception of Dick Spadoro ) are light years
away from the owners/originators. By absolute dumb luck Dennis C. happened to
be near the phone when I...Mr Always in control....was screaming at the help
regarding a situation similar to yours. Dennis picked up a phone extension, identified
himself and asked what would make me settle down, I told him and it was done.
I'm guessing you'll go back and do business with him just as I did with Drake after
his people totally messed up a BIG order.
Realistically where do we go except to these guys. It's not the BIG NAME that's
the fly in the ointment it's the lousy help....they are always right.
Charlie ny

[bobH]

Originally Posted by ford1

as for my two cents worth, when you order a part, a reproduction or not, you should not have to do any thing to it to make it fit, if its the right part no alterations needed, if they are you were sent the wrong part and you should get a full refund, including shipping both ways, stand up companys do this, i dont know why it is but it seems the bigger the company gets the less they care about the customer, greed takes over

And... for my 2 cents, I'd say that I've lived in a different world than ford1. I've bought from these 'major' suppliers, and I used to be annoyed by lousey, non-fiting parts. After many 'experiences', I've come to accept that these suppliers are doing us a service. Sometimes (oftentimes) not as good as I would like. I've come to a point where I ask many pointed questions before I buy. And I've come to realize that the best 'they' do, is mostly not as good as I would like. So, I'm used to the idea that if I order a 'bushel' of parts, not a single one will be an exact, correct, bolt-on. My last order... ten parts. Not a single one was a direct bolt-on. Each needed to be fitted, modified, corrected, whatever, to be functional. I've come to recognize this. So, I take this into consideration when ordering. Many of the parts I've ordered, are just to get me 'down-the-road', and I continue to search for good, original parts. In my view, this is 'just the way it is'. And, I am grateful for the service that the suppliers provide, even though I wish it was often 'better'. JMO
(And, BTW, the subject, DC, has been very good to me. And, his people have answered my pointed questions, including 'is the part made in China?', and all details I can think to ask. I would offer the opinion that Dennis is one of the better vendors I've dealt with. At least when I order a Chinese part, I know it before I purchase.)

[jdl]

I have spent thousands & thousands of dollars on restoration parts with Dennis Carpenter--C&G-- Concours Parts-- and many others over the past 25 years and never had a single problem that could not be resolved fast and easy, plus the problems are very few and far between. we should be glad we have these vendors. When I started doing my first early Ford restoration parts were hard to come by, now thanks to Dennis and others more and more repo parts are available. Be thankfull for these vendors, this hobby would not be possible without them.

So I say relax, be happy, and enjoy, life is short...

[Frank Miller]

Sounds like Dick explained it well. If you got a nice set of original closed car handles I bet you would be making them fit your convertible in a heartbeat. By making one kind and giving the buyer the added work of making them fit the less popular model they are saving money for everyone. I think when you inquired and they said that was all they had you could have easily made them fit.

Old car guys making stuff fit things they were not supposed to because that is all they had. Been going on for years.

[rotorwrench]

My own general observations of reproduction parts is that they seldom are as good as the OEM parts were. A person just has to be sceptical enough and informed enough to ask the right questions. Dick had enough information in his explanation of the resto part in question that a person could make a very good judgement call on whether to order the part or not. Most of us don't have that information so we can only hope to "get informed" by someone in the know. That is what this site is all about. For us folks not in the know to ask those that are and hopefully get the straight skinny.

Every now and then I'll order a part just to see if it is anything close to the OEM and I usually find out it's not. I eat the cost just to satify my own curiosity. In many cases a fellow is better off finding a good used part and restoring it to like new condition. When this isn't possible then you have to make the part yourself. If it weren't for other guys like ourselves making these parts, this would be our only recourse. I respect the hell out of those that make reproduction parts faithfully to the OEM stuff but all respect can be lost the first time the vendor sells you one that isn't. Repro parts vendors have to police themselves on this subject or they will suffer for it.

Kerby

[flathead34]

We have had problems with '35 repro parts from Dennis. They have bent over backards to correct the problems and even went to the manufacture, Vintique, to resolve them. Maybe it is time to quit bitching about Dennis and Bob and instead thank them that they are willing to produce parts for our V-8's. Without them we would be up the creek without a paddle for keeping our V-8,s on the road. THANKS BOB AND DENNIS FOR YOUR SUPPORT FOR OUR HOBBY!!!!

[David J]

I have no axe to grind here but do any remember the " duplicate of original " stuff from JC Whitney ? The " industria argentina " stuff ? We have come far .