Gibson27

iTrader: (1)

Anyone have any experience with driverfx.ca? I like to do my shopping online and I wanted to know what you guys would recommend. Not a big fan of getting stuff shipped from the states and then getting dinged with brokerage fees/duty.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

Driverfx is through canadian tire as well. That way you can save the shipping on some driverfx parts that way.
unfortunately their selection is junk, and their website is terrible (buggy), they have zero customer support, etc.
Even if you hate duty, look at it from a birds eye, and the prices are still better from summit. Their selection and knowledge keeps me coming back time and time again.

Gibson27

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the reply sonix. I priced up a carb (just used that for a price check) between summit and driver fx. Driverfx was approx 80 more than summit for the exact same item and it was 50 bucks to ship. Thinkin I'm gonna do all my shopping at summit and swallow the shipping and duty costs.

online170

Ive done alot of online shopping (honestly, in Canada theres not many options for certain parts) and this is what i recommend.

FIND A SPEED SHOP NEAR YOU! Go to car shows, talk to the guys there, see where they shop. I found two in Ottawa. One of them is a fairly famous one, Young's Speed Shop, and I found another accidentally when i locked my keys in my car. They are about 5 mins from my house where ive lived for about 12 years.......

When you compare prices, i use summit, jegs, or a body specific manufacturer for those special parts. Like Hawks, Spohn, or T/A performance, when i used to own a buick.

If you look at the prices head to head, the speed shop is more expensive, but in the end, you dont pay as much of the shipping and duties on it. For example, i looked and looked and couldnt find anyone selling an RPM Air Gap intake (edelbrock 7501) used, because it was a fairly new design. Somewhere between $210-$220 online on various sites, and it was $237? at the speed shop. Id have to find the receipt, but thats pretty damn good. The canadian dollar was a bit lower than the USD at the time.

SO make a big list of stuff you want, then buy it all at once. Buy from a speed shop whenever you can (for big stuff only), and when you DO buy stuff online, buy it in large quatities. make use of the shipping.

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

hey a newfie like me, lol.
I guess it depends what your looking for. I get my interior pieces from Modern Day Muscle. Engine components and some cosmetic things from Summit. They are both american companies. I recently bought a Ram air 2 hood from
fasttoys.net . They are based out of Winnipeg and were excellent to me. Their site doesn't have alot of stuff right now, but he is a hawks agent as well so he may be able to find whatever you are looking for.

online170

The problem with those companies is (i talked to them over the phone), that they get the parts at roughly the same price as us. Ofcourse they have to have their own profit margins to be a viable business, so their cost is $10-20 more expensive comparing to if you bought from SPOHN or HAWKS directly and had it shipped to your door.

The only thing is, they always send it UPS, who slaps a brokerage fee on you without telling you. HOWEVER, theyve had to clean up their act for the canadian buyer, so i think its a max of $20 now, and you pay it upfront.

When i checked (UPS's old system) it was more expensive to buy from an agent. But check again, and you might find its close to the same price.

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

he has his own stuff, but he is also a hawks' agent. i bought the hood for the same price as it is on hawks' site. so i don't think he made anything. i did use his broker though for like 25 bucks. his site has some parts listed that you can buy, but i think he is just starting out. look him up, he is good to deal with.
fasttoys.net

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

I have to argue that one! Unless this is a very recent change, I'm still getting hit with the mystery fee's that are quite high. We'll see, just bought some more stuff that's coming to me via UPS.

online170

Ill get back to you on this, but the paying up front is an option offered by the COMPANY you purchase from, not UPS. SO if the company hasnt opted for that service, you will still get a COD at your door.

Secondly, i think i may be wrong about the $20 max. Ill get back to you on that, but i know its $20 max for MOST items. I think it could be more past a certain weight category but im pretty sure they've had to put a max limit on all items.

When speaking to UPS manager for roughly 45mins, their explanation of what a brokerage fee is;

since they pay tax for us at the border for a day, they are entitled to charge us a fee if you will at 150% interest or something like that. My freind also had a similar conversation, and he got the manager to admit they dont have a real reason to charge us that fee. So they dumbed it down and made an option to pay it upfront available.

EDIT:

Ok heres what i found. I thought it was less than this but anyway.... For most items we buy itll be roughly $20....... My spohn x-member for example, was $140 item, which i was charged a $75 COD charge befor the prices were lowered.....

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shi...clearance.html

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

Hmm, thanks Azeem (?). I've heard that part of the fee is the "COD fee". ie. if I phone up UPS and tell them IN ADVANCE before it hits the border, then I can pay the fee on the phone (credit card) and save the COD fee. That way my broke roommates don't have to pay it for me either.
Hmm. Good info.

Gibson27

iTrader: (1)

How do you guys find the shipping costs? fair or not? I can use a local speed shop here but it's a pain in the *** to wait for them to look up every part in a book and then get the price. I'm looking to spend like $500 to finish my car and I think it's far more convient to use a online shopping cart.

If i buy bulk from summit like 500 worth then the shipping wouldn't be so bad i think.

online170

I find the shipping to be decent. I live about 45 mins from the border, so i have the option of just driving down and picking up the parts. Even with the free shipping in the states service, it adds up to about the same, because if i encorporate fuel and time, its about the same. They screw you with the taxes, and customs though. Nothing we can do about that.

As for the annoying speed shop guys, try speaking to a different person, or if theres only one guy that does the "catalogue" thing, look up the part numbers and manufacturers before you visit them.

That works well for me. Just remember to write a little description of the item though, because sometimes they use different catalogues, and they get the wrong part.

If youre having a hard time deciding, just price it out. Call summit, ask them how they will ship it, and get a total. Then add up all the various taxes and duties and ups fees if its UPS.

Then go to the speed shop and price it out again..... I think you'll see the speed shop will give u a price that leaves out those extra UPS fees.

Speed shops work in an interesting way, the items that are SUPER popular, they will charge a little more than say summit. Because they sell alot, and it gets them profit. However, specialty items, like an air gap intake, or a very specific camshaft, is roughly the same price as summit (or sometimes even less). Depending on what youre buying, sometimes the speed shop is cheaper.

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

I bought some plug wires recently from summit and they cost about $80 bucks usd, I think it was $34 bucks shipping, which I thought was alot. Then I realized that it eliminated all border fees and c.o.d fees.

online170

Really??? How did they ship it?

Summit is worth it if you buy alot of stuff from them. OR large items. My freind just purchased an aluminum rad, dual electric fans, and a full 3" exhaust system, plus a gasket kit for an olds 350. He didnt pay that much more for shipping over the parts, but im pretty sure he had a COD fee.

Gibson27

iTrader: (1)

I guess me and goalie and in the same boat sort of speak. We are on this island that will cost a arm and a leg to get anything shipped to us. Summits prices are really good especially that our dollar is now at par. I'm just wondering if that savings at summit will be signifcant enough or in the end should i just go to a speed shop.

I did think of something though. Our local speed shop uses Keystone for their parts, same distributor as Crappy Tire. I did once know the password for CT's ekeystone account but they have since changed it. I use to be able to shop and see what CT would get it for and I could get it at cost. I got my B&M master racing overhaul kits for like $200 taxes in lol.

online170

Yea i know that route too. My freind was a CDN tire employee in the autoparts, so he also had the password. He got a holley 650 double pumper for like $400. Top of the line, they are more expensive than that.

All my local speedshops use keystone as well, but sometimes they will shop at summit if they cant get the part. However, all the shops mark it up differently for different items. Just shop around and see who can get you the best deal.

You wont know until you call up and price it out.

Im gonna go visit my freind today, ill confirm whether he had a COD fee on his alum rad and exhaust from summit. But im 99% sure he did.

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

I think it was usps, but I am not sure. I will check their site later to see if its marked on my bill.

Summit and places like that are good for people living on the island, makes shopping a whole lot easier, with detailed item descriptions making buying that much easier. You can track ur shipment and no more waiting for canadian tire to call u 4-6 wks later telling u that ur shipment is in after you probably don't need it anymore. Thats the most annoying, when they don't have it in stock.

online170

I just checked with my freind. He clarified that the exhaust was from a speedshop, not summit. But the rest of the stuff was from summit. They shipped UPS and they DID charge a brokerage fee. However, it wasnt much, around $20 or so.

Maybe its only the mainlanders that get screwed?

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

lol....i doubt that. when did he buy it?

online170

earlier this year. Towards the end of winter. February, possibly march?

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

i bought my wires in march i do believe, maybe early april, and i had no hidden fees whatsoever. maybe it depends what u buy from them. my wires weren't that heavy, but the box was fairly big. no idea if it makes a difference.

online170

Maybe someone screwed up at UPS and forgot to charge you. However, i think you paid the COD charge upfront, so you werent hassled with it at the door.

I dont think the weight makes a difference, if the shipper declares the value of the item, you'll get charged for it by ups.

UNLESS, they have an exception policy for newfoundland, which they very well might. I dont know.....

I had my clutch hydraulics shipped to me by an independant company earlier this year as well, it weighed almost nothing, there was a COD on that too....

duderjay

check out

www.mopacautosupply.com hardcore hotrodding

Thier performance specialist gave me catalogs just on suspension, he said he would help out in any way making up packages and such.

oh yeah his prices are cheaper than the internet

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

oh yea, Mopac has their main office here in Calgary. Sometimes their prices are comparable to summit, but usually they don't have stock of the oddball parts that I tend to want. I also like to buy summit house brand parts, and save all kinds of cash, THAT kind of deal nobody can match

Gibson27

iTrader: (1)

I ended up getting my parts from my local speed shop, they also support our track here. Main reason was to get the parts as fast as i could.

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

where u located?

Gibson27

iTrader: (1)

Mount Pearl, u?

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

Port aux Basques

Gibson27

iTrader: (1)

seen your post on nf-fbody.com good luck on the repaint. My car is on there, I go by NL400sbc on that site.

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

cool, that site doesn't seem to get much use. I don't know y.

Gibson27

iTrader: (1)

Seems like a boys club for the old farts lol.

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

Lol, don't know bout that, but theres never much activity there. Not many 3rd gens either.

87ROCZ

iTrader: (3)

LOL... boys club for the old farts... I must let the boys know that they smell cuz they are old farts

Brennan

how long have you lived in PAB goalie? my parents are from there. but i usually go with summit or cross canada depending on what im buying

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

Been in port aux Basques my whole life.

Brennan

i dunno how old you are but do you by any chance know derek anderson? ive got alot of family out there

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

Not sure, alot of anderson's out here.

Brennan

where do you live in pab? do you know earl strickland?

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

I live right downtown, not sure if I know Earl though, but he may know who I am. There are not many thirdgens around town.

Brennan

whats your name? ive got alot of family out there young and old

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

Ozzy

Brennan

dont really ring a bell to me im 19 and dads 42 so im geussin you might be inbetween ill ask dad when he comes back from vacation

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

where do you live now??

Brennan

i live corner brook now but almost all my family is out there

camaro_boy123

ups is notorious for charging stupid brokerage fees. When i got my frame rails in hamilton ontario i had to go down there to pay 140 bucks in brokerage fees and i almost lost it on them. They were stating that because of the weight and size of the package they had to. so needless to say i stopped all together with importing things that way. Now i get everyhting shipped to my buddies house in michigan. Then plan a weekend trip to his place to chill and then bring it all back across. at the border they go through it all and because i dont have reciepts and tell them that i brought it across with me they cant charge me

The Project

iTrader: (6)

www.fasttoys.net really good pricing and great to deal with.

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

Ya I may get my exhaust from him, but I haven't decided yet.

Fyrstorm

iTrader: (1)

Been ordering a lot of parts from summit and was tired of being dinged $80 here and $90 there from UPS. (Stuff I bought was large and a bit of weight) so on my last order I picked standard mail. It took 2-3weeks to get it but the fee was only $30 and I could pick it up at my local post office.

goalieforlife

iTrader: (4)

thats the way to do it, don't bother with ups at all, and it actually doesn't take much longer.

Gibson27

iTrader: (1)

I just got my hedman shortys from my local speed shop and the cost taxes in was 220. Now if i got them from Summit it would be around 155 CAD before being shipped. I dunno if I could get them from summit for less than that shipped.

Damn rock we are on.