AST or not

[chief]

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.