An interesting tale.

[Alaric]

Well, what an interesting afternoon.

First off, i will just like to say that XXXXXXX is by far the worst Bike Shop i have ever had the unfortunate opportunity to deal with.

I took my Bike on Friday last week to get a new chain and a full over haul, i was told it would be ready by Tuesday afternoon, great!

I was told that they would call me in the afternoon with a quote on the service and chain, i didn't recieve a call.

Monday i called about how much it was going to set me back, roughly $300 they said.

I called on Tuesday during lunch to see if the Bike was ready to pick up in the Afternoon, yes they said.

I rock up and what do i see? my Bike half apart. I'm a resonable type of bloke who is laid back so i was ok, no problem i'll come back tomorrow.

They ring me up on Wednesday and told me that i will need some new external fork seals, it should be arriving this Afternoon. Pick up your Bike on Thursday.

Now, i am getting a little bit frustrated as i finish work at 2:30pm and train at 3:30pm which doesn't leave me much options as i was missing my sessions. I also ride my Bike as a commuter.

Thursday comes around, still no show with the seals, i say well is there a bike that i can use in the mean time while my bike is being serviced, i got a Bike to use.

I had been told that my Bike would be ready Friday afternoon, get a call Friday lunch time about the seals still not rocking up, i am a delivery driver and i was down on the Northern Beach's so i picked up a seal kit from Brookvale Bike Factory.

I dropped off the seals to them and said when can i pick up the Bike, they said in 3-4 hour's, apparently other Bikes are more priority than mine since i've been fucked around so much.

Really, how long does it take to air and lube forks?

Defiently Friday afternoon they said, cancelled my training session and hanged around Chatswood for 2 hours, rock up 15 minutes before closing and my Bike still hasen't been touched.

Now, i got really pissed off as i had orgainsed with a few mates to go riding this weekend.

This is bullshit, i have some pissy little 1" travel XC bike and expect me to take it down Oxford falls?

I was talking to guy there, the younger one who understood my situation then bought over his Manager.

This cockhead that had some serious attitude, basically i was in the wrong and i am an idiot.

He eventually fixed me up with a Specialized Enduro, i was like cool, this is more like it, atleast i can pin some nice lines.

Riding home feeling pretty good, end of the week and stoaked about going for a ride since i haven't been in ages, riding along next thing i know a car hits me from my right, chucks me off my bike i go flying.

I get up and the fucker drove off, the bike is a complete mess the front rim is completely buckled and the rear dera shifter ripped off.

I am really pissed off right about now, i look over and i have a gash in my right leg so i get some water and wash it then grab a shirt in my bag and wrap it around, i put the Bike behind me and start to walk towards the hospital, 3-4 km.

At about this time i am pissing out blood, my left shoe is nice and white, my right is heavy and red.

I eventually get to the hospital and get 11 stiches in my right leg, no training or riding for a week, bummer.

Start to walk home, 20km later i am here.

What a day.

:(

[Macr]

You, poor, poor, bastard! Get well soon.

[mtb.rider.jd]

Unklucky.


Bike shops can be a bastard at times. Bummer about being hit by a car, what will the bike shop do now, make you pay for the specialised?

Spewin!

[stringbean]

fark man thats seriously unlucky
hope u get better soon and get your bike back...free of charge

[AngoXC]

Well that sure as hell takes the cake for the most unfortunate series of events ever! What a bummer...

Ah well, put it this way, could be worse...

Get well soon eh?!

[fatass]

Shit man, talk about bad luck!

[Alaric]

Cheers fellas.

what will the bike shop do now, make you pay for the specialised?

Not sure, never been in this situation but i would imagine so.

The front rim is pretty warped, not sure if it can be bent back into place, i also have a rear dera shifter lying around, hopefully it can be a temp job. ;)

hope u get better soon and get your bike back...free of charge

If its not ready by Monday, apparently they don't service Bike's over the weekend? :confused:

If its not ready by Monday, i will be going back and taking my Bike out of there, they can keep the chain but i just want my Bike.

They are pretty biased people there, bar one or two of them. Specialized and Avanti dealership and they think any other brand of Bike is crap.

That is the feeling i get anyway.

Feeling pretty sore today, can hardly walk :mad:

[DJninja]

They are pretty biased people there, bar one or two of them. Specialized and Avanti dealership and they think any other brand of Bike is crap.



I work in an Avanti plus store and agree some can be pretty one sided when it comes to bikes. Sounds like a very shitty series of events. I hope everything turns round for you.

[Viv92]

Did you get his number plate? That's a bloody serious criminal offense, put the f&*%er in jail!

I sorta know how you feel, I've had someone just drive off in a situation similar to that, except without the enduro. That's gotta suck.

[Hobzai]

Bloody hell, mate - you must have run over a busload of Chinamen or dropped a box of mirrors.... or both. I hope you heal fast and get your ride back soon, even if it's in pieces!

I'd be interested to see what they say about the Specialized.

[Nick53]

Dam that's bad luck, did you sign something when you took the Enduro that says you have to pay for any damage done...if not you shouldn't have to pay, screw them they are shit and they should be treated like shit just go in there with the Enduro drop it off, take your bike out without the chain and just walk out:D
Also have you seen the police about the hit and run thing, it is pretty serious and that person definately should be in some sorta trouble.

[NoFearNick7]

Holy shit, thats 10x worse than the experience I had with my LBS. They stuffed me around for 4 weeks, but didn't lend me a bike to go riding with. What ended up happening with the Enduro?

[Alaric]

Did you get his number plate? That's a bloody serious criminal offense, put the f&*%er in jail!

Nope :(

Dam that's bad luck, did you sign something when you took the Enduro that says you have to pay for any damage done...if not you shouldn't have to pay, screw them they are shit and they should be treated like shit just go in there with the Enduro drop it off, take your bike out without the chain and just walk out
Also have you seen the police about the hit and run thing, it is pretty serious and that person definately should be in some sorta trouble.

Yes, i did sign a document for using the Specialized XC bike, but not for the Enduro.

I am thinking about taking the Enduro in as i didn't sign anything for that specific Bike.

No, i didn't call them as it would be useless.

The Bike is pretty messed up.

Missing one handlebar grip.
Servere Buckled front wheel.
Servere bent rear dera
Broken rear dera shifter

:mad:

[floody]

Ok so the bike wasn't ready because parts were delayed, and they gave you two different bikes to use for the whole week you were minus a bike....Oh, thats just terrible service. :rolleyes:

Did you ever think about the other people who might have had their bikes booked in for wednesday, thursday, friday?
Their bikes are as much of a priority as your much delayed one, you can't expect them to drop everything the minute your parts turn up, thats the way things go in a busy shop.

Realistically I'd say the shop has tried to do as much for you as they could and you're being a bit rude really.
I hope one of their staff is reading this - chances are they will be.


Make sure you report the hit and run to the police.

[Ant27]

That sounds like a really bad week i would be so angry at the guy that hit you and just drove off man.:eek: Did you get his number plate??

[Alaric]

Ok so the bike wasn't ready because parts were delayed, and they gave you two different bikes to use for the whole week you were minus a bike....Oh, thats just terrible service. :rolleyes:

Did you ever think about the other people who might have had their bikes booked in for wednesday, thursday, friday?
Their bikes are as much of a priority as your much delayed one, you can't expect them to drop everything the minute your parts turn up, thats the way things go in a busy shop.

Realistically I'd say the shop has tried to do as much for you as they could and you're being a bit rude really.
I hope one of their staff is reading this - chances are they will be.


Make sure you report the hit and run to the police.

They said to me on the Friday when i dropped off my Bike that it would be ready on Tuesday afternoon.

Parts are late, i was understanding.

Picked up the parts myself and gave it to them, said i could pick up my Bike between 5:00-6:00pm.

Cancelled what i had to do for the evening and waited around in Chatswood until my Bike was ready, not ready.

Your telling me i'm rude? i think you need to get your head checked.

Read the first post in this thread again please.

I do hope they read this thread.

[floody]

I realise all that. Yeah, its not too flash that you got delayed so much, I can see that. I'm trying to look at it from both perspectives here and it really does look like they tried to remediate the situation pretty well, and perhaps time constraints just took it out of their hands on the Friday.

I mean, yes fair enough you have some grounds to be pissed off with the delays (though mostly apart from the initial delay of the phonecall it seems that this was mostly unavoidable).



First off, i will just like to say that XXXXX is by far the worst Bike Shop i have ever had the unfortunate opportunity to deal with.



Yes thats rude. And largely uncalled for going by your tale of terrible woe.



Your telling me i'm rude? i think you need to get your head checked.

Read the first post in this thread again please.

I do hope they read this thread.

Also somewhat rude I think.

I get the feeling you probably went in, whinged, lectured, complained, demanded this that and the other, and then the shop probably felt no compunction to push you back to the top of the queue over the customers whose bikes hadn't become a pain in the arse and who hadn't been haranguing them for a week...Not exactly best practice but understandable.

[RampRider7]

Jesus christ how could all of this happened if all you wanted was a chain and a service.

[PINT of Stella, mate!]

I can empathise with you on this one. Put my Reign in for a service two and a half weeks ago, had to get the bushings(sp?) replaced. Initially I was told it'd be ready by monday. Went to pick it up and was informed that the parts wouldn't be in for a week or so (not the LBS's fault. only one distributor available) Anyway picked the bike up yesterday after relieving myself of $250 (got a new stem too) and took her out for a ride today. After driving all the way out to the You-Yangs (half-hour from melbourne) I got the bike out and got set for a good days riding. not 5 minutes in, the front middle cog fucking shears in two! How that happened, I have no idea. Anyway. chucked the bike back in the ute, drove back into melbourne and it's now sitting back in the shop getting fixed as they need to find spacers for the new cog. So, that'll be another hundred bucks pissed away.

After yesterday reading the 'how much have you spent on mtb' thread and working it out to be around $30,000, I've come to the conclusion that i should have taken up crack instead...

[Grip]

I've come to the conclusion that i should have taken up crack instead...

Jeez, after reading half the stuff you post I never would have thought it was a matter of either/or. :p:p

On a more serious note... sorry to hear about all the shite befalling you, Alaric, but I've removed the name of the shop. It's against the rules to randomly name and shame businesses here on Farkin. Not saying we disbelieve you... but this is the internet and people can (and have, believe it or not!) say any old unjustified bullshit they like without ever having to back up their comments. So it's easier for us to just say NO.

Cheers

[Bowlo]

Yeah XXXXXXX was my first lbs until they fucked me over big time. I think a guy called XXXXXXX served me whilst I was looking for some simple Protec Shinnys. Anyway 45 minutes later after him telling me I should buy the $190 Fox Raptor ones I bought the Fox's. I took them for a ride that arvo only to find the knee brace had a massive crack down it along with the left bolt being lost. I took it back the next day and they said it was not their fault, but mine by riding too harshly!? :mad::eek:

Also when I bought my Specialized hardrock about 3 years ago, they gave you a free service within 3 months of the purchase. I went back about 2 months later, handed it in and they told me that my tyres were too warn out and they would replace them for only half price (bull**** $120 for 2 High Rollers) and said it would be ready for pickup that arvo. I went back there about an hour before closing time and my bike hadn't been touched. Not even for the free service, I was pretty pissed so I went home. I then got a call about an hour after I got home and one of the guys told me that my forks needed a service (Manitou Sherman's), I said no thankyou and when could I come pick it up, he replied next weekend!? I went back next weekend and my bike STILL hadn't been touched. So I took the new tyres off, and walked my bike out of the store.

[Macr]

Grip, your intention is flawed! You need to edit everyones post that quotes the original post :p

[dcrofty]

I get the feeling you probably went in, whinged, lectured, complained, demanded this that and the other, and then the shop probably felt no compunction to push you back to the top of the queue over the customers whose bikes hadn't become a pain in the arse and who hadn't been haranguing them for a week...Not exactly best practice but understandable.

I get the feeling that you probably have no idea how this guy might or might not have behaved because you weren't there.

Seems to me that he was pretty good about it. I can understand that parts etc might not arrive on time but shops can avoid this kind of bad feedback with a bit of an attempt at customer service (phone calls etc) and not making empty promises.

[clockworked]

floody, you are an absolute clown.
I don't know what industry you work in, but i've worked in hospitality and pharmacy, never the bike industry. but the bike industry has got to pull its head out of its arse.
i can see no reason the bike shop thinks it is alright to palm it off to the supplier. One - three days late, sure. maybe. but in my industry that is it! if it isn't in within a couple of days then we get right up the supplier and make it happen. the bike industry seems to be run by apathetic whingers. everything is late, everything increases cost unexpectedly and everything is over priced to start with.
And its not like the system is impossible, the bike shed show exactly how a bike shop should be run in my experience. No unreasonable delays, and they're really proactive in their communications with you.

Lending him not one, but two bikes, was a very nice touch and should be congratulated.

but giving him attitude in response to his question as to why their service is taking so long is unacceptable. this would not float in any other industry i can think of, except the glaringly obvious sister to the bike industry - builders. specifically renovating builders.

What i am trying to say, is that it is unlikely that this is the first time this bike shop has serviced a bike, or replaced a chain and some fork seals.
And it seems reasonable to assume that they may have had a problem getting supplies in to do the same job before.

Shouldn't this information have been given to him when he brought the bike in?

I can't stand sycophantic shop assistants, in any industry, pandering to a customer and spurting bullshit to try and keep them happy. Be straight with your customers, its not hard, and it always works out best for both parties.

[dcrofty]

Also, the concept of two substitute bikes being good customer service doesn't cut it if the first offer was unsuitable and not an equivalent of the bike being left for service either. Otherwise the shop could offer the complete range of Huffys and 16 inch kiddies bikes as a loaner and say "we offered the customer 16 bikes but he still wasn't satisfied".

[floody]

Shop's got no obligation in my mind to be offering a loaner bike, hell of a gesture if you ask me.

Perhaps I haven't made myself clear; I think both the shop has performed a bit below par in some areas, and it does sound like this alaric dude has made a bit of a pain of himself too.

I just tell it like I see it. In the words of Dennis Leary....
Maybe I shouldn't be singin' this song
Ranting and raving and carrying on
Maybe they're right when they tell me I'm wrong...
...
NAAAHHHHH!

[clockworked]

hahaha
touche le fleur.

[Badams]

shit man that sucks a big one and yeah bike shops can be ass holes

[Matt H]

cry cry cry

Holy shit, they gave you half price holy rollers and you're still whining?

[Shaun]

If some of you guys have had such bad experieences with these shops than why don't you just start servicing your bike yourself??????

it's cheaper, not that hard, and only have yourself to blame for delays. Also a pretty good way to fill in time when ya bored.

[Tomas]

I have also had a seriously bad experience from said shop, but that was a few years ago now... I went in asking them to put on a new chain (that i supplied). Two days later, i got a call from my mum saying she had rung up and paid for the bike, and it cost $200.. da fuck....?!?! :eek:.

Go into the shop, they've put in a crapidrise XT rear derailluer because mine was bent. I KNEW IT WAS BENT YOU ASSHOLES. I TOLD YOU THAT. They then told me that if i wanted it taken off, i'd have to pay the labour charge to do it.

I told them to fuck themselves. Never been back.

[nicolasf]

I used to go to that shop too. Bought two bikes there myself, had countless services and parts replaced and sent them several mates who also bought bikes. Put up with long delays in service and broken promises, assuming it was just part of doing business with a bike shop. And they were nice for the most part.

Everything was great, until I acquired my latest bike which wasn't an Avanti/Specialized. The staff made no attempt to hide their contempt for my new bike, repeatedly telling me I should have got a Specialized, that my new bike is rubbish, bla bla bla. Final straw was when I was informed that my 10% loyalty discount no longer applied. For the offence of shopping elsewhere once, after 5 years of being a regular customer!

I got a copy of this book http://www.amazon.com/Zinn-Art-Mountain-Bike-Maintenance/dp/193138259X and have not been at the mercy of any shop since. I recommend this strategy to anyone who is getting poor service, especially if you like saving money and have a desire to learn new skills.

[brettyG]

After yesterday reading the 'how much have you spent on mtb' thread and working it out to be around $30,000, I've come to the conclusion that i should have taken up crack instead...

That's a pisser, and now my sig! Sweet!!

[BLAKE-2234]

Holy shit, they gave you half price holy rollers and you're still whining?

im pritty sure half price means just that and half of 120$ isnt 120$ mate read it properly

sorry to hear your story mate this is the reason i like my lbs they only do what i tell them and when they ring me up about other stuff and i say no they understand and offer me a discount on my next service and when i say yes they do it cheaper imo all bike shops should be like that

i have had one or two hickups but they were minimal and probably more my fault then theirs

so whats the story so far i would like to hear more :o

[johnny]

I get the feeling you probably went in, whinged, lectured, complained, demanded this that and the other, and then the shop probably felt no compunction to push you back to the top of the queue over the customers whose bikes hadn't become a pain in the arse and who hadn't been haranguing them for a week...Not exactly best practice but understandable.Yep, gotta say that you are doing a world record long jump to conclusions here mate. It's probably biased by the amount of idiots you've had to put up with in the past.

1. I know the shop that you're talking about and I would never even throw a rock through their window let alone walk through the door. I've heard sooooo many bullshit things they've tried to pull on people and at least three of them have incorporated installing new derailleurs that were never requested. There's no doubt in my mind that this shop is farkin dodgy..., at best!

2. I have also found that the Bike Industry seems to see itself outside of the normal ettiquete regarding customer service and basic common retailing sense. Some of the worst service and comlete arseholish behaviour has come from bike shop employees, managers and owners.

The best bike shop I've ever used was Bike Addiction at Manly. Squid and Brad are absolute credits to the industry. Also, the workshop in Clarence Street Cycles is second to none. Naz, Chris, Kitoff and the rest of the crew are deadset awesome, fast and polite.

[lebronmtb]

Yep, gotta say that you are doing a world record long jump to conclusions here mate. It's probably biased by the amount of idiots you've had to put up with in the past.

GOLD! just looking for a reason to disagree

[brettyG]

and this said bike shop would be..............................

[johnny]

and this said bike shop would be..............................Um..., if you actually read the thread you will see that we do not name actual businesses in a bad light on this website.

[S.]

and this said bike shop would be..............................

At this stage, if you don't already know, then you don't really need to know. Farkin does not allow public badmouthing of shops - justified or not - because there is so much potential for bullshitting on the internet. On top of that, and I really shouldn't be saying this, but you could probably work it out from the stuff posted here anyway... or if you just HAD to know maybe you could ask someone. But of course, if you are going to try and dig dirt on a shop, keep it to yourself and don't go talking shit with 2nd hand information!


Back to the original topic:
Floody I can see where you're coming from, but as a few people have said, you're jumping to a lot of conclusions there. Having worked in a couple of workshops myself I totally agree that there are a lot of wanker customers who expect totally unreasonable things (or accuse you of fraud for telling them something needs replacing, I liked that one), however to just assume that this guy is in the wrong is a bit of a stretch.

[DJR]

Hey if you want to name and shame use this website, you might win a prize heh

http://www.blogs.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/rippedoff/

[Mick01]

I've use these guys a bit in the past. Generally not too bad to deal with if a bit pricey.

A few comments to say on them. Positive one was when I went to pick up my bike after a service and while I was waiting I was checking out the new bikes etc and I mentioned I wouldn't mind upgrading to a new bike (my current bike was about 5-6years old). The guy actually discouraged me and said you don't need a new one yet, just keep riding what you've got until it completely falls to bits. Which I thought was pretty good, and honest. Some shops would be all over you telling you that, yeah, you should get a new one.

One service they did put on a few new bits that I hadn't asked for (new rear V brakes + some other things). I was a bit suprised they didn't call me to check before putting them on, especially when it meant the service ended up costing almost triple what they had quoted me. Not saying the parts weren't required - they probably were, but just the courtesy thing could have been better.


Mick

[stoff]

The concept of doing additional work, without letting you know seems a bit off to me. If my bike is in being serviced and something is wrong, I want to know about it, but it is my choice whether to get it fixed then or later. I have no idea what shop is being talked about and I don't really care (given I'm in Melbourne), but it is my choice to commit to spending extra money on my bikes, not the bike shops.

[johnny]

One service they did put on a few new bits that I hadn't asked for (new rear V brakes + some other things). I was a bit suprised they didn't call me to check before putting them on, especially when it meant the service ended up costing almost triple what they had quoted me. Not saying the parts weren't required - they probably were, but just the courtesy thing could have been better.


MickThat's what they have a reputation for. Tehn, they have the balls to say that they will have to charge you if you want them to take the shit off again. Me, I'd say no thanks, I'll do it myself with a ball pein hammer and they are welcome to what will be left.

[faz]

The concept of doing additional work, without letting you know seems a bit off to me. If my bike is in being serviced and something is wrong, I want to know about it, but it is my choice whether to get it fixed then or later.

I agree 100%. You put the bike in for a specific problem to be fixed. If in the course of fixing that problem they find soemthing else they should get on the phone and tell you. It is then up to the customer on wheteher they have that fixed, not theirs in the effort of getting more $$'s out of you.

I doubt it's all about making money for them and that parts do genuinely need replacing but the rider should consent the work.

[wombat]

I agree 100%. You put the bike in for a specific problem to be fixed. If in the course of fixing that problem they find soemthing else they should get on the phone and tell you. It is then up to the customer on wheteher they have that fixed, not theirs in the effort of getting more $$'s out of you.

I doubt it's all about making money for them and that parts do genuinely need replacing but the rider should consent the work.
Yeap, I too agree here.
It's probably worth noting though that it's important that as customers, people give contacts that they can actually be contacted on during business hours!

Sadly, in my experience, it's not unusual to find that parts need replacing (most commonly chain and cassette) and then not be able to get in contact with the customer to ask them what they want to do. It puts the shop in a bad position, as they really shouldn't go ahead with the repair, but otherwise won't have it done in time for the pickup, and will leave the customer unhappy there.

[kill_switch]

That's what they have a reputation for. Tehn, they have the balls to say that they will have to charge you if you want them to take the shit off again. Me, I'd say no thanks, I'll do it myself with a ball pein hammer and they are welcome to what will be left.
personally i wouldn't mind having that happen to me. i would have a absolute field day telling them where to go.
If some of you guys have had such bad experieences with these shops than why don't you just start servicing your bike yourself??????

it's cheaper, not that hard, and only have yourself to blame for delays. Also a pretty good way to fill in time when ya bored.

couldest have said it better. its not that hard and so rewarding. you dont have to rely on shity bike shops to do it for you, you know you bike is getting the best service, being looked after and it like shaun said it fills in board time. all you need bike shops for is parts. my advice is if you want a part and they dont have it in stock leave at least a month or to for them to get it in and never have expectations. :rolleyes:

cheers
Brent

[floody]

Johnny, S. et al -
Fair cop. I was leaping a long way to a conclusion based on the general tenor of the original post. Once I got told I needed my head read over a simple summary of the facts as presented, well then I just lost my shit. :rolleyes:
Apologies.


On another tack;
Fitting parts unsolicited is bad news, and I wouldn't stand for that shit either. I've never worked in a shop where, apart from exceptionally minor things like replacing a brake cable/pads or something of that ilk (i.e. couple of dollars worth of gear necessary to achieve the customer's desired result), they would never try and put additional items on without first consulting the owner. Things like derailleurs and suchlike being fitted without consultation is far, far wrong in my estimation and certainly would warrant a fair bit of angst, not to mention informing fair trade and such as they're then obviously trying to force a sale/force an advantage on the customer.

[redrl]

Man, that is a big load of bad luck, did you walk under any ladders lately?

[S.]

Yeap, I too agree here.
It's probably worth noting though that it's important that as customers, people give contacts that they can actually be contacted on during business hours!

Sadly, in my experience, it's not unusual to find that parts need replacing (most commonly chain and cassette) and then not be able to get in contact with the customer to ask them what they want to do. It puts the shop in a bad position, as they really shouldn't go ahead with the repair, but otherwise won't have it done in time for the pickup, and will leave the customer unhappy there.

Ditto here... so many times the customer is uncontactable and so I've had to leave a destroyed whatever on the bike with it still not really functional, then had them come in and be annoyed that their bike isn't ready.

Also I think it's fair for basic stuff to be replaced if the price is insignificant... up to maybe $10-15 (or maybe more if the bike is in for a heavy duty overhaul and they know stuff is going to need replacing) without calling the customer first. Cables, tubes, brake pads, whatever - if they need to be done and you can't contact the customer, you need to decide whether the customer is going to be more pissed about their bike not being done on time, or more pissed about being charged more money than quoted.

[Chuckie]

Not surprised with the attitude

I have seen these guys rock up to our local trail in their bright little shop van, and then block the DH run with their specialized xc bikes (usaully a crew of ten) while they stand around and watch each other walk up and down the drops ...very annoying

I was searching for a specialized bike for a mate and rang the before mentioned shop, got a pricey quote, then rang Cycleworld who rang the Specailized distributor and found my mate a 07 model and saved us a heap of $ in the process