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Deh Shark
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 6:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bought some stuff from Wolfberg West! Items Shipped to the Us Virgin Islands in no times. Packaging was sweet!!
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58Blue
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:45 am    Post subject: Re: "German parts" Reply with quote

owokie wrote:
Usually quality parts with some minor gripes, but have had several issues with "German" parts not being German. Ball joints a few years ago, today brake lines marked K&K, which is a Hungarian company AFAIK. If I choose to pay twice the price to get a German part, that's what ought to come in the mail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr3ZfQzOkZY


Unfortunately I have recently had the same problem with Wolfsburg West. I bought a "German" Sachs clutch pressure plate and a "German" clutch disc for them, and paid a premium price to get them, not to mention their usual shameless gouging on shipping fees to Canada, as well as import and brokerage fees on top of that.

For all that, the parts I got were made in the "Slovak Republic". The Sachs labels on the boxes had parts of them, including the country of origin and the bar code, cut away with an X-acto knife. Ron from WW told me "We remove the distributors label to protect our sources. We do this for all items that have third party supplier labels." I'm not sure how cutting away part of a Sachs label on a Sachs box protects anybody, but I'll let that go. Interestingly, all the other labels (in this shipment and every other shipment I have ever received from them) were completely unaltered, including the one on the Sachs throwout bearing in this shipment, which actually was German. That didn't need "protecting" I guess.

Apparently, though, the incorrect description on the website and the altered labeling were a all a misunderstanding and part of an honest mistake. I guess I'll have to take their word for that. Unfortunately the story I got from them had more holes than a Minnesota barn find, so I can't really say what happened. This experience did show me, though, that just because Wolfsburg West says something is a German part and charges you for a German part, it doesn't mean you're going to get a German part.

I have been offered a convoluted return scheme that involves me creating invoices and shipping the stuff back from Canada to California to work out some sort of refund. Frankly, I'm really not sure it's worth the bother. I'm inclined, for the sake of my sanity and blood pressure, to let it go and chalk it up as a learning experience.
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EverettB Premium Member
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 10:38 am    Post subject: Re: "German parts" Reply with quote

58Blue wrote:
their usual shameless gouging on shipping fees to Canada

I'm interested - How much was it and how much should it have been?
Meaning how much were you gouged?
A pressure plate is pretty heavy, that would be expensive to any country outside the USA. I would guess around $50 for that alone, if sent using the US Postal Service. Assuming they even use the USPS for Canada.
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Lidpainter
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 11:07 am    Post subject: Re: "German parts" Reply with quote

EverettB wrote:
58Blue wrote:
their usual shameless gouging on shipping fees to Canada

I'm interested - How much was it and how much should it have been?
Meaning how much were you gouged?
A pressure plate is pretty heavy, that would be expensive to any country outside the USA. I would guess around $50 for that alone, if sent using the US Postal Service. Assuming they even use the USPS for Canada.


Speaking from experience, packages shipped via courier from the US to Canada sometimes get slammed with a substantial "brokerage fee" (and taxes) at the border. For some reason this happens most frequently with UPS. Never happens with US Postal Service. If this happened it's beyond WW's control.
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58Blue
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's always much higher than anybody else charges. Here's a good example: I went to their site just now and put a 5mm washer into the cart and then selected shipping to my postal code. The washer costs ten cents and you can probably estimate its weight. The shipping is . . . wait for it . . . 37 dollars. It goes up from there. You might think that was an initial fee for special handling or something, but even a small box of parts routinely costs 70 or 80 dollars for USPS. I don't mind USPS because I never get charged duty or brokerage fees by Canada Post on my end. On this last shipment, though, for some reason they opted for Fed Ex, and I had another $80 to pay on delivery. So, in the end, it cost me more than $150 above the cost of the parts themselves. For Canadians, ordering from these guys is a big mistake.
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 4:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the response.
You did not actually answer my question about cost but I understand what happened - you got screwed by their usage of FedEx / your government charging import fees.

It sounds like good advice for anyone using WW to request they use USPS only in the future. It's nice they may have this option since most companies won't use USPS at all, even within the USA.
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58Blue
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 5:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shipping this time was a little over $70, which to be fair, was actually a bargain by their standards. I've paid them that in the past for a shipment of parts that would fit in a sandwich bag.

The Fed/Ex brokerage fees and tax were definitely an added aggravation in this case, and a bit of a surprise. There is an increasingly common practice among companies shipping from the US to Canada to arrange brokerage fees and duties ahead of time and include them in their shipping price. Ebay has even set up a program for this purpose, probably because so many Canadians were getting fed up with getting screwed over with every shipment.

I assumed (wrongly, I admit) that WW was doing this because their shipping costs were so high and because I had never been asked for any fees or taxes on previous shipments. In reality, it was just a combination of WW using USPS, and Canada Post not bothering to ask for the money on this end. WW was apparently just pocketing the difference, unless it really does cost $37 to ship a 5mm washer to Canada.

But that's not why I posted here. My post was about ordering German parts and not getting German parts. I didn't intend for the shipping thing to take things off topic. That's a separate, long-standing complaint, which I was willing to live with while I still believed I was getting high quality parts.

I guess what bothers me most about all this is that I used to have a very high opinion of Wolfsburg West. I never expected this sort of thing from them. The fact that I no longer trust them saddens me.
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EverettB Premium Member
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, I agree that part of your post is a more serious thing.

It did go a little more off the real topic than I expected but the information is appreciated.
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 7:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

rec'd my Turn signal flasher relay, CA to NC shipping in 3 days.
Happy with purchase, I have turn signals again!
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 4:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So It seems after 19 pages that WW is a great company and packs things nicely. I just places my first order with them for some seat belts and can't wait to see them. But what about the parts that are made by them? I'm looking at replacing my brake servo on my 73 Westy and am looking at a genuine VW booster for $280 or the WW made one for $180. Huge difference in price, but is it worth saving the money? or should I just go with the genuine VW part?

How is the quality of their house made parts? especially when compared to genuine VW

Thanks
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

roset wrote:
So It seems after 19 pages that WW is a great company and packs things nicely. I just places my first order with them for some seat belts and can't wait to see them. But what about the parts that are made by them? I'm looking at replacing my brake servo on my 73 Westy and am looking at a genuine VW booster for $280 or the WW made one for $180. Huge difference in price, but is it worth saving the money? or should I just go with the genuine VW part?

How is the quality of their house made parts? especially when compared to genuine VW

Thanks
I always go OE whenever I can, and almost never consider the price difference. It's just not worth it to me after years of bad aftermarket experiences.

No aftermarket manufacturer is perfect on their parts production. You have two choices to simplify things: you can either compare WW parts to OE parts, or compare WW parts to other aftermarket parts. In my experience, what WW makes themselves is unmatched, so when it comes to buying a non-OE part, I will always go to them first.
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Mr. Motorhead
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 5:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

58Blue wrote:
My post was about ordering German parts and not getting German parts.


That's the thing with replacement parts made in today's market. It may be a German company selling a part boxed and sold as a German part, but many times the actual parts manufacturing run is done in another country. Clutch parts are one example. They will always put a country of origin tag on it so there is no question. If it is sold by a trusted company, the quality is usually good. Another example is Bosch ignition parts. Ever look at the origin stamps? Could be Spain, Portugal, France, Brazil, Mexico, and now even Russia (W8AC+ plugs).

The moral of the story is if you want to know the country of origin, ask. I always do because I want to be able to tell my customer what they are getting if the question arises.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 11:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

roset wrote:
So It seems after 19 pages that WW is a great company and packs things nicely. I just places my first order with them for some seat belts and can't wait to see them. But what about the parts that are made by them? I'm looking at replacing my brake servo on my 73 Westy and am looking at a genuine VW booster for $280 or the WW made one for $180. Huge difference in price, but is it worth saving the money? or should I just go with the genuine VW part?

How is the quality of their house made parts? especially when compared to genuine VW

Thanks


I'd wouldn't hesitate to go genuine VW parts vs. an after market part. Even though it's $100 difference, it will probably be worth it in the long run. Wolfsburg West makes nice after market parts but NOTHING beats OE manufactured parts.
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PostPosted: Thu May 22, 2014 6:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been ordering from WW for years. This year I seem to be buying from them monthly trying to get my Single Cab sorted. After several orders I had thought I had the list of parts nearly complete but unfortunately I overlooked a few clamps and miscellaneous things so to my dismay I had to call and place another order. Frequent flyer!! Anyways to get to my point, the parts I forgot on my very recent last order showed with no postage charges!! Besides everything always coming nicely packed and super quick they also excel at customer service always taking care of there customers!! Thanks Guys!!
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 02, 2014 6:51 pm    Post subject: Amazing Reply with quote

I just stumbled onto this forum topic and out of curiosity decided to read it because of the WW title. I also noticed that it has been going on for over nine years! Amazing!!
I have always had excellent service/products from WW for my '67 bus. Spent alot of money but always had any problems/issues resolved by just talking to Ron. Via e-mail or phone, he usually jumps right on it.
So, I think Carlos was a little unfair and inaccurate with his tirade, but this is America.....his option!
BTW, I also noticed he posted the message on April 1........any correlation! Smile
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not sure if this is the right area for this post, but I thought I'd put it out there.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


This is the second 2-speed wiper switch I've gotten from WW that has broken in this manner.

The first one I ordered lasted a few weeks and this one broke the first time I used it.

Switch to speed one, then two, try to switch back to off and it broke.

Might be unlucky and getting a bad batch but I've learned my lesson and will be purchasing OEM switches from now on.


Everything else I've ordered from WW was great quality.
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 3:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've used Wolfsburg West for years and will continue to do so via online ordering. They do a really good job overall and my parts always arrive very well packaged. I was able to return some parts I didn't need and wasn't charged any restocking fees since it had only been a short time since receiving them.

My only "knock" on Wolfsburg West is their customer service on the phone. I rarely call as I do all my ordering online. I called recently after an online order to ADD something to my order.

The person who answered the phone sounded annoyed. He answered the phone "Wolfsburg West".. It would be NICE to know who I'm speaking with, without having to ask. I told them what I needed to do. There was zero communication from him as he beat away on the computer. He told me he added my part to my order and I said thanks. He then said "ok", and hung up. REALLY? I'm spending my hard earned $ with you and you can't even THANK ME for my business? This kind of poor customer service on the phone, isn't that rare with WW.

Having worked in retail and having trained ton's of inside sales people who worked the phones, WW could/should invest in some training for anyone answering their phones. Make sure you have out going, friendly people answering them vs. socially inept, introverted people. EVERYONE who answers the phone is a SALESMAN who represents your company. Little things like identifying your name (Wolfsburg West, this is Sean). Maybe showing some interest in what your customer is working on, have a conversation with them while you're typing away on the computer vs. minutes of dead silence. And, how do you NOT thank the person for their business, who's paying your paycheck for you??

There's still LOTS of companies selling quality VW parts. Like most of us, it's nice to feel appreciated when we visit/frequent a business and spend our money with them.

As I mentioned earlier, I'll still use WW but will try and avoid calling.
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 25, 2014 9:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I placed numerous orders with WW over the last years for beetle and bus parts. I mostly order online and every order Ive received has been exactly what i ordered, complete and well packed and shipped within a business day or 2 which is nice because I'm in the Midwest and often order parts on Monday so I can tinker on the weekend.

I have also called to add items to my order I just submitted online, and though the person on the phone wasnt "bubbly", They were short, sweet, to the point, got the order updated and that was that in under 2 minutes and I much prefer that as I know that means they are focused, busy, and getting sh*t done. The "thank you" to me is opening my box and knowing I got exactly what i wanted, when I wanted it.

Many other vendors say thank you and ship the wrong parts, ship them in a week, ship partial orders and charge me double shipping, and cost me more money than is worth even though they may have been pleasant on the phone to talk to.

I have also placed orders over the phone. I was very impressed i did not have to use part numbers, had the guy suggest and offer complimentery parts and got everything packed and shipped correctly. I dont need him to ask how my day is or say thank you over and over again. I do not want to talk to a customer service rep or an extroverted personality like a cable TV salesperson. I want the quiet guy in the back room to answer the phone that knows what stuff is, where it is, what vehicles are what and is trained to get me the right parts the first time, not just trained cust service rep to say thank you and Im sorry.

I want good parts and fit, packed correctly and shipped complete and on time. WW does that every time. I want employees I can communicate with that get the order right when I do not necessarily know what part I need or the part number/ name for it. WW does that every time.

Thank You WW for doing what you do so well.
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another fast order from CA to NC
ordered 7-11 ( Friday ) had it in hand 7-14 ( Monday )
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not a gripe necessarily as I really enjoy taking the 30 minute drive to visit their store. I first bought parts from them in 1996. The last few times I've been there for body rubber, I received a license plate light made in TAIWAN and this last time was some vent wing seals from BRAZIL. The license housing gasket I had to alter to get to fit correctly and I've yet to put the vent wing rubbers in. I hope that although the parts aren't German, I hope they are of a higher quality. Anybody else experienced getting inferior parts at a premium price?
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