When few if any of the current vendors were out there, I was able to buy parts from Mitchell's. I always got the right part, and it was shipped promptly. I think the "special" item that I was looking for at the time was a pair of new motor mounts for my '65 Imperial. They had been discontinued by the mid-1980's and that was when I needed them. They were NON-EXISTANT. He could have charged me anything and I would have paid it. As I recall, they cost about the same from him as they would have from the dealer at the time. I think that anyone who has been doing this for 25 years should be commended and also be permitted to generate a fair profit from their business without a lot of flap from the peanut gallery.
A bad word goes 10 times farther than a good one.
With the possible exception of George Laurie's lenses, which draw justifiable rave reviews, and positive remarks about Lowell and Bob H, there isn't a whole lot of positive energy going on for the vendors that are in our sector.
That's a shame.
Consider this:
The old parts business isn't particularly easy.
The old parts customer isn't always particularly easy.
It is not always possible to have every part at all times ready to go, even if your catalog (printed months earlier) shows the item.
When you do right, you don't get credit.
When you do wrong, you get a billboard and gossip.
After having dabbled in this selling parts on ebay and through the grapevine, all that I can say is that these folks are TRYING to help and maybe make a buck for their dilligence.
I won't defend bad business behavior, rudeness, or any other sort of negativity, but would like to ask for greater patience and forgiv
eness for the vendors that are trying to serve US.
Better to have rotten service and a shot at parts than no service/parts at all.
Mr. Bernbaum's company distinguished itself with me when I bought something as well, but you know, after all is said and done, I DID get the part, didn't get screwed, had to be patient, and technically got my money's worth, even if the extruded rubber window rubber fell short of expectations.
I met and sold some parts to the guy that runs Atlas Obsolete. We had a nice conversation, and I came away from it convinced that he was a genuine, good person. He strives to have things on the shelf, already rebuilt, and ready to go. Was particularly interested in the 1972-1973 ilder arms that are impossible to find. Try doing a parts business yourself sometime, and with Imperials, things varied even from year to year!!!
This is very hard stuff to do 100% correct all of the time, folks, although it's obvious th
at some are doing better than others.
Anyway, when we were talking the first time, I told the Atlas man about the review sections on the Imperial club website that someone else referenced. He was unaware of them, but went through and read them. Said later that he mentioned it to Andy Bernbaum as well (yes, those folks do talk and trade amongst themselves). They both got a chuckle out of some of the things that they read, and some of the reading is quite harsh. He said that he's known Andy for years, and that he can be coarse, but that he is trying in his way, and I beleive it.
While so many opinions/experiences are obviously true, bear in mind that most of this stuff isn't available over the counter, and the golden rule applies: -Them with the gold makes the rules.
If you get what you want, maybe step up and mention that things did go alright when someone gets into a pinch with a vendor? Maybe it will make the person that's nervous calm down and find patience i
nstead of getting confirmation of their fears? Aside from being tempermental, I don't think that the Bernbaum folks are actively hustling anyone dishonestly or getting particularly rich off of their business.
Oh, and one last thing. Frank Mitchell gets a bum rap too, and two things came up recently that made me rethink my view of him. One: the hydraulic automatic proportioning valve on my 1973 is a goner. Guess who was the only one that both had one and had it listed on PartsVoice?
That is a VERY obscure item that nobody here replied to even knowing much about when I asked and had to learn about by research. He had has both used and NOS and was ready to ship next day air if required. Expensive to a degree, but think about how many cars he's parted and how many inventories he's bought and how he's finacned whatever building he's in along with the cataloging system and the time required to put that information at my fingertips.
; That costs money, right? And secondly, I got a Chrysler Corp. official brochure targeted at the restoration hobby from the mid 1980's. It listed a whole slew of vendors and resources. Guess who was the only company that I recognized? Frank Mitchell has devoted at least 20 years to our hobby. He charges for it, and I'm coming to agree with him that one should be fairly compensated for both having the part AND being willing to put up with some of the baloney that SOME customers toss at their suppliers.
Happy parts hunting and restoring.
Credit where credit is due, please.
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