The Bus Depot

[petergariepy]

When I said "send the gray" I mistakenly assumed you understood to send both items gray.

As to the hardware, Ideally I'd still want it, but without an estimated ship date, and the need to replace the unit asap, I'd just plan on using the existing hardware.

Refunding me the cost of the hardware was assumed by me so I was surprised at being charged full price. Thanks for addressing that.
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Peter Gariepy
Webmaster
Click to view image

[Mateo83]

I Ordered the Rear Engine Deck Carpet Mat from bus depot claiming fits full width vanagons. I get this.

It appears to be for an AC van, they never asked or specified AC or not. Neither Bus depot nor Lloyd’s wants to own this.

They respond “The cutout is for the side panels that were originally in the vehicle. Either you order or a previous owner removed them, or the van is not US spec.” Even though they never asked for my year, sub model or vin.

Anyone else deal with this issue?

Am I missing something here?

[djkeev]

The 1x tongue and groove side panels I see in your photos certainly aren't original.

The original GL side and rear panels have been removed and replaced with custom woodwork.
In like manner, custom cut carpet will be needed.

I would revise your request to BD as "can I return it?"

Aggravating I know but after 30 years, many of these Vans have been modified by owners.
Many owners are always aware of this.

Dave
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Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[Mateo83]

[djkeev]

List it here in the classifieds, somebody wants one.

Dave
_________________
Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[Mateo83]

Update: Bus depot called, sent a return label and offered a full refund. Seems the problem lies within Lloyd’s.
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83 Air-cooled 2.0 Tin Top

[Busdepot]

The Bus Depot will be closed Dec 15-31, 2021 while we move to a new larger location 10 minutes up the road. I've noted our site, but also wanted to post it here since many of you are my customers. Our website will remain open, but other than e-gift cards (which process electronically) nothing will ship until we reopen. I've put a sitewide discount code on the main page for people who order online while we're closed. As for the move, we're turning lemons into lemonade. Our old location isn't going to survive the damage caused by Hurricane Ida, so we've picked a nicer, larger location (a former supermarket) which will allow us to stock more items and ultimately streamline our service. We may even unearth a few NOS parts while we move almost 30 years worth of stuff! That being said, this is a daunting task and we appreciate your patience with us - not just during the move but over the last few months while we were operating as best we could out of a damaged building. Here's to a new year and new beginnings!
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- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
www.busdepot.com

[blue72beetle]

I ordered headlights from BD, and one of them arrived broken, thanks to UPS. BD went above and beyond in making things right. Will definitely order from them again.
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-Andy-
-1970 Ghia-
-1971 Bus 1776 Microsquirt EFI-

[vanagonliebe]

Ordered a rear wheel bearing set from Bus Depot. They drop shipped half of my order which they didn't have listed on their site this showed up in a week and the other half was lost by usps. I called to ask if they had a solution and they told me to keep waiting. After 2.5 weeks of waiting I ordered them from Van Cafe and they arrived in two days. 3+ weeks later i received an empty smashed box from USPS. I emailed bus depot and asked that they simply refund my parts I didn't receive and shipping charges for that half. They told me they will be unable to refund my shipping charges and that I will have to wait for them to file a claim with USPS to see if I will get a refund. While I realize what USPS does is out of their control, I don't get how I am responsible for the shipping charges for something I never received? I didn't order a hassle, I just ordered parts and my van has been up on blocks 2 weeks longer than I planned.

Overall I was very unimpressed with their customer service and will never be ordering from them again.

VERY POOR/UNFRIENDLY CUSTOMER SERVICE.

I've had nothing but good experiences with Van Cafe, GoWesty and would highly suggest you send your business that direction as well.
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86 Syncro
97 12 Valve Cummins
95 Tacoma

[creative native]

I've been a Bus Depot customer for years. I have always had great service from them and I've never had an issue with an order. I lucked out by choosing The Bus Depot the first time I had a pop top canvas replaced. The fit and appearance was beautiful and so I have ordered my subsequent pop top canvases (for different campers) exclusively from them.

Now that I have a new '79 camper, I have resumed ordering from Bus Depot. My orders have arrived very quickly (one even arrived on a Sunday). My new camper did not have the camper box (that is placed between the front seats) and I found that The Bus Depot sells them. The price is quite fair, especially considering that they import them from Europe and it is a small price to pay to have a matching, perfect, new camper box.

These days I never take high quality and great customer service for granted. When businesses offer great products and are honest and easy to work with, that should be acknowledged.

[Mateo83]

Bus Depot 0 for 2 on order. They shipped this coil in bubble wrap and it appears to be used. They don't respond to emails.

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83 Air-cooled 2.0 Tin Top

[Busdepot]

Mateo83, we replied to you almost immediately after receiving your email. You sent it on June 30 at 7:11 pm (after business hours). We replied the next day at 2:22 pm. On July 7 at 2:23 pm you emailed again saying you hadn't received a reply. We replied to that one at 5:19 pm, less than 3 hours later, including a copy of the reply we'd sent you a week earlier. If you did not get either, then it's almost certain that either they went to your spam box, or your ISP filtered them out as spam.

The second email said...

Hi (name redacted),

Below is the reply I sent you last week, maybe it ended up in your spam box? The coils are brand new and were received as bulk overstock (unboxed) and have some wear. We’d be happy to take it back if you like. Please let me know how to proceed.

Valerie Long
Customer Service
The Bus Depot Inc.

These are NOS coils and we are nearing the bottom of the box so some of them have had some shelf wear, but they are not used. I alerted the warehouse manager to keep an eye out for any that look worse than usual and I've noted the listing to say that minor shelf wear may be possible on what we have left. When we reorder they will likely be pristine and boxed, but also much more expensive (and possibly lower quality), as the closeout deal we got is long gone. CIP1 is already selling the same coil for $100, twice what you paid, and that's on Sale.
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- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
www.busdepot.com

[SGKent]

I just looked over my most recent invoice. California charges outrageous sales taxes - 7.75% here. Shipping was bad enough at $18.93 for a fan belt and fuel filter but BusDepot also took out 16% sales tax. Not interested in doing business with you any more Ron. 16% is over double what California charges. Maybe PA makes you take that much out, I don't know but I am done. PA usually charges 6% sales tax so maybe the State AG might want to know about the overcharging.

$ 7.95 Fan Belt
$ 9.95 Fuel filter
_____________
$17.90 sub total

$ 2.86 sales tax
$18.93 shipping
____________
$39.69 total
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[PatJr]

maybe they taxed the shipping charges too?

I know they get some shade on here but CIP1 doesn't charge sales tax or shipping on orders over $99 for me that's a considerable bit of dough

yea, some of the crap, ah, parts are a little shy on quality but there seems to be a lot of that going around these days
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1970 Transporter a orange one
#############################################

[SGKent]

[Busdepot]

SGKent, you selected Expedited 3-working day shipping on these orders, hence the higher shipping cost. I compared your order ending 6839 to the same items from two other popular VW parts suppliers (using the 3 day shipping option plus tax if applicable). Your total out-of-pocket cost from us was $39.69. At GW it would have been $40.71, and at CIP $43.89. Why? GW charges more for 3-day shipping within your own state that we charge coast-to-coast. And CIP not only charges more shipping but also charges more for the parts (plus the belt is aftermarket rather than OEM). I'm sure you could find other vendors whose shipping rates were lower. I only checked the two so I'm not claiming we're the cheapest everywhere, but obviously we were well withiin the ballpark.

This isn't to say you didn't still pay too much for shipping. I also looked up what you paid on your last 3 orders against what we ended up paying (which can vary depending on what method we use to ship). In all 3 cases you paid what the shopping cart quoted you on checkout. In one of them our actual cost was almost dead-on, within about 80 cents. In the other two cases the shopping cart quoted about $5 too high (even though still cheaper than GW or CIP for a comparable ship method). Generally we try to catch cases where the shipping calculator overestimates significantly and adjust them (which is possible because unlike some vendors we don't actually charge you until we ship). I see that in these two cases it wasn't done. I will issue you a $10 refund as a result. I will also ask my guys/girls to be more diligent about it going forward.

The good news is that we are revamping our shipping calculator within the next couple of weeks. It will not only be more accurate, but it will also reflect new shipping discounts that we negotiated. Also our flat-rate on small items will be expanded a bit. Meanwhile (or even afterwards), if you ever see a shipping rate that doesn't look right to you, don't hesitate to email or call and we'll review it in case there was a shopping cart error.

As for the sales tax, unlike most states California taxes shipping unless the retailer is passing on their actual cost. (Google it.) Because our last shopping cart wasn't accurate enough to ensure that (nor are many others btw), we opted to stay on the safe side of the law so shipping was taxed. Now that we will be switching to a more accurate shipping calculator, shipping will no longer be taxed in California. We do not calculate sales tax ourselves. Virtually every web retailer whose products are taxed across state lines uses sales tax compliance software these days, as there are over 10,000 different sales tax jurisdictions; sometimes two addresses in the same town have different rates. The two largest compliance services are Alavara and Stripe's Taxjar division. We use Stripe, whose clients include Amazon, Target, and Ford. It's a simple process: when you order an API call goes out to Alavara or Taxjar with the street address and purchase amount, they return the compliant tax amount, and that's what populates. The only way for it to be wrong would be if Alavara or Taxjar were wrong, which would be highly unlikely as it's literally their only job, and if wrong tens of thousands of websites would be affected. It looks like you paid a state tax, a county tax, and a district tax. I checked one of your orders at random and the Taxjar calculation was dead-on.

Any questions, feel free to reach out. We'd have gladly answered your questions directly without your having to jump right to a public forum.
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- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
www.busdepot.com

[SGKent]

Thanks Ron. Your staff called and explained that your system had been charging sales tax on shipping to states where it was not required, and a refund has been issued. Hope it all works out smoothly for you.
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[Busdepot]

SGKent, you may have misunderstood Debi slightly. The refund was for the shipping difference, as I noted above (and the tax on that difference). We have not been "charging tax on shipping in states where it is not required." We are currently required to charge tax on shipping in California, so we do. When we revamp our shipping calculator within the next few weeks, we will no longer have to. Also, to be clear, we pay every cent we collect to the appropriate taxing authorities. That is also done by Taxjar; they not only calculate the tax but they automatically report it it to the states on our behalf and it is debited from our bank account. We don't have any hand in it, it's all automatic.
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- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
www.busdepot.com

[SGKent]

[Busdepot]

That is only part of the requirement. In the words of Taxjar, "California is extremely complicated when it comes to shipping and sales tax." They're not kidding. Based on our reading and the advice of experts it was our determination that we should collect and remit the tax based on our current shipping charges and accounting (although like I said, that will be changing soon). The exact California sales tax we charge has always been clearly stated on every single order and every cent of it remitted, nothing has ever been hidden. Poring over the semantics of the law and how it may or may not be enforced is way beyond my pay grade. I'm not a California tax attorney and this isn't a forum for arguing fine details of California sales tax law, so I'll leave it at that.
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- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
www.busdepot.com