TheSamba.com :: View topic - CIP1

Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:27 am

I don't really know what I need customer service for? Maybe just if something goes wrong? I usually just click "Add to Cart" and "Checkout" and thats all the help I need.

I have used Wolfburg West's customer service, and it was quick.. and to the point. They answered the question I had as quickly, and simply as possible.

When I had a concern at Cip1 over where my package was and why it wasn't being shipped in 2 days and then spent a week in customs.. they sent me to several different people.. and one of them even asked.. "What's your problem anyway?" Your package is going to be there in 14 business days.

Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:41 am

wcfvw69 wrote: AJ Quick wrote: Update.

Packages are in Transit to Kentucky. There is no way they will make it to KY then to MN and then delivered. Yet UPS still says "Package on time with Scheduled delivery of" tomorrow morning.

UPS sucks.

I've been ordering from MidAmerica and they have cheap FedEx shipping that gets here in 2 days. I'll be ordering from them more often.

Personally, I would compare pricing as Mid-america's pricing is almost criminally high.

Some people wonder why companies like Mid America, JC Whitney are still charging the money that they do, but along with CB and myself, Companies are in business to make money not lose it. All these companies charge what they do for the brand, the catalog and the advertising. That my opinion of course. .02 cents.

Fri Aug 24, 2007 10:44 am

MidAmerica has a beautiful full color catalog that they must send out at least 8 times a year. No wonder there prices are higher!!!

Fri Aug 31, 2007 6:47 pm

Airkewld wrote: wcfvw69 wrote: AJ Quick wrote: Update.

Packages are in Transit to Kentucky. There is no way they will make it to KY then to MN and then delivered. Yet UPS still says "Package on time with Scheduled delivery of" tomorrow morning.

UPS sucks.

I've been ordering from MidAmerica and they have cheap FedEx shipping that gets here in 2 days. I'll be ordering from them more often.

Personally, I would compare pricing as Mid-america's pricing is almost criminally high.

Some people wonder why companies like Mid America, JC Whitney are still charging the money that they do, but along with CB and myself, Companies are in business to make money not lose it. All these companies charge what they do for the brand, the catalog and the advertising. That my opinion of course. .02 cents.

Air- I couldn't agree with you more. Clearly each business needs to have margins that support their overhead so they can keep their door open and continue to support our hobby. What I don't support (with my VW dollars) are businesses that have pricing that is 30-50% or more higher than almost all other VW parts houses.
I don't buy cheap parts and typically shop at Wolfsburg West most of the time. That's if our local shops in town don't have it. It doesn't have to be the cheapest price at all but I certainly don't want to grossly over pay for the part either.

Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:03 pm

Free shipping, took 7 business days. CIP1 kicks a$$!

Tue Sep 18, 2007 8:28 pm

Is there any merit to the quality of the parts that CIP has? I have heard from many local shops both on the east coast where I used to live and now on the west that the "Canadian Parts" were inferior in quality, and some have refused service knowing that there are some parts from CIP on my vehicle.

I am about to purchase a cyl and piston kit, to which their $260 is quite a bit more affordable then the $420 every one else is carrying.

Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:19 pm

I've purchased parts from CIP1 for what must be almost 25 years now. They often offer several grades of quality for an item, but will also be clear about the pros and cons. One example, when buying some new brake master cylinders (bus and beetle), they were upfront with me that the Brazil parts while being much cheaper than German, were not worth the hassle if I intended to keep the vehicles for a while. That's just one example.

CIP, to my knowledge does not manufacture any parts...they just market from Bugpack, Scat, CB, EMPI, etc. They are not the lowest priced, nor the highest, but they will ship promptly and not bill your credit card until parts are actually shipped...unlike some other vendors mentioned in these threads. Do they have occasional problems with staff? Probably, as do most of us trying to run businesses.

If your local ACVW shop doesn't carry what you need, then CIP1 is a good option in my experience :)

Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:24 pm

schnyde wrote: Is there any merit to the quality of the parts that CIP has? I have heard from many local shops both on the east coast where I used to live and now on the west that the "Canadian Parts" were inferior in quality, and some have refused service knowing that there are some parts from CIP on my vehicle.

I am about to purchase a cyl and piston kit, to which their $260 is quite a bit more affordable then the $420 every one else is carrying.

Wow, that's a new one on me :shock: Not very many Canadian companies are making parts for ACVW's and the ones that do are good quality!! CIP parts are from all over the world (just like most other ACVW companies) eg. wheels from the UK, OEM parts from Brazil/Mexico, aftermarket from China/USA, etc. I would find another service centre if that's their reason for not wanting to work on your car. Now if they're referring to some of CIP's suppliers-eg. EMPI, then they've got a valid point...

Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:43 pm

I've generally had good results with ordering from CIP1.The products they sell are the same you'd get elsewhere.

I did, however, recently order a new clutch disc.
I ordered Sachs, which the website claimed was in stock.
They sent me a 'Valeo' made in Korea disc.

I immedeately called to request a return authorization, which they did.
They sent a UPS pickup.
All I had to do was put it back in the box they shipped it in, with the authorization number on the sides.

I hadn't seen the refund appear on my credit card statement, and contacted them for an update.
They refunded me the day I contacted them.

They are attempting to charge a 15% 'restocking fee' for sending the disc back.
I've contacted them to receive a full refund, since the mistake was on their part, not mine.

I'll post in this thread again when i receive a reply.

Wed Sep 19, 2007 12:59 am

schnyde wrote: Is there any merit to the quality of the parts that CIP has? I have heard from many local shops both on the east coast where I used to live and now on the west that the "Canadian Parts" were inferior in quality, and some have refused service knowing that there are some parts from CIP on my vehicle.

I am about to purchase a cyl and piston kit, to which their $260 is quite a bit more affordable then the $420 every one else is carrying.
What brand is their $260 kit? Is it the same brand as the other guy's $420 kit? If so, then the quality is no different.

Very few of the parts CIP sells are made in Canada. They also have different quality of parts. They sell the cheap crap to cheap VW people, and they sell the good stuff to those that care about quality. If you have cheap parts on your car and you get turned away by your local shop, it's your fault for buying the cheap junk.
The VW market is driven by demand. The vast majority of VW people are CHEAP. That is why they are driving a cheap car. I remember about 15 years ago when CIP was a lot smaller than today, I requested that they start to carry German Elring engine gasket sets because I hated using the crappy Brazilian ones. At that time they simply never had any call for the good kits. Luckily today, they now carry the good parts for us few people who want good parts.
If you spend enough time looking around their site, you will see that they usually tell you what parts are the good ones and what are the not so good ones.
Here's an example:

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D111%2D701%2D259%2DA

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C24%2D111%2D701%2D259%2DA

The same part, genuine one below. I guarantee the vast majority of VW buyers will choose the first one. Too cheap to pony up an extra buck for quality. Then they are the first to slam CIP for their choice.

Rant over.

Mon Oct 08, 2007 7:30 am

Here is my latest transaction with CIP1:

Ordered three light seals (brake and license plate) - OK
Ordered a chrome tie rod set - OK
Ordered a complete 200mm clutch set - Was sent a 180mm plate and disc, even tho the box was marked 200mm. I guess we will see how their return service is.
Ordered two wheel seals for a 64 type 1 - got two seals that aren't even close to being correct. I am assuming they are from a later model.

Kinda frustrating to have to return 1/2 my order. I needed to get the car rolling so I ended up going local and getting the parts. Hopefully their return service won't be a nightmare.

Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:14 pm

Well my initial call with "Chris" in returns was pleasant enough but I don't think he believes me. He told me I "must have measured wrong". I told him I set the disc onto the flywheel, aligned it with my centering tool, and then went to install the pressure plate and was only able to line up 1 bolt. No way it fits! Not even close. I have a feeling that he thinks there is some funny business going on on my end, even tho he didn't say it. Both boxes say 200mm but both are clearly 180mm...no doubt about it. He said no re-stocking fee, but shipping is gonna be an arguing point for sure.

Oh...and I noticed my wheel seals were for a Type 2...since I didn't keep my email confirmation after I received my products I am going to assume I ordered Type 2 instead of Type 1 seals.

Tue Oct 16, 2007 3:25 pm

Due to the past hang ups in customs once Cip1 started shipping out of Canada, I swore off Cip1. However, seeing posts that indicate things are moving better now, I'm going to give them a shot again. Kris is great to deal with, so it would be great if the customs hassles are resolved.

Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:31 am

Placed an order last Tuesday (after 3PM mind you) and its arriving today (Tuesday). That's less than one week. Looks like the shipping hassles are all fixed. Nice to have CIP1 as a resource again.

Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:54 am

I've ordered from CIP1 on multiple occasions and have been very satisfied with the shipping and the customer service.

I was ordering some parts and was unsure if they were german or ? so I called to find out which were which.

Rep gave me the proper stock number for the german parts and I ordered them.

The parts arrived in Texas 4 days later.

Sun Oct 28, 2007 5:58 pm

Ordered a single tip exhaust from them that arrived damaged. They arranged for the damaged one to be picked up and sent another that arrived fine without charging me for the second while the claim was being settled. Jill in customer service was fantastic to deal with. I expected the worst and was treated to the best, good job CIP1!

Tue Nov 06, 2007 10:59 am

Hey Micheal in New Jersey that ordered a bay bus headlight switch and westy knob etc etc - I got your order by accident but called Cip1 and we got it worked out and UPS will come pick it up and deliver it to you ASAP. :) :)

Fri Nov 09, 2007 1:00 pm

When CIP wakes up and puts their Canadian prices in line with the US prices to reflect the rise of the Canadian dollar, I may consider them a supplier again, till then suppliers in the U.S. have been happy to supply all my needs.

Fri Nov 09, 2007 1:38 pm

we never had problems with them and we buy most of are stuff with them, by the way we have are company in the Dominican republic, making tours with beach buggys for 15 years now

http://www.fun-buggy.com

Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:23 pm

Bought a set of JGE wheels from them and other misc parts, the lug nuts didn't work, the shank was too long.

I called them up this morning and very quickly was given to Chris (I think) the GM, I explained my situation and without skipping a beat, he apologized and told me a different set was on its way today.

No grief, no tap dancing around, the call was quick and to the point and the response was 100% spot on. Even better than I could've hoped.

Yes, some prices are higher, but I like to spread my money around and give everyone that treats thier customers like this, some of the pie.

Rock bottom prices are grood and all, but sometimes you pay for that little bit extra when something goes wrong.

Bottom line, CIP customer sevice is number one, I'll continue to shop there.