Randys Ring and Pinion

[ReconCmdr]

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!!!! Gotta love it when a company does not stand by products they sell that that they insist work in your truck that upon research after the fact the manufacturer insist it is not designed for nor will not work. Ending up costing you thousands of dollars in associated labor fees to have installed and uninstalled. Great job Randys for sticking a customer with a $600 paperweight not to mention the vast labor cost to have installed and uninstalled.

 

[MojaveMadMan]

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!!!! Gotta love it when a company does not stand by products they sell that that they insist work in your truck that upon research after the fact the manufacturer insist it is not designed for nor will not work. Ending up costing you thousands of dollars in associated labor fees to have installed and uninstalled. Great job Randys for sticking a customer with a $600 paperweight not to mention the vast labor cost to have installed and uninstalled.

Make sure to file a claim on BBB if they are members. This has worked well for me in the past. Also the review sites online (google, yelp)

 

[csp]

So how about some details so anyone reading this now and in the future doesn't make the same mistake?

I take rants like this at face value without any information about what went wrong. Personally I've had great service from Randy's.:shrug:

 

[nevada]

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!!!! Gotta love it when a company does not stand by products they sell that that they insist work in your truck that upon research after the fact the manufacturer insist it is not designed for nor will not work. Ending up costing you thousands of dollars in associated labor fees to have installed and uninstalled. Great job Randys for sticking a customer with a $600 paperweight not to mention the vast labor cost to have installed and uninstalled.

care to elaborate a bit?

I have used Randy's both in a professional capacity as well as personal, and have never had anything but great service. they are still currently our GO TO shop for differential/drivetrain components.

 

[ReconCmdr]

CSP Good point.

So I had my truck re-geared, when I did I went online to Randy's and went to the diff wizard and ordered the front and rear limited slip differentials. I had them installed and sometime after driving something just didn't feel quite right. The truck ran fine but just didn't feel right. As I am a graduate student living basically on loans and spent a good part of my savings on parts and install of the gears and LSD's and the truck ran I had to wait to save enough money to have it all torn back apart to find out what the issue was. When I had a shop here in Atlanta that specializes in 4 wheel drive toyota vehicles take everything apart the gears were no longer good....new gears ordered and during the install process they find that the front LSD does not fit properly, they can make it work if they shimmed the heck out of it but say that it would probably cause similar issues to what I was experiencing and possibly ruin the new gears being installed. I was obviously confused with what they were saying because Randys advertised the LSD for my vehicle. I started doing some research and found that East Coast Gear Supply sells them pre-installed in the diffs they build up so I called them to see what the shop I had doing the work was missing. Talking to ECGS they say that the manufacturer Eaton had issues with the LSD and had a couple of different versions released 911A644 the new one and 911A342 the older model. According to ECGS eaton released the 911A342 and it didn't work then they released the 911A644 with some changes and it still didn't work. ECGS sells them with their built up front diffs because they take the LSD apart and make the modifications necessary for it to work properly in our vehicles. So I called Eaton and spoke to the engineer there that designs the LSD's for toyota and he says they do make on for the 7.5" front diff but not one that works with our clamshell differential. He was not sure why Randy's was advertising them as working because they have been clear with folks that carry their products that they will not work with that application. I took all this information back to Randy's to try to get some kind of resolution from them. All I wanted was for them the "seller" to make good on selling me a product that they advertise for my truck that I paid to have installed then had to pay to have un-installed. I was not looking for them to pay for any labor just to take back the part and refund me my money. They insisted that it is the correct part for my truck even though the manufacturer insist its not. And they refused to stand behind their product. COMPLETE BS if you ask me and shitty customer service. Their logic was well we went on a couple forums and saw where people installed them so its all good yours should work fine. Sorry Randy's but when the manufacture says its not designed for my truck then don't sell it for my truck and tell me to smile and take it.

 

[nevada]

while that situation sucks...
the installer is ultimately at fault here. they didn't do a good install. if they had, they would have found the problem initially, and at that point you would have had an unused part to return.

but the part was installed, and then used for a while. I don't know many companies that would accept the return...

 

[ReconCmdr]

Nevada I get what your saying but ultimately they sold me the wrong part not made for our vehicle....it would have NEVER been installed improper or not had they not erroneously sold me the wrong part.

 

[MONTYMTB]

Have to agree with the OP here.
Should the installer have caught it? Probably. But, if a seller advertises that a part works in a certain application and it turns out that it doesn't, that's on them. They should do the right thing and give a full refund whether the part has been installed or not. They should even eat the labor as far as I'm concerned, but doubt that will happen.
OP, you should get the engineer that you spoke with on a 3 way call with the seller and have him confirm to them what he told you. Straight from the horse's mouth, and they can't dispute it.

 

[csp]

Agreed, they shouldn't be selling that part. How far up the chain of command did you run the problem with Randy's?

One more bit of hopefully constructive advice - paragraphs! That was a bit painful to read.

 

[T4R2014]

Try BBB. There is also your state's attorney general. That sounds like it's all their fault. And yeah, not to be a douche, but paragraphs next time!

Good luck.

 

[ReconCmdr]

I take rants like this at face value without any information about what went wrong.

I am confused, what do you mean by that statement?

Thanks

 

[ReconCmdr]

My apologies,

Guys sorry for the lack of paragraphs....just about to wrap up grueling 2 weeks of midterms tomorrow in graduate school and my brain is a bit fried. What you read was a quick dump of words on the screen.

 

[MojaveMadMan]

If you are truly pissed then do like I mentioned above and file a claim with BBB. I would also file one for the shop that did the original install!!!!

I think the majority of the fault here falls onto the installer shoving the wrong parts into the diff and letting you drive off like that. Sounds rather shady to me and that is where I would focus my attention, it's actually very clean cut. It happens all the time where people bring their own parts to auto repair shops and it is absolutely that shops responsibility to ensure they are the right parts. If it needed as much shimming as you say it did, there should have been a ton of red flags.

Now if the LSD exploded after a proper install then I get it... And I see why Randy's won't refund you, they didn't do the install. I am sure they would if your shop would have noticed, and you wanted to return un-used parts. I will agree that yes it is bad on you that they identified it as working for your car, but I also bet in there terms of service agreement they also state that at the end of the day it is your responsibility to know what goes on your car, not theirs. Is it bad customer service to have that info on their site, yes. But it's not then end all be all if you ask me.

File a claim on the crappy diff shop that did it the first time, you have a chance to win that one and get the parts and labor refunded in full!!! Also do what was mentioned above with the state, especially with a local shop!

TLAD: Don't always believe what is on the online part stores websites

 

[KidVermicious]

From what I'm reading, Randy's shipped a set of front and rear diffs already loaded with limited slips, and the OP paid a shop to have the diffs put on the truck. If that's right, you can't blame the local shop, because they didn't install the LSD in the diff. In this situation the blame lies completely with Randy's Ring and Pinion.

I don't know what to think of what the OP is reporting though, because I've never heard of anything but professional conduct and excellent customer service from Randy's. Keep us updated, Recon.

 

[nely]

If ive gathered this information correctly, the issue is the front lsd. If its the clamshell front 7.5 diff, id be very surprised randys gets an entire front clamshell diff and does a front lsd and gear install into the clam shell and send the entire clamshell, gears, lsd as a loaded unit.

The front clamshell would have been completely disassembled to install the gears and lsd ordered from randys. So it would seem the original installer didnt catch the lsd not fitting. Or the original installer didnt care. Typically with a customer supplying parts, theres no warranty on labor.

Edit: I stand corrected on the offering of the ifs housing. But not a 3rd gen?

 

[kschaper]

Filing a claim with the BBB is a waste of time. All you have to do to maintain an A rating with them is respond to all claims made against you. Also, if you don't subscribe to the BBB, you can't be rated. Also, they aren't the attorney general.

 

[rideexileex]

OP: Which RR&P did you call? Try giving the Seattle/Everett WA shop a call - that's where the HQ is and Randy himself. I've been there for my initial rear ARB install and then for my re-gear. Really enjoyed the service there. I thought I had a problem after driving from WA to MT and they even offered to take care of the costs outside of their own shop, but turns out all was well.

 

[nevada]

Nevada I get what your saying but ultimately they sold me the wrong part not made for our vehicle....it would have NEVER been installed improper or not had they not erroneously sold me the wrong part.

I get what you're saying, but that doesn't remove the fault from the installer.

you bought the parts, and they installed them. if there was a problem, it should/would have been discovered during the install. you drove on it for a while. in my opinion, that removes any liability from the seller.
it sucks, but that's how I see it...

 

[T4R2014]

Should it matter if the installer should have caught it? Randy's R&P advertised it as being a direct-fit. That is all on them and they should stand behind their mistakes and resolve the issue.

 

[Brilliant]

Write a demand letter. Its going to be very easy for you to recover all damages when the manufacturer of the part says its not for your vehicle.