Howells Sheetmetal, How was your experience? UPDATE!!!

recently bought all panels, skins and lower door frame for a 30 coupe, showed up quick with no problems

 

I ordered panels for my '37 PU, only place I could find that makes '37 commercial stuff. They shipped the stuff to my shipper in LA, but there was no invoice which I needed to get through customs here in New Zealand. Ryan was the guy I dealt with, and repeated emails were not answered which made clearing customs harder. That said, I'm happy with the quality, looks very good, although we haven't fitted up yet.

 

Hey ChopSaw, I stumbled into the same problem you have with Howells/Ryan Walton. Been waiting for my parts since November...his reply was "shipping person didn't come in", parts were shipped but he could not give me a tracking number, not in the office right now so will call back in half hour, parts were shipped and should arrive any day, finished the parts last Saturday so will ship on Monday, and the list of lies goes on and on.
He has never called back or emailed the tracking number (beware bogus number) and has never sent the invoice. I am out both parts and extra shipping. At least I sent a USPS money order for shipping so I can seek refund through the Federal Postal Inspector. Paid for parts with a personal check so have to contact Texas Attorney General for the parts refund. Postal fraud is serious, but he is not afraid of the feds.
Contact the BBB in Beaumont also. I looked it up and several complaints were lodged last year. The slate is fresh for this year, cleared of all past complaints each new year.
Another way to warn other restorers is to write a letter and send copies to each club you can find on the internet. $850 parts, $120 prepaid shipping and I'm ready to hop in the truck and drive down there.
Let us know on this forum if you get ANY satisfaction.

 

They did me right, see my thread:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=426563

 

Too much negative with these guys. I "was" going to order some Model A stuff from them, but now N.F.W.

 

bought stuff ! it never showed up ! would not get back to me ! = a$$ holes

 

I have bought from Howells, I picked up the parts in person and the panels seemed to fit okay considering your working with an eighty year old car. Maybe a guy from Port Arthur could go talk to the guys over there in person. IDK.... I got a good quality part when I bought from them but.... like I said I did go pick up the parts in person. Can't speak for their dealings with shipping parts

 

I believe that they make them in house.. They had alot of big tools in the back shop when I went there

 

Patch and smaller panels are made in house. Fenders, splash aprons, and running boards are made elsewhere. For Model T's there is only one manufacturer of those parts.

 

best fit &great service Direct Sheetmetal socal
has three large factories one doing custom to your drawings or can custom install

 

I ordered some parts from Howells for my model T and waited three months before filing a claim through paypal. I never got through on the phone and when I did a guy said they just went out. Three times!!!!! Paypal said they were looking into it and I would have my money back in 20 days if he never responded. Got my panels in about a week after that so paypal dropped the claim. Almost 4 months for the panels. Total B.S. if you ask me. Never would deal with again. Period.

 

Well to give closure to this thing I notified my bank of the transaction and that I wanted it cancelled. I think the Howell's guy "Ryan" started recognizing my phone number and has never answered the phone since the last time I got ahold of them.

So I wrote them an email formally canceling my order and letting them know I didn't need their shitty parts or their shitty customer service. A warning to anyone who stumbles on this thread PLEASE DO NOT BUY FROM HOWELL's.

So what did I do about the 28-29 RPU back panel I was trying to buy??? Me and one of my buddies made it

 

Sadly their reputation for poor customer service continues even though they've been around for over 30+ years. Enough paid and not refunded business to pay the bills must be the goal here rather than a service to the hobbyists who have paid the bills.

 

Strange, they were really good folks when I went down there. I had called a few days prior and told them the parts I needed, and they had the parts ready when I got there, even though I hadn't paid for them yet, or even given my name. Mac's Antique Auto Parts has all the same panels Howell's has, I wonder who makes them?

 

I ordered from there website as I couldnt find any other places threw google with the patches for my '31 coupe that I needed, came about a week later..there was no reciept or invoice in the box but I got everything I needed...now do they fit, thats another story, guess we'll see next weekend when I try to put them on but so far no problems with their service they emailed me a tracking number from UPS as soon as they shipped

 

But they have a nice catalog.

 

Glad you got your panel made yourself, and it's a damned shame that they repeatedly treat customers like they do...I'm confused as to why some guys get the shaft and others have had no problems...it must be luck of the draw or something...

 

luck of the draw. I had a good experience, and my buddy joe had to wait months for the same exact stuff.

 

I ordered cab corners, door bottoms, inner and outer, about a week and a half ago.
I tried contacting them a few times before I got one reply the first time.after that nothing but I still ordered anyway they sent me a tracking number we shall see
hopefully I am one of the lucky ones

 

Well I got my parts today, now granted I won them off ebay ,but I received
notice that ups had them a week ago. they look good I will update when I go
to put them on, but communication still is not great

 

Wow! I ordered a steel 31 rear fender from them and received it in excellent condition, on time. The fit was very good, much, much better than everyone said it was going to be. It is a bit narrower than the stocker, so I ordered the other side. Again, it arrived in a timely manner and is a very decent looking fender.

 

thats because they drop ship those from gaslight

 

Howell is a very difficult company to deal with. Ryan, the owner, will tell you parts are shipped and they have not even made them yet. Jim who works there is a better person to talk to as he is usually a straight shooter. I would still recommend tho to get the parts elsewhere if possible.

 

I have had problems in the past but I just placed a couple of orders in the last two weeks and both were in my posession within 5 days of placing the order. I don't have any problem with their quality and the pricing also beats everyone else.

I had mistakenly ordered inner door bottoms from both Mac's & Howell's and the Mac ones are going back. Howell's were a better quality.

 

I think the key, like with Tanks, INC, is to find a supplier who has the Howell's parts in stock and order from them. It isn't that the parts are bad, it's the customer service that sucks and you have to work around that.

 

Latest on my order:
Talked with Ryan on the phone this morning and he said it was shipped last Thursday. This is several different times he has said it was shipped. This time it is a bogus tracking number again. UPS tells me this tracking number has never been used...will update on this saga. Original order date was November 20, 2009.

 

This post interested me, due to how hard it was to find steel Model A 30-31 Sedan fenders. I went to the website which indicated Gaslight does not make the fenders, either.......so I called them. Specialized Sheet Metal in Carlisle Ohio is the only company to make them for the last 30-35 years. Good to know.

Regardless, I got what I needed and they are decent fenders.

 

Damn dude! This is exactly why I started this thread! This company needs to go on the HAMB black ball list. SERIOUSLY!

 

It's a shame, because they used to have a good rep-guess that's gone now. I think you should cancel your order, get Paypal to refund your money, let Howell's know-you might get your parts pretty quick then. It appears one should only order Howell's parts from a supplier who has them in stock,or you are desperate but not in a rush and masochistic and don't get beaten up enough on the HAMB.

 

i ordered model a parts from them 3 times... first 2 times were great,came on time and fit great..3rd time is total bs..its been 5 weeks for some small patch panels..i have called about 5 times..and ryan can lie with no guilt at all..first it was it was shipped then it was misplaced..we will ship it ups red.2 weeks later the bogus tracking numbers come out.so i guess it is luck of the draw...man that guy can lie...