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Yes, lesson learned. The vendor still has not given me a valid tracking number, and UPS says they haven't even received the package from the shipper.

I'll find another source

I have been one of Mike Chirco's most staunch supporters but even my excellent patience has reached its end.

The issues, to name a few, with the most important being lack of communication:

• More often than not, we're in the midst of discussing some parts that I need, then dead silence and no more response.

• Parts I bought nearly two years ago are still not here and no refund either. In one case, he said the part got damaged during polishing (which I did not ask to have done) and I offered to take it damaged at a discount but even that offer was ignored. Long delays don't bother me as much as the lack of communication!

• The parts received were not what I ordered based on the photos I agreed to. A case in point was a wheel that I wanted exactly like it was shown in the photos but what I got was not that. In spite stating that I need it quickly, it was delayed several extra days to sand blast it which I absolutely did not want and on top of it the blasting was a terrible job.

• Another was a grille that I wanted in excellent original condition without having had any disassembly and/or painting but what I got looked nice from a distance but had clearly been disassembled and had epoxy holding parts of it together with gold anodized parts that were gold painted instead. No refund was offered even though I paid a premium price for a pristine piece.

Hey Gents,
I have to put in with Don here. I know Mike's Dad was a long time player in Tucson Packard and his passing left a big void in the company. Having recently lost my Dad, I truly get that 'picking up the pieces' can be difficult, but Mike simply just doesn't follow up or through. If he is going to be a Packard supplier and continue with that company, there needs to be a 180 degree turnaround in service and timliness. Period. When I was going through the process with my banjo wheel, I had several conversations with Mike (who said he had a '39 banjo wheel on a car in the yard) and he was going to post pictures, even agreed to a price for me to buy the guts and then: nothing. I probably have less patience than Don, but feel I have been more than forebearant with Mike/Tuscon Packard but I too will 'find another source'. Chris.

I’m going to add my experience that is very recent. I bought a part from Mike in mid-April and it shipped in about a week. The USPS sent it around the country three times, but that wasn’t Mike’s fault. It turns out the part wasn’t correct for my car and that was my fault.

I sent the part back and have received a full refund. Now, it did take about a month to get the refund and I had to reach out multiple times about that. When I did get him, he mentioned having a major glitch with PayPal and things being crossed up between his dad’s old account and his account and that he just got that straightened out. The refund then went through quickly from that point. He also refunded the shipping cost which he didn’t have to do since the part being incorrect was my fault. He sent what I ordered, I just ordered the wrong thing.

Most recently, I asked Mike if he had the instrument/map light switch for my car as that has been very difficult to find. He got right back with me with pictures. That was just over a week ago. In the meantime, Mike also found the previous correct part I had been looking for, sent pictures, and we agreed to a price. That was last night. Both parts shipped via USPS this morning.

I’m not putting this out to suggest that things are all rosy with Tucson Packard. I do think Mike is struggling to keep up. Anyway, I have had a good experience overall. I do hope he gets everything figured out and gets the operation going smoothly.

Mike does well in spells and I like him personally, having spent time with him on a couple of occasions but I’ve not been able to get any response whatsoever for weeks in spite being in the midst of discussing a part that he would send photos of “tomorrow”. Tomorrow was a long time ago with nothing and no response. That does not even take into account the part ordered and paid for over two year ago that I have still not received. I was hoping my post would trigger a response but it did not.

As far as cleaning up parts before shipping, it’s a nice thought but to me it’s a bit of bait and switch as I expect to get what was in the photos, not something else and in more than one case it was the rough part that I wanted exactly as it was.