Classic Industries, Time to Step Up to the Plate, Grille Installed

[hollywood1336]

This message is for our esteemed friends at Classic Industries, "What the Hell Guys". It's time to step up to the plate and give some honest answers on when these Dodge Charger grilles will be available. You have been promising the 68 grilles since December. I have called many times and although your customer service representatives are courteous and do their best all I get is "they should be available in 2-4 weeks". Can someone with some authority in your supply chain department get their finger out and give us an honest assessment on when we can expect what you have made false promises on for months.

[Steve1578]

This message is for our esteemed friends at Classic Industries, "What the Hell Guys". It's time to step up to the plate and give some honest answers on when these Dodge Charger grilles will be available. You have been promising the 68 grilles since December. I have called many times and although your customer service representatives are courteous and do their best all I get is "they should be available in 2-4 weeks". Can someone with some authority in your supply chain department get their finger out and give us an honest assessment on when we can expect what you have made false promises on for months.

I'm preparing to replace a lot of stuff on my 74, and was planning on getting a lot of stuff from Classic Industries...until I read all the negative feedback about them on this forum.
"Notorious for listing merchandise they don't have in stock."
"Lying about availability dates."
Anybody else have a good website for sourcing replacement parts?

[Brock Lee]

Listing parts not in stock is a bad idea. I could see maybe a "coming soon" type of thing..but even that is pushing it. Especially with something like these grilles in that they are so anxiously anticipated by such a large number of people.

[lukedukem]

here is Ray's info if you want to send him a PM

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=7740

Luke

[MxRacer855]

My big problem with Classic Industries is their shipping!
A $25 piece could cost $30 to ship.
There's so many companies who have their shipping costs down low, and this one is as high as I've seen.

Hands down why I don't order from them. A "deal" isn't any deal at all when the discounted percentage just gets tacked back on.

Jeff

[jessejames]

I just got my 69 grill... I waited about 4 months. I dont think its a Classic Industries problem. The guy making these grills is a one man operation and I was told he cant keep up with the demands. Hang in there brother... They will come.

[myk]

Yeah this may not be an issue with 'Classic itself but the group or the men putting out these Mopar pieces.  I also agree that 'Classic may want to downplay their advertising of these parts until they actually have a viable inventory to do business with.  Do you have to pay for these grilles in full, up front?

[Lennard]

I also agree that 'Classic may want to downplay their advertising of these parts until they actually have a viable inventory to do business with.  Do you have to pay for these grilles in full, up front?

No, they send you an e-mail when the grille is in stock asking if you still want it. If so...you make the payment and then they'll ship out the grille. I ordered mine in December and got it three months later.

[hollywood1336]

I believe my 68 grille is on the way, should recieve it this afternoon according to the shipping notice. I didn't recieve any email asking if I still wanted it, just got the shipping notice and noticed my card had been charged. I will keep you all posted.

Regardless of whether it was one guy or a thousand, CI should be more prudent at keeping their customers well informed, I don't mind the wait, but I hate being strung along..

[CLASSIC]

This message is for our esteemed friends at Classic Industries, "What the Hell Guys". It's time to step up to the plate and give some honest answers on when these Dodge Charger grilles will be available. You have been promising the 68 grilles since December. I have called many times and although your customer service representatives are courteous and do their best all I get is "they should be available in 2-4 weeks". Can someone with some authority in your supply chain department get their finger out and give us an honest assessment on when we can expect what you have made false promises on for months.

Hello Hollywood1336,

Thank you for your inquiry. We apologize for the inconvenience. We'll attempt to shed some light on what has been happening over the past few months starting with the status of your order.  

Our records indicate that you placed your order over the internet on 3-26-15. We are pleased to inform you that your order shipped out yesterday 4-30-15. You should have received a shipment confirmation via email upon shipment of your item. Please check your spam folder and inbox.

We do realize that this is a longer lead time than normal and that many of you may have been waiting in anticipation since our announcement that this product was "Coming Soon!".  
But please understand that it can take a great deal of time for a factory to develop a product. Our supplier has been doing their best to get this product to market as quickly as possible while being diligent during quality control and testing phases.
We believe that once the product is distributed, our customers will agree that the end result was worth the wait.  

Our language on the product page for this item on our website was worded carefully to explain that the product was under development without an eta, stating: Coming Soon! This item is currently in development. Back orders are usually shipped when the products arrive at our warehouse without prior notification. Classic Industries® will make an effort to contact you if the backorder is more than 90 days old. Please note: We do not charge for backordered products until the product ships. http://www.classicindustries.com/product/mopar/parts/mb143502.html

In regard to our agents being unable to provide accurate answers regarding availability of this item while it was in development:  
An agent will do his or her best to provide the information that has been made available to us by the factory. But sometimes, the eta on an "in development" product can change due to unexpected circumstances that may arise during QC. We try our best to provide accurate info, but when a product is in development, an eta can be a moving target. Once a product is in stock or in transit to us, etas are much more readily available, accurate, and reliable. Now that this item is in production, we will update our product pages and our computer system so that the eta is more accurate and up-to-date.

Our supplier began work on these products late last year. Initially, our goal for this product was for to have inventory upon the release of our latest Mopar catalog which debuted in late March, 2015. But many customers became aware of the product well before that timeframe because they stumbled upon the listing on our website. Word spread quickly on forums and through word of mouth, and we began getting pre-orders (or backorders) from enthusiastic consumers almost immediately after the listings became live online. Keep in mind that we never collect deposits and we do not charge for any product until the item ships. So, a backorder can be placed at absolutely no risk to the consumer. If the backordered product becomes available within 90 days of the receipt of the order, it will ship automatically in the order it was received... first order in will (in most cases) be first order out. After 90 days, an agent will contact a customer to determine if the customer still wants the item, and will update the form of payment, before we will ship the item.

We have been shipping the 1969 Charger grilles since late October of 2014.  
However, at times, when we have sold through our inventory, the lead time for replenishment has been as long as 6-8 weeks.  
Now that the 1968 grilles have been approved for production and orders are shipping, we expect to have a similar experience as we have had with the 1969 grilles in regard to inventory levels and replenishment times.

Hopefully, this information has helped to answer any questions you may have had. Please feel free to PM me here at dodgecharger.com with any further questions.  

[hollywood1336]

Classic Industries,
Your feedback is much appreciated, I should recieve my grille this afternoon, thank you. Although I have been watching for the grille availability since it was first announced, I didn't place my order until March because for that particular week you had a 25% off sale, waiting to place my order during that sale was smart money in my book.
I believe the members of this forum probably spend thousands with Classic Industries, and a simple explanation as the one provided above goes a long way to giving someone more patience while they are waiting for those developemnt parts or long lead items. The fact that you don't actually charge for the item while on back order is certainly a plus.
Being a mechanical engineer in the aerospace industry I can certainly appreciate the conceptual design, detail design, manufacturing planning, tooling design,  materials procurement, first article inspection and final quality buy off process. The members who have recieved your 69 grilles were very pleased with the originality and quality, I will be expecting the same high standard with the 68's.

Again, thanks for you timely feedback.

[CLASSIC]

Classic Industries,
Your feedback is much appreciated, I should recieve my grille this afternoon, thank you. Although I have been watching for the grille availability since it was first announced, I didn't place my order until March because for that particular week you had a 25% off sale, waiting to place my order during that sale was smart money in my book.
I believe the members of this forum probably spend thousands with Classic Industries, and a simple explanation as the one provided above goes a long way to giving someone more patience while they are waiting for those developemnt parts or long lead items. The fact that you don't actually charge for the item while on back order is certainly a plus.
Being a mechanical engineer in the aerospace industry I can certainly appreciate the conceptual design, detail design, manufacturing planning, tooling design,  materials procurement, first article inspection and final quality buy off process. The members who have recieved your 69 grilles were very pleased with the originality and quality, I will be expecting the same high standard with the 68's.

Again, thanks for you timely feedback.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. We appreciate your business.
We hope you find the grille to be satisfactory.
If you require any further assistance, please feel free to contact us any time.
We are here to help! Good luck with your Charger build!

[472 R/T SE]

Hello Ray.

Stand up of you folks to come on here like this...even when you're called out.      

May I ask whether the 1970 grills are next like you mentioned a few months back?  I apologize for what may be a mundane question.

[CLASSIC]

I'm preparing to replace a lot of stuff on my 74, and was planning on getting a lot of stuff from Classic Industries...until I read all the negative feedback about them on this forum.
"Notorious for listing merchandise they don't have in stock."
"Lying about availability dates."
Anybody else have a good website for sourcing replacement parts?

Hello Steve1578,
We have the largest selection of "in stock" Mopar parts on the planet. We have the most comprehensive selection of officially licensed Mopar Restoration Parts in the world.
In fact, our selection of parts and accessories for muscle cars and classic trucks is over 100,000 skus. When your product line is this huge, you are undoubtedly going to have an issue on rare occasions.
We would ask you to give us a shot and judge for yourself. Use code MAY15 and receive up to 20% OFF* orders over $299! Offer ends on Sunday, May 3rd, 2015 at midnight PST.
Good luck with your Mopar project! Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.

[CLASSIC]

Hello Ray.
Stand up of you folks to come on here like this...even when you're called out.      
May I ask whether the 1970 grills are next like you mentioned a few months back?  I apologize for what may be a mundane question.

Hello 472 R/T SE,
At this time, there are no solid plans in place that we are aware of.
But, it has been a topic of discussion and we would certainly offer them in our catalogs if one of the factories decided to tool up to produce them.
What are your thoughts about the number of people needing such a part?
Any inherent weakness in the original parts? What happened to your grille?

[Supercharged Riot]

Hey guys chill out damn.
Classic industries said hey would ship toward the end of april and they delivered as promised
I ordered my grill back in December 2014.
I just got mine delivered on my doorstep this morning.
Ill post pics of the re-popped 68 grilles

[Lennard]

Tough crowd to please... decades of waiting for someone to reproduce an affordable good quality grille. Then someone is finally investing big money to bring them on the market and then a few months waiting on the product is too long.

[ramit]

I love Classic Industries but I have been waiting on 71' Charger Chrome wheel well moldings that I ordered back in October 2013!   

[VegasCharger]

A month wait on a large item and popular at that is nothing. Hell I waited 4 months for a rear tail light wire harness from YO.

[Rolling_Thunder]

i waited 10 months for a 70 charger harness from Year One....

I live about a 30 minute drive from Classic Industries - top notch guys to work with and buy from....     Also if you're into GM A-bodies look up OPGi -

[hollywood1336]

I received my 68 painted grille last week and here it is installed. My overall impression is favorable, the quality of the mold/casting is good, there is some flash which could have been dressed up better and there is some overspray which will need to be painted. The grille material is way more flexible than the original which in turn will be more durable against stone or rock chips or breakages. There was also a little warpage but straightened out once the trim was added. It took me a day to install and shim correctly so the lines would be even. There is more of a gap on the right side which is partly due to the AMD sheetmetal, not much I can do about that. I would definitely consider ordering another and keeping as a spare.
Definitely changes the look of the front of the car.

[JB400]

Looks good to me.   

[Lennard]

Beautiful! 

[chargerperson]

Looks good!

[VegasCharger]