OE VeeDub - [email protected]

[Gmach]

I got all excited when I found OEVeeDub thinking I could get some reliable quality OE parts only to discover he has gone over to the "darkside".
MidAmerica is just like the others....pretty soso quality...at least the items I purchased.
So, has anybody found a source for REAL O.E. VW parts made in Germany?
Most every other source in NA has garbage....esp. seals and other rubber parts.
Why would they even sell them ???

[DSF]

Depending on your year and model, there's still German parts floating around from many of the usual suppliers... it depends on what you're looking for though.

Asking in the model specific forums would get you better answers too.

[Richard Davies]

Actually Mid America are carrying every one of the OEM Quality parts from OE VeeDub.
They are being added to the website and catalog with three quality choices.
OEM Brand eg: ATE Wheel Cylinder
REP Brand eg: Varga Wheel Cylinder
VAL Brand eg: Chinese or Indian no name brand for budget Bug or Bus.
The staff at Mid America are receiving training in the different quality levels, the differences etcetera. The first 12 pages of the latest Mid America Motorworks catalog explains all this and shows many differences.
At VW Funfest June 4-5. I will be giving seminars on various subjects including the different qualities available.
Richard

[DSF]

And none (maybe very little?) of that stuff is exclusive to MAMW-- shop around. You might save a few bucks.

What set OE-VDub apart was that everything they carried was good quality, and you were supporting a small business owned and staffed by long time, knowledgeable VW enthusiasts who went that extra mile...



The way it is now, it feels a bit like JCWhitney's acquired aircooled.net, or GEX bought out Aircooled Technology, lol.

[Richard Davies]

Some Samba members actually give the Samba a bad name with their whining.
A large company is listening to your feedback, looking at the quality of their parts, offering alternate brands to suit an enthusiasts budget, training their staff, putting on an excellent show every year, supporting clubs and other VW shows, has the most tolerant returns policy in the industry and all some people do is complain.
Larger companies will never be as flexible as a Mom and Pop company and they will make mistakes (As do West Coast Metric, CIP1 and even Wolfsburg West).
Mid America Motorworks are making every effort to get back to the days when Rocky Mountain Motorworks were supplying good quality parts under one roof, so that customers can receive a full range of products with excellent shipping rates. Try checking the shipping on large items like floor pans from other companies and see what you come up with.
One of the people who had over 4,000 posts on the Samba complained about the MAM OE VeeDub takeover a couple of months ago. It turned out he hadn't purchased anything from MAM since 2001 and then his order was around $20. Based on this history why was he voicing his opinion on the Samba?
The Samba is an invaluable forum where enthusiasts can learn the VW hobby, check out models, advertize and purchase items worldwide and much, more. Enthusiasts who only post negative feedback often based on heresay lower the tone of the Samba and are not supporting Everett's vision.
We are fortunate to live in the United States where there are more classic VWs still registered than any other country in the World. (Probably more than all the other countries including Brazil and Mexico put together). As a result we have more vendors, large and small and better prices than any other western country.
To all those people who post honest and constructive feedback on the Samba. Thank You. Large or small companies need feedback in order to improve their products, change their suppliers if a product is poor quality and look for ways to do better. However that feedback should go to the company and only be posted on the Samba if there is no response.

[Gmach]

Whining!?....hmmmm.....observations and opinions maybe.
I have restored a couple of GM products over the years (no vets) and have been pretty happy with the quality of the reproduction items available out there.
Lots of REAL NOS and OE product to choose from.
I just took on a VW bug project and after the first replacement items arrived from a western Canadian supplier I was appalled at the POOR quality.
Just awful!!
The next order was placed with MAM...not the thousands of dollars you might like to see...but that doesn't make my "observations" any less credible.
Included in the order was an oil strainer cover with drain and oil strainer screen...that was suppose match the cover WITH drain plug.
It doesn’t!
The drain bolt contacts the bottom of the strainer, displacing it, on what I suppose is a rivet head. Looks more like it was just mashed together.
Pretty typical of Chinese or more likely Indian sourced items, as well you know!
The strainer screen assembly was of such poor quality that I hesitate to install it without replacing the rivet in the oil feed intake collar.
There is no alternative quality at MAM for this item...this is it!
I know I know...I can send it back.....who needs the agro?
I suppose the same could be said about the QC department at MAM.
They could do the same...assuming they even have one, a QC department that is, or is that our job?
That's why I was hopeful when I saw OE VeeDub with your personal commitment to quality... yada yada yada....I was hopeful, only to learn that you too have succumbed to the temptations of big business!
Seems to be a trend.
Many large and well known home grown companies have travelled down the same road, to our collective disadvantage.
It's easier going with the flow and more profitable !
Quality to-day = good enough !

[msinabottle]

MidAmerica sent me two catalogs after they acquired OEVeeDub. If Richard had to sell out, and wanted to move to Illinois from Colorado, that was his decision and I hope he never regrets it. He has always been a great person with which to deal, and he always sold good stuff and shipped quickly.

In the MidAmerica catalogs I received, the word, 'Vanagon' never appeared. What have they got to sell me? If they want to stay away from the Watercooled Market, they must understand that the watercooled buyers will necessarily stay away from them.

Best!
_________________
'Winston,' '84 1.9 WBX Westy
Vanagon Poet Laureate: "I have suffered in
many ways, but never, never, never in silence."

[turbotransporter]

I ordered from the OE VEEDUB web site unaware of the sale of OE VEEDUB to Mid America Motorworks. I did NOT receive a confirmation of my order and my requests for shipping and delivery information went unanswered.

I was suprised when a package arrived from Mid America Motorworks and disappointed when the window seal seal that I ordered was NOT the seal in the box, but instead a much larger seal and quite obviously NOT correct.

I wrote to customer service at Mid America Motorworks to ask who they were, why they were sending me items I'd ordered from OE VEEDUB and to advise them that the seal they sent was the wrong seal.

I received a fast reply that identified MAM and their purchase of OE VEEDUB but their initial reaction to the wrong part being shipped was odd and not certainly helpful.

>>>>>>
Approximately 2 months ago Mid America Motorworks purchased OEVeeDub. Currently the OEVeeDub web orders are being directed to our sales center. Sorry for the confusion.

As for part 245-845-521, this part number converts over to 354734OEM, which is a Mid America Motorworks part #.

If you have any other questions or fit problems let me know.
>>>>>>

From this response I realized that I needed to be a bit more direct and spell out exactly what I would exspect from this point forward.

>>>>>>>

Thank you for your quick response and for explaining the acquisition of OEVeeDub by Mid America Motorworks. I sincerely hope all is well with Richard and his family and that the acquisition will benefit all involved.

My previous e-mail clearly states that I do indeed have a fit problem.

“The seal that I received from Mid America Motorworks does not appears to be that seal (much too large), does not have that part number on the label affixed to it (it says part #354734OEM) and I can not find any reference to the part number of the seal I received on the Mid America Motorworks’ web site.”

Mid America Motorworks’ conversion of part 245-845-521 to 354734OEM is incorrect and I would appreciate your assistance in returning the window seal that is of no use to me.

I have attached a photograph of the wrong seal shown with my Transporter’s rear window glass. This should remove any doubts as to whether or not the seal from Mid America Motorworks is correct for my application and perhaps whether it should continue to be associated with VW part # 245-845-521.

I would further appreciate full credit for this seal, reimbursement for return shipping and at least partial credit for the $20.99 original shipping charge for an incorrectly part.

To be very clear and to avoid wasting any more of my time on this matter, I have detailed my expectations below:

The wrong seal was shipped and billed at $86.57 plus $20.99 for shipping for a total of $107.56

The Fog Light switch ($19.99) that was included in the same order would have likely cost less than $5 to send USPS First Class Mail but for the sake of simplicity and expediency I’ll use $5.00 as my number.

My calculations for a due credit so far are $102.56 PLUS the cost of returning the wrong part. This cost will be determined when I ship the wrong part back to Mid America Motorworks but perhaps it would be best for Mid America Motorworks to send me a return shipping label so as to take advantage of whatever discounts Mid America Motorworks has negotiated with their shipper of choice.

Please advise me as to how you would like to proceed; I look forward to resolving this matter quickly.

Andrew

FYI: I suspect that the windows seal that Mid America Motorworks has erroneously sent is in fact, a common rear window seal for a Vanagon, although the price reflects something far more exotic.
>>>>>

MAM response advised me that they would mail me a return shipping and refund my $$ as I had requested.

It took about a week for the return label to arrive and another week for me to get to the closest FedEx full service center. None of my area FedEx shipping offices could process the return label paperwork so I had to drive 20+ miles (one way) in a direction I rarely ever go to drop off the repackage item. (Can you say PITA?)

Two weeks passed and I did not receive any notice or credit from MAM. I e-mail MAM to request an update and confirmation that they had received the return item I was told that:

"Return's were a couple of days behind".

I waited 5 more days and received no updates from MAM.

I sent this to MAM:

"The item was shipped on 4/18/11 and I believe that 10 business days is plenty of time to have received and process this item for return credit.

This matter needs to be prioritized and resolved immediately."

Two day more days passed with no response...

I decided to check the FedEx tracking number and discovered that the returned package had been received 2 days after I had shipped it. This did not jive with what I was being fed by MAM so I responded clearly and directly. My reply:

"FedEx package tracking shows that Mid American Motorworks received the returned item package on April 22nd, (two days after it was shipped) and it was signed for by C K NELLER.

I’m not sure why MAM is not fulfilling their obligation and you are ignoring my e-mails but my next possible remedy is clearly to contact my credit card company.

Disgusting."

I'm not sure if it made a difference but this time I included Richard's MAM e-mail address and the sales@MAM e-mail address.

That same evening I received an e-mail saying that MAM had credited my cc for the item plus the original shipping charges.

To wrap this "whine" session up...

I don't ussually wallow in the negitive BUT after all the time I invested in a rather simple order with OE VEEDUB/MAM, I feel obligated to share my experiance so that someone else might learn from my mistake. I'm done with MAM/OE VEEDUB as I simply cannot afford the time to deal with them.

Best regards to Richard and his family in the future.

[fredn]

Sorry to hear about this situation. I ordered a cam from OEveedubs a while back and had a good experience.

Now I'm not so sure if I'd use them again now that they have been absorbed by a company I don't know....
_________________
1982 Air Cooled Vanagon Carat Weekender Interior

[Gmach]

Samba has santized this forum...I responded to an earlier comment saying I was done with VW restorations if this is the poor quality/ service I can expect....and they removed it !!! Pretty underhanded.
An explanation would be nice !
Do the moderators work for MAM ?

[EverettB]

I see a post from you above but some posts were removed as they were not OEVeeDub feedback.

I believe Richard said everything that is needed above to close out the OEVeeDub feedback now that they have been purchased by another company.

Please use the Mid-America Motorworks (MAM) thread for feedback:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=273015

Another thread if you feel like reading about the merger:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=453298

Locked.
_________________
How to Post Photos
Everett Barnes - [email protected] | My wanted ads
"Water is the only drink for a wise man" | "Communication prevents complaints"
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!