Panda Motorworks: Buyer Beware Do not buy from them

[Bigfx]

TLDR: @Caleb@PandaMotorworks told me a part would fit and it didn’t and now wants to charge me return fees despite it being his misinformation that led to the purchase. I have tried several times to communicate and it wasnt until I opened this thread that he replied. Horrible customer service and still no resolution other than deflecting the blame.

TLDR #2 there are apparently a lot of really crappy small business owners justifying their horrible customer service by defending @Caleb@PandaMotorworks and mid level managers from initech still trying to hand out the memo about tps cover sheets and towing the corporate line.

I really didn’t want to do this, I have purchased a lot of goods from smaller vendors and tend to support small business. I don’t expect to be treated in a special manner just correctly.

So to begin I asked @Caleb@PandaMotorworks if the AFE intercooler pipes would fit the CPE intercooler to which he said it would fit, I ordered the part and it did not fit, I do not want to sand down anything or modify part to fit the etc which is what people have done (found out later) to make this part fit. I asked @Caleb@PandaMotorworks if this has been an issue and he guaranteed fitment. After I received I immediately tried the coupler on the intercooler and was immediately ignored and given the run around regarding the return.

The vendor guaranteed fitment and it didn’t work now wants me to pay return shipping and a 7% admin fee for the return. This is ridiculous, if it was my fault I would expect this but they (panda Motorworks) sold me a part for that didn’t fit despite telling me it would. They also sold me my CPE INTERCOOLER and other parts so there is an established business relationship.

Do not buy from these guys they do not back there word and when it comes to processing a return drag their feet, but when it comes to taking your money and shipping the part they can manage that pretty well. I have all the information I am stating in screen shots, SPEND YOUR MONEY ELSEWHERE

Edit: their claim is false as you can see in the 3rd post they said it would work, pivoting on the word guarantee is an attempt to deflect any responsibility as they told me it would work despite my fears to the contrary to get a sale.

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[chris@pandamotorworks]

I really didn’t want to do this, I have purchased a lot of goods from smaller vendors and tend to support small business. I don’t expect to be treated in a special manner just correctly.

So to begin I asked @Caleb@PandaMotorworks if the AFE intercooler pipes would fit the CPE intercooler to which he said it would fit, I ordered the part and it did not fit, I do not want to sand down anything or modify part to fit the etc which is what people have done (found out later) to make this part fit. I asked @Caleb@PandaMotorworks if this has been an issue and he guaranteed fitment. After I received I immediately tried the coupler on the intercooler and was immediately ignored and given the run around regarding the return.

The vendor guaranteed fitment and it didn’t work now wants me to pay return shipping and a 7% admin fee for the return. This is ridiculous, if it was my fault I would expect this but they (panda Motorworks) sold me a part for that didn’t fit despite telling me it would. They also sold me my CPE INTERCOOLER and other parts so there is an established business relationship.

Do not buy from these guys they do not back there word and when it comes to processing a return drag their feet, but when it comes to taking your money and shipping the part they can manage that pretty well. I have all the information I am stating in screen shots, SPEND YOUR MONEY ELSEWHERE

I am really sorry you are upset over this issue. We have done nothing but be here and try to asssit you.

I recall @Caleb@PandaMotorworks asking if we had install photos of these combos and stated no its still on our engineering worksheet & video list but to check the forums and with other customers that we have sold these combos to.

when he replied he did just that and never said the word GUARNTEE and even quoted comments from some of the threads he read and was 100% honest we had not even installed this combo in our shop yet as a install or engineering.

Our polices are clearly marked on our website. The 7% fee is nothing new and even other vendors here on the forum charge this. We also offer 100% store credit towards other parts for your bronco. We had to ask multiple times to even get photos of the product to see what the return status would be. We have not been dragging our feet at all minus waiting for what we were asking to get the return process started. We are a small team like you mentioned above and our reply window for email support is clearly stated 24-48 business hours this is to allow us to treat every ticket the same and go old to new every single time we get caught up in our CRM.

Caleb told you we could work something out and we have every intention of doing that if you will allow us but the first process was getting the return started and seeing what you would like to do instead of the AFE charge pipes which you have never stated to us to even begin to start to work something out.

Just a little bit about the admin fee
Per our policy all cancelled orders are subject to a 7% admin fee as stated on our homepage. This is not a restocking fee, but rather a fee that covers bank and transaction fees that are no longer reimbursed to us when an order is cancelled


This is not to pull a fast one this is to cover the bank charges that we are no longer reimbursed when reversing a transaction and are clearly stated in the polices. We are here to swap out parts or even listen to you on your frustrations to do everything we can to help within reason.


I hate to see any post like this because we love supporting this community and are always active to assist you guys and are always willing to take feedback good and bad but this entire post was made on a GUARNTEE and that never happened and we are just trying to assist you like any other customer within the polices you agreed to.


Thank you,
Chris

 

[Bigfx]

That’s not all the messages, that’s pretty much a guarantee.

 

[Bigfx]

It’s amazing how fast you will reply to a situation now when it took a week to process anything in this return. You also in your return information stated my return was bc of buyers remorse vs y’all selling me the wrong part. To argue over he semantics if a “guarantee” proves how you are trying to manipulate a situation. I asked if the part fit, y’all said yes and it didn’t hence your fault and you cover all the expenses period. You can’t go off saying things fit when they don’t and don’t expect to cover it period.

 

[Bigfx]

In regards to the photos your teams messages about what photos were needed were vague as I sent in my initial claim a picture of the part not fitting. Horrible customer service, you are an embarrassment to small vendors and people who do not stand behind their word.

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

I feel for the customer but side with panda

we sell products that might have fitment issues as well, especially when you start mixing and matching aftermarket parts - it’s difficult to know every possible Fitment issue

based on what I saw panda did state they have customers without issues and the customer even knew there might be issues sighting some posts

he took a gamble assuming panda guaranteed they would fit but panda was not guaranteeing

we ran into this with our air compressor mounts - a customer has a k&n intake and our compressor mount got in the way - news To us because we’ve heard of people running our mount with the k&n - what we didn’t know is the other customers made slight modifications to make them fit - but as far as we knew they all had no issues (even posting they fit)

sounds like a similar issue here - panda heard no issues but was unaware customers were sanding things down to mark things work

what customers don’t realize is that on the back end businesses lose money with processing fees

when a retailer issues a refund - a lot of payment methods KEEP the processing fee and the retailer never gets it back - not to mention cost of us ship free and we eat anywhere from 20-50 in shipping fees as well that we never get back

so retailers like us and panda have to charge restock/processing fees on returns since we LOSE that and basically margins are petty tight on a lot of brands

after you factor in shipping, processing, salaries, rent, insurance, marketing, etc… your not making much and you always lose $$ on a return to the point NOT taking the order would have cost the business far less

Customers gotta understand most of us are NOT out to screw you guys over - issues come up and most of us do what we can to help but we all have to draw lines at some point

 

[Bigfx]

I feel for the customer but side with panda

we sell products that might have fitment issues as well, especially when you start mixing and matching aftermarket parts - it’s difficult to know every possible Fitment issue

based on what I saw panda did state they have customers without issues and the customer even knew there might be issues sighting some posts

he took a gamble assuming panda guaranteed they would fit but panda was not guaranteeing

we ran into this with our air compressor mounts - a customer has a k&n intake andour compressor mount got in the way - news To us because we’ve heard of people running our mount with the k&n - what we didn’t know is the other customers made slight modifications to make them fit - but as far as we knew they all had nonissues (even posting they fit)

sounds like a similar issue here - panda heard no issues hit was unaware customers were sanding things down to mark things work

what customers don’t realize is that on the back end businesses lose money with processing fees

when a retailer issued a refund - a lot of payment methods KEEP the processing fee and the retailer never gets it back - not to mention most of us ship free and we eat anywhere from 20-50 in shipping feed as well that we never get back

so retailers like us and panda have to charge restock/processing fees on returns since we LOSE that and basically margins are petty tight on a lot of brands

after you factor in shipping, processing, salaries, rent, insurance, marketing, etc… your not making much and you always lose $$ on a return to the point NOT taking the order would have cost the business far less

Customers gotta understand most of us are NOT out to screw you guys over - issues come up and most of us do what we can to help but we all have to draw lines at some point

What are you taking about? They said it would work!!! Look at what posted, they told me multiple times it would. I’m glad y’all are trying to help each other out but it’s exposing who you are also. If you can’t understand the pictures I posted of their messages perhaps stay out it it.

 

[ScLeCo]

Sounds to me that they WILL work but that you are unable or unwilling to do what it takes to make it happen.
Is this your first time modifying something? It seems like it is. Everyone who's been doing stuff like this knows that when working with different aftermarket parts, plus oem, plus yet another aftermarket part, that many times things will require some finessing to get everything to work together.
7% is very reasonable, most company's charge anywhere from 10-20%.

 

[Bigfx]

Sounds to me that they WILL work but that you are unable or unwilling to do what it takes to make it happen.
Is this your first time modifying something? It seems like it is. Everyone who's been doing stuff like this knows that when working with different aftermarket parts, plus oem, plus yet another aftermarket part, that many times things will require some finessing to get everything to work together.
7% is very reasonable, most company's charge anywhere from 10-20%.

Ok shill boy, I have a legitimate claim and won’t let you get the thread or me banned. It must be awesome being an internet warrior for companies. Have fun trolling your family must be proud.

 

[ScLeCo]

Ok shill boy, I have a legitimate claim and won’t let you get the thread or me banned. It must be awesome being an internet warrior for companies. Have fun trolling your family must be proud.

I have NEVER bought one single thing from Panda.
You are putting your grievance on a public forum therefore it is open to public commentary. If you did not want this you should have kept it private.

Based on your own words and the information you provided it sounds like you don't know what you are doing and are too lazy or incompetent to assemble the parts.

It seems based on the communications provided that they are willing to work with you but that you are being unreasonable.

 

[chris@pandamotorworks]

It’s amazing how fast you will reply to a situation now when it took a week to process anything in this return. You also in your return information stated my return was bc of buyers remorse vs y’all selling me the wrong part. To argue over he semantics if a “guarantee” proves how you are trying to manipulate a situation. I asked if the part fit, y’all said yes and it didn’t hence your fault and you cover all the expenses period. You can’t go off saying things fit when they don’t and don’t expect to cover it period.

There are no semantics you said we told you Guarantee fit. In a contract that is completely different then it should fit here is the evidence I found on them fitting and even quoting a thread a user here so you could verify. I am doing no such thing to manipulate the situation but tell the truth and our side so the community can take a stance on this and see if they would like to buy from us and receive our help in the future.

In regards to the photos your teams messages about what photos were needed were vague as I sent in my initial claim a picture of the part not fitting. Horrible customer service, you are an embarrassment to small vendors and people who do not stand behind their word.

" Can you please send in pictures of the parts themselves so I can verify their condition? I will essentially need to see all angles of the parts."

" Can you please send pictures? I cannot do anything without pictures of the product from multiple angles to verify condition as stated."

" I understand that the part is not fitting, can you supply images of the part uninstalled so I can see how I can facilitate a return?"

Not sure how this is vague at all and can see how many times this was delayed asking for the photos! We have thousands and I mean thousands of happy customers. I am sorry you do not want to work on a resolution together and just want to sit here and try and hurt a small business but I am doing everything I can to be transparent and help.

 

[Bigfx]

I have NEVER bought one single thing from Panda. I probably never will.
You are putting your grievance on a public forum therefore it is open to public commentary. If you did not want this you should have kept it private.

Based on your own words and the information you provided it sounds like you don't know what you are doing and are too lazy or incompetent to assemble the parts.

You are shilling period and that’s pretty embarrassing. Go back to the basement of which you came lol. The situation is simple they sold me a part they told me would work despite me raising concerns then when it didn’t despite them saying it would as shown in the messages. They should assume full responsibility for the return that’s good business period. Enjoy your bridge

 

[Bigfx]

There are no semantics you said we told you Guarantee fit. In a contract that is completely different then it should fit here is the evidence I found on them fitting and even quoting a thread a user here so you could verify. I am doing no such thing to manipulate the situation but tell the truth and our side so the community can take a stance on this and see if they would like to buy from us and receive our help in the future.




" Can you please send in pictures of the parts themselves so I can verify their condition? I will essentially need to see all angles of the parts."

" Can you please send pictures? I cannot do anything without pictures of the product from multiple angles to verify condition as stated."

" I understand that the part is not fitting, can you supply images of the part uninstalled so I can see how I can facilitate a return?"

Not sure how this is vague at all and can see how many times this was delayed asking for the photos! We have thousands and I mean thousands of happy customers. I am sorry you do not want to work on a resolution together and just want to sit here and try and hurt a small business but I am doing everything I can to be transparent and help.

You said it would fit, it didn’t. The responsibility lays on you the vendor and what you say as a “guarantee”. You gave me false info and then tried to compile it in later statements that you sold the combination to many people without complaint. This is your fault, make it right that’s all I’m asking and I have been since last week when I started this process.

 

[ScLeCo]

You are shilling period and that’s pretty embarrassing. Go back to the basement of which you came lol. The situation is simple they sold me a part they told me would work despite me raising concerns then when it didn’t despite them saying it would as shown in the messages. They should assume full responsibility for the return that’s good business period. Enjoy your bridge

 

[chris@pandamotorworks]

You said it would fit, it didn’t. The responsibility lays on you the vendor and what you say as a “guarantee”. You gave me false info and then tried to compile it in later statements that you sold the combination to many people without complaint. This is your fault, make it right that’s all I’m asking and I have been since last week when I started this process.

We have been told there were no issues. Like people mentioned before unless someone brings the little modification they had to do to get it to fit we give the knowledge best to our ability. again we never said GUARANTEE or we installed them and know there are no issues.

We simply stated this combo has been sold many times and from what we are reading on the forums they should fit.

The customer service rep was simply following the polices you agreed to. If you had questions or concerns they should have been handled in email not on a public page to try and strong arm a small business by calling them names.

I am happy to assist every customer within my power that is wanting the help and willing to work with us on any issues. What you are doing here is not that and its upsetting because we want to help and you just want to bash us and try to hurt our small business vs handle this in the email ticket during business hours.

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