Give us a break (brake?) Fran.........and anything else ya got for us

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Fran

This posting has been made after a great deal of soul searching and with genuine regret by a group of very frustrated guys.

We are all delighted with the design and quality of your products and each of us would still choose to build an RCR if making the choice again. However we have all been waiting long periods of time for parts (some up to twelve months), which in many cases should have been shipped with the original kit. Requests for information from RCR either by email (not always responded to) or phone are met, at best, with vague commitments or commitments which subsequently don’t happen. We are all big boys so please just tell us what is really going on and we will then have a basis for meaningful dialogue.

C'mon Fran, just tell us track and trace on the stuff you have shipped and make our day.........

Sent in good faith, John, Simon, Jason, Andy
 
I don't have half the experience a lot of guys have on this forum. We have built one other car, a Factory Five Cobra. FFR has been in the business since the mid 90's, and our chassis is numbered in the 4000s. It is generation 3. They are well liked as far as customer service is concerned. We still had many missing parts. Some were just overlooked. Some were new design and just were not out in high numbers. Some were made by FFR, some not. There is not much comparison in the complexity of the two cars, but I would say the RCR is more complete, was delivered faster, is more custom (particularly my car, which is almost a one-off) and is of vastly higher quality than the Cobra.

I do not have all of my parts for my RCR40, but I am not missing much, and what I am missing is not really holding me up. In addition, none of the parts I am missing are built by RCR (master cylinders, AC compressor). I mean, when Hot Rod Air does not have a flat belt compressor, what can anyone at RCR do? If 7/8 master cylinders are backordered, there is not much to do but wait. And some of the parts on my car were designed literally a few months before I ordered.

In my experience, this is the nature of the business. Look at SPF, with people paying north of 100k and then waiting 2 years for a transmission. ERA - arguably the benchmark - does not seem to be known for its speedy delivery. RCR is a small company building custom cars, literally one at a time. To really create the turn-around that some people expect, you would have to have a larger work force and a larger inventory of all parts. This still would not change supply from outside sources, and it would also increase costs significantly. You just can't have your cake and eat it too.

At the end of the day, the RCR is an incredible piece of kit, the price is an absolute bargain for what you get, and I personally feel the response time has been very good. I cannot even compare the personal attention, as Fran seems to know all his customers by name. I can assure you, that is NOT the case with FFR.

Having seen your car John, it is going to be absolutely stunning.

My two cents.
 

Fran Hall RCR

GT40s Sponsor
I sent all the tracking numbers today...

Thank you for your response Jay....

I understand that I cannot keep everything on the shelf ..and I also understand that I cannot keep everyone happy all the time....but we do try.

I spoke to a multiple time FFR builder, (that builds them for a living)...he waited over a year for his parts...and he is a preferred customer...not that bits right but it does happen..industry wide.

Casey has been doing a great job but of late she has had lots on her plate with her wedding and me being away at the Run and Gun...in fact this is my first post since getting back into the shop...

Anyway....back to building and delivering cool cars to cool guys....
 
I'm going to add my FFR experience. I bought my first kit in 1999 and I just finished my 18th FFR Cobra and never waited for more than 7 weeks for any part not delivered with the kit.
Jeff Hamilton
 

Fran Hall RCR

GT40s Sponsor
I would like to say that I was not finger pointing at all....just a single example as relayed to me...
FFR are the industry leader in our industry for a reason...

As I mentioned its unfortunate but it happens industry wide...no offence aimed at FFR.
 
I didn't finish before I posted the first time.
I would not be a happy camper to wait a year for parts and I didn't have to with my RCR 40. I think Fran did a good job getting me everything for my car. There was only one part that put a stop to me driving the car sooner that I did.
I think comparing FFR to Fran is like comparing apples to oranges. When Fran sells over 6000 cars will he know everyones name? Did FFR have the inventory on hand in 1997 they do now?
Paul
The first FFR was done in 6 weeks tag, titled and driving down the road.
Jeff Hamilton
 
Paul
The first FFR was done in 6 weeks tag, titled and driving down the road.
Jeff Hamilton

Just amazing - I've never built a Cobra and have only helped with 40 builds, how much more complicated a build would you say a 40 is in comparison to a Cobra? assuming both are built to a similar standard of perfection... (Just wondering)
 
My wife could put the FFR together. The Cobra by design is so much easier than a 40. The 40 has a roof that need to match the hinged front and rear. This is a big deal to make right. The doors on a Cobra are flat and not part of the roof. The bodywork on a 40 (any 40) is so much more than a Cobra because of this. I have done everything from street rods to muscle cars and the 40 is a time consuming build. I would guess it would take me 3 times the hours to do another 40 vs another Cobra.
Jeff Hamilton
 
I'll add that although John and myself have now finally received tracking numbers after many requests from Fran (and Casey in his absence), it's interesting to note that the packages were only picked up by UPS from RCR yesterday which does not tie in with assurances that parts were sent out over 5 weeks ago...
 
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Fran Hall RCR

GT40s Sponsor
Simon.
as I told you in my message last night I took care of it myself ..and did not leave it to a member of staff....you now have duplicates on the way....to keep you both happy...
with the exception of Johns $1100 master cylinders that I went out of my way to get for him...they will arrive when they arrive....
Its is also interesting to note you did not mention the RCR generosity when you previously needed help...but hey thats life...and part of the bigger picture
 
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Fran Hall RCR

GT40s Sponsor
No ..
I am saying they are stuck in customs due to a paperwork screwup.....not by us...I hasten to add.

Thomas can attest to the pains he had when his packages were held for three weeks too...as can Flatchat when he and I had a boomeranging parcel that got shipped back and forth by the shipping companies...in fact that happened twice ...once from me and once from him...so s*it does happen my friend...believe it or not..
 
To some more than others it seems.
Why was this not mentioned rather than the two flippant and useless mails i recieved from you yesterday ?
 
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Fran Hall RCR

GT40s Sponsor
You mean in response to the two accusatory ones about you eating your hat....?

Suffice to say...enjoy the rest of your build and have fun along the way.....some of us attempt to make a living from this venture while others embark on these projects for fun...
 
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Are taking your ball with you ?

At least it got a response, i was tired of being ignored..

You found it fit to tell me that Casey was getting married in that same mail, can't help feeling the whole customs issue may have been more useful.
 
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Fran Hall RCR

GT40s Sponsor
No.... just my WomBAT....:thumbsup:

In fact I made mention of .."Casey is off sick with her kids and gone for the next week as she is getting married this weekend.."...in response to your request for Casey to send tracking numbers...I am sure she was not ignoring you.
My recourse was to resend parts...upon my finding out about the Customs hold ups..enabling you to keep you moving forward with your project.
 
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