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Where's the best prices & quality for 57's

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4.7K views 31 replies 28 participants last post by  Dragsix  
#1 ·
Just bought another 57 Chevy and need about $500 worth of parts looking at Ekler's catalog. Is there any place to get these at a better price? I was thinking about Danchuck but right off the bat, I see someone don't car for them. This Chevy is nice but it's also going to be a "Driver". It will be in the Custom class and should be if judged in the 975 area of points after the paint job.
Parts needed; Bel Air scripts inside inserts, the crests. Door handle guards. Front bumper guards. Front license bracket. Bottom SS rocker panels (with clips). L/H horn that works. A rim for a spare. Black decals for under rear bumper ends. And that's it.
 
#2 ·
There are only a few manufacturers of Tri-Five parts, and Danchuck is a major one! There are many retailers, nationwide, so your best bet is to just do a search for Tri-Five parts and find a vendor with the best price. Local retailers will generally give you a better deal than the supplier. Best of luck.
 
#4 ·
If it were me, I would avoid Ecklers. Many of our members here have had bad experiences with them, myself included. I don't know how they stay in business!
 
#6 ·
I can't recommend Danchuk or Ecklers. I have had bad experiences with both. With Danchuk their shipping costs are outrageous and with Ecklers their customer service is terrible. Once Ecklers makes the sale with you they are done with you and they don't care. However that being said there are even worse vendors out there. There is one parts vendor that literally cheated me out of $350.00 and him being all the way across the country what could I do? I look on ebay for the best price and best shipping cost and pay with PayPal so far so good. At least with ebay you what the part is going to cost you and how much the shipping is going to be upfront.
 
#15 ·
I buy most of my parts off of Ebay. You can get a lot of parts cheaper and faster service and no problems with returns.
Over all I would say I have had a 98% rate on buying parts off of Ebay.
The 2% is the Chinese Junk. Say away from Ecklers they are terrible to deal with.
Just my 2 cents.
 
#19 ·
Never had any problems with Danchuk or ecklers, although shipping can be a little high. Ebay I seem to find the best prices and shipping. The parts are just as good from what I can tell. Crazylights, muttonhollow, iandt reproductions. to name a few have been very good to deal with on ebay.
 
#23 ·
East Coast Ol'55 endorsement

I have to say that these people are great to work with. A while back, I had some major questions about body/ sheet metal repairs, and they sent me back into their shop to speak with the guys that do the actual work on customers cars. I spent a significant amount of time getting "schooled", without being rushed. They paid the man for his time while helping me! They are my 1st choice to get parts from that point on. Never a quality problem.
 
#25 ·
My suggestion would be to check out a show in your area that has lots of vendors. For example, Carlisle. Most vendors that set up there will give you a 10% discount, if they have the part you do not pay freight and if they can do it, not charge you sales tax. If you contact East Coast Chevy, they will bring whatever you need to the show, give a discount and save you money on freight. The Danchuk exhibit at Carlisle is operated by a former employee and he gives a 10% discount at whatever show he attends. So many parts are made overseas and everyone sells the same item because no one in the states makes it. Another good choice is Gene Smith.
 
#26 · (Edited)
http://www.carandtruckshop.com

The Car Shop in Orange CA
Not the best customer service but they have everyone's parts and they BEAT everyone's prices.

I have heavily researched same for same parts on dealers/ebay/etc and always come back to find they have everyone beat.

AND you get FREE shipping on over $350 order, which is what I usually try to do to avoid walking in (over an hour wait)

Yep, the catalog isn't fancy and neither is the website but that's how he keeps pricing so low. AND they will send you catalogs for FREE.

Believe me, you can walk into their showroom/counter any day of the week and there will be at least 20 people in line waiting......it's that way for a reason.

Just something to think about.
 
#28 ·
There are pros/cons with all of them. I'd never had an issue with Ecklers/Classic Chevy until recently; they sold me '55-57 spring perches for a new differential I was installing in my Nomad, and AFTER welding them on, I found out they were 2-1/4" wide rather than the stock 2"... and thus I couldn't get the U-bolts around them and thru the holes in the lower bracket (springs and the holes in the brackets are 2" wide, as are the stock perches!)... After wasting many hours installing them, finding out they weren't 'right', wasted many more hours trying to get someone at Ecklers interested enough to at least acknowledge the parts are wrong and tell me they would be correcting that (so others aren't screwed as I was). I worked thru 4 or 5 different calls to *different Customer Service Reps - all with no last name- and NONE who ever followed up), I finally called and told them I was not getting off the phone until I talked to their CEO.. I was steamed! I didn't get their CEO, but finally they transferred me to a VP in New York, who actually works for Mac'sAuto (a Ford parts supplier) whom the Ecklers owner had recently purchased.. His name is Craig Udell and HE actually listened and tried to fix the problem. He gave me a credit for the parts (a small fraction of my cost/effort on this issue, but at least he did something).. and he said he would make effort to 1) improve their parts descriptions, and 2) improve their Customer Service...
Cons for Ecklers: extremely poor non-knowledgable Customer Service (if you ever have problems)... Their order takers are friendly, but only know the limited info in the 'parts description', which is lacking.
Pros for Ecklers: Discount for 'members', and they also will help you out on shipping/price for any parts advertised on ebay as (free shipping) but ONLY IF you call them and place your order.

Ol'55 (East Coast Chevy):
Pros: The guys there are very knowledgable and will share their knowledge; they know MORE than the parts descriptions, so just ask them for their recommendation. If you don't know the details of what you are ordering, ask them for their recommendation.
Cons: Unless you pick up the parts at a show, smaller parts orders will cost you more due to the shipping... but I don't think they pad their shipping prices as some do.

For ANY vendor, I recommend ordering only Parts that you have experience with, or that has been recommended to you by others you trust. Do NOT assume that just because they say 'show quality' or 'made to fit your Trifive', that the parts actually are, or will... With repro parts, 'fit' and quality are almost always an issue...
 
#29 ·
For ANY vendor, I recommend ordering only Parts that you have experience with, or that has been recommended to you by others you trust. Do NOT assume that just because they say 'show quality' or 'made to fit your Trifive', that the parts actually are, or will... With repro parts, 'fit' and quality are almost always an issue...
I AGREE - most of the time, nothing repro fits as well as an original.

Also, I have noticed that a lot of trials five parts dealers are nothing more than "middle men" they don't have a warehouse full of parts, they take your order and drop ship from that vendor. Therefor, keep in mind, many of these dealers don't have control over the shipping. Returns can be a nightmare.

I know a Corvette parts dealer who drop ships from Corvette America, he told me personally that he purchases over 2.5$million worth of parts every year so he can sell at whatever prices he wants, he always beats everyone's price, for him it's all about volume of sales. Same with try-five sellers.

I'm still looking for brand new 56 tail light assemblies for under $400 free shipping,.......I know their out there.
 
#32 ·
East Coast Chevy. The guys that answer the phone and take the orders do in fact know their stuff. My son was just up there this past week to pick a few things up for me. Spotted a photo of a 55 that they converted from four door to two door using just off shore parts. The interesting thing about the photo, that is my sedan in the background when they helped me fix the floorboards and other structural damage (it was way way beyond my tool box and skill level)



I would also give Chris Sondles at Woodys Hot Rodz a play. He and his crew build cars and use the various repro parts so he knows what works better. He is a dealer and I know for a fact that he knows what customer service is.