SilverKnight

Here is the original problem that I had with my 1 yr old headers.
http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showt...hreadid=116249

I contacted SSAutoChrome and was told by them to contact Peter at OBX. I called and talked to Tommy who told me to contact SSAutoChrome since OBX does not deal with end customer. I contacted SSAutoChrome again and nothing happened. I called OBX and explained what happened. I was transfered to Tommy again. What happened next shocked me. He told me flat out that OBX does not deal with me, period. I told him that another member of the board got taken care of, sonor kid (didnt really spell his name out), and he suggested I talked to him. He asked me how long I had the headers. After learning that I had it for one year (exactly this day last year). He told me, "OBX only guarantee the manufacture defects for lifetime, what happened to you is workmanship which is only covered for 120 days from the invoice date.". I asked him so what is covered, he told me, flanges, drill holes and something else (I couldnt hear him over the exhaust leak noise). I asked him several time, it's not fair for me since I only had it for a year and it is already bad. He told me to read a copy of OBX warranty on OBX website butI'm not able to find it.

I had been an OBX fan, supporter and defender since day one but what happened changed my point of view completely.

So guys, learn from my lesson.

Save up to buy Comptech which I heard a lot of good things about. Otherwise, do not buy the shitty OBX headers. If it breaks after 120 days or 4 months, you are screwed.

darrinb

fawk man, this is bullshit

if my headers fuck up i aint go no money for comptechs

BlackShadow

Sorry to hear about that. Damn what a fucking ass!

Do what I did. I bought used comptech headers from a fellow board member and it has been over a year and still working like new. He had it for about a year also. Personally, I wouldn't pay over $1200 for a new so that's why I waited. But IMO, a used comptech headers is still way better than a new obx.

mt6forlife

How many times have I read something like "They're just metal tubes. What could go wrong? Just get the cheapest ones."

proaudio22

I'm thinking about gettin the OBXs...but only after letting my friend's dad's shop have a go at them.

I feel your pain tho man...

SilverKnight

mt6forlife,
That's what I had been believing in, but not anymore. I stopped dreaming.

proaudio22,
save yourself the trouble and don't buy them. I wouldn't mind uninstall the headers and ship them back to OBX for replacement. That's what I would expect when I purchased the cheaper stuff. However, what OBX told me about their warranty was just BS and got me upset.

Do yourself a favor and stay away from them.

BoostedM3

Thats fawked up. :thumbsdn: I would keep harassing them until they fix it.

proaudio22

Well I've got a 1st gen CL...

I'm just gonna have them grind the flanges straight and clean up the welds. I doubt I'll have much problems then, but I dunno. Maybe I can find some used Comptechs for the V6 Accord?

SilverKnight

if that is the case, good luck with it. AV6 folks seem like the Stone, you may wanna look into it.

Ray Khan

SilverKnight that is f'ed up man. What is the difference between manufacturing defectects and workmanship...they are the same thing. I would report OBX to the BBB right away for having a vague warranty like that. Good luck.

Zapata

silver,
that sux man










:cough: jimcol eats crow yet again :cough:

tool462

quit being cheap and buy the comptechs

Chopsie

Damn and I was thinking about getting them also . Have been trying to hold out for some used CTs, can't justify dishing out the cash for some new ones. I was actually going to get a great deal on some new OBX SS, and I liked the warranty despite the complaints I have heard about them. Silverknight, your post is sending me back to the drawing board. Thanks for the heads up.

bigman

Damn man, that sux, but you guys cant use this as a claim that OBX sux. Their service is horrible. But my headers have been on for about a year and had a rought winter beating and they are still on strong.

CLpower

I'd call back and talk to Peter. Don't give up, it's bullshit and they are trying to screw you, something that is very very common in this industry.


I wouldn't bash OBX, every company has problems, you do pay for what you get.

BoostedM3

IMHO, OBX is a shaddy company for doing this. Performance wise, they are identical to comptech, so no one can really say they suck in that respect. However, since OBX does not stand behind their product especially when it's a workmanship/manufacturing defect, then they do SUCK!

When CT first release their headers, I had a vibration problem with the flex joint (steel mesh). They had great customer service and fixed the problem for me at their facility.

Chief F1 Fan

Sue 'em, I would

Smitty

Now all you turkeys that thought you saved so much money finally find out that your getting it in the ass.... So in all reality, your spending money for shit, then turning around and buying 1200 C/T headers and paying for 2 installs....

REAL nice..... glad you cheap bastards listened to the veterans of this board last year when we all told you about the design and shitty welds...

Sorry for your loss, but Silverknight, do you think that you can take the rear bank off and go get the weld redone?... that would probably be your best and least expensive option...

Smitty


P.S. Flames away if you wish........

P.S.S. Darrin, if you have no money to mod your car, why do you spend money on modding your car then?? <---- I could never figure that one out...

Essarak Huot

do it the right or don't do it at all...................just my two

ModAddict

I hope the Stone Racing headers fair better, not only for selfish reasons, but really, $1200.00 for V-6 headers???? That's what no competition will do for you. You have to admit that's twice what they should be! I don't mind paying more for better quality, but come on now.

my

blackmagiCL_S

Sounds pretty easy to say "I told you so" after something happens. I'll admit, I wish that I spent the $ on the CT but besides the resonance (which is why I wish I got CT) I haven't had a problem yet. The sucky part is, OBX doesn't stand behind their product. I complained to them about the resonance by email and fax but they never replied. @ssholes.

AK_MOBBER

When I first heard that comptech headers were $1,000 + I seriously thought everyone on this board was smoking crack.

They may have nice welds and a good warranty but no headers are worth 1,000 +.... IMHO

blackmagiCL_S

jimcol711

damn, that does sound shady as fuck.....talk about a lame ass excuse.....workmanship??? how can they differenciate like that??? what a pathetic excuse for backing up your product. i have to say i find this unacceptable and totally out of line. i would be bitching like a mad man, thats for sure.


heres another idea that suprisingly noone has even mentioned.....how about instead of spending a grand on comptech, you take that rear headerbank to a fuckin WELDER and have them PATCH the leak (failed weld) and youll be good to go!!! that wouldnt possibly cost more than 50 bucks...hell, since its on top, he could possibly even reweld that without taking it off the car....seriously, before going off the deep end and spending a grand for comptech, id be investigating the hell out of getting that rewelded...it would be astronomically cheaper

Chaptorial

:thumbsdn: Thats freaking garbage.

Satin Slayer

I don't think $1100 is extremely overpriced for the Comptech headers. After all, you are paying for the name as well.

I looked up what other V6 cars have headers.

For example....

On one site, the Altima's Stillen headers are on sale for $899.99(regular price is $1040)

Another site lists V6 headers for Mitsubishi cars for $759.99


If you're going to spend the money to modify your car, why not buy the best? If you can't afford to buy the good stuff and opt for the cheap alternative, then you shouldn't be modding your car...you should be saving your money for more important things.

darrinb

my man i aint rich like you, theres a 700 dollar differense in price, what you said makes no sence but maybe i am reading it wrong

i do have money to mod my car, but every one gets what they can afford, for the price of comptech headers i got obx headers, springs, intake, and a crank pulley with still several hundred left over

Doc.Booty

Why not have someone you know who can weld just fix the hole for $20 or something?

benzo555

Sorry to hear it man. Thanks for the warning... I was gonna get that for my TL.. I guess comptech it is...

Red-CL

Good job on the heads up. Comptech, here I come.

CLpower

okay, so since 2 people really make hte product inferior? What an ass.

First off it's not a bad product, every product has it's problems. He should not let this go, if I were him i'd push it to the fullest limit and I would be getting new headers for free. There are many people who have had them replace stuff under warranty. This guy is just giving him the run around.

Red Rider

Sorry you got screwed Silver, stay on them and let them know you passed the word to 10,000 CL members Buy Comptech

CLpower

yea, seriously I'd call and talk to someone else

bigman

I am by no means cheap. I have every mod minus supercharger on my car avail. I went obx because with the money i saved i did headers, catback and mufflers for my car. Me and a few other guys in my area have had the obx's for about a year with no problems. Just because one person complains doesnt mean they all suck. You're just mad that you took it in the ass when comptech raped you for 1200 bills. When i got twice the amount of stuff for less then that.

SilverKnight

For those of you who said I should quit being cheap and get CT. FYI, I don't make the same money as you do and I got bills to pay. If I could afford 30K car, why did I go the cheap way to save 700? The answer is simple, I couldn't justify the extra 700. Why am I complaining? I should get what I paid for, right? I expected all this. Just to let you know, I installed 4 sets of OBX headers on 1 CLS, 2 TLPs and 1 AV6 coupe. The only set that went on smootly was mine. One TLP had problem with the bolts at the cat didn't line up correctly. The other TLP had problem with the O2 sensor holder being too high causing the sensor to touch the oil case. The one on AV6 coupe was the worst. I had to re-drill the holes at the exhaust manifold because they didn't line up. Did I complain about those? NO. I knew that what I had to deal with for buying and working on low and cheap parts.

Why am I bashing them now? Because of the way they gave me the run around in the first place. When I get them to answer my question, "SSAutochrome doesn't want to work with me. What can OBX do for an end user?" The guy then told me that workmanship is only covered for 120 days even though I told them up front I have the headers for a year, exactly on that date.
Why didn't him tell me right after I told him that? Why did he keep suggesting me to contact SSAutoChrome? What kind of company would tell their end customers that it doesn't deal with end customers who have problem with its own product?

About mine, I removed it this morning and had it fixed at a muffler shop for $10. OBX lost an existing customer and many many potential customers thanks to their BS customer service.

After all, as someone said in this thread, "Do it right or not doing at all." And stay away from OBX products!!!

Thanks the guys that gave me the support and listened to my rant.

Scott,
Thanks for the advise. I tried calling Peter 3 times yesterday but never got to him. All my calls were either picked up by Tommy or forwarded to him. I know every product has problems, but the OBX headers just have more problems!

CLpower

I hear yea, just keep being persistant, I'd keep calling day and night.

BoostedM3

bigman - So in your opinion, the way OBX dealt with Silverknight's situation is appropriate? You would still honestly buy their product knowing that if your headers were to become defective, they wouldn't give a fawk? Looking at all the products OBX makes for all different cars, I found on many forums that A LOT of people complain about their build quality & warn others not to go with them. Based on that and due to their lack of customer service proven in this case, I think they are a shaddy company. That is my opinion based on these facts.

I know everyone wants to save a buck these days, so I understand why people are compelled to buy the cheaper alternative. However, I had my CT headers for over 3 years now without problems. And with this recent development, I'm glad more than ever I bought the Comptechs (which could be had for much less than $1200 back in the day).

Silver - Glad to see you got it fixed. Go harass them some more.

SilverKnight

Scott,
I hate their BS run around so I am not gonna call them anymore. Let them deal with their own BS.

ronnie,
I don't like the idea of harrassing them. I've been nice and professional with them. The idea of me posting this thread here (and several forums) is to keep other ppl who try to squeeze more out of their hard earn money from making the same mistake as I did. Fortunately, I could install and uninstall the headers myself so it's not too big of a deal. An average Joe would have to pay for the initial installation, the removal and then the re-installation.

Aquineas

I strongly disagree. They deserved to be bashed. Everyone should know about crap like this.

Aquineas

It's too much bro:

http://store.yahoo.com/southwestauto...hepicone1.html

Note that price includes a high performance cat. No one will buy the Stillen's when the Hotshot headers are available (Stillen is the "Comptech" of the Nissan world without the quality. High price, not always high quality).