Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Levine
Claude I second that proposal!!
Richard Levine
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Dear Kevin,
In view of the extensive postings that in essence file a complaint against Bristol Cars in the forum, it occurs to me that perhaps as web master you might develop a template for complaints and require posters follow it or have their postings deleted. This includes a requirement that words like "Scammed" be defined. Scamming is when a vendor is bogus, and the offering does not exist and the intent is to commit fraud. Scammers do not have permanent offices open to the public after the scam.
In the particular case of Eric, it probably is time for some German / English jokes. The German expectation of workmanship is the world's highest standard. For those of us who try to restore our Bristols, we probably have worse stories than Eric (I certainly do), but we view it as part of the territory when one seeks to improve a car that were it the ordinary Chrysler, would long ago have been recycled into Budweiser cans.
Taking Bristol Cars as the target of the day, I went on a major shopping trip years ago when Virgin Airlines offered a $250 long weekend from JFK to Heathrow. I brought back the most unbelievable check-in luggage, including a complete stainless steel exhaust system (which the bomb sniffers of the day took a very long time to x-ray) from Bristol Cars Spares. Among those gems were a new set of hubcaps from Bristol Spares that then sat in the garage for several years. Obviously a subcontracted purchase by BCL, the chrome delaminated and they were worthless. Next visit I took one back, which they kept for inspection, but never replaced them. Eventually, I found a vendor offering new hubcaps on eBay, bought them, had them shipped in four different packages by the Royal Mail (due to their weight limit), and they have held up fine.
Now, if I were German, I would be outraged at this substandard work and would go to war. If I were English, I would stoically accept what I perceived as an abuse and maintain a stiff, if slightly quivering, upper lip. If I were an American (which I am), I would have been slightly amused, shrugged it off, and taken out my weapon of choice, my credit card and moved on. And yes, I probably have wasted over five figures on substandard work on my Bristol which I have had to pay twice, thrice or fice (is that a word?) before it was done right... not paid to Bristol Cars, but other "experts" in the industry.
And, to keep the national theme for a moment, if I were Italian, I would have so delightfully told the forum of my woes, sought lots of advice and generally made everyone happy. May we have more Italian Bristol owners!
The internet is very valuable in assessing what product to buy. On Amazon, a review of two different expresso machines caused me to buy the more expensive unit, as the complaints by the user sounded likely. However, these reviews need to be precise, tightly stated and without slander. We need information and the internet provides a counterbalance to the advertising claims of vendors.
Eric's rant however, failed the test. It was interesting to read if one is a consumer anthropologist, but it contained far too much heat and not enough light. It probably deserves to be deleted unless someone wants to do a major edit, reduce it to the facts only and see if someone can't stop by Bristol Cars to get the other side of the story... although the other side may be obvious... it's an OLD car.
My big fear is that too much of this stuff, and Bristol Cars will change its policy and tell old car owners to go away. The law requires ten years of parts stocking, and certainly does not require they recondition old stuff. I would hate to see a business decision be made based on this sort of heat.
Over to you (isn't it fun to run a web forum?)
Claude