Yea I was just reading in some car magazine (Import tuner?) where they had a maxima with a stillen supercharger (282 hp on the dyno I believe) and they clearly stated that stillen was basically the only one for parts such as that....

It's just a monopoly so they will charge as much as they want, and treat you as ****ty as they can because you have no where else to go, along with everyone else..... Someone on here should just start up their own mod part business, and as soon as someone does, then stillen will re-evaulate their customer service and satisfaction.

-Nate

 

i wanna know if the hero knows if his 2k kit pulley is same as 95-99 kit v2 pulley

 

Heh... if they didn't know you changed the pulley before, they do now.

 

Like it matters?
My warranty was void the day after the blower was installed...because I made a couple passes down the 1/4mi dragstrip (how dare I?).

 

That was my next saying. If they didnt know then once they read this they will now. But really they did treat you wrongly. And it was for racing not for changing your pulley. They quickly assumed that you race your car without the correct info and determination of evidence to even think or say this. That is wrong! Assumption is the Mother of all **** ups!

 

In regards to pmar's comments... I've had experiences with both IPD and Stillen and must tell you, IPD can whip their *** night and day when it comes to customer service. I broke a part a while back, called up IPD for a replacement(yes, I had to pay for it since I broke it), and in a couple of days, I got the part. They are friendly and do anything to help you out. As for Stillen, those guys there are ****** except maybe for Adam but he's never around when you have a problem. It takes forever to get in touch with someone and once you do, you ***** and argue with them because they accuse you for misuse. When I had my car I had to return my front lip because it got cracked during shipping. They accused me for breaking it and didn't want to replace. It took a lot of *****ing but eventually I got it replaced. Never again. If you want Stillen parts, go to your local import shop.

Mike

My .02

 

boycut is toolate man

u already got maadd mods LOL

anyway..sorry to hear that..

 

That sucks dude. I would definately call them back and see if they will put in writing that they won't warranty the part because it "isn't meant for racing" Thats what they make these things for is for performance, not so you can shift your car at 2000rpm. Call them back and clarify what they said, and then call someone like the Better Business Beareau. Also get them to put in writing the reason they aren't going to warranty anything that breaks on your sc. If they say they are going to warranty something for a year, then should back up their products for at least that.

 

Adam~ Sowwee to hear 'bout this. S/C isn't intended for street use, and neither are most 'performance mods'. So WTF?!??!! Stillen a**ho&%s!!

AnGe

 

Called up for Bill... They wouldnt put me through to him with out a order number, booo hooo. SO i left him a nice polite voice mail telling him that I thought they did not provide good customer service and I will never buy anything from them because of issues like yours.

Now I will call back and place an order for a Super Charger and ask at the last second about the warenty for racing it... Only to cancel the order after wasting some of stillens sales time. (slow day at work today)...

 

Me and my fat mouth are recovering from a pimp slap. I'm sorry if I came on too strong, but I'm just as frustrated with this [raw] deal as you are: Stillen is in the driver's seat on this one.

Unfortunately, filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau may not help. The BBB has no actual power/authority to force a retailer to do what the customer wants, even if the customer's request is "reasonable". Stillen's decision to follow the BBB's advice would be completely voluntary.

You can always call the BBB to check out a retailer before you do business with them. The BBB can tell you about other complaints, the retailer's customer service track record, and other feedback. I think the BBB actually follows up and attempts to verify most of their complaints, as well as to mediate and resolve problems like these. This site has been a rich source of information as well...

It's unfortunate that your pulley broke. It's inconvenient for you, to say the least. But even if Stillen is giving you a raw deal, $15 is not that much to get all worked up about. I'd chalk it off to experience and move on. I'm sure you'll think twice about doing business with them again, and I don't blame you!

Good luck.

PS- I agree, replacing the plastic pulley with a metal one sounds like good advice. (If you're not breaking anything, you can go faster...!)

 

My cars(my Altima) at Stillen right now getting a prototype header made now Im kinda worried

 

I guess I'm misunderstanding something here. One pulley was replaced with a smaller one which possibly contributed to pulley breakage, and this was against the written warranty. A call was made to Stillen to get a new pulley, for free warranty replacement, even though it was known that putting on a smaller pulley would void the warranty. And it's Stillen's fault for not sending out a new pulley, for free, to replace the broken one even though the warranty was voided by the customer's actions. Huh?

Am I missing something here, or does this seem dishonest? Please forgive me if I misunderstand the whole issue of the installation of a smaller pulley, but it would seem to me that if something was knowingly modified by the customer that voided the warranty of another component, then the customer should be honest about it and suck up the price for the replacement part. Doing otherwise is just plain stealing.

As far as the issue of Stillen using 'racing' as their reason not to honor the warranty claim, well that's just wrong. How in the world would that guy know that you're racing the car, and what in the world is their definition of 'racing', anyway? Does a little fun at the stoplight qualify? How about a fast trip up through the twisties? Is it a race if you're driving fast but have no competitor? I'd hate to test the warranty on their brake system when I'm up in the mountains.

I'm disappointed that you were treated poorly, but I have a hard time giving any sympathy now that I read that the warranty was voided not by racing, but by performing an unauthorized modification. Please politely correct me if I don't understand the situation correctly. I have dealt with Stillen a couple times in the past (Adam was the sales guy) and really had no trouble except not having items in stock. If they truly screwed you out of the $15, and you were being completely honest with them about the issue, then I guess they won't get any more of my business. If that's not the case, then I will continue to use them until given a valid reason not to.

 

hey guys i am from altimas.net and read about the bull**** stillen did....anyways i fowarded the whole subject to them to let you know how u guys feel, so **** them

 

This is a friendly board, right?

I'm 42 years old, and I have worked in retail more than 25 years. Integrity and outstanding customer service have been the basis upon which I have built a successful career. I've worked in many cities, and I've taken care of thousands of customers. Even tho' I have years of national headquarters experience now, I've NEVER heard of a Sales Manager telling a customer to F***-Off! Surely this was NOT a proud moment for either of you.

For what it's worth, had I been handling your recent pulley complaint at Stillen, I more than likely WOULD have taken care of you, even if you did p%ss me off with remarks about my fat mouth. I probably would have advised you that I was extending a courtesy to you, on a one-time basis, as a gesture of goodwill. Would you have accepted that?

Finally, you told all of us you lied to Stillen to save yourself $15. Then you smeared Stillen's name in the dirt because they didn't buy your song-and-dance. Given that, not to mention your militant demeanor, do you really expect us to boycott Stillen on your behalf? Please forgive me if I defer to a cause more worthy. Good luck to you.

 

#1.) I called Stillen and had to leave a message for the Customer Service Manager (Bill Claytor) because he was not at his desk. My message was: "Hello Bill, This is Adam Hansen, we spoke previously about the problems I've been having with my SC kit. Well, my most recent problem is that my idler pulley fell apart, throwing the SC belt. If you could please get back to me at your earliest convenience it would be appreciated because I need to order this part today & have it overnighted so I could make an event this weekend...blah blah blah..."

I did NOT ask him to warranty the part or pay for my shipping or ANYTHING...I simply requested a replacement part.

When he finally returned my call he had a HUGE attitude from the get-go. He said..."So you race, huh?" I replied, "Yea, every now and then". Then he says, "OK, well your warranty is now void and any problems you have will be your own responsibility....how would you like to pay for the pulley?".
I did not get "militant" with him or even raise my tone of voice...I simply said "So you're voiding my warranty because I took the car down the 1/4 mi a few time?" His reply, "Yes, do you think ANYONE would warranty a part after you raced your car?" My reply, "So if I lied when you asked me, and said I never race, you would have warrantied this part for me?" "Yes."

I have NO PROBLEM with them voiding my warranty...
But AT LEAST do it for a legitimate reason...
Making a few 1/4 mile passes is NOT a legitimate reason to void a warranty...PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

The company as a whole has absolutely NO CONCEPT of the term "Customer Service"...There is NO REASON to get an attitude w/ a customer simply because he enjoys drag racing his car.

THAT is why I am boycotting Stillen.
(NOT because they refused to pay for my pulley).

Understand?

PS: The only reason I came back at you so hard was because I was in a bad mood and your comments were very sarcastic and completely uncalled for. You can make a point without sarcasm. I know it's very easy to act tough through a computer but just think about who you're insulting before you decide to do so...because if we were face-to-face... trust me...you wouldnt have opened your "fat mouth".

Have a wonderful day.
And I will continue my Boycott thank you very much.

 

Okay, this makes a lot more sense now that I read within one post how it happened, instead of strung out over 4 pages worth. If that is, in fact, pretty much how the conversation went, then I would have to say that the rep was full of crap.

Just for grins, I dug up the old 2000 catalog to see what it said about racing. Nothing specifically, mind you, but if you take a look at the first page of the Maxima / I30 section (page 27), it lists upgrade 'stages' and the horsepower gains at each stage. The Note for the Intermediate Pipe says "OFF ROAD USE ONLY." It also says the same thing for the supercharger when used on the 99 Maxima.

I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but doesn't "OFF ROAD USE ONLY" imply track use only? And what in the world are they expecting you to do at the track besides race? I guess they want you to buy the parts but never use them, since they can't be driven on the street and you can't race them at the track. Basically, you're stuck with a trailer queen!

Oh yeah, is a dyno run the same as racing, since you're giving it full acceleration under load? Damn - they must've voided their own warranty when testing the thing for the first time.

Does anyone have a copy of the warranty for the supercharger (and other parts like the I-pipe) so it can be posted in the forum? I'm curious to see what it says.

 

My guess is, if we had been speaking face-to-face, you would *not* have perceived sarcasm in my voice. By the same token, perhaps I would not have detected a militant tone in yours.

It is easy to misinterpret intentions on the internet, as we only have WORDS with which to communicate. We have no voice inflection, facial expression, nor body posture to help us understand the WORDS. That is nobody's fault. But, sometimes it takes 2-3 *heated* exchanges before the steam dissipates, and mutual understanding is achieved.

Take care. I hope you get your Maxima back together soon. Let us know how you come out. Good luck.

 

I was about to buy lots of Stillen stuff but not now. My boycott of stillen is on - Thanks BRO!!!

 

A little late on this thread huh?

 

the concept of "customer service" was born to satisfy disgruntled customers. if there is a reasonable problem, it should be resolved at all costs. why? because if the customer is satisfied, they will CONTINUE to be customers and return. they will spread their positive experience with the company insuring the companys reputation as a good one. there are countless other benefits of keeping your customers happy.

if stillen had replaced the $15 part at no charge, this thread would be totally different. stillen would have undoubtedly won over many of us. nothing makes us smile like the word free. for stillen to be this cheap ($15!!!) is absurd. as someone mentioned earlier, it is obvious that stillen does not appreciate the business of maxima customers, perhaps because they believe we are expendable? this is a poor business strategy and proves that stillen is simply a garage full of grease monkeys.

 

This thread's pretty old...

Hey "MY 4DSC": I was just reading this thread. I can't remember why I was referring to you as "Our Hero". That DOES sound pretty sarcastic! Sorry about that. How'd you come out with Stillen on your replacement pulley? Or did you get a metal one (or two) made up instead?