Delays in shipping from VPA

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sharky

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Just checking to see if anyone else has been waiting for a number of months for a Gen 4 hood from VPA. I've been waiting since Nov. 2013.
 

Dom426h

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Im guessing its not a shipping issue but rather a stock issue

VPA keeps a lot of stuff in stock but some of the parts are fulfilled by mopar warehouses just like the dealerships get their stuff. If you place an order for something that is backordered then all you can do is wait.

That remineds me, i ordered a part for my mountainbike 6 months ago that is still on backorder due to production issues. Need to cancel that order and find another source to get my bike rollin by spring...


Why not simply call them and figure out what the situation is?
 

hiss highness

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I have been waiting to hear back from VPA for 3 months now, gave up trying. found the sway bar I need at snake oyl, oil pan gasket from dealer and suspension I bought direct from kw instead. not sure why they are tanking
 

Chelseasnake

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i have bought lots of parts from vpa, had no problems. i have been trying to get a set of 5 spoke chrome rattler wheels for over 6 months with no luck. mopar had no stock. last week they had them in stock. i was going to order a set but vpa has said the price has gone up almost $400. i asked if i could get the old price, but was told no. nice. i guess now when i order another gts car, i will order the car with the rattler wheels. i also see other prices has gone up too at vpa by 10%.
 
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sharky

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I have already paid for the hood, grills and the seals etc that go with it so I hope they get it here soon as I'm starting to do work on that car. They have had some employee turnover and sounds like in the correspondence I've received that things were a little confused over a number of matters. I've noticed that the prices have gone up since my order was placed.
 
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sharky

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I should have said in my previous post that I've dealt with VPA before and was always pleased. Just asking to see if others have had recent delays in receiving their orders.
 

Dom426h

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I have already paid for the hood, grills and the seals etc that go with it so I hope they get it here soon as I'm starting to do work on that car. They have had some employee turnover and sounds like in the correspondence I've received that things were a little confused over a number of matters. I've noticed that the prices have gone up since my order was placed.

Did they bill your CC yet? Im not sure what the standard is on that, but my bike parts website does not bill you until the backordered item is available and ready to ship. If they had to front the money to the producer before it was available then I would be fine with them charging me to place the order. Either way, doesn't really make a difference to me.

If it does to you then all the more reason to simply call and talk to somebody to see what is what rather than playing with 1's & 0's ;-)
 

ViperJohn

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I should have said in my previous post that I've dealt with VPA before and was always pleased. Just asking to see if others have had recent delays in receiving their orders.

Have you called Keith at VPA to check on the status of your order? If you wish to PM me your contact info, I will gladly forward it.
 

Viper X

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Im guessing its not a shipping issue but rather a stock issue

VPA keeps a lot of stuff in stock but some of the parts are fulfilled by mopar warehouses just like the dealerships get their stuff. If you place an order for something that is backordered then all you can do is wait.

That remineds me, i ordered a part for my mountainbike 6 months ago that is still on backorder due to production issues. Need to cancel that order and find another source to get my bike rollin by spring...


Why not simply call them and figure out what the situation is?



DOM426H,

Good post. This thread, if it ever should have been made, should read "Delays in Receiving". We don't wait to ship stuff, we do wait to receive it, which is necessary before shipping it. LOL.

While VPA stocks a HUGE amount of parts, you'd be surprised at how many items, some parts are now and have been on national back order for a while. We don't wait to ship parts, unless there is a foot of snow and non of the freight companies are in service. We do wait to receive them from MOPAR, who waits to receive them from their supplier. Not sure about the Gen IV hood but do know that it has been an extremely popular upgrade for Gen III Vipers.

As a long time Viper owner, I've persoanlly heard the term "on national back order" far too many times in the past.

As above, rather than post something like this, why not call Keith and ask him? He can update you. 888-9VIPERS.

Dan
 

TowDawg

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Really Dan? The guy asks a legitimate question about a part he purchased 3-4 months ago, and you talk down to him like he did something wrong by starting this thread? It IS NOT the customer's responsibility to track down the seller (which seems it's been hard to do lately anyway) to find out that something is on backorder. That should be communicated TO the customer FROM the seller immediately (if not before) the sale. Especially if the customer has already been billed for the part.
 

Bobpantax

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OEM Gen IV hoods have been fairly difficult to come by for a while. Many bought them for their Gen III because they allow significantly more air in the engine compartment for cooling. Since the last Gen IV came off the line on July 1, 2010, I would guess that OEM Gen IV hoods will get more and more rare and that the cost may go up.
 

Viper X

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Really Dan? The guy asks a legitimate question about a part he purchased 3-4 months ago, and you talk down to him like he did something wrong by starting this thread? It IS NOT the customer's responsibility to track down the seller (which seems it's been hard to do lately anyway) to find out that something is on backorder. That should be communicated TO the customer FROM the seller immediately (if not before) the sale. Especially if the customer has already been billed for the part.

TowDawg,

You miss the point. The post title reads "Delays in shipping from VPA". It is critical of something that VPA cannot contol and sends an incorrect message. If it were your company, would you like to see a post with a false statement like this in the title? I simply stated that we cannot ship what we don't have, so there is no "delay in shipping". FYI, we've called on this item, checked everywhere we can trying to help this customer get what he wants (at other Mopar dealers, etc.) and cannot find one at this time. No doubt that more will be made as this is a very poplular item.

Someone who posted before me advised this customer to simply call us. That's a pretty good idea IMHO as opposed to making this post. My guess is that the original poster was just after information, that's all. Then others jump in and criticize, some with agendas and more false information......
 

TowDawg

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I have no doubt that Gen IV hoods are getting hard to come-by, and don't blame the VPA for the backorder status at all. However, VPA CAN control this because they should notify the customer immediately that the part is on backorder with possibly no known delivery date.
As far the semantics of it and calling it a "false statement", like the OP did something wrong is a joke. If I'm the customer (yes, this applies to my business as well) and my parts are delayed from who I order them from, then whoever I ordered them from is late. The supply chain (except from who I paid, to my door) is not my issue.
Again, the delay itself is not the issue. It happens to all businesses at one point or another.
 

Viper X

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I have no doubt that Gen IV hoods are getting hard to come-by, and don't blame the VPA for the backorder status at all.
We agree on one thing.

However, VPA CAN control this because they should notify the customer immediately that the part is on backorder with possibly no known delivery date.

Don't know that this was not done, do you?

As far the semantics of it and calling it a "false statement", like the OP did something wrong is a joke.

OP did nothing wrong as stated above. Could have made a better choice of words. VPA cannot possibly be delaying shipping something that it does not have in stock to ship.

If I'm the customer (yes, this applies to my business as well) and my parts are delayed from who I order them from, then whoever I ordered them from is late.

This statement assumes facts not known at this time. If the customer was told when he ordered this part that it was on back order, and I'll bet he was IF he spoke to someone, then this is not the case. If he did not speak to anyone and ordered the part on line, you are correct.....the GM at VPA at that time should have let this customer know the status of his order......but we don't know if this was not done.

The supply chain (except from who I paid, to my door) is not my issue. Again, the delay itself is not the issue. It happens to all businesses at one point or another.

Two things we agree on. We are making progress.
 
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Viper X

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Wade,

No vendor can ship items that they don't have in their possession. VPA's GM should have advised the customer of a back order situation. Don't know if they did or not. The GM of VPA at that time is no longer with us so we may never know. Our new GM has contacted everyone possible to try and help this customer, but so far, no luck. Do you have other helpful ideas?

The folks at VPA don't manufacture hoods, never have.

Since I am not the GM at VPA, never have been, not sure what responsibility you think I or any other board members should take.

No techniques, nothing but facts here, but once again, they seem to confuse you.....and I would think that YOU would grasp this simple concept.

Dan
 

Nsane1

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Well once again, we have a lot of piling on... The VPA is a separate company, that has an employee named Keith. Keith does not have time to troll the forums, so the appropriate way to contact Keith is by calling him or emailing him. If contact fails for some reason, sure, go ahead and let us know and we will see what's going on. But none of at the VCA, including Dan, have an up-to-date inventory, status of your parts order, or anything like that, but Keith does.

The OP had a legitimate question, the Gen4 hoods are rare, apologies, wish there were more. The original order was placed in Nov, when we had a different employee. I'm sure when Keith took over, he did not reach out proactively to update the status on this, and there is no telling hat the previous employee did, but again, Keith is your guy. If your money is still being held (perhaps you are holding out hope an order is coming) then perhaps that's warranted, if you'd like to cancel the order, then by all means, call Keith for a full refund.

Many companies take money at the time of order even on backorder (many vendors here do this, parts are rare, and they get snatched up fast). As a matter of fact, I don't know 1 Viper Parts vendor that does not take a card and charge it... But again, perhaps our previous employee didn't explain that correctly.

Finally, I'm sure OP didn't intend for this to turn into a crusade against the VPA, nor Dan, so why don't we not take it there eh? I think we've beaten this (and Dan) up enough. If there are other concerns, by all means, we have a 20 year Viper Tech, one of the first 12 Viper techs on the planet as an employee of the VPA, why don't you call him?

greg
 
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