On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 11:51 AM, The Bus Depot <vanagon@busdepot.com>wrote:

> > I bought some new drums, and cheaped out with made in China
> > junk, which came pre-warped from Autohausaz...not sure I
> > want to try machining these crappy things...
>
>
> At the risk of rubbing salt in the wound, there is a lesson here. There's
> plenty of junk around, and a cheap price on a crappy part is no bargain.
> (Not to mention potentially dangerous, depending on the part in question.)
> Of course it's smart to shop around, but always be sure you're comparing
> apples to apples. Also, consider that your friendly List vendors (including
> but not limited to myself) actually know and drive Vanagons, and tend to be
> much more picky about what we'll sell. I reject hundreds of parts a year
> because I wouldn't put them on my own Vanagon, only to see them turn up at
> other online vendors a month or two later.
>
> - Ron Salmon
>  The Bus Depot, Inc.
>  www.busdepot.com
>  (215)  234-VWVW
>
> _____________________________________________
> Toll-Free for Orders by PART # :  1-866-BUS-DEPOT
>

Point well taken, Ron. In fact, I did order most of my brake parts from you,
and do try to support other list vendors when I can. Living in Canada makes
this more difficult at times, and not planning ahead (like with my tires)
sometimes forces me to deal with vendors I wouldn't normally consider. In
the case of Autohausaz, their free shipping and proximity to my parents
winter home, combined with generally good service, has made them a decent
choice in the past. But this incident may change that, depending on their
response to the return request. Regardless, I won't be buying off brand
brake parts (or other critical parts) again.

--
Shawn Wright