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View Full Version : Anyone deal with Hot Rod Air Inc?



BigBlockOlds
02-26-2010, 08:59 AM
I have one of their evaporator's I bought from Summit Racing that I'm using in my '87. Have everything mounted and ready to go.

Back in July I sent them my stock HVAC controls along with the solenoids and switchs that came with my evaporator so they could modify everything to work together.
Was told the service would cost $215 plus shipping.

Come September I hadn't heard anything so I emailed the salesman who took my order. I also sent him the vacuum/wiring diagram out of my Chassis Service Manual thinking it might help them.
Was told it shouldn't be much longer as they were just waiting on a few switches to arrive.

October comes and goes and I hear nothing.

By the end of November I email my salesman to see what's up. Don't hear anything.

December roles around and I email him again...nothing.

January comes and I email them directly from their website...nothing.

I call them a week later and finally get ahold of someone. He ends up putting me on the phone with the owner who apologizes and says it somehow fell through the cracks and that they'd get it out to me the following week.

3 weeks later I call after not seeing anything and I get the owner again. He apologizes again and takes down my email address so that he can email a tracking number, etc. when they send it out. Said he's going to look into what's taking so long.

That was around the beginning of February and I still haven't recieved my parts yet or even heard anything from them.
Its been so long that the credit card I gave them to charge everything too is now no longer valid as I got a new one in the mail. I tried calling today and all I get is the answering system that sends you to the voice mail. But then it says the voice mailbox is full and to try back later.

Have any of you had bad dealings with this company? Would I be out of my mind asking them to knock of some money from their original quote because of this huge mixup? I mean I'm a pretty patient person and I really had other things to work on with the car up until now but this is bringing me to a standstill. I need to finish the wiring and AC plumbing, etc. so that I can put the dash back in for good and make sure everything is working properly.

Thanks,

wmhjr
02-26-2010, 09:11 AM
I think you have been very patient. We need to partner with vendors in this hobby. Their business depends on our support, and our hobby depends on their products and services. They should not be confrontational relationships. Examples of how it should work include people/companies like Marcus, Frank at Prodigy, Clay at Clayton Machine Works - these are just a few that I've worked with and deserve loyalty. Mistakes happen and things go wrong. The mark of real customer focused people is what they do when those things happen.

In this case you've got the other side of the coin. I know it's only one side of the story, but if what you've written is accurate, it's just not acceptable. I know that just because of this post, they will not be considered if I decide to put AC in the '54 chevy I'm helping my pap do.

BigBlockOlds
02-26-2010, 10:56 AM
Yeah, I don't know what the deal is. They seemed to have great customer service the first few times I had contacted them and were nice to deal with. But it seems like things are going down hill lately and I don't know if its just my parts or if other people have been having the same problems.

In all fairness, I never asked them how long it would take to do this modification but I would have never believed it would take this long.
What I'm worried about is that they ran into problems trying to convert mine over and just haven't told me. If mine presented more problems for them that they were trying to work out, I completely understand. I just wish they would tell me what is going on.
I don't even know if its been finished and they just haven't shipped it because they can't find it or if they hadn't even started on it yet.

Kory 88Iroc Lt1
02-26-2010, 07:38 PM
I have one of their evaperators in my camaro. I haven't gotten around to ordering the line kit yet. it looks like I will be getting it from some other vender.
Thanks for the heads up, sorry to hear about the bad service.
Kory

ProdigyCustoms
02-27-2010, 06:29 PM
I think they are on the life support.

We just finished the Vinatge Air Dealer meeting. Just got our top 25 award. Simply the best. If you need A/C, call us.

BigBlockOlds
02-27-2010, 06:32 PM
Well, I have all my AC stuff squared away. I just needed my darn stock controls modified to work with the evaporator and I would be set. Guess I'll start calling and asking for my parts. I need to get the stuff back before they go under! Otherwise I'll really be in a pickle.

BigBlockOlds
03-03-2010, 08:40 AM
Well, I think it went from bad to worse really quick. No one is answering the phone any longer or responding to messages or emails.

I have a few people locally that are looking into it but I really don't know what else to do.
Saw a Craigslist post where a guy ordered something from them back in December, never received the parts and then 6 weeks after his order, they charged is credit card and wouldn't give him his money back.

At this point I'm just hoping one of my friends locally would be able to pick the parts up for me. Otherwise I may make a trip to Texas...

PRRC
03-03-2010, 09:30 AM
Heres a little story I can tell you about Hot Rod Air. We use to be a dealer for them, But that was short lived. We had a customers car in our shop last year for a full build. we gave them a shot. There customer service is terrible. Getting parts from them is like pulling teeth. Long story short the car car left with Vintage air. After about a 2 month run a round from them. Skip the head ache and buy from Vintage air. We are also a dealer if you need some help.

BigBlockOlds
03-03-2010, 09:58 AM
Thanks.

If I can't get this resolved, I may have to go that route.

To be honest, this has me leery of even using their evaporator. It has a lifetime warranty but if this is what their customer service is like, good luck ever getting anything fixed if it breaks.

But, I don't have the money to start completely over at the moment.

Assuming I go with a Vintage Air system down the road, are they able to modify the stock controls to work with their systems?
To be honest, that's the reason I went with Hot Rod Air. I don't like the look of the aftermarket controls for the majority of these AC systems. They look fine in a street rod but I'm trying to keep my interior somewhat stock looking so keep my stock slider controls is important.

Thanks,

ProdigyCustoms
03-05-2010, 05:40 AM
Assuming I go with a Vintage Air system down the road, are they able to modify the stock controls to work with their systems?
To be honest, that's the reason I went with Hot Rod Air. I don't like the look of the aftermarket controls for the majority of these AC systems. They look fine in a street rod but I'm trying to keep my interior somewhat stock looking so keep my stock slider controls is important.

Thanks,

Is your car a 2 slider / one fan slider? 3 slider / one fan slider? Do you have the control out?

Takid455
03-05-2010, 05:26 PM
I used classic auto air to rebuild my accumulator and modify it to work with a sanden unit. while that is not a control head, they were very understanding of what I wanted to accomplish and service was great. I have used them a few times. give them a shot before you go replacing your entire system.

BigBlockOlds
03-05-2010, 06:12 PM
Is your car a 2 slider / one fan slider? 3 slider / one fan slider? Do you have the control out?

It's a 3 slider. One for the fan, one for the different functions like Max AC, AC, Def, Heat, etc. and the other slider to adjust the temps.

The control is out since I had to send it with everything else to HRA.

*Update* Finally received some info today. Apparently they found my controller and its supposed to be modified and ready to ship by Tuesday. Keeping my fingers crossed...

ROBAL
03-06-2010, 10:38 PM
I was the Australian agent for HRA. Have been waiting over 12 months for our order. Dont answer calls. We have given up on them now handle Classic Air products

tdhallow
03-14-2010, 11:27 AM
I ordered a unit over a month ago for my vette, was told it was in stock and would be shipped in 2 to 3 days. Haven't seen it yet . started calling last week and all phone numbers don't work. Found the owners home number and it just goes to voicemail. You said you got some news, what number did you use? How did you contact them?

BigBlockOlds
03-20-2010, 08:59 PM
Well, I haven't heard anything back from them in a good while and still don't have my parts. I didn't have any other contact information other than what they have listed, sorry.

Larry Callahan
03-21-2010, 07:09 AM
I deleted the posts by deputybrian210.

If you really are police officer please contact the parties direct or myself. I really don't think you posting the owners home address home phone number and where they are located and the distance away is an approved tactic for helping helping anyone in a situation like this.

Custom Muscle Cars
03-22-2010, 11:53 AM
I have dealt with Hot Rod air in the past couple of years with pretty decent service and parts. However, i have been trying to contact them for about a month, and no answer to calls or emails, today the 877# is disconnected. I spoke with Classic auto air and Vintage air, and they say Hot Rod air has been closed for a few months, so i would assume Nov-Dec 2009 they shut down? I called another business in the same building at the same address, and they said they arent aware of Hot Rod air still being open in that location...

KUL FIR CHICK N
03-22-2010, 07:11 PM
I can't imagine anyone from VA said they're closed. We've heard rumors, but as far as I know, they're still open. Best to call them direct and draw your own conclusion.

Custom Muscle Cars
03-23-2010, 05:50 AM
Kul Fir, you are close enough to drive to Selma and check it out, and maybe get some info to help everyone out. If you google "Hot Rod Air closed?" This post comes up. The address is still on their site. When the main phone# is disconnected, (Classic says 100% they are closed), and a neighboring business wont confirm they are still open, 2+2=4.

ProdigyCustoms
03-23-2010, 06:14 AM
I just got back from the Vintage Air dealer meeting and I can assure you they have no idea what is going on with Hot Rod Air except everyone knows it is not normal buisness at minumum!

Vintage Air likes to mind their own business.

ibuildm
08-23-2010, 11:01 AM
I deleted the posts by deputybrian210.

If you really are police officer please contact the parties direct or myself. I really don't think you posting the owners home address home phone number and where they are located and the distance away is an approved tactic for helping helping anyone in a situation like this.

Anybody can get it of the internet in the white pages. His name is David Stutts. Somebody should be knocking on his door. He stiffed me for over $600 and still has my rare 6 lever 57 Chev AC control. He should be man enough to return the rare parts he has!!

ibuildm
08-23-2010, 11:05 AM
I left Mr. Stutts voice mail on his home phone before it got full and got no response. I also sent him a registered letter with two delivery attempts made. No luck, it was returned. I also send a regular letter that did not require a signature and got no response. They are done and gone so all of you can kiss your money and parts goodbye.

SS1156
09-06-2010, 09:54 PM
Damn that sucks. As if money isn't hard enough to make these days, you have some scum bag that takes your hard earned money and rare parts and doesn't even have the balls to return them. I also think it's pretty dumb on his part because now he will never be able to show his face in the car community without getting a beatdown. I'm really sorry to hear about this guys. I hope everything turns out for everyone involved. Let me know if you need me to call "Big Lou" to get your loot back.

astross89
09-08-2010, 03:36 AM
I left Mr. Stutts voice mail on his home phone before it got full and got no response. I also sent him a registered letter with two delivery attempts made. No luck, it was returned. I also send a regular letter that did not require a signature and got no response. They are done and gone so all of you can kiss your money and parts goodbye.


send it ups with a signature required. every one like a ups package and always signs for it. works just as good as a certified letter. have used this tactic in the past.

Snakeoil68
04-25-2011, 07:56 AM
....and here he is:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/POLISHED-ALUM-INLINE-4-WAY-BULKHEAD-PLATE-W-FITTINGS-/270738549260?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessorie s&hash=item3f09466a0c

zuess4u
04-26-2011, 07:23 AM
I used classic auto air to rebuild my accumulator and modify it to work with a sanden unit. while that is not a control head, they were very understanding of what I wanted to accomplish and service was great. I have used them a few times. give them a shot before you go replacing your entire system.

We used Classic Auto Air as well, I dont understand why I dont see more people using them. Not saying their products are better then anyone elses, but there are some little things on their units that make them DIFFERENT then some other companies. Great service, nice guys to deal with, but to each is own. Glad to see someone else using these guys.

BigBlockOlds
04-26-2011, 09:04 AM
I ended up getting my parts back all finished. Wasn't until this past September but I at least got them back.