Pierside Parts Unlimited - [email protected]

[sodbuster]

[PatJr]

[Bruce]

Pierside Parts is pretty much done.
A friend told me they were evicted for not paying the rent so they moved to a smaller location. But they're usually not there. The owner works now for EMPI.
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[PatJr]

wow, are these guys out of business?
called the number 714-848-8868 a few times just to make sure
I dialed right and got the 'can't find the subscriber' message

sign of the times I guess
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1970 Transporter a orange one
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[PatJr]

Shout out to Larry at Pierside
Thanks Larry!

I was working on the ball joints on my van. I couldn't get the adjuster eccentrics off the top ball joints. Went over to Pierside to see if I could just get some new ones. Larry at the counter said they don't sell very many of them and didn't have any in stock. Larry then says you can just cut the ball joint and press the adjuster off. He suggested to use a sawzall. Back to the project, dug up the sawzall and cut the ball joint shaft just above the should stop for the adjuster. The metal was softer then I thought it would be, could have probably used a hacksaw. Now, by 'pressing' I had to translate that to smack it with a hammer. clamped the stub end of the cut shaft with some visegrips, put the 1" socket over the top of the cut end so it just rests on the adjuster, held the socket with some big pliers, several hard violent blows with the sludge hammer later and the adjuster popped off.
My suggestion, if you ever have to change the ball joints on your van, be sure to order new adjusters with the ball joints. This job is a nightmare to do.
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1970 Transporter a orange one
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[stewartsoda]

On 3/30 I ordered a new Weber IDF dual carburetor kit from Pierside Parts. $900. Best price I could find anywhere.
Get an order confirmation email.
Order status: "pending"
Status stays "pending" for three weeks. I think "What's going on?"

Call them today:
Them: "Yeah you got a refund like the next day."
Me: "Wait, what? Nobody communicated anything about a refund and my order still shows 'pending' on your site."
Them: "Yeah, we can't keep up with what EMPI has in stock and their prices. I don't know why your order still says 'pending'. It's cancelled."

I go and look online. Price now $1500. Credit card never got charged.

Order status online still shows "pending".

Not a good way to treat customers. I certainly feel like I got done wrong.
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1972 Super Build

[creative native]

Sadly, Pierside Parts Unlimited made this unfortunate transaction even more complicated.

While speaking to the second representative, he told me that a revised invoice had been generated. I asked why I had not received it yet. He told me that he had just sent it.

Comparing the original invoice to the one that was likely generated while on the phone with him, I first noticed that he added a "handling" line item under LABOR. Compare this to the original invoice.

Secondly, I noticed that he listed the date I paid as May 4. I had no contact with Pierside Parts in any way on May 4. I am posting my PayPal receipt that indicates the date I actually paid, which was April 24.

I also noticed there is a completely different invoice number associated with my order.

Furthermore, I notice that the invoice date and time listed on the second invoice was supposedly generated BEFORE the original.

Lastly, according to their own math, they owe me $7.47, which according to my PayPal account, hasn't been refunded to me.

IF their new batch of cables cost nearly twice as much as what I actually ordered (excluding the supposed "discount") and expected to pay for, they should have contacted me to see if I still wanted to purchase them.

It is also convenient for them to have a website program that intuitively factors in that they would be out of the cables I ordered, effectively projected the difference in cost of the "new" cables and apply that difference as a "shipping" cost. Selling me something for the advertised price of $89.99 and actually selling me a product that is more expensive is a fraudulent retail scam, commonly referred to "bait and switch," according to the Better Business Bureau. If it smells fishy, it usually is.

[vwinnovator]

[creative native]

[vwinnovator]

It continues to amaze me that there are ppl who continue to think that the cost of shipping something is solely the amount of the postage.

The actual cost of shipping includes, pulling the part from a shelf, acquiring a box and packing supplies, the labor to package it, and the transportation to and from the shipping location and the postage amount.(granted some are picked up at the business location, but there is also a cost to having that location to be picked up at)

the ppl who complain about "handling" costs are the same ppl who will pay $1.99 for a coke at a 7/11 that they know they can by at the food store for $.50

[wheel607]

NEVER.....NEVER order a part from anybody that posted the shipping and you dont agree. How do you figure it out AFTER you have already ordered the merchandise. I agree that $66.75 is more than I would like to pay, seeing that both cables wound up would fit in the tightest USPS box and ship for $8 something...........But REGARDLESS, you should have got that straight before you ordered......no complaining now! Forget it and go on. Now you know they dont ADJUST when shipping has taken place.

[creative native]

I wanted to buy new sunroof cables for my '74 Super Beetle. I went to Wolfsburg West first and they have none in stock. I tried the other usual suppliers I typically order from and at the time, none of them had any either or they had one side, but not a matching set. I found a supplier called Pierside Parts Unlimited in Huntington Beach, CA. I had never heard of them, but thought it was an opportunity to add a new supplier to my list when shopping for VW parts.

The two cables were listed as $89.99 each. Their website estimated the postage at $66.75, bringing my total to $246.73. I knew this postage amount was outrageous, but believed their site must have generated a postage estimate and like professional, leading aftermarket suppliers, they would adjust the total when they processed the order and charge me accordingly. In the notes on my order, I asked them to verify the postage amount. I placed the order on Saturday, April 24, so I could not call them and settle it over the phone, but expected they may have the same professionalism of other VW suppliers who I've ordered from over the years.

They do not.

My order finally arrived on Saturday, May 8th. The postage had not been adjusted. I just called them up to settle it during operating hours. Having been in customer service jobs most of my life, I know how I like customers to present their grievances to me and so I speak to other customer service representatives as I would like to be spoken to. I was polite and kind to Larry, as he said he could help me. I calmly relayed the issue to him and before I could finish, he interrupted me with attitude and told me that I shouldn't have ordered the cables if I didn't want to pay the shipping AND handling cost. I informed him that on my order/receipt, there was no mention of a handling charge. It listed a postage/shipping charge, but no mention of a handling fee and even so, how much could they expect to charge to handle two small, rolled up cables? So, he got another representative on the phone.

The next representative informed me that the prices of the sunroof cables went up from the $89.99 I bought them for to $119.00 and they charged me less to send the cables than what they should have. I carried the small Priority Mail package to my post office and they verified that it is a flat rate box, costing $8.55 to send. Pierside told me it cost them $14 to send.

So I asked the new representative (no name given) if the new cost was $119 (their website NOW lists the price at $120 and by now he is agreeing that the postage was in fact, $8.55), where does the "handling" charge factor into this new pricing and how much exactly was the handling charge? He did not answer.

He did inform me that the cables came from Germany and hence, the rise in cost. I let him know that the cables I ordered and was charged for were listed as Wolfsburg West's. He told me that was changed and the new cables came from Germany. That may be true as the bags they arrived in did not have the familiar WW logo on them.

After he told me they had raised the price of the sunroof cables, I pulled up their website to check and did see them listed as $120, however, five minutes later, I went back to their website and they list no Beetle/Super Beetle sunroof cables at all. They took them down altogether (*EDIT: As I am about to post this, I've rechecked their site and the cables are up again at $120). Throughout this entire process, Pierside neither attempted to contact me to discuss my inquiry about the postage, nor inform me that the cables I ordered were out of stock or changed in price.

I do not want to cheat anyone in any dealing or want anything for free or discounted, but I neither want to be taken advantage of. The litany of inconsistencies aside, they handled my concerns in the poorest possible taste and for that, I will never order from them again. I caution you not to as well.

[didi wildhaber]

Unfortunately 12 months after my prepayment no refund, call back or response anymore to my e-mails...
Don't know what I did wrong.
Mike, would appreciate a response and a proposal how to solve this issue.

[EverettB]

Yes, they are still in business.
They just had a get-together there before the VW Classic show in S. CA
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[didi wildhaber]

Is Pierside still on business?
Unfortunately during the last 6 months, it was not possible to get the money back or to order parts for my prepaid 700 USD.
Only 3 responses during this time from Mike, but still no solution..

Thank for your comments...

[911pickup]

My ordered MST serpentine belt kit arrived yesterday. The generator pulley was really scratched up, so I emailed Pierside and sent them photos.
They phone today and offered to send a matching set of mag style crank and generator pulleys, since they didn't have a sold black replacement generator pulley in stock.
Now that's customer service!

A big 'thumbs up' to Pierside.

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[flipflop67]

16 days after ordering it's still in the processing stage, sent an email a week ago asking why, no reply, if I don't get an answer to this email, I'll dispute the transaction and take my money elsewhere.
Used before and they were ok, shipping is slow, but this order was placed on the 23rd of May and nothing, not even the courtesy of a reply to my email.

[Split 1]

Ordered a crank.
Great price, service, communication and fast delivery to australia
Will use again
Dave

[Pau Hana]

Finally got a hit on people who truly believe in old school "Great" Customer Service!!! Not only do these folks listen & hear your needs, they also carry an awesome line of Top Notch, High End Products!

Received my A1 SideWinder Exhaust today... With not needing to raise my Ghia, *(no jack stands). I completed the install within an hour. Out of the box, Super Clean Mirror finish & best of all... a Perfect Fit!!!

To Carol, Ralph & all the folks at Pierside... A BIG THANK YOU & HAPPY 2015!

No Doubt, I'll BE BACK FOR MORE!!!