Advanced Fiberglass Hardtop.. noise?

[North7]

Good idea copying Ford as their tops have had no issues...

So let me see if I have this straight, @ADV Fiberglass promises that they have a magical composite formula that will not delaminate, has rolled edges, not raw cut ones, will not honeycomb, will not leak, will not pop, they guarantee it, just not with a warranty or cancelation, did I get that in one breath?

So they take that magical design to their bank and say, banker, we have a sure fire business plan. We will get pre-orders, paid in full, without cancelations. Second, we do not have to have a warranty reserve budget since we will give zero warranty.

How's that sound banker? Can we have that business loan for the balance of the development costs the deposits will not cover now?

Sponsored

 

[Bagziga]

I was at work when I got the pre-order link. I took a quick peak and knew that I was in for a good time reading the reactions to this tonight.

I wanted this top and was willing to spend more than I probably should but, wow, they really dropped the ball. It is borderline insulting to ask potential customers to hand over $7500 for something that we know almost nothing about.

Pay in full and up front. No pictures of an actual object. No information about anything. No warranty. No cancelations. Is there anything they could have done worse with this launch? We've got 5 months before they expect to even ship one out, there's plenty of time to botch it even further. Good grief.

 

[North7]

I was at work when I got the pre-order link. I took a quick peak and knew that I was in for a good time reading the reactions to this tonight.

I wanted this top and was willing to spend more than I probably should but, wow, they really dropped the ball. It is borderline insulting to ask potential customers to hand over $7500 for something that we know almost nothing about.

Pay in full and up front. No pictures of an actual object. No information about anything. No warranty. No cancelations. Is there anything they could have done worse with this launch? We've got 5 months before they expect to even ship one out, there's plenty of time to botch it even further. Good grief.

One rule of thumb we use on some engineering projects is 90% of the work will be completed in 100% of the scheduled time.

Then you go back to management (or the banker) and ask them to double your budget and double your development schedule in order to complete the last 10% of the work.

 

[BlueBronco]

Have we got any data on if this thing is going to be quiet as OEM or quieter?
Can’t imagine ordering without this data

You are asking the forum for this data? What did ADV say when you asked them?

 

[Devreal]

Speculating here…perhaps ADV does not have the capability to manufacture yet, only generate images. Seems like if they have manufactured even one they would show pics and videos. It’s possible they are shifting their risk in investing in plant and materials to the customers by marketing a desirable product in a space hungry for that product, then taking orders and requiring 100% payment upfront with no cancellation and long lead times. Then if they get enough orders, the investment in the capacity to manufacture will be made. If they don’t get enough orders they could then refund the customer’s money (hopefully).

 

[North7]

Speculating here…perhaps ADV does not have the capability to manufacture yet, only generate images. Seems like if they have manufactured even one they would show pics and videos. It’s possible they are shifting their risk in investing in plant and materials to the customers by marketing a desirable product in a space hungry for that product, then taking orders and requiring 100% payment upfront with no cancellation and long lead times. Then if they get enough orders, the investment in the capacity to manufacture will be made. If they don’t get enough orders they could then refund the customer’s money (hopefully).

I think you're onto something, see if I missed anything:

 

[adrencg]

Who will be the smart company to make the same product and undercut them by $2k? I'll buy mine from that company because there's no way I'm getting robbed by these guys.

 

[Devreal]

I think you're onto something, see if I missed anything:

Very plausible. Would actually be a great way to manage risk if enough buyers fronted them the money. I will not.

 

[adamm13]

Man, I want to pull the trigger on this so bad. But, its not going to happen.

]They are missing some key elements for this preorder to be a success:
- a working prototype
- a video
- real photos
- a freaking warranty

I mean, how the heck do you expect people to drop $7k on something that they can't see, and that has no warranty?

These are offroad components and we can't be held responsible when we don't know the conditions of use."

I'm sorry, but I am supposed to take on the $7k risk of an unproven product that I haven't even seen? What if the wiper moto goes out? What if the thing cracks due to manufacturing defects? What if <insert any other condition?>

You want my $7k upfront without any sort of assurance?
Hard pass.

 

[BlueBronco]

Who will be the smart company to make the same product and undercut them by $2k? I'll buy mine from that company because there's no way I'm getting robbed by these guys.

If somebody thought they could build, sell and profit off a hard top for $2k less than ADV it would already be on the market.

 

[Dwillisbronco]

If you order this Top and do not like it after receiving it, you will still have to pay over 3,000 to return. They charge a 35% restocking fee plus shipping

 

[Devreal]

If you order this Top and do not like it after receiving it, you will still have to pay over 3,000 to return. They charge a 35% restocking fee plus shipping

Which is a decent indication of what they think their actual cost to produce will be. They’re happy to take it back if their costs on that unit are covered.

 

[j_anderson]

Man, I want to pull the trigger on this so bad. But, its not going to happen.

]They are missing some key elements for this preorder to be a success:
- a working prototype
- a video
- real photos
- a freaking warranty

I mean, how the heck do you expect people to drop $7k on something that they can't see, and that has no warranty?

These are offroad components and we can't be held responsible when we don't know the conditions of use."

I'm sorry, but I am supposed to take on the $6k risk of an unproven product that I haven't even seen? What if the wiper moto goes out? What if the thing cracks due to manufacturing defects? What if <insert any other condition?>

You want my $7k upfront without any sort of assurance?
Hard pass.

Not to mention, the Bronco is built to off-road and it comes with a warranty. Maybe they should build the top to handle off-roading but that would require them to actually build one for testing. Instead, they are apparently crowdsourcing their funding for this project and need some capital to get it moving.

 

[Devreal]

It’s actually a pretty risky endeavor to jump in to the Bronco aftermarket top business. Once Ford gets their sh!t together, they could clean ADV’s clock. So seeking customers to front their capital to manufacture makes a lot of sense. It’s just not for me.

 

[Jordanyoung]

yeah the whole thing sounds fishy.... I actually really like my soft top, at some point in time I'd like to have the hard top too! But I can wait until the prices calm down....

Sponsored