Shocking Service at Euro Car Parts

[yacobwood 0]

Ordered some HT leads from Euro Car Parts early last week. When they arrived they were the wrong brand and after calling them i was told that they are similar quality. After a discussion i posted them back Recored delivery and asked for the correct part. After a week a parcel arrived and to my amazement, it was the exact same item (wrong). I called to speak to somebody about this and was told that this wrong item shares the same product number as the one i wanted as they are similar and was told to call back tomorrow.

 

Over the next three days and dozens of phone calls, i was hung up on, blind transfered and fobbed off what feels like over 20 times. Ive never got angry on the phone before but this was starting to annoy me. After all of this and finally speaking to somebody for more than 2 mins, i was told that to process my collection i would have to call back in 2 hours!! I told them i want to be called in 2 hours to which he reluctantly agreed. 2 hours later (5:55pm) and knowing that the person i spoke to finishes as 6pm, i called back fuming, to which i was argued with being told that the item i have got is smiler spec and it almost sounded like i was being told i should be grateful for it!!

 

After 3 days, 20 odd phone calls, 4+ arguments and two wrong deliveries, i finally have a collection arranged for today and a refund. I may just think twice before i shop at Euro Car Parts again!!

[CazzaVR 0]

They are VERY hit and miss in my experience. Depends who you speak to. I've had much better service from vwspares- never been disappointed.

[joebloggsVR69 0]

Yeah, also received an incorrect air filter when I did a web order for a Bosch part...

 

I called them up and was told it was of similar quality to the Bosch one. That's besides the point! I ordered 'x' and they sent me 'y', and still charged me full price.

The least they could do is call me and tell me the original product is not in stock...

 

I was told to go to my local branch to get it exchanged. I dont have time to go to, which was why I ordered online in the first place!

[SamG40 0]

I stood in the shop for over five minutes the other month waiting to be served with loads of people seeing I was stood there. If the battery I was after wasnt so cheap I'd have walked out. They did apologise about my wait a lot when I finally got seen to however.

[Jim 1]

There is a lot to be said for just going into a shop even if it means paying a bit more.. cause then you can go back and have words if there is anything you're not happy with!

 

I'm always very reluctant to order online from places that I've never ordered from before!

[jamiehamy 0]

First time I ordered from Euro online, the bits never turned up. After giving it a couple of weeks (it was jsut before Xmas), I phoned. I phoned about 15times on different days before someone told me they would put money back on the card and hung up. Another week later, nothing, and same palava to get through. Eventually they refunded with no apology.

 

So I'm very wary of using them now, which is a shame because they have some good deals on.

[boost monkey 0]

Last time I used ECP I asked for a 1.8 16v oil pump for an old golf. I ended up with a 1.8 8v digi pump with a completely different drive. The guy didn't want to hear about the fact they're completely different, and just started to whimper because I got within 2ft of his mk3 polo in the car park when driving in! Pansy.

 

I've been using VW Spares ever since then (years ago) and never been let down since. Deffo recommend them to anyone. Great prices and service as per Cazzler.

[tony_ack 0]

I used ECP once several years ago for an exhaust for my Peugeot 306. I rang up the local branch and told him the Peugeot part number of the current exhaust, but they said they couldn't go off that, and asked for my registration plate instead. I didn't have a problem with this, so I gave it to them, and they ordered the part. My missus went to collect it. As soon as I saw it, it was obvious it was the wrong one. I ended up getting the exhaust from somewhere else, and my missus took the exhaust back (she only worked part time, I was working during ECP's opening hours).

 

She took it back and they charged her a 20% surcharge because we had ordered the wrong part. I rang them to complain but they were admant that it was my fault, despite the fact I had offered to supply the correct part number, and they had used my registration number to match the 'correct' part.

[yacobwood 0]

Seems its not just me then =/ I only wanted some descent HT Leads for my valver :(

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Those are some pretty shoddy examples of customer service but none of them come as a surprise given the country they're in.

 

I only use dealers now. Their parts infrastructure for our cars is second to none and if you build a good relationship with your local dealer you can often get some pretty good discounts.

 

I grew tired of so called "genuine quality" parts suppliers like ECP and GSF many moons ago. MAFs that were DOA, so called "Bosch" starter motors that lasted 6 months, wheel bearings that last 5 miles, HT leads that come apart when gently pulled, "Luk" and "Sachs" branded clutches that juddered like mad...... what a complete waste of my time and money. My VR must have gone through 4 or 5 clutches from GSF and ECP then finally we fitted a dealer one and it was perfect.

 

I've always preferred GSF over ECP as they're friendly at my local branch and actually know the cars and their catalogue. ECP are just schitt. They've gotten too big for their boots and don't give a rats about customers.

[joebloggsVR69 0]

Yep, I agree, I also only ever use genuine parts from the dealer for anything mechanical.

In my opinion, ECP are only good for service items like oil and filters.. and even then they screw up!

 

At least with the $tealers you know the part will fit, and you won't have to worry about it.

[VR6Pete 0]

I've had a few bits from ECP for my C and my punto Grande..... including clutch, brake discs / pads for the PG.... my branch has always been helpful, luckily I live 5 minutes away from my nearest. Never had any problems with over the counter stuff apart from with the oil cooler seal, in the end I just went to VW as there database referenced the incorrect item based on the VW part number I gave them..

 

Pete

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

Always have loads of problems with ECP at work booking stuff to the wrong accounts and giving parts to Joe Public under our account!!! They even threw an exchange unit away once that we returned to one of there drivers and took us to court for the £300 surcharge when we refused to pay it! Unfortunately it was less hassle for my company to go halves and settle out of county court than it was to fight it.

 

They seem to have a "come and have a go if you think you're hard enough" approach to business which is totally wrong.

 

Whilst ultimately you will now have to use them for things like MAF's etc. Always use a dealer where you can! :)

[tony_ack 0]

On the other hand I used the dealer today for some bits for the Audi.... £25 for a 2" length of boost pipe, £20 for 1 metre of fuel hose. A whopping 10% discount brought it to just over £40.

[elliott 10]

I've learned the hard way, bought and fitted 2 track rod ends in Aug and they are now ready for the bin. Q-DRIVE Micky Mouse parts are best avoided, I'll be visiting my vw parts department from now on but i just wish somebody at vw had just a sniff of energy and interest in the older vw's.

[jamiehamy 0]

 

I grew tired of so called "genuine quality" parts suppliers like ECP and GSF many moons ago. MAFs that were DOA, so called "Bosch" starter motors that lasted 6 months, wheel bearings that last 5 miles, HT leads that come apart when gently pulled, "Luk" and "Sachs" branded clutches that juddered like mad...... what a complete waste of my time and money. My VR must have gone through 4 or 5 clutches from GSF and ECP then finally we fitted a dealer one and it was perfect.

 

 

And so-called 'Brembo' discs at a low price. I replaced them after 4months with genuine, as well as the bearings. No further issues. I fully agree, it actually is worth paying more for genuine parts, i started partly because of Kev's posts, but also after buying several parts twice because the old ones were rotten - like Elliot's TRE's!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Those Brembo discs GSF sell are the only 288s that haven't warped on me :lol:

 

Unfortunately with things like that, the quality of metal seems to vary from one batch to the next. More so with pattern parts because they probably check 1 disc in every 1000 for conformity whereas OEM suppliers batch test far more frequently. Plus we all know that the steel quality VW use has to meet very strict standards. It doesn't in the aftermarket, hence why they are so much cheaper.

 

There's a very good reason why car makers are very choosy about the quality of their parts, especially German car makers. Does anyone remember the old BMW M3 engine recall? The S54B32 lump from the E46 to be more precise. Some of these engines were suffering from big end bearing failure. Initially BMW were blaming their customers but after some deeper investigation, it turned out BMW's bearing supplier weren't making them to BMW's exact specifications. The result of this was big losses for BMW in warranty replacements.

 

And of course, the other classic example of shoddy parts letting the side down, which we all know about, is the persistent failure of 1.8T and R32 coil packs!

 

It's therefore in VW's best interests to make sure parts are 100% top quality because it saves them money in the long run and therefore by default, us punters get the best possible parts quality :D I for one and more than happy to pay the extra for that reassurance!!.

 

Yeah we all wince when the dealer tots up your bill but at least you know you won't be replacing that part again 3 weeks later.

 

And to balance the argument, yes I know there are people out there who get on fine with pattern parts and fair play. You've obviously not suffered with as many failures as I have! :lol:

[SamG40 0]

I do avoid the cheapo stuff from GSF and Euro but how can the Bosch or Brembo etc stuff be any different to the stuff the dealers sell? The Valeo heater matrix I pulled out of the car I replaced which was the original one looked exactly the same as the Valeo one I bought from GSF. You arent telling me that is a different spec to the one I'd have bought for double the price from the dealer.

 

I think there are things you avoid buying from GSF such as bearings but as long as it is a decent brand I dont see the problem.

[CazzaVR 0]

Quite agree- as long as you buy Bosch, Valeo etc you should be OK. I think the main point was the actual service they generally seem offer, which is pretty poor!