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Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:15 pm

I am talking about JC Whitney :roll: . Stupidly, I thought I would give them another try and I ordered Triple plate euro blade bumpers. The price was right and they have a promo that they would pay for shipping and include free running boards (surely Mexican crap, but what the hell).
I received 1 Euro blade bumper that was scratched all to hell because they shipped it in a plastic bag :shock: . Also I received a stock type bumper instead of another euro :evil: .... And NO running boards. On top of that I realized that they charged me for shipping after all.

God I hate them!

It is Sunday so their customer service is closed. I did read their return policy which says that I will have to pay for the shipping to return the damaged and wrong parts (which will not be refunded). Nor will they pay me back for the shipping cost that I have already been charged.
:x

They say they have a 100% customer satisfaction policy, but I don't have much confidence in that. I guess that it is my own fault a little, since everyone knows their reputation.

I am interested in hearing everyones JC Whitless stories, in hopes that we can educate any newbies. If you like them, thats okay too.....I am fair and like to hear all sides.
I will update you guys once I have spoken to their customer service.

Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:19 pm

They go for cost, not quality. J.C. Whitney is only in the business to try and make a profit, they don't care about the products they sell.

Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:23 pm

post in the "Buyer and Seller Feedback" forum

Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:26 pm

73BuzzBomb wrote: post in the "Buyer and Seller Feedback" forum

Agreed, moved.

Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:31 pm

Thanks Glenn for moving it for me!

Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:10 pm

When I was first getting nto VW's back in the early 70's I used to ride the "L" down to their warehouse after placing a phone order for pick up. It allowed me to inspect the parts before I took them to the register. Some of their parts were good others :shock: poor! That was the only way that I would buy from them. I have not bougtht from JCW in years since I've been out west.

Mon Sep 10, 2007 12:17 pm

What did they used to be called? It was something really funky...I bought some chrome engine tin from them, only to find that it wasn't quite the right shape, and was very, very thin. In other words, garbage. Stay away from (as my dad refers to them) "JC Shitney"

Mon Sep 10, 2007 12:35 pm

66busman wrote: What did they used to be called? It was something really funky...I bought some chrome engine tin from them, only to find that it wasn't quite the right shape, and was very, very thin. In other words, garbage. Stay away from (as my dad refers to them) "JC Shitney"
So--- who has o.e.m. quality CHROME engine tin? :?

Mon Sep 10, 2007 12:40 pm

It was "Warshawsky' or something like that. Way back when, I used to buy Model A Ford parts from them. I don't remember the Model A parts being that bad, but it's been many years.

Sam

Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:50 pm

Ram4Sam wrote: It was "Warshawsky' or something like that. Way back when I used to buy Model A Ford parts from them. I don't remember the Model A parts being that bad, but it's been many years.

Sam
They changed the name to sound less "ethnic" and more "W.A.S.P".
There is no one associated with the company named "J.C.Whitney".
In fact, it has been rumored that the initials "J.C." were chosen to invoke a subliminal "Jesus Christ".
I've used them off and on over the years with no real problems.
And I used to love their outlet/returned goods store in Chicago.
But, as usual, you get what you pay for.

Mon Sep 10, 2007 2:40 pm

iowegian wrote: Ram4Sam wrote: It was "Warshawsky' or something like that. Way back when I used to buy Model A Ford parts from them. I don't remember the Model A parts being that bad, but it's been many years.

Sam
They changed the name to sound less "ethnic" and more "W.A.S.P".
There is no one associated with the company named "J.C.Whitney".
In fact, it has been rumored that the initials "J.C." were chosen to invoke a subliminal "Jesus Christ".
I've used them off and on over the years with no real problems.
And I used to love their outlet/returned goods store in Chicago.
But, as usual, you get what you pay for.

I had heard that before but didn't believe it................Now I do. :wink:

Mon Sep 10, 2007 2:53 pm

Jc. Whitney has the same parts that everyone elses has. Just because they are cheaper than others does not mean the parts are worse than others that cost more. I use to think they were junk but since they are about 1 hour from where I live I just cruise down there to inspect my parts before I get them. They do have some decent parts for a good price. They do have some junk just like the FREE Running Boards you wanted. I know not everyone has the option to pick the parts up them selves.

As far as the bumper issue yes they do just ship the bumpers in the green plastic bags. This saves them shipping cost I am sure. I have seen many of these bumpers in the returned section in the past. It is very possible that the wrong bumper was sent to you. It could of been in the wrong section and the guy just pulled it off the shelf without knowing it was wrong. I have gotten wrong fuel pumps before. Got GEN pumps instead of ALT pumps. But since I was there I was able to help correct the problem since all the pumps were in the wrong section. As far as not receiving the free cheap running boards..... Be happy you didnt get them. They are pure junk!!! Free shipping.......Did you ask for it or the free running boards? The people answering the phones dont always know what deals are going on and there is not many companys that will just give free items or shipping out if it is not asked for.

I guess what I am getting to is if you want something that is advertised for free ask the sales person about it. Don't assume you are getting it just because you see it listed in the magazine. If you have a problem and are not happy with service call them up and try to address it.

Mon Sep 10, 2007 3:17 pm

iowegian wrote: 66busman wrote: What did they used to be called? It was something really funky...I bought some chrome engine tin from them, only to find that it wasn't quite the right shape, and was very, very thin. In other words, garbage. Stay away from (as my dad refers to them) "JC Shitney"
So--- who has o.e.m. quality CHROME engine tin? :?
YOU do, after you send your oem tin to the chromer, until then forget it, the aftermarket quality verges between scary and nonexistent.

Fri Nov 06, 2009 2:41 am

When I first got my bug I didn't know anything about them or VW parts or where to get parts so I ordered a few items from them. Nothing was real good quality, a couple things were so-so and the rest I sent back. Although I still have a bumper that came in a green plastic bag. What I learned was for VW parts go to a VW parts supplier. Once you start learning about the different parts brands it gets much easier.

I think it was sometime in the '70's I had ordered a bunch of parts from them. Right after I ordered the stuff they notified me that they had just filed for Chapter 11 or 13 or whatever it was. And they were no longer obligated to fill my parts order. But they cashed the check and wouldn't refund. What a pisser. But the real deal was a few months later they had the nerve to send a letter explaining how good of a customer I had been in the past and how much they wanted my repeat business.

Fri Nov 06, 2009 8:55 am

Desertbusman wrote: \
I think it was sometime in the '70's I had ordered a bunch of parts from them. Right after I ordered the stuff they notified me that they had just filed for Chapter 11 or 13 or whatever it was. And they were no longer obligated to fill my parts order. But they cashed the check and wouldn't refund. What a pisser. But the real deal was a few months later they had the nerve to send a letter explaining how good of a customer I had been in the past and how much they wanted my repeat business.

That was chapter 11 and they were still obligated tl fill your order. Only if it was chapter 7 and they went under would that be true. They wouldn't be around to send you letters.

Sat Nov 07, 2009 2:05 pm

Vintage Auto Werks1 wrote: Jc. Whitney has the same parts that everyone elses has. Just because they are cheaper than others does not mean the parts are worse than others that cost more.

Have you seen thier prices lately? They are the most expensive mailorder supplier out there.

they used to be cheaper, and sometimes thier shipping deals make it worth while. but for the most part your spending a lot more money.

I Just bought a repop wood slat bus roof rack a couple weeks ago.

It was $299 from action import. (small shop that sells on here) the same rack from JCW is currently $499 !!

Sat Nov 07, 2009 4:53 pm

Ace wrote: Desertbusman wrote: \
I think it was sometime in the '70's I had ordered a bunch of parts from them. Right after I ordered the stuff they notified me that they had just filed for Chapter 11 or 13 or whatever it was. And they were no longer obligated to fill my parts order. But they cashed the check and wouldn't refund. What a pisser. But the real deal was a few months later they had the nerve to send a letter explaining how good of a customer I had been in the past and how much they wanted my repeat business.

That was chapter 11 and they were still obligated tl fill your order. Only if it was chapter 7 and they went under would that be true. They wouldn't be around to send you letters.

I don't know about that. The same thing happened to me back then. I was about 14 or 15 and they sent me a letter saying they had filed BK and I never got the parts or my money back.

Sat Nov 07, 2009 5:00 pm

mrjobe wrote: Vintage Auto Werks1 wrote: Jc. Whitney has the same parts that everyone elses has. Just because they are cheaper than others does not mean the parts are worse than others that cost more.

Have you seen thier prices lately? They are the most expensive mailorder supplier out there.

they used to be cheaper, and sometimes thier shipping deals make it worth while. but for the most part your spending a lot more money.

I Just bought a repop wood slat bus roof rack a couple weeks ago.

It was $299 from action import. (small shop that sells on here) the same rack from JCW is currently $499 !!

you mean that they are on par with MAM?

Sat Nov 07, 2009 6:43 pm

blankmange wrote: mrjobe wrote: Vintage Auto Werks1 wrote: Jc. Whitney has the same parts that everyone elses has. Just because they are cheaper than others does not mean the parts are worse than others that cost more.

Have you seen thier prices lately? They are the most expensive mailorder supplier out there.

they used to be cheaper, and sometimes thier shipping deals make it worth while. but for the most part your spending a lot more money.

I Just bought a repop wood slat bus roof rack a couple weeks ago.

It was $299 from action import. (small shop that sells on here) the same rack from JCW is currently $499 !!

you mean that they are on par with MAM?

They sure are. one has Corporate prices. and the other has Corvette prices.

Btw. I double checked. and JCW is "only" $419 for that rack "only" $120 more then Action import for the EXACT SAME ITEM... :roll:

Wed Nov 11, 2009 7:10 am

Don't know if this has been posted before, but not too long back, they were sold to some conglomerate.