f1nal zeros

Well after a while of driving my car started to make a real loud noise in which I could not figure out what it was. I then discovered that I was missing 2 bolts off of the header to exhaust flange. I then installed two more bolts and a new gasket. Well when I started the car up the car was still very loud. At this point I was kind of confused and thought maybe I had an exhaust leak. I jacked the car back up and then had my fiancee start the car up as I checked the car out. Well to my disbelief the hanger was broken clean off at the welds. There is a 2 inch by 1 inch hole in my header. No dents, or scratches near the hole so that ruled out something hitting it. I called DC sports and I finally got through. Customer service is funny . I called technical support 10 times and each time it would ring and go to a voice mailbox, but when I called sales it rang once and someone picked up immediately. I guess they care more about making a sale than keeping someone happy.

I spoke with someone there and they didn’t really believe what happened. They told me to take pictures of the damaged race header, and also pictures of the ES motor mounts along with a receipt of my purchase.
All this was not a problem. Well this is my daily driver so when I asked how long it would take to try and fix the problem they told me that they would have to get the header investigate it, and see weather I still had my warranty and if they would fix or replace it. So once again I asked what the time frame would be? And once again I was told, well we are not sure. We would have to look at the header and go from there.
I even asked if they had my warranty info in their computer. You remember those cards that came with the header to fill out so you can get a warranty? Well they mean absolutely nothing. They told me they do not keep our information and we are not in the computer. Thanks for wasting my time.
So after spending a nice amount of cash on a so called good quality header I am now getting the run around. Thanks guys.
I finally decided to say screw dc sports and get the header fixed on my own in a day or so. I am having the ceramic grind off and have the hanger welded back on better then ever. Figuring the price you pay for the header it is a good deal, but for headache you get from having to deal with a problem should it occur is not worth it. I should have just shelled out the extra cash for the toda or mugen header. An actual good quality header. Ok end of vent of frustration. Take it for what it is worth guys/girls. Just take a good look at the pictures below and think if it is really worth all the headache for saving a couple of bucks.

PNB

That blows man, BUT, it could only be your piece that is faulty. Is it still under "warranty" or what?

I'm sure you could force your way into getting a new one.

f1nal zeros

Well they said they would have to see if I still had warranty. I told them to check thier records for the card I send in ( warranty card) and they told me they dont keep those or have us in the records. BS. Oh well they will see no more of my business.

k20whitevic

I'm seriously sorry to see that. I do hope you get it taken care of.

f1nal zeros

Well after all the run around I have gotten, I have decided to fix it myself. I am having a muffler shop reweld the broken part back on. I mean what is it going to do.. void my warranty with dc sports? haha

Well all this has done is shown me how cheap thier quality is. They have just lost any future business they might have gotten from me.

JDM2ndGen

giff74

Thanks for posting. I will be buying a header this year, guess I will send my business someplace else.

I understand that things break sometimes, but that is NO excuse for not taking care of a customer.

HP-MuGEn DC5

Hey finalzero! Post this up on Clubrsx also. See what others would say and stuff. That is really bad customer service.

99lsvtecauto

so how the hell do they track the warranties

f1nal zeros

I have already posted this on clubrsx.com along with many other forums and amazingly I have found many other people who were treated the same way regarding thier header. I just wanted to warn others of the possible damage that could come of thier items and which company was less then helpfull, hell not helpful at all.

DC5ITR329

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by f1nal zeros &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have already posted this on clubrsx.com along with many other forums and amazingly I have found many other people who were treated the same way regarding thier header. I just wanted to warn others of the possible damage that could come of thier items and which company was less then helpfull, hell not helpful at all.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

sucks to here about this. DC used to be good stuff.

k20whitevic

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by aznbo1626 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

sucks to here about this. DC used to be good stuff.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, used to be. It sucks to know their quality has gone so downhill. Their shorty header, their exhausts, and now their race headers.... The odds are really appearing to be against them.

f1nal zeros

I was trying to be nice and see if they would work with me before I put up the pictures. But they were idiots and I decided to warn the rest of the group of how they treat customers.

Stewie

that sucks! I would do what it takes to get the header fixed under warranty.

f1nal zeros

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stewie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">that sucks! I would do what it takes to get the header fixed under warranty.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It was going to be more of a headache then anything else. They were not sure how long they would have my header for. So who knows when they would or IF they would repair it and return it. So I did the next best thing and warned others of how they treat thier customers.

in-n-outboy

Damn

dc5 jared

ur not the only one that this has happened too. my friend had his ceramic dcrh do the same thing. some say its better to get stainless? but than again i cant say cause i dont have a dc raceheader.

Jaypee

guess I'm with you on DC. I'll skip them from this point on.

f1nal zeros

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dc5 jared &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ur not the only one that this has happened too. my friend had his ceramic dcrh do the same thing. some say its better to get stainless? but than again i cant say cause i dont have a dc raceheader. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well I will say its better not to get DC at all. Thier customer service sealed the deal for me.

Rtype16

Have a few questions for you. Why didn't you leave a message. The customer service department at AEM/DC Sports is top notch. Of course there are more people in the sales department than in the customer service department. Hell there are even phone operators that pick up the phone for the sales department which is probably who you talked to. They than transfer the call to the appropriate sales guy. In your case the customer service department was on another call, inspecting parts for warranty claims or maybe they were on lunch. If you leave a message they would have called you back within I would say around 15 minutes. That is why there is an answering machine. Use it people. Other people leave messages and they get called back every single time. You can't get mad at them if you do not leave a message. How are they gonna call you back if they don't know you called simple as that.

As far as getting the header back to check out your warranty claim. This is standard procedure with pretty much every company out there. They have to receive your old parts back to inspect them to see if it was installed properly. Abused by hitting the header on the ground and so on. They see headers and intakes all day long and can tell how the product was installed and see if it was installed properly. On intakes you can tell if they used the soft mount or on the headers can tell if the bolts were properly torqued. Once again standard procedure to check out all warranties. To check out a warranty issue it takes I would say 2 days from when it arrives at AEM. 2 days being the worst case. It all depends on how you ship it to them and how you want it shipped back. The transit time is what takes long and from that they can't say how long it will take usually 1 day and they can turn it around and ship it out the same day. I am pretty sure they didn't tell you um I don't know how long it will take. They know the answer.

Just from reading your story I can pretty much tell you what happened to your header and it is your fault. In your story you claim there were bolts missing. Meaning you did not properly install the header to the proper torque specs. If you were missing them at the exhaust flange which I am pretty sure you were. The header is now only hanging on one bolt to the exhaust. With the rocking back and forth of the engine the header and exhaust will seperate and now the hanger is holding an awefully large amount of weight rather than it being spread all the way across the exhaust system like it is designed to when all three bolts are installed. If I was the customer service guy I would have denied your warranty on this just alone. Although I am not the customer service at AEM or DC SPorts. Most likely they may have covered it and sent you a new header or they would have denied your warranty because it was improperly installed and may have welded it back together for you or they could even sell you another one at a discounted price if you are nice and not being a big di** like most people are when they call. Being nice to the customer service guy gets you a lot. Remember he is the guy handling your claim. Be calm and be nice it will get you further in any customer service.

Its like if you install a cam gear and don't tighten the adjustment bolts all the way to the required torque of course the gear is going to slip and bend all your valves is that the manufacturers fault you didn't install the product the way it was intended to be installed.

f1nal zeros

Ok cup cake, before you go running your mouth... Wait, to late you should really read the story a few times to get the jest of what I was trying to say.

I called 10 times to the technical department and each time the phone would ring and ring and no answer. When I dialed the sales lines they picked up and I then explained to the sales guy what happened. He gave me a bit of attitude regarding the item, and anyone who knows me knows that I am by no way rude or a dick to anyone. I own my own business and have a few locations and understand on how customer service work and how to talk to someone to get things done. So before you go getting on that high horse of yours take a moment to realize that not everyone on earth is an *******. At the moment your making yourself out to be one, but thats just my opinion.

Ok so back to the story. After I explained the problem to the sales guy and after getting a bit of attitude from him he then connected me to the warranty department. I then explained the problem to the gentlemen as well and was once again given more attitude and disbelief that something like this could happen. Guess what buddy, I searched around and found many cases like mine on clubrsx.com along with a few other sites. So what does that tell others and myself about thier quality and customer service?

He asked me the basic questions and I answered them in a nice way, but was once again given attitude for reasons I do not know. It's funny how you might know the time frame in which they would inspect it and ship it back because the guy who worked in the warranty department did not know how long they would need it for or anything for that matter. So please tell me why he did not know how long they would need it for but yet you do?

That was the only thing I was trying to find out. How long it would take. All I got from him was " well, I'm not sure how long" or " It depends" ...

As for the bolts, the bolts that went missing were the ones connecting the header to the exhaust. When I saw the header it was hanging by itself. No bolts were holding the exhaust to the header. So please tell my that if the hinge that came attached to the header can not support itself then why did DC put it there? If the Header's hinge broke because it supported itself then what does that tell you about the welds and quality? crap!

The exhaust was not weighing the header down so why would the hinge break if the only thing it was doing was supporting itself?

Like I said I was willing to work with DC Sports on this matter, but after I was given rude customer service and no information on how long they would take regarding the header I decided the next best thing would be to warn others of how they treat thier customers.

Now what you said regarding your opinion on voiding the warranty and such was a nice speech and that's your opinion, but next time trying preeching to someone who actually cares.

I have warned many others regarding DC/AEM sports customer service and have found many others who have been treated wrong by them as well. And funny enough its all regarding the DC race header. Complaints range from the hinge that broke on my header, the flex pipe going to hell, and the actually ceramic flaking off.

Now don't try and preech DC/AEM's quality to me. Anyone remember the DC race header version 1? Man, that screamed quality, but like many others I decided to give DC sports a second chance. Well they just used it up and have now lost yet another customer. I am not the first and will surely not be the last person who will have to go through this matter. Take a trip to clubrsx.com and see how many other people have been screwed by them as well.

As for this matter, I am done with it. I had a muffler shop fix the problem in 10 minutes. DC had no idea how long it would take. So what does that tell you?
So in the end DC can thank themselves and thier wonderful customer service/warranty department for losing another customer.
have a nice day

jtuner77

Chill Out Sweetness....................I deal with DC all day long and since AEM purchased DC Sports there quality has gone up. Just because they didn't do exactly what you wanted and send you one right away your getting all pissy about it. No company that I know of will just send a new part out without getting a good look at the damaged part. I deal with this issue almost daily with 40 different manufacturers, this is what they call a warranty that covers the quality of manufacturing not a no hassle warranty. In your right mind if you where a company and you have one kid for everyday of the week call and say there brand X part is messed up and for you to send a replacement part out at no cost to them, but that cost you the cost of the part plus shipping plus a call tag for the damaged part, how often would you think you would get screwed? Hence the reason why they wanted to see the part before they give you a new one and/or if it was inpoperly installed. My father taught me one thing....................patience is a virtue.

f1nal zeros

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jtuner77 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Chill Out Sweetness....................I deal with DC all day long and since AEM purchased DC Sports there quality has gone up. Just because they didn't do exactly what you wanted and send you one right away your getting all pissy about it. No company that I know of will just send a new part out without getting a good look at the damaged part. I deal with this issue almost daily with 40 different manufacturers, this is what they call a warranty that covers the quality of manufacturing not a no hassle warranty. In your right mind if you where a company and you have one kid for everyday of the week call and say there brand X part is messed up and for you to send a replacement part out at no cost to them, but that cost you the cost of the part plus shipping plus a call tag for the damaged part, how often would you think you would get screwed? Hence the reason why they wanted to see the part before they give you a new one and/or if it was inpoperly installed. My father taught me one thing....................patience is a virtue. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Oh man, I feel good when one tries to be like me and talk like me.
Ok you guys don't seem to get the main point of why DC/Aem has lost my business.CUSTOMER SERVICE!!
Like I said I run my own business so I know about returns, defects and such but with each person I deal with I am always nice and respectful regardless of the situation. DC/AEM sports was by no means professional on how they talked to me.

Like I said many times already, but some seem to not get it through thier heads. I completely understand the warranty issue and how it works, but what was thier reason for thier bad customer service? They did not know the time frame or even a ball park figure of time needed. You said they deal with these issues everyday so why did they not know of the time frame? Like I said bad customer service will see no repeat business from me. And another point is that you said they deal with these issues every day, well what does that say about thier quality?

So once again before you go preeching understand where the customer is coming from.
And the sad thing is Dc sports used to be a good company. But since AEM bought out DC, quality and service has gone down hill. Ask anyone who has purchased a item from dc/aem lately and see how they like the quality and service of dc/aem sports. Take a trip to clubrsx.com and find the many threads regarding bad customer service and quality and you make look at them differently.

Your father taught you that patience is a virtue? Then here is a new lesson for you bro. Customer service is key to a successful business.

Halo

I hear you F1nal zeros! My dc race header starting falling apart shortly after I bought it from an authorized reseller..I called and called DC with NO RETURN PHONE CALLS. The people in their sales dept are a bunch of little pukes. Good job DC I wouldn't take your product if you gave it away for free

f1nal zeros

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Halo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I hear you F1nal zeros! My dc race header starting falling apart shortly after I bought it from an authorized reseller..I called and called DC with NO RETURN PHONE CALLS. The people in their sales dept are a bunch of little pukes. Good job DC I wouldn't take your product if you gave it away for free </TD></TR></TABLE>

Sorry to hear you are in the same boat as myself. And what makes it more amusing is that some people try and say it was just me and that this would not happen to anyone else.

I finally had it with BS companies who only care about the initial sell and then don't give a rats *** about the customer after they have your hard earned money.
If DC/AEM sports wants to act in this unprofessional manner then by all means let them do it, but they must know one thing. I will not stay quite on how they treat thier so called "customers" and I will tell many many others of thier imaginery customer service they claim to have.