In May I needed a pair of strut housings for my ’74 coupe, so I called La Jolla Independent and spoke with Ben. He said he probably had a pair, and put the phone down to get me a price. Came back 15-20 seconds later and said the price would be $125 each and he would call me back when he found a “matched pair.” After a couple of days, he called back and said he had a pair, but the price was $225 each. I said “you quoted me $125 the other day” to which he responded “I can’t sell them for that price.” He was firm and there was no attempt to negotiate.
Knowing La Jolla's good reputation, I emailed Ben later on and asked him to re-consider what I thought was a "bait and switch" tactic. I also said that if I didn’t get a satisfactory price I would let the E9 site know about it. He wrote back with an apology (“it was an honest mistake”), claimed there was no attempt to bait and switch, and added a litany of excuses supporting the price change including that he thought “I was talking about a 2002,” “coupes are approaching $100,000 so parts should reflect that,” and yadda yadda yadda. I asked for his supervisor and got Chris who came back with the same responses, apologizing for Ben’s mistake. He offered no attempt to reach a compromise on the price.
I know this is going to surprise many coupe owners as La Jolla is Mecca for us. Besides myself, I know of four other coupe owners who have dealt with La Jolla and have always received good advice and prices. So, I am very disappointed in this unfortunate situation, and their “screw you we can sell to anybody at any price” attitude. I would suggest that any price Ben offers in the future is useless until it is vetted by his supervisor (and I would wonder about that) before any deal is finalized.
I found a pair of strut housings, much cheaper, elsewhere.
Knowing La Jolla's good reputation, I emailed Ben later on and asked him to re-consider what I thought was a "bait and switch" tactic. I also said that if I didn’t get a satisfactory price I would let the E9 site know about it. He wrote back with an apology (“it was an honest mistake”), claimed there was no attempt to bait and switch, and added a litany of excuses supporting the price change including that he thought “I was talking about a 2002,” “coupes are approaching $100,000 so parts should reflect that,” and yadda yadda yadda. I asked for his supervisor and got Chris who came back with the same responses, apologizing for Ben’s mistake. He offered no attempt to reach a compromise on the price.
I know this is going to surprise many coupe owners as La Jolla is Mecca for us. Besides myself, I know of four other coupe owners who have dealt with La Jolla and have always received good advice and prices. So, I am very disappointed in this unfortunate situation, and their “screw you we can sell to anybody at any price” attitude. I would suggest that any price Ben offers in the future is useless until it is vetted by his supervisor (and I would wonder about that) before any deal is finalized.
I found a pair of strut housings, much cheaper, elsewhere.