Has anyone had a problem with ordering from Macs, which is now owned by someone called Ecklers? I ordered upholstery, seat springs, bands/linings and other small items. My order totaled $700/change. I had 2 small deductions from my account, not even totaling the amount anyway.
I called them, spent the majority of a half hour on hold, which tried my patience immediately. When she rattled off my order, I caught "26-27 seat spring". I said whoa, I didn't order 26-27, ordered 22-25. Now they want me to deny my whole ups order so they can ship the right one, even after I gave the part numbers to the guy.
They cancelled my bank installments and now pulled 3 separate deductions for the order, which still don't add up.
I'm slightly confused and probably should have avoided the hassle and just drove to, or ordered from, Birdhaven and forgot about the 15% off at Macs.
Not a fan of them yet.
Welcome to the club. They are famous for this kind of stuff. My experience with them was twenty years ago, and my policy is "anybody but".
I personally would stay away from them. I've heard too many negative stories. They are not a hobby business. They are in business to make money only. Deal with Langs. You'll not regret it.
I've had ZERO problems with Langs, Snyder's, Texas T, Chaffin's, Fun Projects, or the Coil Doctor. At the same time, I've NEVER ordered something from Mac's when it didn't turn into a complete cluster-$#@%. Just get your money back, cancel everything, and go elsewhere with your business. Literally the only thing MACs is good for is the sweet diagrams in the catalogue and on the website.
I ordered some interior parts from them awhile back, because it was cheaper to go straight to them for Cartouche than it was to order it through Lang's. This was right after the buyout, so things were still running smoothly. I also ordered a catalog from them for my T and my '66 F250, since you could get two free catalogs and the pictures are amazing. Now I'm willing to pay the extra money to let Lang's get me the right parts.
I tried Macs a couple of times, and now won't even look at them any more. Too many hassles and too many headaches with messed up orders, slow shipments and general snottiness from their customer service when there is an issue.
I place an order with Langs and they are on it like a fat kid on a smartie. Unlike Macs where orders seem to sit for weeks before being sent out.
Langs is shipped out the same day, it is packed well and correctly and they are always happy to help if I call with a question.
Look, the majority of us do not live in proximity to any of the Model T vendors..... a phone call, shipping changes and wait for delivery.
When the" 'old man and the boys " ran Mac's, it was a decent supplier, and I say that with respect.
Unfortunately, corporate world has screwed up many good functioning businesses, I suspect the same happened recently with Mac's ownership.
Since there are those who recommend, I have dealt with Snyder's in Ohio over 10 years without any fault. Before that I dealt with Bill Eads of "T-Nuts" up until he closed.
Haven't called Massachusetts since they could not decide what a '26-'27 front cam bearing looked like, sent a center cam bearing and insisted they were right because the inventory sticker said so.....needless to say the guru's there didn't have a clue.
There you are, the good and the bad in my T vendor experience.
Bob Jablonski
Lang's, Lang's, Lang's. Friendly, fair and fast.
I've had no problems with Mac's. I have had messed up orders from Lang's multiple times. To their credit, they've always corrected them but it was still inconvenient.
Interestingly, MAC's is the only supplier that you can bash on this site without getting bashed in return.
I had a bad taste in my mouth after my one and only dealing with Mac's 12-15 years ago. I said might consider ordering from them again if I heard that the old group of customer service folks were gone and the service was better under the new management. Looks like the same old $#!@. DeLwidem.
I use Lang's
When I order before noon the parts usually show up the next day.
If I place a big order, Don brings the parts to the monthly Amherst NH flea market so I save either shipping or sales tax.
Shortly after I got the T my daughter - who used to live in Winchendon - stopped at Lang's to say hello.
They gave her a catalog and a few small parts that I "might need" and made sure that I got the message that I could call to get help with any problem I might have.
(Last time I saw Don I forgot to ask him where I could find $500,000 )
Fred,
They are the best. I could write a book of great Lang's gestures I've experienced over the years. Great people to deal with.
No problems of any sort with Macs. We need to feed them all so they will stay in business.
No Ivan, YOU need to feed Mac's so they will stay in business. I can't be bothered with them.
There are too many great people selling T & model A parts.
All my A stuff comes from Bert's in Denver and the T stuff comes from Chaffin's, even though I have to pay sales tax from Chaffin's. maybe I'll start ordering from Lang's again to save on sales tax & risk waiting an extra day.
Backed away from them after the bad ign. point business years ago. Called before ordering and was told they were OK. Every one else was out. They'ed probably pulled the bad stuff off the shelves. 2 round trips later I finally got good sets. By then other vendors had them too. The reason you don't get bashed back by them when you bash them is probably because unlike other vendors their not looking here to see what's going on. Still the best catalog though.
Out here in distant rural Podunk, if I call Lang's on a Monday I have the parts on Wednesday. You can't beat that. They also charge the real cost of shipping, not according to some rapacious "formula". I also get parts from Birdhaven, Chaffin's, Bob's, Fun Projects, and Snyder's. All have been fine. With so many good parts dealers, I see no reason to waste time on one that's a hassle.
I live probably 9 or 10 hours from Mac's and if I order from them it takes over a week to get to me. Snyder's is a lot further and stuff is delivered in two days.
The very first order to them was 16 years ago. I can probably count on one hand how many times I ordered since then. I do not order from Mac's unless I cannot get it elsewhere.
That's the only issue I have with Snyder's - their shipping seems inordinately expensive at times.
Really only use them for A stuff. Nice folks and fast shipping though.
Same thing here also, They were rude and acted like they just didn't care. They even hung up on my while I was asking a tech question.I thought that was just a mistake but when I called back he was rude and said sometime not very nice and hung up again. Will never get anything from Mac's again. The last straw came when I asked if the new axles that were a 1/16 of an inch longer were in stock. At no point did I say I wanted it and I made that very clear. A few days later I got an axle in the mail. I called them and they refused to take it back. So I have a spare axle now just in case.
I ordered a BW brass radiator at 15% off during their recent transition (they apparently forgot to engage the regular max discount of about $60 on rads). They honored the price and got me the rest of my order quickly. The radiator came directly from BW, it took them 2 months past the stated 6 week lead time. Of course, I won't hold BW's performance against Mac's.
I use all the regular vendors, based on price and availability. None of my T part orders are life or death, I figure that the occasional delay is worth having almost everything available for the car. I've had other cars that required much more patience....
Keep cranking!
Eric
I'm lucky and live just a few miles from Texas T Parts. Their service is excellent, and Linda there knows me by name. I've never bought parts from anyone else and have never had any need to.
My favorites are Bob's and Snyder's. A few years ago I asked Snyder's if they would FedEx my order on my shipping account. They did it and only charged a very reasonable $3 for the box and packing material. Go buy boxes someplace and packing material. I felt they were very fair.
Been using Bob's for over 20 years and remember Bob SR well. Nice folks and we always have our stuff in two days the same as Snyder's.
There is one that I try not to use. About ten years ago I tried to buy a sediment bulb off of a vendor that had a parts trailer at a major tour. He was tying his T down on his truck and I helped him hook up his trailer (jack hadn't seen oil in years). Once he was hooked up he had to move his trailer to the other side of the parking lot. When he opened his trailer he began waiting on all his buddies who walked up as if I hadn't been waiting 15-20 minutes and helping him. Anyhow I walked off and he hollars, "hey, do you still need a sediment bulb?" My reply was yes and I kept walking. Stopped at Bob's on the way home, got the grand tour (and a sediment bulb). I promise if he reads this he knows who he is.
Well, I missed the UPS truck today, the boxes that Macs/Ecklers shipped have Snyders name on them. They said I can request a return tag to mail the wrong parts back to them. I am probably going let this slide but will refrain from them in the future. FYI, I live about 80 miles from Birdhaven Model T and A parts (no website, but just husband and wife). I should have ordered from them to begin with, just a few bucks higher is all. I see across the board there is problems.
Thanks for the input.
Rion
FYI, I hope to get this roadster body upholstered soon and post some pictures.
I have placed a lot of small orders and never had so much as a back order. The one big order that I did place included a Cartouche upholstery kit for my 27 coupe. I guess I need to got to Vegas, because I appear to be on a roll.
Usually when I ordered from mac's I would get an email from them 6 days later telling me they were processing my order.
When you call an order in or order on the internet why should it just lay dormant for 6 days?
I thought I might try again with the new owners, but I guess I won't.
I'm an hour from Bob's, and as long as I have $$ and he's selling I'll go to him. He has suffered through my questions, and always given me a square deal. I did get some things from Lang's and was very happy with the transaction.
I was foolish enough to order stuff from Mac's 2 times. Once was through another vendor for a top kit that I wish I had ordered from someone else that actually makes kits that fit and include all of the stuff necessary to install it. The other time I ordered direct and was asked if I would pay extra for next day shipping. When Hell freezes over and none of the great Mom and Pop T parts places are available I will just drop out of the hobby before I will place another order with Mac's. Ask me how I really feel about Mac's....Just saying!
I found Macs the pits . Rude, slow and expensive on postage. For this reason I have not used them for 4 years . Yes they do get bashed a lot on this site (and lots of others ) and not many people jump to their defence -I wonder why that is ???
I found them extremely rude. But I began to wonder if it was just a regional/cultural difference. Perhaps they didn't intend to be. Perhaps it was just my Southern interpretation. But then I see folks from all over say the same thing.....Nope, I'm not the problem. They are.
Not to come to Mac's defense, but I placed an order with them on the 25th of September and received the parts on the 27th. Albeit the upholstery kit which was the main reason for calling Mac's would not be available for 4-6 weeks.
The one good thing I did get from them, and cannot find it now, is a drawing of the fuel line. It actually gave measurements as to how long the straight section was to be, where the bends were to be made and such. It was a drawing that is DIFFERENT from the one in the bulletins.
I placed an order with them a few months ago for some small parts for my 31 deluxe roadster, I got 3/4 of the order with in a week.... Other 1/4 of it was sent 2 months later! In the mean time I called them back asked to add a couple bags of trim screws to the order..... They stated they couldn't do it !
Last order form me for sure.
I found the fuel line drawing on Mac's site today, unfortunately I can't post it here because it is a pdf file over 200k.
Just go to Mac's site and search for fuel line.
A week ago I ordered a starter from Lang's and they happened to have one in stock. I had the day off today, so I went to pick it up and drop off my core (Lang's is about 20 miles away from my house). When I got there, the Lang's crew was packing up and loading out for Hershey - the place was an absolute beehive of activity. Steve Lang pulled my new starter off the shelf, checked my core and asked me if there was anything else I needed? I mentioned I needed a center hood rod and he said "I'll need to cut one. Be right back." Before I could say anything, he disappeared in the back. After about 10 minutes, he returned with the rod, a smile and a friendly "Here you go, you're all set."
My point: with the load out, Steve had more important tasks at that moment than cutting a hood rod that was really an afterthought of mine as I was driving up there. In fact, if I had known he'd have to make one up, I wouldn't have mentioned it - I'd have phoned an order for it in some other time. The fact that, in the midst of everything else they were doing this morning, the folks at Lang's went the extra mile to take care of a customer is why they are the ONLY supplier I use for my T parts.
Don, Steve, Ashley and the rest of the team at Lang's - THANK YOU!!! In the 10 years I've been buying my parts through Lang's, you have always been fantastic to deal with - today was just another example and I appreciate it.
I second the kudos for Lang's - very courteous and prompt!
$88 shipping! Holy moly! A super small box with my bands and such. 2 boxes with the wrong springs and who knows where the upholstery is. I don't do much mail order, I should have spent $8 in diesel and drove the VW to Colfax and went to Birdhaven. Shame on me I guess for not doing local business.
I remember the good old days when you could order from Greens or Ernie Hemmings in the little pages
I order through Macs distributor in Niagara Falls, Ontario. NcInnes Antique Auto picks up at Macs and imports into Canada every week for reshipping to me. Mcinnes carries a lot of inventory
Guess I just have a soft spot in my heart for family operated, small businesses. I’ve had the considerable pleasure of doing business with Lang’s, Bob’s, Chaffin's, R.V. Anderson and Fun Projects. Talking with the guys and gals who pick up the phone at these outfits gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling that can’t be gotten from large corporations. They’re all passionate about what they do, knowledgeable, friendly and generous about sharing their considerable experience. And they’re honest as the day is long.
I do most of my shopping with Don Lang because of his gigantic, illustrated catalog and wide selection of parts. And if what I need will fit into an envelope, I can usually figure shipping will cost the price of a few postage stamps.
I take care of the people who take care of me. I have sold Don Lang parts at Chickasha and they refer carburetor business to me -- or at least potential business. They gave a guy my name a couple years ago who was looking for an engine and recently referred a guy in a shop about 150 miles from me that needed some expertise and a rear end housing that they could have sold him and shipped. He was in a bind, needed it that day. That tells me that not only are they in the business, they are in the business of helping keep the hobby alive. They are knowledgeable, helpful and I don't care if their prices are cheaper or more expensive. I get paid for what I do and I expect them to get paid for what they do. I order from Chaffins for the same reason. Bob has bought stuff from me at Chickasha -- he's in the business and paid what I asked. No P & M about how he has to make a profit, etc. Just paid the price. I order some from Snyders because I can order at 2 in the morning on the Internet. Macs?? I think I'd sell my T's and find another business if I had to count on them. Bad attitude, mediocre product, uncertain shipping and no assurance you will get what you ordered or all of what you ordered. One time was enough for me. I won't even give them the benefit of a doubt with the new owners. My time is also valuable. I don't have half an hour to sit on hold to wait to talk to some rude order taker.
Your mileage may vary.
I will chime in in full support of Lang's. I once asked Don Lang what was the best distributor on the market. He said: "Get the one from Texas T Parts. The one they carry is better quality than ours!" I think that speaks for itself. They know me well enough that they recognize my voice when I call!
The only time I order elsewhere is if the part is not available at Lang's. As all of you know, many after market Model T parts do not work properly, or will not work on your car once you get them and look at them in person. Lang's will always give a refund in such cases. I once saved up about a dozen such parts over the course of a year. Then I sent them back to Lang's and they simply said: "Do you want a check or shall we credit your account?" If you want to get really scared, read the return policy statement from Mac's!
Jon
I could never understand their attitude. Especially as an independant T parts dealer. While it's not an excuse their actions now, as part of a larger/wider distributor of collector car parts, is almost explainable. In today's world anyway. As I stated earlier I don't think they monitor this site. I know most others do as you'll hear from them here.
I don't use Mac's because they are on the other coast and I try to save shipping costs. Plus they are generally higher in price. I use a local guy mostly for parts but like Chaffin's and Lang's as well.
Lang's lately has had some "back-ordered stock" items that took some time getting to me but since I wasn't in a hurry that was OK.
One thing that I have learned about buying T parts is to find the source and buy direct if possible. One place to look is in the Vintage Ford advertising section.
Here is an example:
L.D. Becker Antique Auto Electric
P.O. Box 624
Norwalk OH. 44857
(419) 668-5986 or 663-5122
Price for a modern starter adapted to a T:
Larry Becker: $145 + shipping.
Price from Mac's: $275 + shipping.
Mac's gets their starters from Larry Becker!
When I called Larry and ordered a starter, he said: "I'll send it, and you try it out. If you like it, send me a check!"
I couldn't believe my ears. I like this guy already!
It pays to look around a little...
Jon
Lets not forget another good dealer, Ford and More in Spokane, Washington. I believe that they and Texas T parts are the most knowledgable. Both have good shipping time and a good inventory. Ford and more has tons of used parts for walk in customers. The phone number at Ford-N-More is 800-327-1469.