AST or not

chief · 13-07-2011, 11:51 AM

Hi,
I have been a member of this forum for a year and an owner of a CSL. I really enjoy driving my car and I take part in 12-15 track days every year.
I have been reading the topics of your forum almost daily for a year but I haven’t been writing because of my limited knowledge of English, especially in writing. Now I am posting with the help of a friend.
Of course it was not my intention to start posting to your forum by making complaints about the irresponsible behavior of the AST firm but because I believe this forum has an informative character and its primary purpose is to inform I felt obliged to make my complaints so as to inform and protect the rest of your members. I am aware of the fact that most people who write to a forum for the first time complaining about a product do it deliberately and are negatively criticized by the rest of the members. This is NOT my intention and I repeat that I have been a member of this forum for at least a year. During this time I really enjoyed reading your topics which I find useful and informative. I would also like you to bear in mind that I do not know what happens to other countries in relation to the service offered by some companies and I am only stating my personal experience. So any other descriptions of other members of the forum –positive or negative- would have been very helpful.
I bought my car a year ago from England. The car had from the previous owner AST suspension and the grip was wonderful. A month after I had bought it and after it made noise at the front I had to pull it out and put the OEM suspension with top mounts from Turner.
A month ago, however, I decided to repair the AST suspension and place it back to the car. I noticed that the only problem it had was that the plastic bearings beneath the top mounts were broken. In order to deal with this problem I did the following:
1. I came in touch with the Cypriot dealer of AST (whom I found via the web site of the company). To be honest I was given the impression that this person had no idea what an AST is. He told me that he would come in touch with the representative in Nederland and order the plastic bearings or a complete set of new mounts. It’s been a month since then and I am still waiting for his phone call.
2. After that I communicated via e-mail with the AST-USA. They told me that only the AST-Holland or the AST-UK can provide me the necessary parts.
3. I had the same reply from Vorshlag.
4. At some point after a few days and while I was anxiously looking for plastic bearings since I had a track day the AST-UK representative decided to pick up his phone and answer my continuous phone calls. I explained the problem to him and he promised that I would be served immediately since he not only had stock of plastic bearings (he mentioned that they cost 36 pounds) but also stock of complete top mounts (which they cost 275 pounds). He also asked me to send him my email so that he could reply back telling me the complete cost including shipping. I immediately replied back the same day but unfortunately since that day (it’s been two weeks) I am still waiting for his response.
5. After all these I sent a fax to the AST-Holland complaining about the service and asking if they could help me. I had NO response and I was obliged to call them three days later. They told me that I would have my answer in an hour. It’s been five-six days and I am still waiting.

Thankfully after a lot of search and many hours of frustration I accidentally managed to find and buy the parts I wanted from Westsuffolkracing. Their service was excellent and all their staff polite and willing to help. I also bought from them two rear springs (barrel type) because I wanted to make the rear set up the same as s.mac’s
This inconvenience helped me realize that AST is not a reliable firm (on the contrary to their suspension which I find great). It is their responsibility to supply their clients with spare parts and treat them with respect. If they were honest enough to tell me they ran out of stock I would have accepted their response without any complaints. It would have also been proper if they informed their clients that they do not cooperate with private clients but only with racing teams. But that was not the case. I wasn’t even able to communicate with them. Honestly and without any over exaggeration I could easily come in touch with the president of the Cyprus Republic or any minister instead of the UK dealer. I also find it ridiculous to be able to order the suspension online but not being able to order any spare parts of the suspension or even the top mounts. Finally, it is also ridiculous and extremely rude TO LIE or NOT TO ANSWER the calls of a client who is polite and willing to pay you for your service. This is at least unprofessional and offensive.
I apologize for the length of my post but it was not my intention to be offensive. My only intention is to warn any potential buyers and at the same time express my disappointment and frustration. If the administrator of this forum finds this post offensive he may delete it.

**shimmy** · 13-07-2011, 01:16 PM

Welcome

I managed to get 75% through your post!

Sounds like a case if bad customer service, not helped by you being so remote from the suppliers and manufacturer.

They should care about customers but many firms don't. If you can get hold of a decent UK dealer I'm sure they will post out to you.

s.mac · 13-07-2011, 01:27 PM

Sounds like a really bad experience.

I did have to contact AST UK about 1 of my rear struts that needed attention. Curtis is the UK guy, young chap who is very helpful but is sometimes away or at shows. I did have to email Holland once and they and Curtis came straight back to me, all sorted very quickly.
I also bought from http://www.balancemotorsport.co.uk/ and the guy, who's name escapes me, said he could help with any minor or major issues if the need came up.
As Curtis fitted them I went direct and all sorted FOC

I know its a bit late but if you are not UK based we are all helpful guys and could have made a few calls for you

I did it for one of our members in New Zealand who was waiting for some kit from Demon Tweeks and his issue was sorted very swiftly with the right out come

again sorry to hear and I would be well pissed off as you are, major hassle when you cant get issues addressed as one would expect

conleth m3 · 13-07-2011, 04:13 PM

sounds like you've had some poor service from ast. i've had a couple of dealings with curtis from ast uk and has always been helpful and prompt in getting replacement bits/advice to me. hopefully a one off for you mate.

as you've said, great suspension. works great on my car.

conleth m3 · 13-07-2011, 04:16 PM

s.mac,

what set up do you run for the rear? how does it differ from their standard kit?

conleth

s.mac · 13-07-2011, 04:42 PM

Just the sportline 2 kit mate, I don't know what chief was running to change it ?
I didn't want rear coil over as there are question marks , unless you strengthen.
It works fine for me as it is. Just had turner RTABs fitted and for the very few miles it's done it seems a lot firmer, also had a strut re done as it had lost some rebound. Curtis did it FOC, it was within in 12 months.

conleth m3 · 13-07-2011, 06:58 PM

yep, thats what i'm running, sportline II, think mine has something different from normal at the rear, smaller internal diameter spring? needed a smaller diameter helper spring than normal, when had to replace that recently.

i like it. you can crank it up for trackwork but still compliant enough to be comfortable on the road. what do you set yours at for road/track?

s.mac · 13-07-2011, 09:20 PM

road - full soft front a couple of clicks harder on rear
Track - track dependant and varying camber
silverstone wet - same as road (tyre dependant) my car felt like it was on an ice rink

silverstone dry - full hard rear two clicks softer on front
Oulton - 6 clicks front 9 rear (hard)
Cadwell - 8 clicks front 12 rear (hard)
similar at croft.
Very tyre and weather dependant, I tend to mess about on the day, mine does need dropping a bit, running at roughly OEM height. I hardly use the car now and think I will get my camber set to track only so it doesnt effect toe when you change from road to track. To be fair Ive done no track days in it this year and its only been to Murketts and then to watch the lads at Snet, all my time and $$ is going elsewhere

what happened with your rear strut? I only sent one back, I hope they put it back as it was to match the other... there was no mention of anything wrong with internal springs, did you send both back?

chief · 13-07-2011, 10:10 PM

Hi!
As i have read you all had a positive experience with the AST-UK (Curtis) and i will keep it in mind. I came in contact with Curtis personally and to be honest i expected him to serve me. I don't know with he didn't. Maybe it was bad timing but there is a problem with the policy of the company as well. I am still wondering why a customer can't buy spare parts online.
My suspension is a sportline 2 kit and the rear is coil over. After i read the post of smac about his own experience when he bought and installed the same suspension for his own car and posted the photos and i realised it is better for my car to have the same set up with smac. So with the same order of the top mounts i also ordered two rear springs (barrel type).

conleth m3 · 14-07-2011, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chief

Hi!
As i have read you all had a positive experience with the AST-UK (Curtis) and i will keep it in mind. I came in contact with Curtis personally and to be honest i expected him to serve me. I don't know with he didn't. Maybe it was bad timing but there is a problem with the policy of the company as well. I am still wondering why a customer can't buy spare parts online.
My suspension is a sportline 2 kit and the rear is coil over. After i read the post of smac about his own experience when he bought and installed the same suspension for his own car and posted the photos and i realised it is better for my car to have the same set up with smac. So with the same order of the top mounts i also ordered two rear springs (barrel type).

hi chief,

i would give them another chance, have found them good

conleth

13-07-2011, 11:51 AM	#1
chief Wonky 'L' after Washing Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 19 Casino cash: $3889	AST or not Hi, I have been a member of this forum for a year and an owner of a CSL. I really enjoy driving my car and I take part in 12-15 track days every year. I have been reading the topics of your forum almost daily for a year but I haven’t been writing because of my limited knowledge of English, especially in writing. Now I am posting with the help of a friend. Of course it was not my intention to start posting to your forum by making complaints about the irresponsible behavior of the AST firm but because I believe this forum has an informative character and its primary purpose is to inform I felt obliged to make my complaints so as to inform and protect the rest of your members. I am aware of the fact that most people who write to a forum for the first time complaining about a product do it deliberately and are negatively criticized by the rest of the members. This is NOT my intention and I repeat that I have been a member of this forum for at least a year. During this time I really enjoyed reading your topics which I find useful and informative. I would also like you to bear in mind that I do not know what happens to other countries in relation to the service offered by some companies and I am only stating my personal experience. So any other descriptions of other members of the forum –positive or negative- would have been very helpful. I bought my car a year ago from England. The car had from the previous owner AST suspension and the grip was wonderful. A month after I had bought it and after it made noise at the front I had to pull it out and put the OEM suspension with top mounts from Turner. A month ago, however, I decided to repair the AST suspension and place it back to the car. I noticed that the only problem it had was that the plastic bearings beneath the top mounts were broken. In order to deal with this problem I did the following: 1. I came in touch with the Cypriot dealer of AST (whom I found via the web site of the company). To be honest I was given the impression that this person had no idea what an AST is. He told me that he would come in touch with the representative in Nederland and order the plastic bearings or a complete set of new mounts. It’s been a month since then and I am still waiting for his phone call. 2. After that I communicated via e-mail with the AST-USA. They told me that only the AST-Holland or the AST-UK can provide me the necessary parts. 3. I had the same reply from Vorshlag. 4. At some point after a few days and while I was anxiously looking for plastic bearings since I had a track day the AST-UK representative decided to pick up his phone and answer my continuous phone calls. I explained the problem to him and he promised that I would be served immediately since he not only had stock of plastic bearings (he mentioned that they cost 36 pounds) but also stock of complete top mounts (which they cost 275 pounds). He also asked me to send him my email so that he could reply back telling me the complete cost including shipping. I immediately replied back the same day but unfortunately since that day (it’s been two weeks) I am still waiting for his response. 5. After all these I sent a fax to the AST-Holland complaining about the service and asking if they could help me. I had NO response and I was obliged to call them three days later. They told me that I would have my answer in an hour. It’s been five-six days and I am still waiting. Thankfully after a lot of search and many hours of frustration I accidentally managed to find and buy the parts I wanted from Westsuffolkracing. Their service was excellent and all their staff polite and willing to help. I also bought from them two rear springs (barrel type) because I wanted to make the rear set up the same as s.mac’s This inconvenience helped me realize that AST is not a reliable firm (on the contrary to their suspension which I find great). It is their responsibility to supply their clients with spare parts and treat them with respect. If they were honest enough to tell me they ran out of stock I would have accepted their response without any complaints. It would have also been proper if they informed their clients that they do not cooperate with private clients but only with racing teams. But that was not the case. I wasn’t even able to communicate with them. Honestly and without any over exaggeration I could easily come in touch with the president of the Cyprus Republic or any minister instead of the UK dealer. I also find it ridiculous to be able to order the suspension online but not being able to order any spare parts of the suspension or even the top mounts. Finally, it is also ridiculous and extremely rude TO LIE or NOT TO ANSWER the calls of a client who is polite and willing to pay you for your service. This is at least unprofessional and offensive. I apologize for the length of my post but it was not my intention to be offensive. My only intention is to warn any potential buyers and at the same time express my disappointment and frustration. If the administrator of this forum finds this post offensive he may delete it.

13-07-2011, 01:16 PM	#2
shimmy CSL Register Uber-poster! Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Uk Posts: 14,646 Casino cash: $43909	Welcome I managed to get 75% through your post! Sounds like a case if bad customer service, not helped by you being so remote from the suppliers and manufacturer. They should care about customers but many firms don't. If you can get hold of a decent UK dealer I'm sure they will post out to you. __________________ . Last edited by shimmy; 13-07-2011 at 03:30 PM.

13-07-2011, 01:27 PM	#3
s.mac CSL Register Uber-poster! Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 4,247 Casino cash: $15600	Sounds like a really bad experience. I did have to contact AST UK about 1 of my rear struts that needed attention. Curtis is the UK guy, young chap who is very helpful but is sometimes away or at shows. I did have to email Holland once and they and Curtis came straight back to me, all sorted very quickly. I also bought from http://www.balancemotorsport.co.uk/ and the guy, who's name escapes me, said he could help with any minor or major issues if the need came up. As Curtis fitted them I went direct and all sorted FOC I know its a bit late but if you are not UK based we are all helpful guys and could have made a few calls for you I did it for one of our members in New Zealand who was waiting for some kit from Demon Tweeks and his issue was sorted very swiftly with the right out come again sorry to hear and I would be well pissed off as you are, major hassle when you cant get issues addressed as one would expect

13-07-2011, 04:13 PM	#4
conleth m3 S4 - Getting the hang of it Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 218 Casino cash: $9386	sounds like you've had some poor service from ast. i've had a couple of dealings with curtis from ast uk and has always been helpful and prompt in getting replacement bits/advice to me. hopefully a one off for you mate. as you've said, great suspension. works great on my car.

13-07-2011, 04:16 PM	#5
conleth m3 S4 - Getting the hang of it Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 218 Casino cash: $9386	s.mac, what set up do you run for the rear? how does it differ from their standard kit? conleth

13-07-2011, 04:42 PM	#6
s.mac CSL Register Uber-poster! Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 4,247 Casino cash: $15600	Just the sportline 2 kit mate, I don't know what chief was running to change it ? I didn't want rear coil over as there are question marks , unless you strengthen. It works fine for me as it is. Just had turner RTABs fitted and for the very few miles it's done it seems a lot firmer, also had a strut re done as it had lost some rebound. Curtis did it FOC, it was within in 12 months.

13-07-2011, 06:58 PM	#7
conleth m3 S4 - Getting the hang of it Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 218 Casino cash: $9386	yep, thats what i'm running, sportline II, think mine has something different from normal at the rear, smaller internal diameter spring? needed a smaller diameter helper spring than normal, when had to replace that recently. i like it. you can crank it up for trackwork but still compliant enough to be comfortable on the road. what do you set yours at for road/track?

13-07-2011, 09:20 PM	#8
s.mac CSL Register Uber-poster! Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 4,247 Casino cash: $15600	road - full soft front a couple of clicks harder on rear Track - track dependant and varying camber silverstone wet - same as road (tyre dependant) my car felt like it was on an ice rink silverstone dry - full hard rear two clicks softer on front Oulton - 6 clicks front 9 rear (hard) Cadwell - 8 clicks front 12 rear (hard) similar at croft. Very tyre and weather dependant, I tend to mess about on the day, mine does need dropping a bit, running at roughly OEM height. I hardly use the car now and think I will get my camber set to track only so it doesnt effect toe when you change from road to track. To be fair Ive done no track days in it this year and its only been to Murketts and then to watch the lads at Snet, all my time and $$ is going elsewhere what happened with your rear strut? I only sent one back, I hope they put it back as it was to match the other... there was no mention of anything wrong with internal springs, did you send both back?

13-07-2011, 10:10 PM	#9
chief Wonky 'L' after Washing Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 19 Casino cash: $3889	Hi! As i have read you all had a positive experience with the AST-UK (Curtis) and i will keep it in mind. I came in contact with Curtis personally and to be honest i expected him to serve me. I don't know with he didn't. Maybe it was bad timing but there is a problem with the policy of the company as well. I am still wondering why a customer can't buy spare parts online. My suspension is a sportline 2 kit and the rear is coil over. After i read the post of smac about his own experience when he bought and installed the same suspension for his own car and posted the photos and i realised it is better for my car to have the same set up with smac. So with the same order of the top mounts i also ordered two rear springs (barrel type).