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Time to claim: Backordered parts not being honoured

H

hoz

Member
This morning I received a mail from AeroLEDs stating 'Vans is not transferring any deposit money or any payments to AeroLEDs so all customers that have previously ordered directly through Vans will now need to place a new order directly from AeroLEDs.'
These parts form a small portion of the total backordered parts from my Wing and Finish kits, which were fully paid for and shipped in April 2023.
I have no means of identifying which, if any, of the backordered parts Vans intends to honour (eg RV10 seats are on the b/o list, currently priced at $10715), so I guess I need to file a claim for the full list.
I spoke to Vans yesterday and they could not give any indication on expected fulfilment timelines for any of the backordered parts.
grrr... 🤬
 
I received the same email. It seemed like a good deal until you consider that everything we buy back with the credit has been marked up 75%. I will be spending over $4,000.00 without shipping costs included to replace my LCPs and parts already incorporated into completed components. That money is just to get me back to where I was supposed to be when I first opened my crates. Van's portal for LCP replacements allows replacement some affected parts but not other affected parts, and it does not provide for replacement of any consumed rivets or other hardware, which in my case is a majority of the tail kit. To make matters worse, Van's can't tell me which hardware bags belong to which component, so I'm erroring on the side of buying too many bags. And there is no coordination between the LCP portal and the non-portal ordered parts.
 
Fltonc said:
I received the same email. It seemed like a good deal until you consider that everything we buy back with the credit has been marked up 75%. I will be spending over $4,000.00 without shipping costs included to replace my LCPs and parts already incorporated into completed components. That money is just to get me back to where I was supposed to be when I first opened my crates. Van's portal for LCP replacements allows replacement some affected parts but not other affected parts, and it does not provide for replacement of any consumed rivets or other hardware, which in my case is a majority of the tail kit. To make matters worse, Van's can't tell me which hardware bags belong to which component, so I'm erroring on the side of buying too many bags. And there is no coordination between the LCP portal and the non-portal ordered parts.
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I understand how you feel - I’m in an almost identical situation. If Van’s makes good on the credit, and I can apply the credit to my $4k b/g replacement cost, I will consider that a reasonable outcome with all things considered. I’ll still need to purchase tips, but that’s okay with me because I think I’ve had a change of heart about Aerosun VXi at this point.
 
ccarlson said:
I understand how you feel - I’m in an almost identical situation. If Van’s makes good on the credit, and I can apply the credit to my $4k b/g replacement cost, I will consider that a reasonable outcome with all things considered. I’ll still need to purchase tips, but that’s okay with me because I think I’ve had a change of heart about Aerosun VXi at this point.
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I agree with no longer going with the Aerosun tips. Of course the regular wingtip lens went from $37.41 to $78 and the wingtips went from $164.80 to $273 -- about a $300.00 total increase.
 
Fltonc said:
I agree with no longer going with the Aerosun tips. Of course the regular wingtip lens went from $37.41 to $78 and the wingtips went from $164.80 to $273 -- about a $300.00 total increase.
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True that, but I guess I still consider those to be comparatively inexpensive. 😂 Due to a lawnmower incident, combined with a part availability issue, the (STC) lighted wingtips on my Cherokee had to be completely replaced several years ago. The RD-5000 tips I have on it now set the mowing company back $6,100 (tips, paint, install labor, 337 & STC paperwork). The need to be careful when operating around aircraft was an expensive lesson for them.

At this point, I am contemplating Aveo ZipTips @ ~$4k. Of course, I have plenty of time to noodle on the possibilities.
 
I believe Monday is the deadline to file for claims. Do backordered parts count as claims? I would prefer to get the parts I have paid for rather than any of my money back, but I haven't heard a thing from Van's about backordered parts. Would filing a claim hurt my chances of getting my parts? What are others doing?
 
hoz said:
(eg RV10 seats are on the b/o list, currently priced at $10715)🤬
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I don't have much to add to this post but, OUCH!, I'm stuck at RV10 seats selling for $10715! I've furnished a living room and dining room in my house for a lot less than that! I don't know how some of you build RV's anymore, especially now that everything has been re-priced midstream!
 
stigaro said:
I believe Monday is the deadline to file for claims. Do backordered parts count as claims? I would prefer to get the parts I have paid for rather than any of my money back, but I haven't heard a thing from Van's about backordered parts. Would filing a claim hurt my chances of getting my parts? What are others doing?
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I don't know if you should file or not, but Greg did say backordered parts are going out: https://vansairforce.net/threads/engine-prop-and-avionics-update-posted.224003/post-1745136
 
calvid said:
I don't know if you should file or not, but Greg did say backordered parts are going out: https://vansairforce.net/threads/engine-prop-and-avionics-update-posted.224003/post-1745136
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It probably depends specifically upon what is backordered. Several of us have AeroLEDS Aerosun VXi wingtips on backorder (paid in full), and an email from AeroLEDS received this past Monday made it clear that we should file a claim because Van’s would not be sending our funds to AeroLEDS.

As it stands, I think the waters have been muddied by mid-week comms to some customers indicating Van’s would be issuing credit for certain backordered things. Apparently, additional messaging is being prepared for imminent release, but I am struggling to have faith that it will materialize before the filing deadline.
 
ccarlson said:
True that, but I guess I still consider those to be comparatively inexpensive. 😂 Due to a lawnmower incident, combined with a part availability issue, the (STC) lighted wingtips on my Cherokee had to be completely replaced several years ago. The RD-5000 tips I have on it now set the mowing company back $6,100 (tips, paint, install labor, 337 & STC paperwork). The need to be careful when operating around aircraft was an expensive lesson for them.

At this point, I am contemplating Aveo ZipTips @ ~$4k. Of course, I have plenty of time to noodle on the possibilities.
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Hi Chad,

Ryan Edmark here with AeroLEDs. If you don't mind I would like to speak with you about your current situation. AeroLEDs is determined to help out and offer the best possible service to the builder community. Please email me at [email protected].

Thanks
 
Fltonc said:
I agree with no longer going with the Aerosun tips. Of course the regular wingtip lens went from $37.41 to $78 and the wingtips went from $164.80 to $273 -- about a $300.00 total increase.
Click to expand...

Hi Fltonc,

Please reach out to me at [email protected]. I would like to speak with you about your current situation as well. We are here to help.

Thanks,
 
I couldnt believe Vans had the RV 10 seats at over $10k. I had to check it out for myself and yep, $10,715.00. I cant believe they could sell any at that price.

As for AeroLeds, I can only say good things about them. I used to live near their factory and got to visit several times. What a great group of people willing to help with all the questions I had. I have had my lights for probably 7 years (2 years flying) and I got a comment from a Delta pilot the other day on how bright they were.
 
ccarlson said:
It probably depends specifically upon what is backordered. Several of us have AeroLEDS Aerosun VXi wingtips on backorder (paid in full), and an email from AeroLEDS received this past Monday made it clear that we should file a claim because Van’s would not be sending our funds to AeroLEDS.

As it stands, I think the waters have been muddied by mid-week comms to some customers indicating Van’s would be issuing credit for certain backordered things. Apparently, additional messaging is being prepared for imminent release, but I am struggling to have faith that it will materialize before the filing deadline.
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Credit where it is due - Van’s made good on a credit for my backordered Aerosun VXi wingtips.

Thanks to Greg & Jessica at Van’s, and Ryan at AeroLEDS for helping make the best out of the circumstances. Much appreciated!
 
Thanks Vans; all my backordered parts (excl AeroSun wingtips, but including seats etc) are on the way to me.
 
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