I have tried and tried to spend my hard earned money with a few companies but the ones that do parts for the locost just don't seem to want to
know.
All i get is an answer phone and then they don't bother to return my calls.
They will only be very interested if you are buying a lot of stuff or a whole kit. Otherwise it is not worth their while.
Adam
your best bet is to visit a show and talk to them there,most dont have a lot of staff and a ringing phone is an anoyance,there is a lot of help on
here to sort the good from the bad,just ask
I thought being a woman i would at least get someone ringing me back, surely there can't be that many women doing this sort of thing?
Who do people advise using then?
Look through the forums...
GTS Tuning are good:
http://www.gtstuning.co.uk
MK engineering are good:
http://www.mk-sportscars.fsnet.co.uk/
Luego:
http://www.luegosportscars.com/
Tiger (a matter of opinion):
http://www.tigersportscars.co.uk/
All of these people do kits and all the parts you would need to build a Locost/7 and most people on here have had some experience with at least one of
those companies...
Cheers,
David 
There are of course many other companies offering services, Europa, SVC etc but many of these do not deal with whole cars, just specific parts.
[Edited on 13/5/04 by flak monkey]
companies with good products include MK, stuart taylor, luego and GTS among others. The smaller the better in terms of customer service, provided the product is ok. Where abouts in the country are you?
unless things have changed, MK engineering have a reputation for not answering emails.......
i think its a cardinal sin not to follow up any potential sale...... but it looks like a lot of kit co's are fairly small operations that are
more concerned with making stuff than actually providing a good customer interface.
Tiger wont even sell you ANYTHING unless you are building a kit.
On the other hand, RS components built their business to the biggest electricals supplier in europe by being prepared to sell a single 1p part, and
including free postage, if needed!
atb
steve
I am in or should i say near Milton Keynes.
I have tried two of those on that list but neither answered or bothered to return the call.
I suppose i would get the same response if i was to email them?
keep trying...
try to get along to a meet in your area,have a chat and a ride in the cars,make your mind up and go do it
Do you know where the manufacturer you want is situated?. Get round there with some money in your hand and don't bother with the phone or email.
You'll get a better deal off them. Shows are always best as you have a captive audience there and there's usually some kind of discount. Are
you just looking for parts or a kit? GTS will sell you bits and don't like to miss an opportunity
Nobody gave these a mention either so
I'll give them a plug, a mate of mine ordered a kit from them last week.
http://www.mac1motorsports.co.uk/contact.htm
[Edited on 13/5/04 by Peteff]
several of the companies mentioned have employees/propietors who post on this site, this might be a way to get their attention.
snoopy is with MK engineering
Dozracing is darren from GTS
grant from luego posts occationally.
quote:
Originally posted by mandy69
I am in or should i say near Milton Keynes.
hi mandy...
or you could try Marc at MNR Racing on 01423 780196...
not local to you(harrogate), but very helpful
colin
just for completness (and as a number of the midlands lot have built them and seem to like the kit)
Stuart Taylor - url=http://www.stuart-taylor.co.uk/]http://www.stuart-taylor.co.uk/[/url]
well embedding the url worked 
you only need to put the http:// infront of the www.....
http://whateveryoururlis.com
you dont need to do anything fancy that way
http://www.stuart-taylor.co.uk
[Edited on 13/5/04 by flak monkey]
MK engineering = Martin Keenan, not MK
I work in Milton Keynes..... and have nowt to do with mr keenan
quote:
Originally posted by mandy69
I am in or should i say near Milton Keynes.
I have tried two of those on that list but neither answered or bothered to return the call.
I suppose i would get the same response if i was to email them?
chrisG (chris gibbs) also works for MK......
atb
steve
quote:
Originally posted by JoelP
several of the companies mentioned have employees/propietors who post on this site, this might be a way to get their attention.
snoopy is with MK engineering
Dozracing is darren from GTS
grant from luego posts occationally.
Any kit manufacturer I have met were nice guys ----- but not always good at keeping promises :-)
How long before this thread mentions RH ?
Hopefully a long time!
everytime i phone luego someone answers. they are also know their stuff which is good and sometimes its me that has to cut a chat short to go back
into the garage.
So far as ive heard the four companies mentioned by flak are the same, you might have jsut caught them on a bad day.
My view FWIW....
If any company gives the facility to leave a message then they really should return the call...no excuse.
If they do not want to be returning calls, then fine, but don't have voice mail.
If this was a one-off, then it's not a big deal....but I suspect it may not be...
Companies take note...ignore customers at your peril.
Again just IMO
I've always thought the first company in the locost world to employ a proper secretary/office manager type bod will much more than make up for
the extra salary. They will become market leader.
One lost kit sale profit = one months salary. Possibly lose much more than a grand a month on unanswered emails/calls?
I know these guys are hairy arsed engineers and the soft stuff is not for them, but they need to be absolutley trying to grab every bit of business
they can whilst their reputations are still growing.
Cost of this advice = nowt, but wouldn't mind a new bonnet any one listening in!!
I've found Mark at Mac#1 always really happy to help even just for advise, let alone buying anything, they always ansa the phone too:
0114 2619 633
I think that most of the smaller companies like MK have such small profit margins that employing someone who isn't actually producing goods
isn't practical...
...and there's only so much goodwill to be had from a poorly-paid wife as the months go on!
I do agree that basic public relations is a must, even if a large part of the time is wasted on maybe-builders and tyre-kickers.
Perhaps people like Martin Keenan should put something on their website that states the best way to get in touch, and when, e.g. phone, between 12:00
and 14:00.
cheers,
David
I agree with Mark H - how much business do some companies lose through their totally product led organisation rather than having a customer focus? A
good customer relationship scheme doesn't need to cost the earth (no more than one persons time within the average kit company) and if profit
margins are that tight they can't afford that with the potential gains they should make from returning calls (or even answering them to start
with) then they may not be in business for long.
I seem to have the same opinion as AlanB - ignore customers at your peril. There is always an alternative for them, and they will only put up with bad
service for so long.
Totally agree with you, but then how many blue smarties can anyone scoff before being sick of the sight of them?
LOLi
]
Originally posted by M@Triton
Totally agree with you, but then how many blue smarties can anyone scoff before being sick of the sight of them? [/quote
quote:
Originally posted by andyps
I seem to have the same opinion as AlanB - ignore customers at your peril. There is always an alternative for them, and they will only put up with bad service for so long.
I phoned them once for a brochure of the SDV and i was still getting phone calls 6 months later, they never pestered though always very friendly,
offering me visits round the factory etc. I just never had the heart to tell them i had already bought a kit!
Im sure if some of the smaller companies employed someone to do the paperwork and answer the phone they would sell alot more kits. Even if they only
worked half days and they let the customers know that was the time to call for questions.
When i went to MK there was a couple of extra bits i needed, someone wrote down the details and my address, then they tucked it into one of the beams
in the roof of the office, "just so i know where it is"!The parts did arrive, but im sure there is a more effiecent method.
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
...and that's why little companies can grow up to be huge, by being good with their customers, e.g. Westfield.
If you want to know how good they are, ask Westfield for a brochure and wait for the keen sales pitch (and follow-up calls). They are VERY keen!
David
Because they are!
Oh yes. I bet you are really caterham cars.
Just in case you are....
that program you made for BBC about a seven replacement - the one that was meant to be with reynard?
hahahahahahhahahahahha
hahahahahahahahahahaha
prick
I THOUGHT THIS FORUM WAS FOR THE LOCOST BUILDERS, SO WHATS WITH THE PICTURE OF CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG ALL ABOUT THEN ???
quote:
Originally posted by CHUCKUFARLEY
I THOUGHT THIS FORUM WAS FOR THE LOCOST BUILDERS, SO WHATS WITH THE PICTURE OF CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG ALL ABOUT THEN ???
quote:
Originally posted by caterhamcars
prick
quote:
Originally posted by stephen_gusterson
Oh yes. I bet you are really caterham cars.
Just in case you are....
that program you made for BBC about a seven replacement - the one that was meant to be with reynard?
Steve,
Was that the one where the boss had independantly operating orbits, if he was a punk in his youth, he would have looked like one of those lizards you see on Attenborough
hahahahahahhahahahahha
hahahahahahahahahahaha
I dont remember the boss in it.
Just the fact it was an hr long program, when people just talked and talked, had meetings about meetings, couldnt make a single decision.
Nothing ever got made and reynard were bust (not related) at the end.
It was a really good example of how to get caught up in total crap and waffle and lose site of what you were supposed to be doing in the first
place!
atb
steve
My 2p's worth....
Tiger get a lot of flack on here, mostly by people who are not building one, and very often by people who are not building anything. I know about
there grp probs but as for all the others.
"won't sell you a part if your not buying a kit" or "crap customer service" not true, they have always been very good with
me
Go see these companies,chat with them and make up your own mind, theres a lot of slagging off on here that seems to be built on heresay.
Weekend rant over
I watched the caterham program and had a mixture of emotions. I felt proud that they wanted to maintain the heritage etc but couldn't believe how
much time they wasted - In the space of that year Westfield brought out the mid engined monster!!!
Sometimes its just better to give it a go - although having already been burnt by the 21 I can understand their reluctance.
hmmm, not really saying a lot am i
quote:
Originally posted by gjn200
My 2p's worth....
"won't sell you a part if your not buying a kit" or "crap customer service" not true, they have always been very good with me
Weekend rant over
Think something has changed!!
Just checked my answer m/c from last night: A message from Laura at tiger asking if I'd received the information requested and how I was getting
on!!
Looking at the big picture I bet the kit car companies get fed up with people phoning and saying " I'm building an 'X' will your
bit 'Y' fit?" You would'nt go into a ford garage and ask if a focus steering wheel will fit a vectra would you?
If I remember correctly the upshot off the BBC programe was that , the Caterham brand was not strong and what ever they built would not sell on its
own merits.
So they have been successful on the back of the 'Lotus' and 'Colin Chapman name, that said they undoubtedly manufacture a quality
product, or should I say Arch Motors do!
[Edited on 27/5/04 by Surrey Dave]
At the time, they did a morgan replica - it was bought from another co and they have since sold it on. I asked in email if I could buy any of their
grp body parts. I just got blank refused. I didnt ask anythign about would it fit - just a general question.
atb
steve
quote:
Originally posted by gjn200
Think something has changed!!
Just checked my answer m/c from last night: A message from Laura at tiger asking if I'd received the information requested and how I was getting on!!
Looking at the big picture I bet the kit car companies get fed up with people phoning and saying " I'm building an 'X' will your bit 'Y' fit?" You would'nt go into a ford garage and ask if a focus steering wheel will fit a vectra would you?
"Looking at the big picture I bet the kit car companies get fed up with people phoning and saying " I'm building an 'X' will
your bit 'Y' fit?" You would'nt go into a ford garage and ask if a focus steering wheel will fit a vectra would you? "
You just hit the nail well and firmly on the noggin there matey.......i thank you.
on the other hand......
there are two major electronics component suppliers in the UK. The biggest is RS and the next is Farnell.
Years ago, I sent by mistake an RS order to Farnell. Several parts were on it. They took the time to convert all the numbers to their own equivalent
and supplied the order.
Robin hood's lolocost (albiet not a quality example) specilise in supplying bits to builders - they dont know where they are going to - ie car
type. As does europa spares.
Something like a fuel filler cap, switches, dials, shocks, etc, could be fairly universally sold. Dismissing out of hand would just lose business. Of
course, some parts clearly may not be interchangeable, and could be supplied on non return basis..... or indeed not at all.
In my line of work we do all we can to get an order, cos its a competitive business......and lets face it, everyone and their dog in the kit world
makes a seven replica.
atb
steve
My dog can't weld for peanuts, just sh!ts on the lawn while I do all the work
quote:
Originally posted by Peteff
My dog can't weld for peanuts, just sh!ts on the lawn while I do all the work
Possibly a poodle, Noodle . I could go for a different pet altogether, how about a Welderbeast.
Or a Tig(er) or even a stick insect.
Rottwelder perhaps?
quote:
Originally posted by gjn200
My 2p's worth....
Tiger get a lot of flack on here, mostly by people who are not building one, and very often by people who are not building anything. I know about there grp probs but as for all the others.
"won't sell you a part if your not buying a kit" or "crap customer service" not true, they have always been very good with me
Go see these companies,chat with them and make up your own mind, theres a lot of slagging off on here that seems to be built on heresay.
Weekend rant over
Tub to fit , rollbar to design and fit, thats about it oh, dash to do.