CJPonyParts - My Personal Experience - First and Last time

[Me!]

This is my personal review on CJPonyParts - and it ain't a good one. Hopefully this will make others here think twice before buying from them. This was my first time and will certainly be my last. Will be bringing my business elsewhere next time.


Why I went with them?
Without a doubt, their website is well organised and having tonnes of photos there certainly helps with getting the right parts as you can see it.


What I wanted to do?
I was heading to Hawaii for a holiday and have a local contact there so thought I'd get things shipped there and I will bring it back myself to Australia (just pay extra on airlines baggage allowance). So I made my order, made my payment and all good to go.



The nightmare?

• They charged me full shipping cost to Hawaii but only sent HALF of my items - supposedly because the other half was not in stock. I only knew of this when they sent me 'confirmation' on half my items being sent.
• Contacted them immediately (emailed and called) on when the items will be in stock as I will only be in Hawaii for a week! To which they said, the items will reach on time and that it only takes 4-5 days for it to reach Hawaii.
• BUT.... that first shipment took 10 days to arrive - if I go by this timing, the 2nd half of my order will only arrive after my trip
• I immediately said I want to re-direct the items to mainland USA - will be using Shipito - and to be refunded part of the shipping cost they've already charged me. And  to my shocking surprise, they said no! They advertise to have free local shipping on ALL their parts btw. I even went to the extent of asking for a refund of 50% of what I was over-charged and they still said no - no reasons given - just that "management" said so.
• I debated with them over the phone and they had the nerve to tell me it's not 'much' (in terms of $). I told them I could say the same to them as well... I'm spending $500+ with them on this order and they're not even willing to come the party on something I shouldn't be paying to start off with. It's not that they have incurred the ADDITIONAL shipping charges yet anyway - the items are out of stock!

I left it at that and consider this my lesson learnt. Told them to just re-direct my items to my forwarding address in the US. I didn't want to try my 'luck' cancelling the order as I don't know what my chances are in getting my money back.

• A couple of weeks later, I get an email saying that one of my items will be further out of stock for 1.5 months!
• I then clearly instructed them to just hold off on the delivery until they get everything in hand
• A couple of weeks after that, I get an email telling me my items have been partially shipped EXCEPT for 1 item
• Without a surprise, emails sent from here are not being replied to at all.

Simple instructions in English seems to be a challenge for them to understand.
Simple business acumen is non-existent.



In short, STAY CLEAR OF CJPONYPARTS!


Feel free to message or email me if you've any doubts. I have all email correspondences and chat histories all saved up.



Alternatives recommended by forum members in this thread:

Stores in the US:
http://www.virginiaclassicmustang.com/
http://www.summitracing.com/
http://www.npdlink.com/ - Extremely good reviews from what I gather so far
http://www.cal-mustang.com/
https://www.mustangsunlimited.com/


Local Stores:
http://mustangworld.com.au/
http://www.mustangsofmelbourne.com.au/
http://www.custommustangs.com.au/
http://www.harrysclassics.com.au/
No Website - Mustang Marque in Harcourt just south of bendigo victoria

[shaunp]

NPD and Cal mustang is the go.

[Me!]

NPD and Cal mustang is the go.

They will be by next go-to places! thanks!

[Frank70]

I must admit my previous experiences with CJ were good. This time I have been waiting for out of stock item for 6 weeks and was now told it will not be in stock for another 2 weeks. Fortunately they haven't shipped the other items separately.

Would be good if their website told you item was out of stock before you ordered it.

Not sure if I will use them again.

Cheers,
Frank.

[marksince1984]

  for Summit Racing also, I found them very good www.summitracing.com

[68Coupe]

I use either NPD or Virginia Classic Mustang. Both confirm the order and advise of shipping charges before proceeding with the order. Their customer service has been excellent and have been great to deal with.

[TimR67]

I have found CJ Pony Parts to be very good, their online ordering is the best.  I have had orders shipped not complete in the past and when the backordered parts are shipped they havnt hit me with extra postage.  I also think they ship some of their parts directly from the manufacturer to you.  You may have had a better time if you got the parts shipped directly to Aus.

[mustang_talk]

Me! Thanks for the heads up, often thought about using them. I think i'll stick to mustang world in bundoora vic. Great service and experience which helps us novices.

[Fast69back]

I have always had exceptional service and fast shipping from Virginia Classic Mustangs.   

[Me!]

I must admit my previous experiences with CJ were good. This time I have been waiting for out of stock item for 6 weeks and was now told it will not be in stock for another 2 weeks. Fortunately they haven't shipped the other items separately.

Would be good if their website told you item was out of stock before you ordered it.

Not sure if I will use them again.

Cheers,
Frank.

That's what pissed me off too. At no point in time did they notify beforehand which items are in stock and how long will it take before it becomes available.

With the amount of other good alternatives out there, I see no reason for me to return back to this mob.

[Me!]

I have found CJ Pony Parts to be very good, their online ordering is the best.  I have had orders shipped not complete in the past and when the backordered parts are shipped they havnt hit me with extra postage.  I also think they ship some of their parts directly from the manufacturer to you.  You may have had a better time if you got the parts shipped directly to Aus.

Yes, I have to agree with you on their online website. Most organised by far... I'm still a novice with all these - just got my car a few month's back so everything is new to me - especially what each part is called. This is the reason why I went with them. I guess I come out wiser and more knowledgeable now!


And no, they don't charge extra if they decide to ship items to you in bits and drabs - supposedly doing you a 'favour'. But it is NOT a favour to me in my case. And I did explain to them my reasons right from Day 1.

I wanted to save on shipping costs direct to Australia - hence the reason why I went to alternate routes.

[Me!]

Me! Thanks for the heads up, often thought about using them. I think i'll stick to mustang world in bundoora vic. Great service and experience which helps us novices.

No worries! This is what forums are for I reckon - to share our experiences.

If anyone still wants to use CJPony, go ahead by all means. Perhaps I'm the only unlucky one out there? This is just my personal experience. All I am saying is, there ARE alternatives out there that are perhaps more reliable.

[Me!]

I have updated my first post with all the alternative so it's easier for others to read / refer to.

[rhinosoft007]

Be good if we could have a section on the forum dedicated to the bad experiences one has had, that way all the new punters could go there first and learn from past experience?

Just an Idea?

Graeme

[Ang1965]

I must say my experience with CJ Pony parts was excellent. As previously noted, great website any easy to find items. Correct me if I am  wrong, but when you select an item it actually tells you if its in stock. I purposely did not order anything that was not in stock in fear of being stuffed around with delivery. My order was not small and all items where delivered in under a week.  I guess I was lucky..

[walbjj]

npd and mustang depot have been my go to parts suppliers

[Salthorse]

Like Ang1965, I haven't had any problems with CJPP. Purchases arrived quickly and efficiently. Even out of stock items were not an issue, with updates provided regularly.

[FB.65.68.70]

I've used Local and US based suppliers of parts when building my cars. which includes CJ Pony Parts.
I've never had an issue with them particularly if you don't have expectations of everything being on the shelf as if your doing grocery shopping. The GFC has hit the whole world and these parts suppliers local and US no longer have every part on the shelf as they simply cant afford to. They are also faced with manufacturers that go bust so are out there finding other sources of the same parts.

Something I also find worthwhile is talking to a sales rep on the phone before I attempt to put a parts order in, getting a repore with them is a real benefit and confirming what can and cant be done, what parts are available to ship etc
   
If I can make comment about the suggestion of an area for bad experiences, without reference to this instance ,  make sure that the person doing the whinging isn't just a bad  client before you make your mind up about a supplier. 

[cap70]

I got my new magna flow exhaust from CJpony parts, It only took 10days to arrive from the states and at $850 delivered for a full SS system was about $600
cheaper than any i could find locally. That said it was on sale and was probably an excess stock item.
I was going to get some fender badges from them but when came to checkout i was only given 1 delivery option which was 3 times the cost of the badges.
I ended up ordering from summit same part was $2 more but shipping was $30 cheaper.

[69ISH]

I can't bag them enough,
More experiences here
http://www.mustang.org.au/forum/index.php/topic,20842.msg209245.html#msg209245
and here
http://www.1969stang.com/mustang/forum/showthread.php?t=7402&highlight=pony+parts
and there are more bad reports around if you want links let me know.

[Bitty65]

Have ordered 3 or 4 times from CJPP. On one of those occasions, some parts were put on back order and they sent those separately.
Have always received stock items within a week.
I would use them again.

[Mustangpaul]

I have found CJ's reliable and sometimes I have had to wait for a back order. They have told me Australia is the most expensive area for them to ship to. Lately I have found Mustangs of Melbourne have increased their line of stock and freight is a pittance compared to USA freight. Just yesterday MOM put a pair of pillar pads aside and they were 20 less than CJ's to buy and freight is not much on top. A lot of suppliers are just ordering wholesale from Scott Drake and passing on the benefits of the Quantity Break (Something I learned of as Price Controller of Comalco Aluminium Supply in the late 80's).

[StephenSLR]

You may have had a better time if you got the parts shipped directly to Aus.

From the description of events it wouldn't be any better, they can't ship what they don't have.

s

[Me!]

I agree with the section to review personal experiences - be it good or bad. And it's up to others on whether they want to go with a particular supplier then.

I also agree that we have to be careful on whingers who do not take the right steps first - i.e. call and speak to them first, etc.

[mojocoops]

I've found Mustangs Unlimited to be very good also, very good at responding to emails and keeping you updated on part availability and splitting orders e.t.c.