[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by NEW64OWNER

Most all buy from Wheel Vintique. You would have to return wheels to PP and I've heard that's no easy task.

I think there may be a restocking fee?

[Greg Reid]

Well, they agreed to take them back. I'll probably be charged the 15% restocking fee as I noticed that it's in the disclaimer on their ad. I shipped them yesterday on my dime which was about $35. I figure I'll lose about $75 or so.
I'm not going to fight about that. I've lost more on impulsive buys from time to time!

I was going to order from Jeg's because of the tax thing but this whole thing has got me thinking (kinda late for that)...lol. I'm going to walk into Summit and take my poverty cap with me to try on the Wheel Vintique Series 62. No more shipping returns for me.

[64speed]

Oh I wish you had fought them thru PayPal. Their customer service is the worst and I wish they would be held accountable. When that manager cussed me that was the end for me. I don't give a damn if nobody else has it I will go without until I order from them. Another one to be wary of though not quiet as bad is Inline Tube. They have a lot of exclusive items so I have to deal with them from time to time but god bless you if you have to return something!

[Greg Reid]

I understand. I get tired of getting screwed on stuff too. I happen to be fighting a couple of other fights with suppliers (non car related) at the moment and I just don't really feel like getting into a major thing over these wheels. Lesson learned.
Plus, I still don't know how much I'm going to lose but I expect that it won't be MORE than $75...In other words, I have no complaints on how they've handled it SO FAR.

[Simple Man]

I'm betting the Parts Place has lost a lot more in sales, from post's like yours. Never dealt with them, and I don't think I will.

[Andre]

I bought 6 of the 14x7 steel wheels from the Parts Place last year. I don't think that those are their reproduction as the wheel came in a box that had markings cut off of it, then that box was put in a Parts Place Box.

[Greg Reid]

Did you put poverty caps on them Andre? If so, how did they fit?
Mine were in some unmarked boxes which were inside of a large Parts Place box.

[Andre]

Greg- yours sound like they were packaged just like mine. I put full wheel covers on mine, and 2 are spares in other cars. It was a good solution for me to clear my disc brakes with, yet appear stock.
My point on it was that there may be other companies like Jegs or Summit selling the same wheel.
The duct tape solution is a good one. I had to do that with my original rally 1 caps on another car about 20 years ago to tighten up the fit.

[Greg Reid]

Your point is a valid one Andre. That's why I've decided to take a cap with me to Summit over the weekend and if it fits, I'll buy.
The tape may well be the solution but that's a very last resort for me. In fact, I'll probably just keep my 6" wheels if that's what it takes. They work great with the caps.
I had the same idea about the spares. I don't have one and I'll use one of the 6 inchers for that.

[64speed]

The sad thing about this is if you look at their eBay store The Parts Place has some killer hard to find parts. It's not until after you order it that you find out its offshore Taiwanese junk. They are selling bare Chevrolet rally wheels right now for 59 dollars a piece. Now honestly for that price how good of a quality product can that be? The manager cussing me out over the ignition switch did it for me but I mean how long can you stay in business selling junk and providing terrible customer service even if you are processing a thousand orders a day like he told me between swear words

[se428bandit]

Greg, I used the wheel Vintique on the Ventura and the fit is tight.

[Greg Reid]

Yeah, that's what the plan is. I went and got my $160 Atlanta Falcons discount on Kaufmann tires today. I may go get the wheels at Summit next weekend, then go have the tires mounted. That's the plan anyway...

[dennis kirban]

This thread reminds me when our company did the very first ralley I wheels. This was back in the 1980s for you young readers...we were the first.

Here is the real scoop. When we had the wheels made it was a major concern of mine that I did not want to have issues with the center caps flying off the wheels.

That is why the design my source came up with did that adopter plate which served to purposes using a locking lug nut kept them from being stolen and prevented any issues of them flying off.

On another note we purposely made the offset about a l/8 inches deeper this was because many of the varius brushed trim rings back then would have hit those slots.
The originals with the goofy clips on the outer lip would not on a normal offset 14 by 6 wheel.

when we did them one major company that will remain nameless said just do the 14 by 6 size none of the other sizes in the 15 inch would be good sellers....fortunately we did not take that advice as the 15 by 7 was probably the most popular as it looked like a 14 by 6 and filled the wheel well opening better.

It was easy to also do chrome ones as they were chromed before centers were welded to the rims. Chrome with the polished 65 center cap on a black car was a really sharp look.....not sure if companies offer chrome ralley IIs today but they were a nice touch.

this same company would later make for us the Chevy 15 by 10s and the 15 by 7 Mopar wheels.


In the late 1980s with our involvement with the Turbo Regal he would also make for me the GNX style 16 by 8 wheels. That was a neat challenge as my skills with offsets were terrible I told them to make several different offsets and then had a tire place mount tires on them so I could try it on the front and back of my personal GN til we could figure out the offset that worked.

It was a good run for us.....learned a lot about wheels....now reproductions are common some of you may be running on the original reproductions...the guy behind it originally ran the chrome shop for ARE American Racing Equipment and owned a 1965 GTO.....still good friends today.....

Actually came to my sons wedding.....

denniskirban@yahoo.com

[Greg Reid]

I wish that whoever is making them now would take that much time Dennis. I have an older pair of Rally I repops...Might be some of yours.
Meanwhile,
Tracking shows that they received my wheels last Wednesday....no refund yet. I wrote but no response. We'll see.

[steve v]

Contact ebays customer service & open a case. Going by ebays rules they have 3 days to refund after receiving the return.

I just went thru a return on a tail light for the wife's car, the guy advertised a new light but sent a used one. After I returned it he had it for over a week, promised to refund but no $$$$. After calling ebay they refunded the full amount within 5 minutes through their buyer protection program then they back charged the sellers paypal account.

[mgarblik]

When you read a post like the one from Mr. Kirban, you can see why his wheels were successful and other reproduction parts are crap. It starts with being an enthusiast, a perfectionist, and a user of the parts. You have to be personally involved in the development, testing and fitting and QC of the finished product. Many of the the reproduction parts we are expected to accept and put on our prized cars don't meet any of this criteria. They are poorly reproduced, with fitment issues, poor finish and details, low quality castings and more. The fact that most are produced in China makes it more problematic to force corrections and insist on quality. It becomes the responsibility of the VENDOR to accept or reject the product, sell or refuse to sell the product. I like the way Ames handles the situation. They evaluate the product and assign their grade to it. I may not agree with the grade, but at least I have a scale before I buy. Many times they give you a choice of various quality levels for the same part. It seems like the Parts Place could have avoided this whole mess by having a disclaimer like, "these reproduction wheels may not be suitable for customers intending to install hub caps rather than full wheel covers" Problem solved. Or better yet, make the damn wheel correctly!

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by steve v

Contact ebays customer service & open a case. Going by ebays rules they have 3 days to refund after receiving the return.

I just went thru a return on a tail light for the wife's car, the guy advertised a new light but sent a used one. After I returned it he had it for over a week, promised to refund but no $$$$. After calling ebay they refunded the full amount within 5 minutes through their buyer protection program then they back charged the sellers paypal account.

That's good info. I already have a case open. If I don't get the refund by tomorrow, I will notify eBay that I was unable to get satisfaction from the vendor.

[dennis kirban]

kirban update:\

First, I appreciate the kind words. I confess I have not followed the GTO/reproduction business much in the last dozen years or so.

When I began their was just a handful of companies. Everything we were involved with was 100% made in the USA with maybe 3 exceptions.

I was smart enough to wholesale to all the other vendors which saved several reproductions of the same product something that has become a real issue today even with the business of turbo regals.

We made some crude products one that comes to mind we sold thousands of mostly because it provided a huge benefit I am referring to the radiator shrouds. Not pretty but it kept motors running cooler.

My ralley I wheels were made in the USA. I believe the cone part of the center cap was made overseas. My ralley I wheels did not have the notches to secure the center cap reason you needed the adopter.

Most companies on returns have a restocking fee like 15% to 20% which is understandable....

I know Joe owner of Parts Place....huge operation got the nickle tour few years back as we had never met.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

[Greg Reid]

I brought eBay into the mix and as of this morning, I have a message that the case is closed and that I've received a full refund. Hasn't shown up on my CC activity report yet but I expect it will show up in a couple of days.

[SR-71]

It's really sad that many of the companies selling or making reproduction parts don't take us the customers seriously or even care if their products are made correctly. I had a conversation regarding the trim rings being sold for use on Rally I wheels and asked why they didn't make them right. I was told that all I had to do was to take some tin snips to them to make them clear the slots and they would work. Besides no one really cares anyway. I said that the hobby is progressing to a higher level and if this was for a Corvette they would make them correct. Again I was told that people buy them so they weren't going to worry about it. It's sad that we have become complacent and except such poor quality parts. THIS is why these companies stay in business no one complains. I'm glad you did and got eBay to get it back.