PenguinQX

iTrader: (1)

I purchased AW headers back in early November from Excelerate's group buy. There was a severe manufacturer's defect and they did not fit my car at all (Paid $200 in labor to take my old headers off, but new ones half on and find they didn't fit, then put old headers back on). Apparently, a bunch of guys over at Acura CL were having the same problem too. Excelerate posted a warning and an offer to refund money for defective headers at Acura CL, but failed to post one here at Acura TL. Not sure why.

Excelerate was offering to refund money for people affected by this, but only if the headers were "unused". He would not take my headers back since he deemed them to be "used". This is a whole different matter which I won't get into now, but I can't say I'm happy that someone has made $ off my misfortune.

Alphawerks claims to have a 1 year warranty, but when I contacted them, they gave me the runaround. I talked to an individual named "Carlos" who was extremely antagonistic when I tried to explain my situation: basically, their product does not fit and they have a 1 yr warranty they should offer. Apparently, he saw some posts over at Acura CL (where this problem is more widely known), and people were getting riled up over these problems -- his attitude was: "You guys are all bad-mouthing Alphawerks, this and that... why should we help you?" I explained to him that I hadn't said anything about his company since I did not want to pre-judge. Finally after a lot of haggling (because he didn't believe that there was even anything wrong with the headers), I got him to agree to take the headers back for either repair or replacement. He told me to email him my information, and he would get back to me. 10 days passed, no response. When I called him back, I spoke to him for a minute before he says: "Hey I'll call you back in 5 minutes". 10 minutes pass, and no phone call. So I call him back, and ask for him, and the person I spoke to says "He's out to lunch". Great: more BS. I get transferred to his mobile: "Oh yeah, I remember you... the problem is that you gave me a PO Box, Fedex doesn't do pickups from a PO." BS, I gave him a PO AND a physical address. Anyway, I schedule with him a pickup. Of course, fedex never comes to pick up my headers. This was back around Thanksgiving. I have not heard from Carlos since. I've given up on this, since the only real solution is to get a new set of headers (which won't be guaranteed to fit anyway)

Anyway, I'm sure that these defective headers are floating around out there at various retailing outlets and on eBay, and I strongly recommend that nobody buys them. If they are used, they will probably be fine (since they could not be used in the first place if they didn't fit), but I wouldn't trust any shiny un-browned headers.

Alphawerks deserves to lose money for producing a defective product and then not honoring the warranty.


Cliff Notes:
- Bought new AW headers, totally didn't fit. This problem is not isolated... Acura CLers have had these problems, as well as some guys over at V6performance.
- "Carlos" at AW was unhelpful and antagonistic at first, but finally agreed to take defective headers back
- Gave me the runaround for a long time
- I give up, headers can't be "fixed" anyway, only solution is new set of headers, but even still I run a risk of headers not fitting.
- DEFINITELY Don't buy AW headers, and consider not buying their other stuff since they obviously don't honor warranties.

PenguinQX

iTrader: (1)

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...0&page=1&pp=25

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Great attitude.

I'm not even involved, and I got pissed reading your story. I'll spread the word. If Alphawerks is reading this, get fucked. You don't fuck over a community.

He had a great opportunity in his hand to help you out, and in turn, you would've spread the word that AW stands behind their products. As far as I'm concerned, they fucked up the product, then Carlos fucked up with his attitude, then fucked up with the false promises. That's 3 strikes. I say we boycott them. AW's name will be shunned here from now on.

ThinJim

iTrader: (3)

I think Excellerate was honoring warranties if the headers did not have the engine started with the headers on the car. Meaning, no exhaust ran through them. Sounds like you didn't start the car with them on, so you may be able to get him to honor what he has said in previous posts. Sorry to hear of your misfortune as I have been watching people have problem after problem with these headers.

samkws

wow, what a story, thank God i have the comptech and not megan not alphawerks

i would be real pissed if i paid 600 dollars for nth and get shit back

so how much u paid?

and u r losing all that money?

JPTL-S

Don't give up!!!! I would definitely contact the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org) and have them write up a report on Alphawerks, doing this will put some fire under their ass I honestly think you will have a much better response by reporting them to the BBB. Please keep us updated on your progress, we're behind you 100%

Here is the link to file a complaint: http://bbb.org//complaint.asp

PenguinQX

iTrader: (1)

Excelerate says that exhaust was run thru my headers. My mechanic said he couldn't bolt the headers up so that I could drive the car, so I don't see how this is possible. The gaskets had a coat of black junk on them (maybe they were my old gaskets?), but the headers themselves were not discolored.

I also don't understand what difference it makes: these headers can't be fixed, and since they're defective you're not going to re-sell them (or at least I hope you're not), so what difference does it make if exhaust was run through them?

I have filed a claim with my credit card company, and it is currently in the process of being resolved - $400. This is no ill-will against Excelerate, but I'm doing anything I can so I'm not out $400.

PenguinQX

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the support. I've been so busy with school (college student) so I've not had the time to properly deal with this. I will file a report with the Better Business Bureau soon. I've posted a link to this thread over at Acura CL; hopefully the guys who got defective headers over there will file a complaint too.

samkws

when the bbb has over 5 complaints in a month they will start a file and investigate

sbuswell

I am glad I bought stones instead of AW. I was leaning that way but the stones were cheaper and have been awesome headers(still look like new, accept bronzing). I hope you get all your money back. still file a complaint with the BBB, AW is unbelievably stupid for not standing behind their product. This will cost them sales and I would not doubt seeing them OOB in the next few years if they keep this shit up!

demolition_x

i hope you get your money back. that is bull shit. if a bunch of you guys lived close to them i would go knocking on their door looking for answers. BB is a good start. was this carlos guy the president of the company or just some fvck? i would def talk to higher up people in the company.

keep us updated.

i also think its bogus that Excelerate won't take them back. if hes a retailer for them he should have better communication with the company than the general public, also for his own company's reputation. if they are scrap they are scrap you can't fixem to make them fit, even if they did i don't think many people would want them any ways.

blk2001tlon19s

.......one reason I had comptech headers, no problems at all



Wish you luck man!

big mike 13

thank GOD i didnt buy the alphawekrs on ebay from that guy on ebay..
after i had it up to *here* with my megans, i was looking for another set of headers. couldnt be happier settling with a set of used comptechs for $400...

aaronnn

thats why i can trust anything new.. except for maybe comptechs. im happy i bought my OBX used. the previous owner had it on his car, and told me it was in perfect shape, and running smoothly. i had it on for over a year and its still in awesome condition..

AW should go bankrupt or just burn to the ground. thats just wrong for messing around with people..

etxxz

i'm happy i bought cheap headers before these came out!! (obx ss)

how is it then than some people got theirs to fit? Maybe that shop you took it to are either lazy or incompetent??

OBX headers...prob the same as these...are made for the Honda accord 3.0L engine (J30) but happen to fit on our 3.2L engines (J32) BUT you have to apply some good force...say 3people while the 4th bolts everything together. [hear the voice of experience]

I will talk with some poeple i know that bought this headers and installed them themselves and post what i've found out.

etxxz

i'm happy i bought cheap headers before these came out!! (obx ss)

how is it then than some people got theirs to fit? Maybe that shop you took it to are either lazy or incompetent??

OBX headers...prob the same as these...are made for the Honda accord 3.0L engine (J30) but happen to fit on our 3.2L engines (J32) BUT you have to apply some good force...say 3people while the 4th bolts everything together. This happened to my car and my friend's 00. both done by us...and for the record there's no resonance on either cars...if you have it tighten the downpipe-header bolts (6)

I will talk with some poeple i know that bought this headers and installed them themselves and post what i've found out.

etxxz

i'm happy i bought cheap headers before these came out!! (obx ss)

how is it then than some people got theirs to fit? Maybe that shop you took it to are either lazy or incompetent??

OBX headers...prob the same as these...are made for the Honda accord 3.0L engine (J30) but happen to fit on our 3.2L engines BUT applying some good force...say 3people while the 4th bolts everything together...A few friends and I installed headers on both my car and my friend's 00 and had the same problems

I ask around to some poeple i know that bought these headers and if they installed them themselves. i'll be back.

PenguinQX

iTrader: (1)

Nah, the shop I took these AW headers are the same shop that installed my Megans. They had nothing but good things to say about the Megans.. Too bad there's resonance, which is the only reason I was looking for different headers. I can't complain about my Megans for the price though. No problems for over a year, except for the resonance.

I have pretty bad luck, before these new AWs, I bought a set of used "almost new" AWs from a seller on v6performance. He sent me CRACKED headers. Offtopic, but what do you guys think about just laying down a new weld over the crack? It's a hairline crack, and goes around halfway around one of the center pipes.

PenguinQX

iTrader: (1)

Personally I think Excelerate should take them back. There should be some sort of advantage from buying from an official-sort of dealer; this wasn't some random black market transaction.

There's a known problem with the headers. Excelerate should take back all the defective headers, refund us the money, then get his own money back from AW. There is no way AW can refund me because Excelerate has already made $ by playing middle man, and I really wouldn't trust another set of headers if they sent them to me: a failed installation simply costs too much.

bx-tls

Thank for the warning also. since I am in the market for new header, this is one company not getting any business from me if this is how they treat customers and problems.

mezzerTL-S

I've read this entire thread and I can't understand why AW headers don't fit, I bought them and installed them about 8 months ago from Excelerate and they fit great, I put them on myself (first time doing this for myself without mechanic's help) I had Stones before that, they fit but had a ton of resonance. Really sorry to hear about the problem you're having and hope that you can resolve sooner rather than later
Jeff

SL1200MK4

Sorry to hear about that... Personally I won't buy anything from them ever. I hope you get your money back somehow. If I were them I would send you a new header and apologize for all the trouble and try to compensate for at least some, if not all of your lost on the installaion fee.

You gotta watch out for those people, when their business goes down, they just start another one with a different name and make the same kinda crap all over again. Sad reality...

samkws

haha if they are really doing that then there won't be threads coming out like this~

but i encourage them to file a report to BBB so when they see the complaint over the regular basis then they will open the file and investigate

samkws

jeff

this is all about QC, since they are made in china most likely, they might not have the same consistancy for every batch, maybe they screwed up this batch from the factory and they didn't know until the customers found out it doesn't fit....or they knew it in the beginning and sold them cheap to the distributors

then they try to run away from it and hope nobody finds out

also the ebay seller in another CL thread is not related to alphawerks i believe, maybe he got the bad ones for cheap and selling on e-bay, that's why he said NO RETURN to HIM and 1 yr WARRENTY on the alphawerks, which u have to contact the alphawerks directly, not him

but now alphawerks know the problem and they dun want to take responsibility, what's ur problem? ppl paid with their hard earned money for the piece of crap and even the 200 dollar labour to put it on and get nth in return? it's not 40 bucks that we can forget about it

mezzerTL-S

I hear ya It's too bad that AW decided to treat customers like that I'm sure they've sold more than thier fair share of headers on this and other forums and should remember that and do what they can to make it right

acutee

Damn, I almost got one from second hand. Good thing I don't have to deal with these bad bastards. I will stay away from them for Bad Service!!! I can feel your aggravation man.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Ok. I am going to repeat this statement, which I have uttered a few times before and I have tried to act in good faith and as a good businessman. I was not aware that Alpha Werks headers had a defect when I sold them. When I became aware of it, I stopped selling the headers and allowed anyone who wanted to return the headers for a full refund to do so, as long as they had not run exhaust through the headers. If you had used the headers and run exhaust through them, then we began the warranty process with Alpha Werks.

Now to PenguinQX, there was exhaust run through your headers. It is clear from your gaskets:



I made it very clear to the Acurazine community that I had no issue with allowing people to return the headers for a full refund as long as they were not used. If you did use them, you were not without options. You could then have warranty work done through Alpha Werks. I have been in contact with Alpha Werks every week trying to help facilitate the process for a few members. I have been there to help so please don't besmirch my reputation. If you have an issue with Alpha Werks because of defects and/or their remarks please take it up with them.

bx-tls

Now that is the response of a professional businessman. Prop to you Excelerate. I work in sales also and as the middle man, we sometimes get the blunt of it. One, we do want to do right for our customer, they are the one that keep us in business, but then we are limited to what the manufacture or company policy allows. I am sure no one intentionally want to sell a defective items and destroy their rep and business, and if there is something wrong, the company/manufacture should take step immediately to keep their customer faith.

Edit: I should start rereading my post for error in spelling haha

demolition_x

my question to you is why does it matter? like if gasses went through it or not what would be the difference? AW should still take them back if some one ran their car or not. im not trying to be a dick but the only reason i can see this would be if you or them are trying to resell these? if they are all going back to AW what the difference? unless im missing something?

i mean if i goto walmart and buy a xbox 360. go home open her up plug her in my tube and she doesn't work right, do i return the xbox to walmart or microsoft. of course to walmart and they will take care of it for you.

i just don't get it.

like i said not trying to fuel the fire but it seems weird.

fla-tls

I also bought the headers from Excellerate through the group buy and had a problem with them fitting. I also sent them back to Carlos at Alphawerks for repair.

I too had mine installed (rear bank did not fit) and partially ran them for one day (long story - but mechanic ran out of time to fully change them back).

Since then, they have shipped out a brand new set to me. Unfortunately, the rear bank on this one is warped as well. I am currently working with Carlos to get a new rear bank (the resr of the header looks fine). They are at hot import nights this week, so I don't expect much progress.

My advice - Don't give up on Carlos and Alphawerks. It might take some time, but keep working with them and they will make things right for you. Except for the warping on the rear bank flange the quality of the headers is excellent. ALL parts are welded inside AND out, and the flanges are easily double the thickness of my OBX headers. I am convinced that once I get a new rear bank I'll be up and running well.

Till then - the leaky OBX's will have to keep me plugging along.

Take it easy, fellas.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

The difference is that the part no longer can be sold as new. It is now used. As with anything, a warranty comes into play. Think about when you buy a car. When you have an issue with it you don't bring the car back to the dealer and say you want a refund; you have the dealer do warranty work, which the manufacturer reimburses the dealer for. In this case, if you happened to "use" the header, i.e. run exhaust through it, you now can begin the warranty process. Alpha Werks is not denying warranty work. They are working with customers who had issues. Not all of the headers had issues. Some did, some didn't. Therefore, I have allowed people to return them if they were unused, but I cannot take back used headers. They have to go through the warranty process.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Also to PenguinQX, I spoke to Carlos personally and he said just send them to him and he will take care of the warranty process. He has not denied warranty issues. Just send them to him and be patient. It takes time to remachine them.

Nexusindustry

I apologize for my delay in responding but Alpha Werks is concerned with the issue at hand and we are resolved to work out any warranty issues. The headers are warrantied up to 1 year from purchase. If you have an issue with your headers please send them to Alpha Werks, ATTN: Carlos at ... (your address) Please direct your questions to me in this thread. I want to keep this thread productive and professional. Thank you.

PenguinQX

iTrader: (1)

What address should these headers be sent to?

PenguinQX

iTrader: (1)

This still doesn't answer his question, which is what I've been wondering. The part is defective, so why would it be re-sold as new anyway? Even if they were "fixed", the item would be a refurb.

Buying a car is different from buying a car part. When I buy something from a store and it's broken, I can almost always get an exchange, refund, or store credit. Rarely does the store tell me to take it up with the manufacturer, because they can do this themselves just as easily. Example: I just bought a set of speakers from Amazon.com. The speakers they sent me were defective: subwoofer didn't work. They sent me new speakers even before I sent the defective ones back (i have 30 days to return the broken speakers). Now I'm not expecting anything as spectacular as that, but if there's a known defect with a product, I shouldn't be left high and dry.

Excelerate, I'm not trying to slander you. I don't think I've misrepresented what has happened. I've done business with you in the past, and haven't had a problem. I just don't agree with the policy you took in taking returns for this item.

A concern I have is that I spoke to my mechanic, and i asked him specifically if the defect in the headers were such that they could somehow be machined to fit: he said they could not. I would not feel comfortable taking headers back to my mechanic and spend another $200 in labor fees only to find the headers still don't fit.

ragged

BS, give the man back his money. You sold crappy headers, even though no fault of your own that they are crappy, you still sold a defective product. Give him back his money, then go after AW for your reimbursement.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

It would be sent back to Alpha Werks to have the part re-machined. Then the item would be re-sold as new. An item is used when it has been used. If Honda pulls a couple of brand new cars off the lot to have some warranty work done or some sort of recall before selling them, they don't turn around and say oh the car is used. It is still brand new. It just had warranty work done. It didn't have exhaust run through it so it is not used.

I took into account the situation at hand when I allowed full refunds on headers that had not been used, but your headers were used. The picture speaks for itself. I know you say they weren't but I'm sorry it is evident to me that they were. I can only go based on what I saw and what is in the picture. And my Return Policy has been stated in every Groupbuy I have ever done. And I changed that Return Policy to accomodate this situation and I believe I was more than reasonable in what I have done. I will not accept used headers back; you have to go through the warranty process. Alpha Werks will take care of it for you. Unfortunately the consumer and the business will not always meet eye to eye on Return Policies; it happens to me as a consumer. But I have stated my Return Policy on this and I believe it to be fair.


That is fine. So get the warranty work done and sell them. You are not obligated to keep them. Alpha Werks is testing the headers on an Accord V6 after they have machined the flanges to check fitment. AFAIK, other headers have already been sent out and have fit after the flanges have been machined.

03CoupeV6

I agree with what you've said here... his buying a car comparison was a very bad example because if you go to buy a car and it won't drive, you won't buy it. Just as you bought headers that didn't fit.

It sounds like you may be getting the short end of the stick, this happens a lot to consumers who buy defective products. Cut your losses and refuse to buy any AW product again.. and you ARE allowed to tell your story and let your readers come to their own conclusions, that isn't slander or libel, just so you know.

Thanks for your story, I will be in the market for headers soon for my TL and I know the company I certainly won't consider.

03CoupeV6

Now, I want to present you with Exhibit A: The Run-around

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Well, that wasn't the comparison. I was talking about the difference in categorizing new and used. I said if Honda pulls a couple of brand new cars off the lot to have some warranty work done or some sort of recall before selling them, they don't turn around and say oh the car is used. It is still brand new. Try to read what I write before you make accusations next time.

The short end of the stick? He can have his headers warrantied and fixed and then install them. He is not without options. In fact, if anyone is getting the short end of the stick it is me:

I am alerted to the fact that the headers have an issue. I stop selling the headers and am stuck with extras. I allow anyone who has purchased the headers from me to return them with a full refund, even if you installed them, as long as you didn't run exhaust through them. I take back headers and now am stuck with more headers and refund all the sales. I facilitate the process for any who ran exhaust through their headers to help them get warranty work. I help cover some charges for some customers on shipping to Alpha Werks. And even after all that, I still get a nice slap in the face. People are trying to besmirch my reputation even after I acted professionally and helped out.