Vendor question ... Am I off base here?

C

Commander Toasty

Member
Sometimes I wonder - is it me? Here is a good example.

Many of us have bought from FS Ignitions, including me. Here is my experience...

Kit arrived and it had been customized, which I knew in advance. As received it could not be installed and I had to do two modifications to make it fit. One mod was contrary to what they specifically told me to do, and the other they had never heard of.

One critical part could not be used and had to be returned. It was clearly a very poor piece of quality control and even a casual visual inspection would have kept it from being shipped.

Another critical part failed in use immediately and left me stranded. Turns out they have experienced this failure several times with this part - yet still ship it. I had to spend some noticeable money to overcome this problem.

Their installation instructions are not only poor - they are incorrect and incomplete, and obviously haven't been reviewed for quite some time.

Now I have just been billed by them for return shipping and handling on the bad parts, and that's what I am asking for your opinion about. Does that sound right to anybody? They have two critical failures - and I pay shipping & handling for what they term their 'generous' return policy? Seems like bad business to me, particularly considering how long I was without my car, my time and travel to package and ship etc.

I will say that their email support was excellent and quick and courteous. It is this charge to me for their in-house issues that I find objectionable.

Now almost all of you routinely order online - what do you think - am I being unreasonable here?
 
I was just about to order one of their self advancing units...
When you mention "kit", specifically, what did you order?
Would you mind expanding on what problems you had for my benefit and maybe a few others?
Thanks!
Dave in MN
 
I know a lot of people love and swear by the electronic ignition, but I am not a fan of them. I have a speedster and that is the only part that has failed and left me stranded to be hauled home on a roll back. :mad: I have since gone back to points and have no problem. I do think it is unreasonabe to have you pay return shipping for a failed part.
 
Kanter had me pay return shipping on a brake drum that I had specifically asked if they had, as it was somewhat different than others of the same make of car. I was assured they had the right one. The common one was sent and I had no use for it!
 
I think the return policy sucks.

But you can't get too mad at them for enforcing it, they state in their warranty:
Purchaser will be responsible for cost of shipping & handling of repaired or replacement items.
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I'm just amazed how many folks accept this kind of service as the new norm.
I suppose you can be thankfull this wasn't a restaurant....as you'd still be expected to leave a tip :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
Blessyouboys said:
I think the return policy sucks.

But you can't get too mad at them for enforcing it, they state in their warranty:
Click to expand...


Agreed - I'm not claiming funny business, just poor business. They do state their policy although do you really understand what it means? I could easily take it to mean if they have to ship me a replacement part I must pay shipping.

I am in ecommerce and my policy is quite clear: If you return something for reasons of your own - the shipping comes out of your wallet. If you return it because it's defective - I pay for it. After all why should you pay to ship something that was sent to you in unworkable condition? That's bad business...which is my point.
 
Dave in MN said:
I was just about to order one of their self advancing units...
When you mention "kit", specifically, what did you order?
Would you mind expanding on what problems you had for my benefit and maybe a few others?
Thanks!
Dave in MN
Click to expand...

Dave - you are talking about their centrifugal advance distributors which is not what I bought. You will be replacing your old distributor with a modern one that has a centrifugal advance in it. I have no idea as to their quality on that part.

But I think it may come with a new ignition coil due to the Pertronix unit, and if so I suggest you get a credit for the coil and buy one yourself from someone like NAPA because the FSI coil is really cheap junk and leaks.
 
Commander Toasty said:
Agreed - I'm not claiming funny business, just poor business. They do state their policy although do you really understand what it means? I could easily take it to mean if they have to ship me a replacement part I must pay shipping.

I am in ecommerce and my policy is quite clear: If you return something for reasons of your own - the shipping comes out of your wallet. If you return it because it's defective - I pay for it. After all why should you pay to ship something that was sent to you in unworkable condition? That's bad business...which is my point.
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I agree with your point.

Does FSI have any competitors?
 
The return policy seems questionable, but as others pointed out they state purchaser to pay for shipping on repaired or replacement.

To me this means they know their parts aren't quality and they are covering their a**, making the poor sap who deceides to use their inferior part pay till they get it right.

I'll stick to my points as original...
 
Yes Steve - they are using my wallet for their quality control. Oh well.

As to a competitor, depends on what you want. If you are just moving from points to breakerless you can buy direct from Pertronix. But for other items I can't help you.
 
Commander Toasty said:
I am in ecommerce and my policy is quite clear: If you return something for reasons of your own - the shipping comes out of your wallet. If you return it because it's defective - I pay for it. After all why should you pay to ship something that was sent to you in unworkable condition? That's bad business...which is my point.
Click to expand...

What you do seems fair and I would bet that if you received alot of the same item you would drop that item.

FS seems to win even if you lose!
 
Re: FS Ignitions poor quality, documentation and shipping charges: I would attempt to appeal to their sense of fair play due to the extenuating circumstances and the additional work and frustration to you due entirely to quality issues far beyond your control. Maybe you can play on their sense of right and wrong.

Although you have had a bad and expensive experience you have saved me and others from the same poor product and unjustified expenses.

Let us know what happens because I suggest this forum will cost FS Ignitions more than the over charges to you
 
Commander Toasty,
Could you please elaborate on what party was defective, and what part later failed? I have a zipper on the shelf and would like to know what to look for and expect.
 
Maybe you can play on their sense of right and wrong.

Well, I did check back with them and inquire if they were actually charging me for shipping back their defective parts. That's when they pointed out they have a 'generous' warranty policy.

I won't push it beyond that. Life is too short and it isn't worth the effort.
 
MikeK said:
Commander Toasty,
Could you please elaborate on what party was defective, and what part later failed? I have a zipper on the shelf and would like to know what to look for and expect.
Click to expand...

The magnetic collar that triggers the hall effect sensor - it mounts on the distributor shaft - appears to be hand notched so it doesn't spin free on the shaft. In other words it has been squared off a bit for proper seating. Mine was rounded and would not seat. I could have glued it (!) or any number of other Mickey Mouse fixes, but it appeared kind of feeble and made me have concerns about falling apart. The replacement was only marginally better and I did tack it on with a small dab of silicon.

The distributor coil was from China by appearance and leaked badly. The build quality was embarrassing. The one I bought at NAPA was made in Mexico and looks as good as any you would expect.

The breaker base plate occupies space where the magnetic collar wants to live, so some changes must be made there.

The main wire back to the ignition had two diodes inserted and would not pass through the conduit, so I had to cut and splice.
 
I would appeal to their sense of fair play. Tell them that next time you want them to send the good part and save the defective parts for someone else.
 
What was wrong with the points and condenser system that made you abandon it in the first place? Like the others here have said, put the points and condenser it and go.
 
azmodela said:
What was wrong with the points and condenser system that made you abandon it in the first place? Like the others here have said, put the points and condenser it and go.
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It isn't about reliability or ease - you do indeed get improved performance with the Pertronix system versus points. No gap erosion, no arcing, no condenser needed to soften the arc. But more important you get a longer dwell and better conductivity with the solid state device. You change the coil to a hotter coil that points can't support, and end up with a hotter and longer spark at the plug which translates into better performance.

I'm not trying to preach or convert - each to their own. But if you want to know what I mean just do it. You all know what your car feels like - make the change and instantaneously notice the performance improvement.

I like to goof around with old air-cooled VW engines, and of course they all have points. The first thing I do with one is install the Pertronix for about $65 and notice a significant improvement. And then never remove the distributor cap again!
 
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