So I'm fairly new to this whole old truck/restoration thing. I said to myself, hey I'll bet there are books out there to help me. So I went on Amazon and found reproductions of the mechanic's manual and the owners manual for my truck. Hey! That's just the thing to give me a pretty good idea of what i'm dealing with... Sweet.
So I ordered them, the owners manual was only going to take a few days to ship and I was excited so I went ahead and paid for the quicker shipping on the mechanic's manual.
One week later I got the owners manual in the mail. Took a little longer to ship than I had expected but hey, not his fault right? Open it up... bear in mind i'm like a kid on christmas morning here, ripping the paper off a package...

WHAT!!??!! He sent me a Ch**Y manual.... What a letdown. Hey mistakes happen, i'll be cool about it, I just want my manual that I ordered. So I went on Amazon and sent the guy an email that said, Hey, got the wrong manual, you sent me a ch**y and not the Ford manual that I ordered.

A week passes. Finally get an email back from him saying, Sorry, didn't mean to do that, send it back to me and I'll get you the correct one. Ok... again took a while but no biggie, just get me my books and we'll be square. (oh and still no sign of the mechanic's manual yet, remember the one I paid the expedited shipping on) So i sent another email requesting a shipping label so I can send him his crappy manual back.

2 more weeks pass. No contact from the vendor (oh, if I haven't mentioned it yet, this was not an order from Amazon, one of their third party vendors) Finally sends me an email back saying that he does not issue return labels for any reason. So apparently, because he made a mistake, I have to pay more to get my books. His email was rude, saying, I thought you had already sent it back to me, what's taking so long... (and still no sign of my mechanics manual ) So i sent him an email saying I needed his address so that i could send it back to him.

2 more weeks!! Still no contact back and no sign of my mechanics manual. So incredibly depressed about this whole situation... All I want are my books! You sucker!!!! and i'm stuck with this stupid CHEVY manual!!!

Oops, excuse my french, that one just kinda slipped out there... Tell me it will all be ok FTE friends...

 

call discover, dispute everything, buy your books from MACS or Sacramento Ford, etc - a reputable vendor

Not a smart ***, just stating the obvious.

 

You're right. And if there is no news by the beginning of next week, I will do so. In my defense, I ordered these the day I picked up the truck. Had never even heard of FTE or any of the honest parts vendors.

 

I do all online purchases with Discover (their dispute process is lot better than the visa/master/etc folks), and I wouldn't bother to wait till next week - they guy is a crappy vendor, wash your hands clean.

My $0.02 get back on track now, don't irritate yourself by staying derailed (I did - for a YEAR - with a company called Bitchin Ford)... I wish I could have that year back so many times, I probably would have been driving my rig again in '03 instead of '11 (long nasty sob story).

 

Good therapy idea - Go sit in the truck, crank up some oldies music and make vroom noises until the good vibes come back. Trust me, this, sadly, won't be the last let down. It WILL be ok in the end though. You will order parts for this truck thinking they will be the solution but you will be disappointed and even angry at times. It has happened to all of us. Even great vendors/sellers have off moments and some less than great vendors/sellers will send you garbage. DON'T LET IT GET TO YOU. Move forward. That is key with these trucks. I have had to replace 2 (yes 2) brand new master cylinders on my recent project. The manufacturer swears it shouldn't be happening but it has. Nothing more frustrating than spending time installing new parts just have them be defective. The key is the day will come when all is well. The truck starts up, drives great and the cute girl at the local fast food place winks at you. On those days you will forget all about the guy that sent you the wrong manual. Move forward - it will be ok.

 

Is there any repercussions for the seller if you report them to Amazon? I would think so, He is representing them and is using them as a powerful advertising tool. Just a thought. They may not be able to get you the books but, if there are enough problems with him, then he might be left in the dark!

 

Man, I hate when that kind of stuff happens
Try not to let it get your down.

Chalk it up as a learning experience and move on. Heck, it might be easier to keep the Chevy manual than to send it back...who knows you might find a buyer for it to recover your money.

Good luck
Bobby

 

That certainly is a frustrating situation but have patience, there is good advice here in this thread. As Bobby mentioned, just find a buyer for the chevy book and write those other guys off. If they can't honor thier commitments they don't deserve your business.

BTW....welcome to the site... and All will be OK.

 

Hey Chris,
Hang in there - I would lean on the FTE guys for most vendors. Don't let it get you off your game - report it to your credit card company & have them issue you a credit against the guy. I use Amex & they are very good on this type of thing.

Good to learn lessons on cheap purchases early in the process. I'm dealing with a bad transmission deal - you don't want to know. On to the next rock.

Ben in Austin

 

Welcome to FTE and and what sounds like lesson #1, #2, and #3, in the art of patience wich may end up being a good thing when it comes to restoring one of these beautiful old girls. I remember when I got mine, I got a copy of Classic Trucks Magazine and sent away for every catalog from every vendor iin the Magazine. I remember the anticipation waiting for them to come. I ended up getting a Shop Manuale from one of those vendors.and have used most of them by now. You made a good investment getting a manual. Good luck with your project, have fun doing it, dont be afraid to ask questions, and dont forget to take pictures and share your progress with us, Your FTE Pals. (JIMMY)

 

You know that uneven table that keeps rocking back and forth every time you put yer elbows on it? Yeah, the Chevy manual can fix that.


I got my book from Macs, went pretty smooth. CD versions for various manuals can be had from Hipo parts, too.

 

Hi this might be just me but I think that is the power of the darkside calling your name..
You know you have dreams of trying to reach all the way to the firewall to check your distributor and your dreams are some type of orange color....
Well dont give up itll be ok in the end...
A buddy of mine can make it better with an 80% done f3 here in California already primered and the cab painted,,,,

can you hear the darkside calling???????
can you smell the cookies??????

 

Amazon is pretty hardcore with their third party sellers. My father in law works for an electronics company that sells through amazon and they pretty much get told how it's gonna be by amazon and the customer is always right.

Contact amazon, and tell them what happened. My guess is you'll get your money back faster than dealing with the credit card company (almost all but Amex will allow the vendor to dispute your dispute).

Also don't forget you have the ability to give product reviews on amazon, and those can include getting something other than what the description says. Let people know the ad says ford and for whatever reason including a lame seller, you got a chevy manual. That's a good reason for a 1-star review.

Ralph

 

You can sell it thru Amazon, for $2 less than he charges -- cost him another sale, for $2 you get the satisfaction...

 

Dont let yourself get wenzeled man. The seller is wrong 100 percent, and it sucks that he has to be an *** to you and get ya down abit.

Hope it works out for ya man, keep us updated. I hate them wenzellin' jackasses.