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

Status
Not open for further replies.

Dave Lindemann

Lifetime Supporter
I accept your apolgy for hammering me last time.

Fran it just goes to show that I was right when all doubted me.
Since I had the forsight to bring this to everyones attention just wait until my brother President Obama get's in and he will show all of you thay my people are the true master race. you are correct Franny I am not buying one but I am still watching over you because now you know WHO'S YOUR DADDY.:veryangry:

Someone PLEASE get this PUTZ off of the forum!
 
boy i just don't know what's going on with this thread?

as a manufacturer of housing items, unless you make everything yourself, you WILL have parts shortages!

but the hostility shown here and by mostly people who have not ordered or will not order an rcr car is amazing. and why? nobody likes a kit without all the parts. why don't we just stop responding to any more negative posts and move on to useful threads and ideas. lot of wasted energy here. i know its frustrating waiting for parts but....

wes
 
What is happening to this forum?

This is still the same thread but with a different name, still the same players. It will not be solved because all the facts are already on the table and we are still going round and round.
Fran's reputation is impeccable. I only talked business with him a couple of times and I would have no problem ordering a car from him.
The problem is with the buyers of the kits.

Problem solvers like Chuck and Ryan have no problem because they enjoy the build and its challenges.
Others would be better off with an ERA GT40. A kit that reflects the company's reputation that one ERA is as good as the next. Everything is prefabbed, prepunched with a manual better than the one for a P-51 Mustang. I think Chuck and Ryan would not like a such build because they need an outlet for their creativity.

Then we have those with a lot of hope but limited chance of finishing their project. Complaining about a part that has not been delivered but that they will not need in the next years is their crutch in life to defend their own inabilities.

Still others cannot get along with with a certain person. John and Fran need a divorce. Is there a lawyer in the house :) Both my exwife and me are really nice people - together it would not click. When I stopped talking to her it eventually got better...

And finally there is Tyrese. All he wants was fly by me and I think he really got a bad rap. As a potential buyer he did his due diligence, caveat emptor etc, and the concerns he raised were stoked by PMs from a handful of people that for one reason or another have a gripe with Fran. Welcome to dealing with the general public. As a young professional athlete Tyrese , I assume, can afford a couple of Fran's creations but like most young men with spendible income he was probably already exposed to ruthless people who tried to screw him over. I am reading a certain desperation between his lines. So, although he started all this, I think he is actually a good guy who came on a little strong and was forced to prove a point that others made for him.

In the words of the great philosopher Rodney King " Can't we all get along?"
No we can't, because we are all different with different goals, different energy and different sensibilities. But what we should not do is go publicly after a young and enterprising business like Fran's or anybody else for that matter when in reality the problems are in our own backyard.
Mike Wegener
 
Since I had the forsight to bring this to everyones attention just wait until my brother President Obama get's in and he will show all of you thay my people are the true master race.


Tyrese, I am glad that you are still having fun. The sad reality is unfortunately that neither your brother Barrack Steve Obama nor my brother Johnny care about us car guys.....

I think when this is all over and you had a chance to maybe visit Fran's facility you will see what everybody is talking about. Don't worry - he will not recognize you. To us crackers all black guys look alike :)
 
Timeout GUYs!! - ALL of you...!

This thread - correctly located in the RCR forum has raised some issues that whilst unpleaseant for those directly involved - appear to have been responded to - time will tell.

It is not a time for everyone else to chirp up and stick their 2p/2c worth in and fuel the fire. Fran I am sure is thankful to those happy clients who have responded to it, but in turn that just provokes response from others, many of whom are not even owners/clients of RCR product. It detracts from the forum in general and as admins / moderators, we do not want to be dealing with what is basically playground name calling and bullying..

So -

The facts have been laid out.

No doubt those 'directly involved' will update as to whether resolved to their satisfaction or not and as such their input will remain here for all to see.

Now please lets try to move on, there are plenty of other things to discuss.
 
I suggest you all read post number 1 again....

Four customers of RCR have been forced to use the forums as a last resort because of RCR’s problems.
They have each paid in full for their order but up to 13 months later are still waiting for complete delivery, all four of them.
There are other customers in the same situation, but they do not want to put their name to this thread, possibly for fear of not receiving what is owed to them or jeopardizing ongoing parts support from RCR.

RCR has hundreds of thousands of dollars of customer’s money yet can’t make final delivery.

I was interested in RCR and have spent the past year doing research on the various companies and speaking to owners.
But this thread has helped me find out what really goes on at RCR and how Fran treats his paid up customers. I’m not ready to believe some of the owners with problems are at fault here.

And some classic quotes: :laugh:

The problem is with the buyers of the kits.

Are you serious? How would you feel as a buyer paying over $40,000 for something and still not receiving all of it over 13 months later?

True, not everything was shipped with the original kit....we were ready to fire up the engine and lacked the half shafts....we discovered an incorrect coolant tube was sent.

To my surprise a number of parts did not get shipped with the car....but I did receive a couple of boxes filled with packing peanuts and nothing else....the person packing up the car was having a very bad day.

I do not have all of my parts for my RCR40, but I am not missing much....

Amazing!

What is happening to this forum?....all of this BS about RCR is really rubbing me the wrong way.

BS Dave? So you are calling the paid up customers (plus others) in post number one liars? Even Fran has not denied these problems are occurring!

I am still missing a few parts, but you act as if RCR should be able to control that so that it doesn't happen.

Um....yes.

Don't you think that after 13 months if RCR can’t supply the parts that were paid for something is very wrong?
How about RCR does something simple....I don't know, like...changing suppliers????? :idea:

And maybe at the same time, instead of NOT TELLING THE CUSTOMER that there is a delay of over 12 months and ship the kits half finished, RCR should clearly communicate the delay with the customers before they pay their deposit?

I'm amazed that people find it normal within the GT40 community to wait over 12 months for something they have paid for.

I thank this forum (and this post in particular) for the facts it has provided. When sinking 50K+ into a kit, this type of information is invaluable.


 

Brian Hamilton

I'm on the verge of touching myself inappropriatel
Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, but I just called and spoke with Fran. Yeah he answered the phone! I told him I was interested in getting a quote from him for a turn-key SL-C as I am working on a cash contract with a buyer & seller of a HUGE real estate sale and my commission will allow me to realize my dream. The FIRST person I called was Fran about getting what I want, the SL-C. He said he had to do some family stuff today and may get it done this weekend and if not, early next week. I'm not in a rush, I don't have the check yet. BUT, Fran is the first and only person I'm going to for my car. Yeah, it's gonna be turn key from Fran because I'm an untallented jerk (I guess). I could go the SL-R route and save some change, but I like a car with AC and a roof. Haha. I'll buy an SL-R later. Trust me, I've decided to get both if the means are there.

But, as Paul Thompson said, I'm going to get off this thread now. Just had to add my last little bit of input.

laters,

Brian
 
Last edited:
Doohan,
if you read elsewhere on the forum you will see that I have changed suppliers for many items due to poor supply and quality control.

I also suggest that you try and shop around to see how many of the aftermarket suppliers actually keep parts on the shelf to supply their vendors...such as RCR.

You will be very surprised to find that many suppliers are very small companies without the wherewithall to carry inventory and as such they themselves use the "just in time" approach...a lag in their supplies has a knock on effect....

I can give you the phone number to the two "industry leaders" in their fields that have kept me on the hook for over 12 months...I have parallel standing orders just waiting to be filled...and there really is not another supplier that can provide the components they do....so if you would like to invest a little more than 50K and start a company supplying components....I would be all ears..

Do you call missing parts such as a pair of door eyebrows or a sway bar a half finished kit??? .....I know of larger companies that post on this forum that have had customers waiting for 12 months for a body...that was paid for in advance...now thats half a kit.

The hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent actually manufacturing the kits in the first instance...prior to delivery ...so I am not sitting on their money and not delivering anything now am I....which I hate to point out, others on this forum have already the indignity of suffering??...

At that point in time I made a very large financial commitment, to the damaged and slighted customers to help maintain a balance and keep a modicum of faith alive in the industry....and obviously promote RCR...NO other manufacturer saw the need to do this....
 
Last edited:
In answer to various postings

Ye gods all I wanted to do was illicit a response from Fran to let me know when I’d get me bits. Many of the parts have now arrived and the third consignment is in transit so a big thanks to Fran and all at RCR. Fran has also taken the trouble to phone me and explain he is training guys back at the ranch to ensure that an informed response to his ever growing customer base will be taken care of. He also pointed out that this training takes time. Certainly I didn’t expect the usual lunatic fringe, who I suspect have no personal knowledge of RCR or its products, to jump into the debate. Lesson learnt there I guess.

At the risk of being repetitive I would add this. I am a degree level mechanical engineer who has raced cars and I researched the GT40 market to death before buying an RCR, it was and remains by a long way the best engineered product out there. So where does that leave me now. Would I wholly endorse RCR products, most definitely yes. At no stage have I regretted making the decision to buy an RCR and would choose to go down the same route again.

John
 
I am not throwing mud here, so if you are looking for that skip this post.

I just picked up on this thread yesterday after speaking to Fran. Yeah, he told me about it. Well that peaked my curiosity. I read the entire thread. Yep, it's quite black and white, literally and figuratively. All should be welcome, but we should hang out here as friends or go somewhere else. I note pretenders will always come and go, that's just the nature of the beast. I learned years ago everyone is supposed to have value. I don't hang out on a lot of web sites, because bad behaviors get in the way. This one, gt40s.com has been an exception.

I bought an RCR40. I work on it daily. I can't wait to drive it! The quality of the car is beyond great! Back order issues? Some, a little frustrating yes, I can deal with it.

Now to what is important. I want Fran, RCR and the guys to succeed in the worst kind of way. Nobody else provides the joy to our lives in the form of these cars at this price. It has made it affordable to me and a bunch of other guys. Like me, I assume, they don't have the money to buy a competitor's car at a much steeper price, and/or recognize the quality of the RCR product for the price. As for Fran and the crew at RCR supporting families I assume it's important to them as well. I am sure Fran's wife doesn't want him home every day! :laugh:

Fran's got growing pains some of us as business people know how to fix. Fran has some ill's I believe are easily addressed. We are also living in an economic time where small businesses can be swept away in the madness of events beyond their control.

I for one think thoughtful solutions to his pains could be offered to Fran to help him to continue building our dream cars, employing folks in a state where unemployment sucks, and just as importantly, having really happy customers. We don't want RCR's quality product to go away we want it to get better.

Oh yeah, it's made right here in North America and hasn't been farmed out like most of our manufacturing industries. For those of us that live here, it's in our back yard.

Fran is not a bad guy, he is a good guy. He has accepted responsibility
in this thread. I don't believe he wakes up and says to himself, "How can I screw up someone's day (or build)?" He is a car guy, and as most of you guys that participate in your local car clubs know, we stick together and help each other out. At least that's what goes on here in Virginia.

When Bill D was struggling at the end of his build to the point of total frustration, people from this forum/club stepped up and gave him a hand and good advice. (It must be going on out west as well.) Anyway, what makes that any different here? I personally don't see a difference.

Fran has righted any supposed "wrong" thrown my way, before I even knew it. My scab tires for transporting my car sent to RCR in the Spring were inadvertently tossed. I arrived for the pick-up only to be delighted to find a new set of Goodyears already mounted on the car. That was above and beyond, he accepted responsibility and didn't hand me bill. A guy like this isn't out to rip a hole in your britches and not make good. It's not in his being nor in the best interests of his business and the guys working there.

Now can we help Fran along? (and bring happiness back to this place we love to dwell?) (Rhetorical question) It is way better than watching the current lies and cartoons of the political campaign, Wall Street, finger pointing, home foreclosures, and our 501k, 403b and other retirement plans being flushed. There is already plenty stress being meted out. This hobby should be our "happy place." :thumbsup:

Hopefully I have thought hard before writing this note.

Respectfully to everyone,
Howard

_____________________________________________________________
RCR40 happily sharing garage space with my Parnelli Jones edition 302
 

VCC56

Lifetime Supporter
  1. Don't think you are anything.
  2. Don't think you are as good as us.
  3. Don't think you are smarter than us.
  4. Don't fancy yourself better than us.
  5. Don't think you know more than us.
  6. Don't think you are greater than us.
  7. Don't think you are good for anything.
  8. Don't laugh at us.
  9. Don't think that anyone cares about you.
  10. Don't think you can teach us anything
This is the Danish 'law of Jante', the dour envious/jealous and pettyful attitudes Scandinavians sometimes inhabits towards anyone different or succesful. Seem to have been applied in spades by certain 'contributors'. We're with you all the way, Fran, the quality of your work is truly outstanding. Still gobsmacked by our visit to your fascilities(don't mean the loo's) and still undecided whether to go T70 or SL-C......or both.....or if you're ever doing a Maserati 250F..., but one thing is for sure, it will be a priviledge to own an RCR.

Hope to see you soon, mate.


All the best - Bjorn & Nadine
 
Hey Doohan, maybe you should let the people who have been waiting 13 months for their parts speak for themselves. You seem to be more irritated then the actual customers. Let's review the facts:

1. John et al voiced legitimate concerns over some missing parts.

2. Fran and RCR have accepted responsibility, explained the issues, remedied many of those issues, is working on the others, and made changes to prevent them from happening as best as possible.

3. You and others have exagerated the situation and accused RCR of taking money without delivering goods (essentially stealing) and of generally poor customer service. You went so far as to state that no one should buy an RCR40.

4. You have heard from many CUSTOMERS who are more than satisfied, and in fact are fiercely loyal to RCR, primarily because of the quality of the product and the fantastic service.

You sure have no right to quote me in such a way as to suggest that I am not 100% satisfied with RCR. Want the list of parts that I am missing? Here it is:

- Heat shield for my mufflers. Custom made, I didn't even ask for it OR PAY FOR IT, and it is delayed as Fran is using it as a pattern for others in the future. Oh wait, it isn't even part of the kit, so I guess I cannot mention it.

- Firewall. Was being CUSTOM made for MY car (no, I did not pay for that) because of my motor choice. I then changed my water pump, so all of the custom work done was for nothing, though I have not been charged. I will end up with a regular fire wall. I have not asked for it to be shipped, because I don't need it yet.

- 2 little angle brackets for the parking brake cables. They are in the mail (I have a tracking number from Casey). I did not even know I didn't have them until I got to the end of the section in the build manual. Didn't even ask for them until last week, and Casey dropped them in the same day.

The amount of time and effort ABOVE AND BEYOND what is "included" in the deluxe RCR kit to allow me to use a motor and tranny that will not fit in any non-RCR chassis cannot be put down in print, and would be lost on you anyway.

For the record, I ordered in January, ordered my manifold from Kinsler in early February, Kinsler finished in JUNE, it went to Fran where the motor/tranny/headers/filters/body could all be test fitted, I had ALL BODY WORK AND PAINT DONE and my car was ready for pickup in July. I hope to be near to DONE at the 13 month mark.


And finally, lets put it all in perspective. Since you are practically accusing RCR of stealing from customers, you ought to be considerate of the many people on this forum who had deposits with Roaring Forties. They might have a different view. And many of them have gone on to get RCR cars. I think that says it all.

...except for mentioning the Superformance guys who spent $120,000 and then waited 18 months or more for a transmission.

You simply have no idea what you are talking about.
 
Hi Fran,
It looks like I made the right decision in cancelling my order for the GT40,
Looking at the posts above.

For those of you interested it took Fran nearly six months for him to return my money,
actually 7 months from when I cancelled the order with many promises it was being transferred that never eventuated.
Has a similar ring to above.

But on the upside, due to your delays the Australian Dollar went through the roof and I made a great profit, Thanks,

You might deny this, but it is a fact.

Neil
 
There is nothing to deny Neil.

You cancelled your order AFTER your car was ASSEMBLED and was sitting in the shop 90% READY for delivery...I have the pics, as do you!!! ...your cold feet are not my responsibilty or liability.

I have a business to run and I am not a charity..

Your deposit was to be returned when the car was resold and you were well aware of this....it was resold and you were paid an amount that was more than you were due...I still have the ALL emails and PM's if you would like me to return them for your review?
It was taken by another Australian customer ,...but the body was changed and the spec was not quite right for him...so you were quite fortunate to receive your partial deposit at that late stage really...

Your luck with the exchange rate is very fortunate....but actually I think I was the lucky one , you did cancel your order afterall.!
 
Last edited:
Hi Fran,
It sounds like from the posts above, I would be still waiting for the remaining 10% of the car to be delivered, some 12 months after the order, what happened to the 16 weeks delivery, but I would of paid for 100% of the car.
There sounds like there is something wrong there.

Neil
 
There is nothing wrong Neil...

just read the whole post and you will see that RCR has employed more staff and changed vendors to hopefully exceed customer expectations..

Keeping people happy is a fulltime job in itself....just ask Casey
 
Last edited:
I agree 100% with Fran! I see what he deals with on a daily basis and I keep telling him we need a clone of him as the business is growing so fast it is hard to keep up but we run around the shop all day like chicken with our heads cut off to make sure things are being done, it is unfortunate that we cannot keep everyone happy as we wish we could!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top