buying parts online

Post by **wishbone** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 6:06 pm

Has anyone had dealings with GS Jones?
I have recently got my Morris 1098 2 door saloon and need to make the first of no doubt many purchases of parts. ie Heater valve, plugs, head gasket set and valve seals which may be in the set? Anyway GS Jones seems like a good site to buy from but does not deal by phone and does not give a contact number. So i wondered how others have found them for service etc?

Post by **Matt** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 6:13 pm

Errr never heard of them!

Post by **wishbone** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 6:29 pm

Have a look you may know them by web address?
http://www.morrisminor.uk.com/

Post by **paulhumphries** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:29 pm

My experience is they were cheapest (Lockheed master cylinder) and delivered next day so get my vote.

Paul Humphries.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:57 pm

Have you compared prices with Bull Motif ??

Post by **wishbone** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 8:42 pm

yes, just tried them and whilst they are a little more expensive it appears they do offer free delivery if you spend around £30 and i guess they are reliable or you wouldn't have mentioned them!

Post by **gairlochrosie** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 8:52 pm

ESM are very good too !

Post by **wishbone** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 9:17 pm

ok thanks, i think i'm going to call bull motif in the morning. i just like to be able to talk to someone to make sure i'm getting what I think! Also I'm still a bit worried about internet security on some of these smaller sites with credit card details etc! Thanks all.

Post by **minor_hickup** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 10:13 pm

My small experience with Bull Motif have been well priced and very efficient.

Post by **paulhumphries** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:11 am

As a very satisfied customer of GS Jones I've emailed them with a suggestion that the lack of REAL adddress and no phone number might be affecting people trusting them enough to place orders.
Hopefully they will amend their web site idc.

Paul Humphries

Post by **paulhumphries** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:19 am

With any on-line dealer don't just be influenced by price.
My experience has proved, twice, that cheap doesn't mean prompt delivery or decent customer service.
My, personal, advice is if you require something urgent then ring and ask (a) if they have the item in stock (b) when can they GUARANTEE it will be sent out.
After having a item delivered 7 weeks after the order was placed without any explanation or appology you can understand my comments. Luckilly it was a low value item and cosmetic otherwise I could have had a car off the road

Paul Humphries.

Post by **Chris Morley** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:23 am

Agreed, being able to speak to someone helps - if nothing else to determine all the parts you need to do a job. It also helps if you're ordering parts specific to a certain model. My favourite mail order supplier (mentioned above) always ask straight away for the age & model of the car. They are also happy to answer any questions and give advice.

Post by **ColinP** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 8:55 am

Since the start of 2007, there's an "E-Commerce" directive.

The details can be found here-
http://www.out-law.com/page-424 - from OUT-LAW

The name, address, phone number, Vat number must be displayed on a commercial web site - even if there are no on-line sales...

Obviously, I don't think that Trading Standards will be trawling the Internet for this (well, not in January).

Dirve Safely,

Colin

Post by **Kevin** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:06 am

Since the start of 2007, there's an "E-Commerce" directive.

I though that sounded good so had a quick look but there is nothing about a phone number being displayed in the rules, and I must admit that why does a sales company not have a phone number as it seems counter productive and puts me off a bit.

Post by **wishbone** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:17 pm

Well after weighing up the comments and doing a bit of research for myself, I decided to give GS Jones a try and sure enough parts arrived next morning as described. So i'm happy! I have to say though that I would rather buy from someone that offers a little advise over the phone if i'm not sure what I need! I guess we're lucky to have a choice anyway and i've been suprised how much stuff there is available out there.
This site is a great help too!

Post by **paulhumphries** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 7:10 pm

G S Jones has come up trumps again for me.
Order one day and delivered next.
Even though a £8.95 charge for carrage still cheaper than another dealer which I cann't name.
Seat belts were the correct 500/45 version (314mm belt and 45mm stalk) plus they even had vinyl in right colur for retrimming the front scuttle panels I intend making (originals warped) out of marine ply and incorporating speaker mounts.

Paul Humphries.

Post by **brixtonmorris** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 9:45 am

I am a fan of gs jones, and have been for something like 15 years, if not more. hes never let me down and good quality. he also likes to give away free oil if you take a 1 day delivery, and he give a discount for mmoc members.

Post by **JustinMinor1000** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:28 am

As a rule running a Morris Minor buisness very badly is not easy. Given that there is a limited market and we all talk to each other, the scope for a real full on shyster is frankly limited. A small garage that "Specialises" in moggies could be problematic. I would argue that all Mail order parts suppliers are at least good if they weren't we would all know about it very very quickly.

As I said they are all good .. I personally use ESM. In about £2500 worth of parts they have sent the wrong part once (you could argue that I asked for the wrong bit ..) when I told them they sent the right part instantly by first class mail and didn't hassle me over the fact that it took me a week to snd back the wrong bit. When three years after buying a service exchange shockabsorber I dropped the old one back for a refund .. no question ..

As I said they are all good ..

Post by **grahamt7** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:57 am

Bull Motif, ESM, DSN Classics - all good for me.