Lancia Motor Club

Good day,

Below is a reply I got from classiclancia.com when I made an enquiry. Is this man mad? Any view about this?

QUOTE
Dear Sir Mr L.Dickins
over the past years; you requested our quotes; which we always delivered
Hence; we feel that it is for you as well as for us
        1/     waiste of time
        2/     waiste of engery
        3/     useless
as ALL (always) our products are
        a/      new
        b/     very expensive
        c/      too good in resp.to qualities
due to the below stated facts
        1/     you want a cheap products
        2/     quality “not so important”
        3/     overhauled crap
        4/     re-furbished stuff
        5/     old new stock
        6/     new old stock
All these materials we do not sell nor supply =
consequently we refrain to quote = especialy as the GBP decreased versus the US $ & Euro drastically..........
Take my advice: Check the Lancia motor Club & ask http://www.omicron.uk.com  for sure both
are able to HELP/assit you @ very very competative prices.
We do know (in advance) that all our prices are NOT sutable for your ‘pocket’
we indeed are very sorry ............................
Kindest regards, mit freundlichen Grüssen, recevez mes salutations distinguées, cordiali saluti,
E.S.G. de Haas.

Dutch sense of humour......

They do not need run of the mill business

I made a single enquiry once and the price was 4x what I had expected. Needless to say I did not buy.

Anecdotally I have heard of several European suppliers of Lancia parts for older cars becoming very exasperated with certain (non-) customers who seem to wing out internet enquiries for lists of parts to all and sundry at the drop of a hat and yet never place orders later.
The suppliers tactic has become to either charge for the quote (presumably on a time basis) or to simply not bother or refuse to quote.
My initial reaction used to be  'anti' the supplier but I can begin to see their side of it a little more these days.
I tend to use the same suppliers again and again on a regular irregular basis and so have not experienced this problem (yet!).
Chris 

Have you seen the TV clip when Car SOS went to Vere Lancia to buy a Flavia engine, so they sent programme funny man (to be debated) Tim Shaw to do the negotiation. The Dutch wit always makes me laugh.

I heard from Flaminia friends that Classic Lancia is a bit of a character.       

Its not an easy situation for suppliers or parts vendors. As Chris pointed out, building a relationship will prove worthwhile in the long run. Shopping around for best prices may be necessary for some projects, but keep in mind, these suppliers have limited time and patience. Oftentimes, the cheaper vendor has good pricing on a few small bits, but isn't interested in the larger picture, or a broader range of parts. Staying with those who have been in this for the long haul is a better bet. We're lucky they are willing to keep doing this.   

I have no sympathy for the suppliers.  If they don't list prices online then they should expect queries on price.
If that email is an example of how they treat prospective customers then they don't deserve to remain in business.

I wasn't aware of this site until this post. Like Dannels I can never understand why suppliers don't make both parties lives easier by giving prices. They don't even price the cars they have for sale. I prefer a straightforward site like European Classic Cars - there's the car, description and price. No nonsense. It's a bit like antique dealers -
"How much is this?"
"£100".
"What's your best price?"
"£50".
"Well, write £50 on it and stop wasting my time".

Hi All

I suspect they have decided on a wanting certain type of customer and for all others they simply price it so that if you want to buy, they make a very healthy profit for having to be bothered with it. Simple answer is, if you are not in their 'club' move on to the next one.

I have to say that their reply, although initially possibly upsetting, probably sums up their view quite well.

Peter

Would that reply have made a Barry Waterhouse advert?