Caribou Imports, anyone else have a problem with them?

Hawke187 · Post by **Hawke187** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:47 am

Hello all,
First off I am new to this forum, but not to the Spider, I am in the process of restoring a 1976 Fiat spider and have over all had great luck and service from numerous parts dealers.

However.... I am having nothing but massive problems with one dealer, Ed from Caribou Imports out of SoCal.
I ordered over $900 worth of front end parts from this guy, and most arrived very slow on the shipping but they arrived, unfortunatly, the main parts I needed and the most expensive parts, (both front shock tower replacments and complete front bearing kits) are yet to be seen.
He orignaly stated that all parts were in stock and ready to ship, which is why I placed the order, upon reciept of the box the towers and bearing were not there and he then stated they were inbound from Italy and would take a few weeks...
Well that was months ago, and since then he will not respond to any communication at all, and I am out $557 worth of parts...
Later I also found out he has over 80+ complaints through the LA area BBB, all for the same thing...

So have anyone else had good or bad dealings with this guy?
I would like to hear your stories, both good or bad before i take any legal action on this guy, which is in the works but on hold till I give him a last chance...

Well thanks all, and I look forward to using this forum to help the old girl along on her path to recovery...

Hawke

jprisbe · Post by **jprisbe** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 7:31 am

I've learned that you don't want to order anything from Ed that you need\want in a hurry. I have ordered from him three times. The first time I got my parts in under a week. The second time it took two months and the third time I got them in under a week again. Go figure.

He also has a real problem answering emails and phone calls. Seldom did he answer any of mine.

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:39 am

the answer to your question is yes, some other people have had some problems with that particular company. Check the BBB for more specific information. Links and some other copy and paste stuff from the BBB can be found at this link here:

http://www.fiatspider.com/forum/viewtop ... hlight=bbb

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:57 am

his reluctance to return calls and emails is legendary, and all of the forums have tons of archives devoted to this. The odd thing is that he hangs out on Mirafiori all of the time, despite his claims to have been unavailable, so you might try that site. Many people have been forced to use their credit card co to get refunds.

bandit · Post by **bandit** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:10 pm

Yaaa I have herd about these same issues as well and did
contact him myself over the phone since his site did have the
wheels i was looking for after 2 weeks of calling him all most
everyday i got him phewww it was a pain then he said he could
get them ect ect so i asked about a few other items he had and
" they were in stock " so he said and so i asked if i could come
over to buy them with cash ? his Reply was no i don't have a
store front only mail orders i Replyed back that i just wanted
the parts will pay you what your asking in cash ( he wasn't
interested at all in that ) and will pay and leave still No !

So every thing i had herd seems to be true about the guy so
wasn't willing to take a chance on website ordering thru him
but funny thing is years ago i contacted him about a part he
said back then sure come by and pick it up .
He must be having Cash flo issues .

At least he isn't as bad as Faza !!!!

Daniel

spiderrey · Post by **spiderrey** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:42 pm

ive delt with faza a few times and had no problems

Hawke187 · Post by **Hawke187** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:57 pm

Thanks for the feedback, I just wish that I had seen his BBB history before the order.
The strange part is that when I wanted to place the order I did not have to much trouble contacting him by Email or phone, but once he had the money that is another story...

I have posted a msg to him on the Mirafiori forums and hope to get some/any responce, I would realy hate to take this issue to the next logical step.
I have already contacted the California Atty Gens office, IC3 (internet Crime Complaint Center) and legal council on this issue, just for information at this time, but with his relutance to communicate there is not much choice, is there.

I am hoping this comes to a profesional end, but the ball is in his court for now.

But Keep the information and stories coming, any info is good info...

Thanks to all.

Hawke

bandit · Post by **bandit** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 10:43 pm

Well do what you feel is right i mean if this guy is burning people
then he needs to get closed down or pay up !

Dan

spiderrey · Post by **spiderrey** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 10:50 pm

mark what did u think about that..........................................................................................................

bandit · Post by **bandit** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 11:55 pm

I know people who got straight out burned by Faza and never
got any thing but I never bought a thing from him cause of
what I herd .

Daniel

mdrburchette · Post by **mdrburchette** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:28 am

I've noticed Ed hasn't been posting on Mira for quite some time...since another poster complained about him on the forum.

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:58 am

I've noticed that after multiple threads amongst the various forums, most all of the regular Fiat vendors get good reviews. After all, the Fiat community is a small one, and most vendors are aware of that and helpful to customers. Caribou seems to be the exception.

Paingrin · Post by **Paingrin** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:58 pm

I don't like to bad mouth anyone if I can help it. As my mother told me growing up "If you don't have something nice to say...etc..." But I can tell you that I ordered a small part from Caribou (about $35) and I have yet to see it. That was 8 months ago. I've since given up hope and got it elsewhere. That's my first and last experience with Ed. But I had no idea other people had this problem as well. It cost me $35 but it was a lesson well learned.

Post by **Site Owner** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:01 pm

All I can say is . . . . Oh boy, here we go again. Brings back memories, don't it? All of you old-timers here know exactly what I'm talking about.
Just keep it factual and business-like. I'm all for sharing facts. And please, don't post any personal attacks on the guy.

Deja-vu

=e=

John Donohue · Post by **John Donohue** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 9:16 pm

I had a problem with delivery of items that I ordered from Caribou off of Ebay - eventually recieved reimbursement for the total $$, but after many months and many emails chasing it down.

Caribou Imports, anyone else have a problem with them?

Caribou Imports, anyone else have a problem with them?

Yes, problems with Caribou