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D3 Cadillac - shocked

22K views 109 replies 42 participants last post by  newcadman 
#1 ·
I am really shocked at the customer service at D3. It has made wonder how in the world they are still around and is this situation for real. I wrote them the straight forward and courteous email below and received absolutely no response. I know their reputation in customer service wasn't the greatest but I felt I would give them the benefit of the doubt. After receiving no response, no parts, no follow through, I am left to be done with the situation.

I have wanted a D3 carbon fiber hood and ordered it, for simplicity, through 21st Century Muscle Cars. They would be installing everything while my car is there anyway. 21CMC has been very transparent with me and diligent with D3. After being told that D3 had a hood for me, 21CMC told D3 that they would only pay for the parts with a tracking number. That was 2 weeks ago. They blame it on not having a box to ship it in. Yesterday, I asked 21CMC to get all the other parts: front end splitter, rear diffuser, LED inlet lights, side skirts. D3 said they had to go look to be sure the parts were all there then would call back for payment. This brings us to today and nothing.

Is this for real? Do they really survive like this? Is there more to this story I don't know? Their front line, Greg, has been courteous and will talk to us. But, this doesn't add up. Here is a copy of the email I sent to the owners with no response whatsoever. This was a fair amount of $ to be "trying" to spend, about $6k.

*******

James and Tim,

Thank you for reading my email. I run a couple of businesses and I am
asking you for the bottom line of my situation. Sometimes in my business,
the only right answer to give is the bottom line response that it can't be
done. So that is what I am asking you for today.

I realize you probably have no idea what is going on with my situation so
I will try to keep it concise and comprehensive. Simply put, I want and
D3 Carbon Fiber Vented Hood. I have asked for it since October. The
order may have come in to you from 21st Century Muscle Cars in November, I
am not sure now and it really doesn't matter - call it 4 or 5 months.

The update that 21CMC provided to me from D3 has essentially always been
the same, "a couple more weeks". I have done a very large amount of
business with 21CMC so I trust what they tell me. I have 2 known
experiences with D3, a friend who needed a replacement hood because of a
flaw (it took many weeks to resolve, and my own experience (4-5 months of
trying to spend thousands of $). So please understand my only experiences
have not been the greatest. Still, I believe it can be made right.

I just want to know, can I get a hood, can it be soon? Or, do I just need
to do something else? I am asking just to be leveled with and with
complete transparency. Tell me to buy someone else's hood if that's the
case or just level with me with a real timeline.

Additionally, I may have given up some leverage (if I actually had any to
begin with) by asking 21CMC to go ahead and get the other thousands of $
of D3 parts from you guys so they can at least be on the car while my car
is in their facility for work. I also ordered the front splitter, side
skirts, air inlets with LEDs, and rear diffuser.

After a month or so I took it upon myself to contact the front line of D3
for updates. They were the same updates 21CMC was providing to me. They
have always been courteous and helpful to the extent of letting me know
there were QC measures impacting production. I have to believe that has
been worked through.

It was suggested to me by a friend that there may be a shift for D3
providing parts to Cadillac dealers and that volume is the issue here.
Congrats if that is the plan, I think it will move a lot of parts for you.
But, I need a real answer and real timeline. In my business, everything
stops with me, I have the highest interest in my company. I am asking the
same of you.

Thank you for your time once again.

******

How does this go unanswered and without any follow through and they remain in business?
 
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#36 ·
Originally Posted by V-Roll
I lost you after reading "thank you for reading my email"... Pick up the phone & call 'em. What is wrong with people these days.

"I guess you also got lost after reading only that post. I had zero issues seeing that he made a number of calls.

What is wrong with people these days?"

Mr. Burgundy is just upset 'cause something I pointed out in a previous post, shoulda kept it there Ron! Now go eat a burrito & stay classy. :) I was just trying to say to either pickup the phone which nobody does these days maybe not in your case whatever or keep the email short to the point & sweet as to get the possibly ADHD person's attention. Keep it light hearted people you only live once.
 
#38 ·
Dr. Design - thanks for stepping into this mess, glad you're here. And on that note, I guess you're now involved by association at the least. I say that both in jest and all seriousness. And you said, now that I have your attention, (you, Tim, etc) I am sure it will get rectified. After all, besides the items - getting some attention, as in better service, is all I wanted for a few months. I'm not here to vilify D3, I just shared my experience and frustration. It was great to have Tim on the phone, I hope and believe he'll come through.

So you know, I had ordered the hood, front splitter, rear diffuser, LED air inlet fogs, and one other set (side skirts or something). I heard what Tim said about the hood and I know the issue from the dealer's perspective. Where I left it with Tim, and I hope he will be able to deliver, is to send all but the hood, contact dealer, with tracking and invoice and then I believe we'll have confidence on the hood element.

I don't expect or need you to get involved, Tim's got it I'm sure. I just wanted you to know too. Tim and I were on the same page today but I have no idea if he contacted 21CMC or not with items to ship. He knows how to reach me if there's any update or change to what we agreed to. Thanks.
 
#41 ·
As I said, they reached out to the OP only after they got wind of this thread. Then they post "He's all set" sure, now he is. Let's them post like they are the hero's here. Would they have responded to the OP without this thread? Make up you own mind. I know what I think.
 
#42 ·
Actually that is quite the contrary. The customer was called after we got the email. It wasn't until later we saw this email plastered on the forums. Unfortunately we don't spend a bunch of time on the forums monitoring. But thank you for your opinion.

Dr. Design
D3 Cadillac



----------

This has already been covered in your original post, but I will copy what we posted then.

Our initial response was this:

Re: My negative evaluation of D3 (kinda long)

Hello Cecil,

We are sorry your experience was less than stellar. We wish this could have been resolved in a better manner. We are not quite sure what would have changed between our facility and your location to cause such a dramatic decrease in performance as you describe. Quite frankly this is the first we are hearing about the degradation in power upon immediately driving it. Had that been the case we would have loaded it right back on a transporter and figured out what was going on. It was our understanding the performance of the vehicle dropped off after you added the intake and the exhaust, thus altering the parameters of the tune. Keep in mind that we scale the MAF according to our intake. Unfortunately it might not be the same with all intakes. On the dyno and through data logs there were NO signs of hung injectors and the car pulled very hard. The car would have never left here if there was an issue like that.

We are not interested in hearing one shops claim against another sources because nobody truly knows the actual intent. Nor are we interested in trying to compare dyno numbers from one dyno to another as the variables are already different. We spoke with your tuner several times about the combination and the conversation was much different then how the picture is being painted right now. But let's not dwell in the past. If there is an issue with your car and there is something that D3 did that needs to be addressed I will send a transporter and pick it up no questions asked. We get shipped cars from all over the country and even ship cars internationally. We take very special time and attention to details when setting up these cars as it is VERY expensive to ship cars back and forth if something was missed. I can assure you the vehicle left here at full power as it was or it would not have shipped. We would have at least liked to have been given the opportunity to make it right or see what was going on before you made alterations to the build...

Thank you,

Dr. Design
D3 Cadillac


http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...239-my-negative-evaluation-d3-kinda-long.html

NOT TRUE, D3. You tried some things like change the program in my ECM to match someone else's vehicle that had the same work done. I sent my ECM to you and after you got
through with it, you shipped it back. In the end, your phone man, told me that he thought it was because I changed the CAI from yours to another brand. I put the old one back on
and still had a problem. You never said to send the car over. I finally drove it to a shop that is about a 2 hr drive for me and had it re-tuned for an additional $500 and they found that one
of the new injectors that you installed failed. I then bough another new set and after they were installed, it has run great. Sorry James, my memory is not that bad. I think Ray was
your front man that I dealt with. Since you brought this crap up, I will mention to everyone that it also took your company 3 months to finally get my new hood installed right.
I realize that I was the first one for the hood, but I never thought that it would take that long. Thats a long time for you to hold my car hostage. You told me that it would take
4 to 6 weeks. You didn't even give a discount for making me having to wait so long. Cecil..................
As for the original post. We have been in touch with vendor and the customer. They have now paid their invoices and we are shipping out products. We will let the customer share his experience if he so chooses from this point forward.

Thank you,

Dr. Design
D3 Cadillac
 
#43 ·
Glad to have caught this thread. I was just looking at hoods last night and considering the D3 hood in spite of it's price. After seeing the weaponx hood and the difference in price, looks to be a no brainer. I don't have any customer experience to compare against D3's, but it certainly doesn't sound that they have a stellar record, that is for certain.
 
#44 ·
With any vendor, you'll have competing experiences posted on the boards. I have zero experience with WeaponX, so it might be great, but I've seen enough of the D3 hoods in action to speak for their quality. Keeping them in stock seems to be their biggest problem. From a looks standpoint, I actually might prefer the Weaponx hood, but if it's functionality, i.e. venting heat, it's no contest, the D3 design is superior imo. Depends on your goal. Good luck either way!
 
#45 ·
Hello,

I think it should be pointed out the D3 hood is a full carbon fiber hood that is unmatched in quality, fit, finish, functionality, and design. The Team Cadillac Racing team designed the original hood with function in mind, which was one of the design criteria when we designed our motorsports hood. Our goal was to create a superior without compromise in quality or materials. The result is a true full C/F hood inside and out. not a glass hood with C/F overlay. There IS a difference in price because there IS a difference product.

Unfortunately D3 is not batting 1000%, no company is. However we will continue to make improvements to our products and operation.

Here are some images of the underside of our REAL carbon fiber hood.



Please let us know if there are any questions.

Thank you,

Dr. Design
D3 Cadillac
 
#47 ·
I agree, looks like a sweet design but a great design means squat if they can't get you the product in a reasonable amount of time and without jumping through hoops. Maybe their business is just growing and they need time to adjust staffing etc. I'll cut them a break and say they messed up and at least are dealing with it now. I think we probably also need to consider those who have had good experiences with D3. They won't be as quick to post as human nature is to post when upset rather than happy with a vendor.
 
#48 ·
sure that hood is great until a real world situation make it as useless as a tit on a bull. a banker will give you an umbrella when the sun is shining, but will take it back the second it starts raining. if you had that hood in a heavy rain/sleet situation (parked or in motion) on a hot motor/operating temp, would they cover any damage done, (cracked intake or head) or are they only selling them to folks in warm climates?
 
#49 ·
Actually I am glad you brought that up. Our hoods come with an optional drip tray (yes that too is made of real C/F). You can bolt that in place in the vent that you want to drive your vehicle in inclement weather. It is designed to collect the water and dump it in front of the motor keeping it off of the hot engine components. This tray comes with all hood orders if required at no additional charge.

Thank you,

Dr. Design
D3 Cadillac
 
#51 ·
what if your an atheist? and with the navy admitting last week to using H.A.A.R.P. for weather modification. (IE: sandy snow storm) an "act of god" no longer applies.(google: ho chi minh trail weather modification) if d3 is putting big openings in the hood then god damn it i want consideration for their product or a disclaimer. =]~
 
#67 ·
Got an estimate over phone for pulley and water-meth on my 06 STS V on monday. Called Wednesday to make appointment, d3 was busy, they told me to call in 2 weeks. Called in two weeks, made appointment for following Monday and of course I called d3 on Friday to confirm for Monday. I show up on Monday (both me and my ride wasted a sick day) they tell me that their out of stock on STS V pulleys, WTF. Then some guy out of nowhere (d3 crew) goes port the blower! Not only did your service SUCKED, but now you're trying to sell me something cuz you're out of stock on what I really want. d3 just wants lame as justin bieber types dropping 20k fast, Instead of servicing real necks.

________________________________________________________________

Good morning, Your CF account is activated. Please use the Profile and Settings tabs to update your profile to reflect proper birth date, approximate location, car owned and time zone - or do you really live in London - GMT ?
 
#69 ·
Got an estimate over phone for pulley and water-meth on my 06 STS V on monday. Called Wednesday to make appointment, d3 was busy, they told me to call in 2 weeks. Called in two weeks, made appointment for following Monday and of course I called d3 on Friday to confirm for Monday. I show up on Monday (both me and my ride wasted a sick day) they tell me that their out of stock on STS V pulleys, WTF. Then some guy out of nowhere (d3 crew) goes port the blower! Not only did your service SUCKED, but now you're trying to sell me something cuz you're out of stock on what I really want. d3 just wants lame as justin bieber types dropping 20k fast, Instead of servicing real necks.


Yes, they are a very disorganized lot. This is not surprising in the least.



When dealing with D3 they generally have asked
me to buy the parts
& then schedule an appointment.
I have found this works very well with them.
Wow....just WOW...
 
#71 ·
I own my custom metal fabrication business. If a customer brings his own metal for us to fabricate, well, it just doesn't sit right with us.

This is not your normal "business model".
 
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