Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 20:11:59 -0500
Reply-To: The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Subject: Re: Non-remote Mirror fix
In-Reply-To: <369E356B.D6306FAE@flash.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> I must stringently disagree with you here, I purchased two new
> mirrors from you only to find, that after much removal the
> mirrors will still only hold steady for say six weeks. I feel
> they are of very poor design and possibly of inferior craftsmanship,
> most likely both. I am so disgusted (could anyone tell?) with this mirror
> situation for in my wife's case this is a safety consideration I am
> considering power mirrors, except I can't afford them presently.
> Does anyone have a relatively -easy- fix for these poorly
> designed/made mirrors? The previous posts still have me looking
> to save $$ for remotes from a junker.
Mark,
The mirrors you received last June are not the same as the ones I am
shipping today. The ones you got were actually made by the German company
that supplies them to Volkswagen, and were the same ones the Dealer was
selling for about three times the price.
You are right that the quality had slipped. I noticed this during a routine
quality control inspection of my inventory late last summer. Much to my
surprise, nearly one in five that I checked had defects in the bonding
between the front and back plastic housings! A handful from the same
production run had "floppiness" problems as well, although this problem was
not as widespread. This was particularly surprising because I'd been very
happy with this manufacturer's quality up to that point.
My concern about this sudden quality control lapse led me to switch
suppliers immediately. (Incidentally, the German mirror supplier
subsequently filed for bankruptcy, and their U.S. assets were recently
auctioned off to pay their creditors. Unconfirmed rumour has it that some of
their later production was actually Mexican made but packed by their U.S.
facility into boxes labeled "Made in Germany." If true, this may explain the
sudden quality lapse.)
I am currently shipping Italian mirrors instead. These look the same,
although they are slightly lighter weight, but more importantly my friends
at Just Kampers in the U.K. tell me they've been selling them for quite some
time and have had good luck with them. Of course time will tell, but so far
I've had no complaints.
I did offer an exchange for those people who reported problems, although
there were not many; I suspect I discovered the problem early on. I'll be
willing to exchange yours for only the price of shipping, about $6 for the
pair, even though it's been 7 months. For future reference, if ever anybody
is dissatisfied with a product you purchase from the Depot, please let me
know right away, as it's the only way I can make things right. It was by
pure luck that I discovered the mirror problem as soon as I did. If I had
happened to spot-check a different product that day, I might not have
discovered the mirror problem until a month later. On the other hand, a
customer comment could have tipped me off even sooner. So please do send me
your feedback.
In any event, I believe the ones I'm shipping now will be as reliable as the
German ones were before the manufacturer's financial troubles, and still at
the same $19.95 price.
- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
http://www.busdepot.com
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