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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGA - Clarke spares

What is it with this company?

Last year I tried to place an order and was ignored for weeks till I gave up. I have placed an order in the middle of January, my card has been billed and three weeks later I still have no delivery or any answers to telephone messages. In addition all my mails are being bounced. Anyone else having problems?

Looks like I will be otherwise registering a chargeback on my card. I thought he had a good reputation!
dominic clancy

Based on my experiences, it's not unusual. I am still waiting for parts after 10 months. My credit card is always charged immediately, but when parts are out of stock the delivery can stretch out for weeks, although the 10 months is a new personal record. Todd can also be very difficult to contact. The upside is that his parts are generally high quality and he makes some items that I have not found second sources for.

Steve
Steve Brandt

Hi ordered door seals, they came within a couple of weeks, superb correct item

gordon
g c pugh

Dominic-Sorry to hear your having trouble with him as I,in the past had very good luck and still recommend him to others.Perhaps other circumstances are at work here? Keep us informed with your outcome.
gary starr

I ordered door seals in January. My card has been charged and I too am still waiting. Been too busy to call. My email was answered though and I have been expecting delivery every day. No door seals yet.
David
David Holmes

I ordered a roadster seat belt mounting kit and some specialty fasteners in the last week of January - all arrived within 10 days - Doylestown PA to Melbourne Australia. I have no complaints!
Mike
Mike Ellsmore

Ordered from Todd at CSR numerous times. Always got top quality and reasonable delivery times. Todd even matched a red door seal to a color sample for me. I have recommended him to others in the past. Would be interested in outcome. Good luck. Keep us posted.

Karl
Karl Leclerc

It is possible that the goods have been shipped and that they are stuck in Customs. This happened to me last year and added 2-3 weeks to the delivery time from TC.
m.j. moore

Greetings all:

Todd was a major reason I was able to finish my restoration in the 90's. Top notch service and quality was always the best. I've been to his shop in Doylestown several times and we've bought/sold/traded for years (10 years to be exact). The only time I found him to be unresponsive is when he was on vacation or when he was distracted by other projects. He makes frequent sourcing trips. His is a one man shop and as you can imagine life does have its distractions.

I would like to hear your experience with him as I've always recommended his parts/services very highly to others. I will be surprised if you end up dissatisfied.

Gary Hattwick
Gary Hattwick

My experience with Clarke Spares has always been positive over the years. Quality bits that others just could not supply. Todd is the type of enthusiast that our hobby could use more of. Dominic, I am sure your order will be filled and the parts will be of the highest quality.
R J Brown

Just to add to the list - my experience with Todd Clarke has always been very positive. I've ordered parts a number of times and they have always shown up immediately. Very high quality, too. He's always been very helpful, and quite responsive to email (ClarkeSpares@worldnet.att.net)
Mark Lambert

Pretty mixed experiences !

It seems the post here prompted a response, and I have finally received a mail saying that the parts are on the way.

a) It's pretty poor not to acknowledge an order in any way,
b) It's pretty poor not to respond to voice mails
c) It's pretty poor to ignore emails so that the account is so full that they bounce
d) it's also against the terms of his credit card agreement to charge for goods before they are ready to be shipped (and then they should be shipped immediately).
e) It's pretty poor if the only way to get somethinglike service is to complain on a public board that does his reputation no good.

I appreciate that Todd does parts that no-one else does, but this sort of shoddy approach to business means that I (and others) will always go elsewhere for things that others have in the catalogue - and although Todd's range may have some unique parts it's not enough of a reason to put up with this sort of cr*p service.

If I don't receive the goods (and I still haven't received a tracking number even though I requested one to check if the goods are in customs) then I will have to register a chargeback on my card at the end of the week to stay within the deadline for making a claim - which is more work for me and for him too.

Don't think I'll be dealing with him again.
dominic clancy

Hmmmmm,
Looks like 7 in favor, 3 against....not too bad really. I'll be number 8 in favor of CSR. Todd is a "small" operator, but his products and service are almost always excellent. I'm not saying he's perfect, but, I've had more trouble with the "big" guys than with Todd. Two thumbs up.

GTF
G T Foster

I have ordered parts from Todd for over 10 years and I have NO complaints. I ALWAYS got what I ordered.

As was stated, he runs a one man operation, so it may take some time for a reply.

I usually place the order, then wait for delivery. Sometimes for weeks. I almost NEVER have received any order acknowledgment or shipment notification. Nevertheless, I have ALWAYS received a quality item at a reasonable price.

I had one Re-chrome on a washer pump cup that took almost a year to be done. I never got a status report. If I asked about the status I always got a reply--but it may have taken several days.

I would rather have a quality item from a proven reliable supplier than worry about constant communication on the status.

I strongly recommend Todd and Clarke Spares. We all need him to help keep more MGA's alive and on the road.

Jim
Jim Ferguson

I ordered a catalog from Clarke Spares several months ago. Apparently at the time he was out of the catalogs but did send a couple of flyers on new products with the promise of a catalog to follow.
To date, no catalog, so I have been buying my parts elsewhere.
Rich McKIe

My complete restoration of my A three years ago was really only thanks to Todd..he was able to supply all the "hard to get" bits, and his "Restoration" book contained hundreds of helpful hints and diagrams. As Jim has stated, he runs a one-man operation, hand writes all invoices, posts a couple of times a week, and is always open to suggestions for reproducing rare parts..he makes his own tooling as well. Maybe he does need someone to handle the "contact" side of things, but this is the way he operates..he also makes and sells model train equipment.
Gary Lock

When dealing with the public...and I do daily... you are always going to have conflicts and differences of opinion, on all subjects. How Todd runs his business ...IS HIS WAY. This might not sit well with some but then they are not the ones running the business.
It doesn't get any better when we deal with the large repro corporations. Ask Mr.Dodd of Moss Motors. The problems come in from all situations.
What is one mans great piece, is another mans junk part for his concourse resto.
TODD CLARKE AND DOMINIC ARE HONEST AND RESPECTABLE GENTLEMEN and I have dealt with both. I respect both of their opinions.They have the right to express their concerns and questions, and we the members of the BBS have the right to form our own opinions on them. Perhaps Todd is unaware of the mentioned problems. Who knows.
But ...in my opinion...we need all and most parts companies that help us keep are cars on the road. Some are better at it than others. Some are not. In my opinion it is also important for the BBS members to point out situations that occur ...too the other members ,so that we can be made aware of what is happening in our hobby. Was there not, just recently some strong opinions on Jorge from Ebay.
Information...good or bad...helps us make informed decisions.

Todd, listen to the opinions and work with them.Keep up the good work and help.

Dominic, you are correct to voice your concerns. Thank you.

Gordon



Gordon Harrison

I have always found the service and quality of Todd's parts to be excellent. I am with in the US and that may help in shipping items.
David Werblow

I ordered a new number plate from him for my 1500 engine and it arrived within a few weeks. A couple of the letters weren't stamped as deeply as I would have liked, but I'm probably the only person who will ever notice that once it is installed. I'm just happy that somebody is able to supply a close enough facsimilie to the original item that I can say that. I'm sure that I will do more business with him as my restoration progresses, assuming he lives up to his reputation. I tend to have a lot more patience with a one man shop producing specialty items, so long as the quality is there and the delivery time is not too unreasonable.
Del Rawlins

When this thread started I faxed a message to Todd saying that he should check out what was being said about him. Today, in the mail I received his new catolog and a personal message thanking me for the notice about this thread. It seems that he has been in the process of moving his shop and this has taken alot of his time.
I can therefore only surmize that this is the reason and cause for his problems.
Gordon
Gordon Harrison

The goods arrived today, shipped last week.
The packaging was too big for the contents, so the new sidescreen windows have been damaged. I also got stung for priority airmail to make up for the time that was wasted in not shipping on the day my credit card was charged. All in all a deeply unsatisfying experience.

I regard myself as a very reasonable buyer. I deal with all sorts of people all over the world. (I'm waiting for parts from Bob West too, and his communication considering his storm damage has in comparison been exemplary)

This is by far the most shambolic experience I have had in years. If someone is moving their shop, it's a minor effort to set up outlook to autrespond to emails to say so. Charging me, not shipping for 3 weeks and then charging me premium shipping rates (a total of just under $50) for making up lost time is neither customer friendly or reasonable.

Now I have to go through the aggro of a return and more delays. Not a happy experience.
dominic clancy

I haven't dealt with Clarke Spares recently but I felt I should relay what happened to me. I had ordered the complete nut and bolt kit which seemed to be taking an inordinate time to arrive. I contacted Todd by phone and he said he had shipped it some time ago. He recounted that he'd lost a couple of shipments by post to Canada and offered to replace the shipment. I was going to be in Pennsylvania in the next few weeks so I asked him to drop ship the package there which he did and I was able to continue the restoration. Based on that I do recommend his company though I do say he's a one man operation so people know they're not dealing with a Moss or Victoria British.

Just my opinion. Thanks
Frank
F. G. French

This really does win the prize. I tried to fit some of the parts today (new windows for a pair of original sidescreens).

I could not get the rear panes to fit into the frames, and after a couple of hours battling, went and dug out the old panes. Turns out the new ones are about 1/4 inch taller than the originals.

Maybe my frames are non-standard, I think. I pick up the new front panes and measure against the old ones - perfect.

Then I measure the height of the new front ones against height of new rear ones - the rears are 1/4" taller than the fronts, so they don't even match as a pair. I went through all this aggravation and the Q control is so poor that I don't even get a dimensionally matching (let alone accurate) set.

How long will I wait now to get this sorted out I wonder.

dominic clancy

That sucks. If they are oversize, and you have access to a stationary belt sander, you can make them the right size. Certainly, you should not have to do so, but it might beat waiting for another set to be shipped to Switzerland. I'm thinking that since Clarke offers replacement windows for different brands of side screen, that probably he just sent you the wrong rear panes.
Del Rawlins

Frank French's comments on a supplier blaming the postal service for a shipment not arriving triggers one of my pet peeves.
Sure, parcels get lost in the mail, but if they are packed and labelled properly it is a rare thing.
Through E-bay alone, in the last few years I have sent and received over 400 parcels all around the world from Australia to Greece, and many more non-ebay parcels besides. In that time I have never, ever had a parcel lost or damaged by the post office.
Maybe I have just been lucky but when I hear a supplier use that as an excuse it makes me go "Hmmmm".

Rich
Rich McKIe

After three mails (of which two were two bounced) and a voice mail, I get a response which basically says "fix it yourself and I'll give you a credit" and excuses based around the move. I don't have either time or plastic- working tools to get the professional result that I want (and paid for), so I've indicated I am not happy with the proposal. So now I have to hope for a response before tomorrow - 30 days after my CC statement I have the last chance to make a chargeback.

The idea of relying on this supplier for a restoration doesn't bear thinking about.
dominic clancy

I ordered and received a complete set of bolts and resto hardware from Todd two years ago. Due to the nature of his products(heavy bolts and metal)my package came undone during UPS shipment. It probably could have been packaged in a heavier container but to Todd's credit he took the time to go through the entire shipment with me over the phone to see what was there and what wasn't. He can be a bit hard to get a hold of but I am glad that our MGAs have someone like him to find the small stuff that no one else has. The amount of time and effort saved by having a complete hardware set, together for use, is huge and anyone who thinks not should try getting it piece by piece else where. I do feel for your problems Dominic but I honestly think that beating Todd up over the occasional bad apple is not completely fair. Even companies with the best customer service reputations have their problems from time to time.
If Barney had a bad day and gave me some not so good advice its OK because I am still damn glad that we have guys like him and Todd that know these cars inside and out. My MGA's longevity depends upon it!
Ken

Cut Tod some slack will you!!!

Did any of you think he might have problems like the rest of us, he may even be sick. He has been in this business before a lot of you were born. I have been doing business with Tod about 25 years and always felt I got the better of the deal. He even called me on the west cost to answer a question on a part placement I didn't buy form him. This is not Good Guys with a cast of thousands. So go to Moss they have lots of people to help you. Oh! you like the stuff from Tod bettr ,t hen you should find out what the problem is as this not the way he does business.


Jim 1959 MGA 1500
Jim Van Sickle

Hear hear Jim, my sentiments exactly.
Gary Lock

Todd might be slow sometimes but I have always been very please with his quality and knowledge. I have been dealing with Todd for over 10 years and will keep dealing with him. He's very honest.
David Honness

Happy to report that Todd has agreed to fix the issue - I'm sure that he's normally reliable, it's just that my experience over the last two years has been not up to what others refer to as his usual standards. I can't comment further, but don't think I'll be using him again.
dominic clancy

All hail the power of the internet.
Del Rawlins

This thread was discussed between 12/02/2007 and 01/03/2007

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This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.