Why are Buick guys cheap

[SS/GN]

I will probably take alot of flak but here it goes.I read all the forums and something really bothers me.I know the economy is tight however I do not understand why Buick owners are so cheap.We have some of the nicest cars and yet will buy headers,intercoolers,turbos ,girdles etc from Chinese copiers and ebay crooks.We have great,maybe even the best supporting vendors:biggrin: for such a limited production of model years(2 years)and yet will go to the end of the world to buy junk to save a few bucks:wink:Just saying.


Kevin.

 

[chopped39]

Its not only the Buick world. Everyone wants something for nothing or as close to nothing as possible. You know the old saying.You get what you pay for. I will buy from only vendors on this site. When I buy something from someone on this site I almost never bicker on price. But then I see people tring to talk people down on a part that they know that cant get anymore
When I put my car back together I want the best parts I can afford and if I cant afford them I will wait till I have the money.I dont believe in cheap parts nor do I want them on my car.These are American muscle cars lets keep them as American as we can. Support or country not someone elses.

 

[DJ Red Barron]

chopped pretty well summed up my feelings on the subject. No Chinese knock-offs going on or in my car. So far, I have only bought from one vendor who isn't on this board. I am not sure of the reasons behind him not being on here, nor is it really important that I know. I can say he is a great vendor and a nice guy to boot. That said, the majority of my stuff does come from the kick-ass vendors here and will continue to for as long as I am into TRs, which is going to be a VERY long time I'm sure.

 

[Rodimus_Prime]

you think this is bad, visit a honda forum

 

[WeSS]

economy is an excuse

you think this is bad, visit a honda forum

No thanks

I feel no sorrow for a guy who cries oh poor me who has everything and tries to screw you out of something. Anyone who is fortunate enough to own a hotrod no matter what it is shouldn't be crying. It gets old. To hear a grown man cry or a fat lady fart is annoying. I feel bad for people who are jobless not a middle aged douche who buys everything and lives the good life but doesn't want to pay a fair price for something or then wants to sell junk for high $ prices. It is more prevalent in the TR community but it happens in others as well. Just think what our vendors go through. Oh my. I've seen guys get butt hurt on here over wheel cap overlays

 

[Junior Samples]

This thread is a rehashed version of one that got burnt out about 2 months ago

Dont know if its ironic, funny, ironic and funny

 

[Rodimus_Prime]

worse yet j-body.org for cavaliers and sunfires

 

[bishir]

What ticks me off is when someone bashes a guy trying to sale his car. Some folks have no idea what it takes money wise to maintain these cars and still think a nice one is only worth 12grand.

 

[Gary Wells]

I will probably take alot of flak but here it goes.I read all the forums and something really bothers me.I know the economy is tight however I do not understand why Buick owners are so cheap.We have some of the nicest cars and yet will buy headers,intercoolers,turbos ,girdles etc from Chinese copiers and ebay crooks.We have great,maybe even the best supporting vendors:biggrin: for such a limited production of model years(2 years)and yet will go to the end of the world to buy junk to save a few bucks:wink:Just saying.......Kevin.

I think that there is a little more to this than meets the eye. The Buick owners that are cheap are cheap by nature and have been that way long before they ever started playing with Buicks. It is a way of life for some people. They blame it on the economy but that is just a plausible excuse.

Sometimes we are being forced to buy un-American due to the fault of the 1st board of directors that let the 1st CEO decide that it is OK to buy un-American just to increase their profits. The whole board, including the CEO should have been tarred and feathered, burned, and hanged by the neck until dead. Now this has also become a way of life in America. Very few companies limit themselves to buying American and looking for profits elsewhere.

Buying American is not the "Yellow Brick Road to Recovery. Re-learning how to make ourselves more competitive in the market.

Unfortunately, quite a few vendors on all forums are now buying un-American to stay in business. This also has become a way of life for even turboBuick suppliers. It started with the 1st supplier that bought a intercooler from an American company that buys American parts and supplies to support America workers and buyers and then sent it overseas to be copied.

I buy the best product that I can afford, but I always try to buy American. Unfortunately, sometimes that is impossible.

Last but not least, American products are not what they use to be.

 

[WeSS]

cheap buick guys

you think this is bad, visit a honda forum

I think that there is a little more to this than meets the eye. The Buick owners that are cheap are cheap by nature and have been that way long before they ever started playing with Buicks. It is a way of life for some people. They blame it on the economy but that is just a plausible excuse.

Sometimes we are being forced to buy un-American due to the fault of the 1st board of directors that let the 1st CEO decide that it is OK to buy un-American just to increase their profits. The whole board, including the CEO should have been tarred and feathered, burned, and hanged by the neck until dead. Now this has also become a way of life in America. Very few companies limit themselves to buying American and looking for profits elsewhere.

Buying American is not the "Yellow Brick Road to Recovery. Re-learning how to make ourselves more competitive in the market.

Unfortunately, quite a few vendors on all forums are now buying un-American to stay in business. This also has become a way of life for even turboBuick suppliers. It started with the 1st supplier that bought a intercooler from an American company that buys American parts and supplies to support America workers and buyers and then sent it overseas to be copied.

I buy the best product that I can afford, but I always try to buy American. Unfortunately, sometimes that is impossible.

Last but not least, American products are not what they use to be.

Maybe it's because America is not what it used to be. There are more immigrants coming to America and more employers hiring them illegally or paying them less wages because they are willing to work for less. There are many things to point at not just one thing.

 

[gnsrule]

Tell me about it. Im tryin to sell my 86 for some time now. All the best of everything and only asking a fraction of what I got in it and gettin slammed all the time. This is unreal. I sold a my tube chassie bracket car last month and got pretty much asking price, no problems at all. Buyer was happy, seller was Real happy and now I'm dumping real serious coin into setting up the 98 Camaro. Aint noone gonna call me cheap, thats for sure. I got a buddy thats always tryin to jew you down and gets the cheapest crap possable for his 69 Camaros. They look nice and run ...well, ok and thats what you get, just ok. He sais he NEEDS this or that and then trys to jew ya down. I guess he doesnt NEED it that bad. The bracket racers I know generally buy first, ask price later. It all depends on how bad you NEED something. Right now I NEED a few more red and blue fittings to finish plumbing up the 98, Ill get them from Jegs, maybe a could save a few coin somewhere, but $15-20 aint gonna kill me if there a little higher.
And to think I got out of Buicks to go bracket raceing and same some coin...boy was I wrong. I got enuff in the bracket **** to build/buy 10 buicks.
Sorry for the long post, but you musta hit a sore spot.

Craig

 

[TurboTnZ06]

I'm not cheap, but if I'm about to order up a couple grand worth of stuff, I'll ask if there's any discounts, ect. before commiting to the order. It's the principle of making me feel like a valued customer (free shipping always works) that will get me to consider that vendor first the next time I need something. Maybe see if there's (place vendor here) fridge magnet with eye candy on it that might get slipped in the box for my garage fridge I've purchased from many of the vendors or their parts via another vendor, plus some others over the years, Conley's, ATR, JayC, Limit Eng, TA Perf, CAS, Full Throttle, TR Custom Parts, GBodyParts, Precision, HR Parts, PTS, RJC. Dan at DLS even talked to me at length about what spring to run on my 210/210 110 roller when I broke a spring. Don Cruz and KDK performance talked to me when I was trying to track down a knock in my engine (turns out just the baffle got bent and was slapping the crank). Fellow members always stepped in to help me along the way, and hopefully I've helped plenty too.

 

[mat231v6]

the parts for buicks are a h*ll of a lot more than a small block chevy so i dont think buick guys are cheap. dont all gang up on me for saying this lol

 

[Nick Micale]

I will probably take alot of flak but here it goes.I read all the forums and something really bothers me.I know the economy is tight however I do not understand why Buick owners are so cheap.We have some of the nicest cars and yet will buy headers,intercoolers,turbos ,girdles etc from Chinese copiers and ebay crooks.We have great,maybe even the best supporting vendors:biggrin: for such a limited production of model years(2 years)and yet will go to the end of the world to buy junk to save a few bucks:wink:Just saying. Kevin.

I usually like to stay with tech topics, but would like to voice an opinion on this subject.

In general, the turbo Buick owners are the BEST group of car people I have ever dealt with over MANY years in the car business. This covers Mopars, Corvettes, Pontiac, Chevy and others, including big-block Buick owners.

What we are now seeing in the turbo Buick community and 2nd, 3rd generation owners now "messing" with these cars, not because of a passion for a turbo Buick, but because it is a cheap car to make fast.

When I first started working on these cars for maintance and modifications, I do not remember one customer asking "how much will this cost"? It was simply "can you do this for me?"

The key factors then were honesty and integrity. Now almost 25 years later, society, in general, does not endorse those values nearly as much.

in the early tears, we only had a few newsletters and Buick events for our means of communication, and we were a rather close knit community for many years. We exchanged LOTS of info, and were happy to help each other.

The common method for an owner was to contact and work with one vendor for his advise AND parts to build his ride to the level desired. Most of us had the same "pattern" for various builds. The one common factor that made them work well was the correct COMBINATION of parts was put together.

One reason that myself, and a few others left like me, have some knowledge is we made lots of "mistakes" in the learning process, and this was passed on to our customers to save them time, money and grief. And believe me, we are all still learning!

So now we come to the time where the key phrase is now "where can I get the cheapest.....?" instead of "who can help me with my build and stay within my budget.......?"

Which customer do you think ends up happy? :biggrin:

I still have many customers, new and old, that call for a part and is is sent at the same time they put a check in the mail to me. I will also tell a customer I do NOT want to sell him a parts because it is not right for his build. The Buick marketplace is a very hard place to make a profit, and without other profit centers, Buick vendors cannot continue to exist.

Because the turbo Buick has become a deep passion with me, I will be always be involved is some fashion to continue enjoying the pride and different special arena we enjoy with our cars in spite of a few that are just "passing through"!

 

[jdpolzin]

Buick guys arent cheap, they are just trying to stay in the game. When you have guys parting out cars and asking 8 times more than they are worth on this board, it creates a snowball effect. Then the next guy comes on here and sees what that guy was asking and all of the sudden, stupid parts are "WORTH" redculous prices. Then it just keeps going down hill from there.

Everyone is selfish now a days. Helping others used to be common practice, now it's getting few and far between.

The prices of our parts are 5 times more expensive than Chevy and Ford parts, makes it harder and harder to afford these cars.

Not all of us are wealthy. Some of us dont even have a job.......ask me how I know!

 

[SS/GN]

Thanks for the great reponses,many valid points.Ya people take advantage of hard to find parts(not just vendors) and yes greed is rampid in our society.I also agree Chev stuff is cheaper as that is what I use to own.I really like my Buicks and consider myself a newbie as i have only owned for 7 years.:wink:My BIGGEST beef is the Chinese copycats ,if you did not design then do not copy or pay a commision.I am not a fan of egay either,I think it has run it's course.I have bought and sold many parts and have had only good experiences.I would like to thank our supporting vendors :biggrin:

Kevin

 

[WeSS]

cheap

Buick guys arent cheap, they are just trying to stay in the game. When you have guys parting out cars and asking 8 times more than they are worth on this board, it creates a snowball effect. Then the next guy comes on here and sees what that guy was asking and all of the sudden, stupid parts are "WORTH" redculous prices. Then it just keeps going down hill from there.

Everyone is selfish now a days. Helping others used to be common practice, now it's getting few and far between.

The prices of our parts are 5 times more expensive than Chevy and Ford parts, makes it harder and harder to afford these cars.

Not all of us are wealthy. Some of us dont even have a job.......ask me how I know!

Yes, people are selfish. Selling junk for big $ and living the good life meanwhile poormouthing. It happens. I've seen it for years. Don't understand how those who are fortunate are the first to cry boo hoo I'm poor and can't afford this or that but has 10 cars, buys thousands of $'s worth of parts, and races 10 times a week. Then others offer some nice stuff for great prices and still get beat down on it because they're not nut hangers with the in crowd.

Rightfully so. There are more Chevy and fords on the road from one production year than all years of turbo Buick's combined. It is what makes the TR special.

No offense but if I didn't have a job a Buick or any hobby car would be the last thing I was trying to worry with. If a job was so difficult or impossible to get the last thing I would be doing would be buying parts for a hobby car. I would be selling it and catching a bus or driving a Yugo.

 

[GNBRETT]

I try to support our vendors but dam every single part on these cars can be upgraded so I guess one has to draw the line some where. I have yet to find that line. If anyone finds it please direct me towards it.....

 

[mr go fast]

Mustang owners are worse around these parts. I have had more support from our local Buick community given to our shop than any Mustang owner. Buick owners will pay up for the best if you can offer the service. Mustang owners want cheap, cheap and "hella" cheap. I have been into Mustangs most of my automotive life and dont relate myself to the masses.

 

[charlief1]

My 2 cents. I'm cheap and don't have an issue with saying it. Everything I do to my car I have to make because it aint out there. There are NO upgrades to the carb/turbo systems so you have to actually use a brain to make them work. I follow all the threads that might lead to a break through for the carb/tubo system so I can break the 12:90 barrier. I've just gotten the turbo parts back and with the economy like it is I can't afford a $2K upgrade because it just isn't there. I make more on the side than I do at my job but isn't that always the case?