I ordered a new wiring harness for my car from Swap Specialties and it was made incorrectly and they seem to have no desire to correct it. I called them on July 24 and they told me it would take 3 weeks, so I would have in time for Nationals. The next day I sent a picture of my engine compartment with all the vital bits circled and labeled, and called to make sure they got the picture. After 4 weeks I called every week to get the status and was always told the same thing: It will be shipped this Friday. On August 27th they charged my credit card but they didn't actually ship it until October 8th. The wiring harness arrived with MAF connector 24" too short and missing clutch wires altogether. I contacted Andy (the guy who builds them) on December 5th and he assured me that a pigtail would be shipped on December 7th. Well, I still have not received the pigtail and when I call, I am given the same old "it will ship Friday" line. Even without the MAF hooked up, it should still start, but it does not. They delayed so long in getting it to me that it's too late to charge back the credit card. If you look at their Yelp! reviews, it looks like this is their modus operandi. I hope this warning helps other people avoid this company.
Dang, that stinks. Sounds typical for them based on their reviews though. Surprised they’re able to stay in business with so many people saying how much they suck.
dculberson said:
Dang, that stinks. Sounds typical for them based on their reviews though. Surprised they’re able to stay in business with so many people saying how much they suck.
Theres a rival contractor around me that does terrible terrible work, in fact i usually pick up a couple jobs a year fixing his berkeleyups.
Last job he attempted to do 11 yards of stamped concrete by himself(you cant do a lot of stamp at once, the window of it being just right to accept the stamp is very short) it started not turning out very well so he threw rocks at the owners dog and injured it, got in an confrontation with the owner, stomped thru the concrete ruining it and ran away when the cops were called.
Still in business and i believe the General Contractor of the above job hired him to do another job, i expect frenzied calls asking me to fix it again.
The reason he hired him over us? He was 200 cheaper on his bid.....on a 2 week project
In reply to Antihero :
I don't know what I'm going to do. The reason I got the new one is that the old modified stock harness was dodgy and giving me DTC codes and the other companies that do standalone harnesses for the Ecotec use the older ECM, which is not compatible with mine.
So all the red flags about them not delivering the harness when they should've didn't tip you off? Once several weeks and no action on the phone calls happened, why didn't you just call your credit card company and do a charge back?
In reply to docwyte :
I'm not pessimistic or cynical enough to believe that a company is lying to me
In reply to loosecannon :
Yeah, wait till you run your own business. Then you'll have plenty of both to spare. I've been around the block too many times with "tuner" companies. When I order I ask if its in stock and if not how long it'll take to get/make it. Then I give them a few weeks beyond that.
If I don't have it in hand, I just flat out ask for a refund if they've charged me or cancel my order if they haven't. Or contact my credit card if they don't give me a refund.
A good shop will be able to give you solid info on stock/availability and won't string you along if they don't have it/don't know.
In reply to docwyte :
Been running my own business for 15 years, but still don't go through life assuming the worst. My trusting nature may cause the occasional situation like this but overall I'm happier assuming the best.
I call Swap Specialties every week and keep getting apologies and promises that are never fulfilled. I don't understand how somebody can say with a straight face "I'm sending this to you today" over and over and never actually send anything. Anyways, today I had had enough and unplugged their harness and put my old one back on. Do you know what happened? The engine started right up. Since I can't get my money back from them, I'm going to make sure as many people as possible will know that this company should not be used.
hvoxi
New Reader
5/13/19 5:59 p.m.
Seriously just call your credit card company or PayPal & make things right. Don't donate money to scammers; it just keeps the wrong people in business & diverts it from those who will honor their contacts. In my experience it's not a complicated process- show them your receipts & explain the situation to them clearly step by step, as you have here
In reply to hvoxi :
I did all that but Swap Specialties delayed shipping the harness long enough that the credit card company will not get my money back.
I need some sort of "antibookmark" in my browser so if I ever wind up at their site looking for something I get a popup that reminds me that they're double-plus-ungood.
Do not use swap specialties
I ordered a standalone for my CTSV in April 2019 still have not received I request a refund about 3 months ago still have not received, does not answer emails or calls to this point. I'm out $700 hope to help anyone thinking of using them they are garbage.
DO NOT USE SWAP SPECIALTIES.
