So Cal Sacramento Not So Cool

Picked up a ansen type single leg brake pedal from them about two weeks ago. Got it home and just would't work for me and i went another route. I'm building a 34 Ford with a Hemi in it, so room is a big deal on this project. I called Sacramento So Cal and told them i could not use the part and i was going to return it. I live two hours away from the shop and just wanted to make sure it was cool to return it. I was told that i could return it for store credit only. Make a long story short, they won't give you your cash back. Yes, i paid cash for it. I just think this ****s for a big company like So Cal won't refund your money. Building hot rods, sometimes the parts you buy just don't work. There is nothing i need in there store i don't need any t shirts or stickers. The mock up is all most done. I could use the money for a number of things that So Cal don't have. Times are tough to build a car, every dime helps.

I will never do business wth them again.

 

Well... it ain't walmart! If you put yourself in their shoes, you'd understand that you can't loan out parts for fitment and then bring em back for a return. They're in the business to make money, not break even.

 

Add to that they cannot sell a used part and for all intents and purposes it is a used part now. In an instance that they sold a faulty part I would say yes a total refund is expected but if one buys a part and it is just not the correct part it is on them.

In the case of this particular part I would just alter it to make it work. that is hot rodding in the purest sense.

 

I've been building cars for about 40 years now, and I never even thought about returning a part unless it was broken or faulty in some way.

If I didnt measure right or change plans, I have an extra spare part...

 

metalshapes i do the same for my business, why return it when i know ill use it on the next job!

 

Your error not there's, Sell it at a swap meet if you cant use it. It pisses me off when people bag a reputable company on a forum as exposed as The Hamb.

 

Well put.

It's part of the cost of building cars. I don't think that they're out of line. I'm impressed that they offerd you store credit.

 

Do what the rest of us do when a part dosent work out put it up for sale here in the HAMB cl***ifieds

 

Offering store credit is a great thing for them to do, shows they are trying keep their customer happy! Alot of places wouldn't do that.

 

You guys must have alot of money. This is the first time i have ever bought anything from So Cal. I saw the part tought it might work. I cut up and fabbed the under floor pedal to work.

 

Of Couse Im on the other side of the counter But.......But please put yourself in their shoes....Your just one person....they sell to the m***es.....Think about the days when there could be 2-10,000 dollars worth of returns.

They offered a store credit..On a part you unpackaged or tried to mock up or what ever..NOT "go pound salt"
In this hobby...You dont think you might never need another part they might sell? Really?

And I'm with the other guys..I never return a part I ordered wrong

But thats just me....and no Im not rich

Tony

 

more common situation than you may think. I also did not read the disclaimer at another shop about no refunds. something ya gotta check on before ya buy. can't you send part to them and get store credit for a future part you might need? there might be a time limit on how long store offer is good for. stores like SoCal Sacramento are franchises and do not always handle everything like the original shop in Pomona, CA.

 

You just learned a good hot rod lesson. Don't buy a part before you've exhausted all avenues of adapting something else or taking an existing part and modifying it (safely).
Like someone already suggested, put it in the cl***ifeds for a bit less than you paid and help someone else out of a jam. At least you bought a quality piece so if you don't need it it should sell and make someone else happy. Cut your losses and move on. If this is the first or only mis-step you've made on your project you a fortunate hot rodder.

Frank

 

Not rich here either, I would fab my own, like you ended up doing. Man that store credit is better than nothing.

 

Not at all...

But I realise that when I create a problem, its my problem.




And if I cant afford to loose the money or spend it twice, I do more research and measuring.


I'm pretty sure that all the dimensions complete with detailed drawings or pics of that pedal setup are just one question away, here on the HAMB...


Seems to me you are not the victim here.
Except maybe of your own lack of preparation.

 

I get the biz aspect of it and getting a credit seems fair. It's probably posted in the store or on the receipt, too.

Another way to look at this, would you ask the same out of a person selling in the cl***ifieds?

I just bought some lights from Malcolm and it turned out that the day I bought them another deal worked out for the correct year lights. If you were in my shoes would you have asked him for your money back? I hope not.

**** it up, get your credit and get something you need for your car down the line.

 

"I just think this ****s for a big company like So Cal won't refund your money."

So Cal doesn't own the store. It is a franchise store owned by an individual.

 

My grandpa told me once "sometimes a good education is expensive"...

 

I have done business with SoCal Sacramento and never had any problems. Nothing wrong with store credit. Next time do you research a little more carefully so a return won't be necessary.

 

A tape measure, angle finder, sharpie and poster paper for templates are yer friend.
Lookin in a catalog and sayin "I think that'll work"
are not.
Bit the bullet and sell it.
Lesson learned.

 

A rule that I use: IF the guy in the store says "this will work" and it doesnt, he should eat the return. IF I say "this should work" and it doesnt, it was my choice and I eat the cost. Besides, if you unwrap the part, you burned a buck or two of packaging...and it may not be easy to repackage at the store.....like someone said, they have to sell it at a big discount since it is used.

 

I'm just letting you guys know there store policy. I think it ****, That's just my opinion. I wonder how many of you guys knew that was there policy.

 

No packing, it was just raw metal with a tag on it.

 

It would be one thing to have a "no returns" policy. The OP would be SOL. But it seems to me, that if a company can give "credit", why not "cash"? I find it hard to believe that all the posters so far, have NEVER returned a part that was purchased in error. And even if they did, I'm also sure they wanted money back.

 

yeah....I owned and ran a small laboratory supply business and took returns for 30 days after the sale on most items as long as the item was still in new condition in the original packaging.

I think it hurts your business to do otherwise.

There were a few things that I was very clear on the fact that I didn't take back, like chemicals, because I couldn't verify what I was getting back.

That policy never hurt me....and I sold the business after 3 years and made good money on it. It's still operating and doing well....with the same return policy.

 

Store credits are the norm in just about any business. They are in business to make a profit,..and if they don't, you may find it closed the next time you arrive. If that happens, then everyone loses. I'd guess that all of us have bought a "looks like it'll work" part, only to still have it hanging in the shop, or sold at a swap meet. So Cal is a long established business, and we are happy to have them here in the Sacramento area. Take the experience as another of life's endless list of learning experiences, **** it up, and continue with the build.

4TTRUK

ps; I do not own stock in So Cal....

 

I bought a camera from Circuit City that didn't work. I got it home and realized that it was a $350 cheap piece of ****. I returned it and told them that I wanted a better camera because the camera is junk. They charged me a 20% restocking fee - even know the camera I returned was defective and the one I wanted was $150 more. I was ecstatic when they went out of business.

 

Restocking fees are what piss me off.. I'm trying to avoid returning a disc kit right now to a supplier. Sometimes you have to have the part in hand to see what will work. If I can't get a rim made which (wheelkid) is helping me to do, my only other option is to narrow the rearend or go back to drums...if my money tree was full grown that would be great and I would stick them on the shelf for a later build,but its more like a little weed that just got sprayed with some roundup..

 

Onthe other hand, I just watched So-Cal Phoenix make good on a gift certificate that expired in 2006...

 

Sell it at a swapmeet! Thats why they have them This is'nt Target. I know it ****s but its part of building your own car. The only hot rod parts I have returned have been damaged or faulty and returned for replacement.