SUNCOAST - How often do you order from them?
Hey - Quick question,
I'm looking at replacing my coolant reservoir tank, and noticed that Suncoast is WAY more economical than anyone else for an OEM part. When I discussed it with a couple of specialists & dealerships, they said they'd do the work but would offer no warranty on the part or labor since they didn't order it. Naturally their prices are double for the same part. I noticed that just about every part Suncoast sells is reasonable & OEM. Have you ordered from them frequently, and do you think it's worth the cost savings considering shops don't want to back up the part if it fails? |
I have used Suncoast in the past. But one time I had an issue with them.
Even though in the end everything worked to my satisfaction, they made me jump through waay too many hoops to get there. As the customer, I became extremely disenchanted with Suncoast, and now give all my OEM part business to Sunset in Oregon. I know that lots of people have used Suncoast satisfactorily, and that's great. But in my case, they seemed to work extra hard to lose my business - I was amazed at the lack of customer focus they showed me, and this at a senior management level. You never know how good a supplier is until you have a problem, and in my case, they just made it impossible for me to throw any more business or money their way. :cheers: |
Lil B,
What were the details of your issue? Did they take too long to send a part? Was it broken? I will look into Sunset too. Does your local shop have a problem with installing Sunset parts even if they don't order them and mark them up? I'm assuming that the "mark-up" issue is why techs don't want to do warranty the parts. They're not making enough money on the job. |
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I don't want to get too deep into specifics. They had sent me an email advertising one price for an item, and less than 24 hrs. later when I ordered the part, the price had jumped more than 60%. My arguement was that they had not allowed reasonable time for me to respond to their email. Their arguement was that Porsche had raised the pricing overnight. I said I understood that for new orders, new stock, but this part was in existing inventory and all they were doing was jacking up the price. It ended up with the dealership's senior management holding a very firm, and IMHO unreasonable line. I had to speak with 4 people over several days. Only when I threatened to cancel the order were things resolved, If they had a sense of customer loyalty, it should have been resolved at the first level. I had used them many times prior to this and only ordered the part because of their email to me. I do all my own work and have never used the local dealerships. All Porsche Parts are warranted for 2 yrs. If the part fails, you'll be able to get a replacement. As for installation and labor, each dealership sets their own standards. It's not that they're not making money, you pay the going hourly rate for labor and there's plenty of margin built into that. It's most likely a tactic to generate revenues from the parts desk too. :cheers: |
I use them all the TIME!!
Very cheap, 50% less than my local dealer, and no sales tax!!! I'd highly suggest using them. |
Suncoast is alright but sometimes they take forever to get an order out to the West Coast and shipping is always really expensive.
I always order according to part availability- ************************************************************ Sunset Suncoast |
Sunset is my go-to store for OEM Porsche parts. Every time I have ordered from them they beat all the other prices I could find. Shipping is quick, and I would recommend them over Suncoast.
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Sunset
I have used sunset and pelican and have been very pleased with both. I ordered new keys (1 factory 1 dealer cut) from Sunset and had my local dealer program - no problem.
Jumping the thread a bit - why so many issue with coolant reservoir tank? I know the coolant is "lifetime" but should it be changed? |
The coolant would last a lifetime in a perfect world, but if you want your Boxster to last in this one I would change it. The coolant however is not related to the tanks cracking, which is probably what your hearing about.
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Are you doing the work yourself or are you taking the parts in to a dealer/specialist? This is my main concern. I'm getting "we won't warranty the part or labor" from one specialist, and I'm not sure of the procedure if the part fails. Just send it back to Suncoast/Sunset & they'll send you another one? |
I think the real issue is probably not warranty so much as they want to make money on the parts as pert of their bidness model.
I've been happy with Suncoast (they are closest), Sunset, and Pelican. My servicing dealer in Cary, NC is reasonable, so I would not take parts to him. Even sells tries at Tire Rack prices without the shipping but with the sales tax. I order parts I can self install leave the rest to the dealer. This month will be my first self oil change since off warranty, and I've always done oil changes myself after about 5k miles. Not sure about other future maintenance, but buyers like me value the dealer stamps in the service book. |
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Good point.
Thankfully, I haven't had to buy anything yet. Possibly, a new coolant expansion tank. I just wanted to know - as the specialist quoted it at more than 2X's the price of Suncoast. |
I too used to only use Suncoast, but had a crappy customer service issue with them, and I no longer buy from them. I only use Sunset. They've got better prices anyway, and their customer service is top notch!
Since you may ask for details....I had ordered a part for my hardtop. I was trying to get it put back together so I could get it on before the snow. The part I ordered was rubber gasket tape. There was some miscommunication when I ordered it. I would swear that the guy told me it came in a 9' roll. That's exactly what I needed. When I got it, it was a 26" roll. I called them to question this as my package was open. I didn't know if I mistakenly got a partially used roll, or if the part only came in 26". I called and left a message. I talked to several, non-parts people there. They all told me that somebody would call me back. At one point I was told that the entire parts department (EVERYBODY) was out to lunch. I was told the parts mgr would call me back. I was in a hurry to get this ordered as they had to special order it and it took about 2 weeks to get. Winter was here, and I wanted to get the top on before it got too cold to wash the car before I put it on. Nobody ever called me back. EVER. On top of that, one of the other hardtop parts I ordered took a heck of a long time to show up. This was from the same order. I finally called many weeks later to find out when it would be available. The called me back later and told me that they had the part and it was going out right away. It had been sitting on the parts mgrs desk for who knows how long. |
I tried to order some power steering fluid and the 997 shifter assembly online last Sun night and their shipping policy is not user friendly at all. It says you have to ship to your billing address which is my residence like most people. Well I live alone and nobody is home during the day because I work. I don't like to leave parts on my doorstep and sometimes UPS and Fed-ex won't deliver without a signature. I always ship to work to make it easy and when I entered that address in online it fouled up the works and now my money is still tied up (on authorization hold or something) and my order isn't placed. I just wanted to ship to where I work so I could get my parts! Frustrating!
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Adam:
They'll ship to a different address when you order over the phone. |
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Just got off the phone with Ryan over at Suncoast and the parts are on the way! He's a nice guy and an enthusiast. He has a VW GLI and we talked autocross for a bit. I'm looking forward to trying out the 997 shifter assembly.
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Ryan is a prick... he made me spend all my money...
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