Help on refund @ Thunderbird Specialties 2002 Reviews

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Had my share of problems with this clown. Thank god i paid through Paypal. They helped me get a full refund. He is a very dishonest person, and the law should look into this,, he is a fraud.
 
still waiting for my reply and return shipping info from thunderbird specialties. have submitted all my paperwork to visa on 2 separate occasions. visa is doing a great job in supporting me.
 
VolleyballJIM said:
I just ordered a bezel for the scoop on my 2002 TBird. When it arrived, from "Powersport" (TB Specialties) I was kind of shocked as it was a single piece of metal that you peel the 3M tape off and put on the top of the hood scoop. Well, for $79,00 I kinda expected sometime much more substantial. I cannot imagine it "looks like the Neiman Marcus edition" scoop trim. SO, I plan to return it, 35% stocking fee (my bad), but does anyone have (1) any advice on returning (looks like hardball on their site) OR (2) anyone buying this and it "looking good" (I looked at it and CANNOT imagine it would look appropriate for the car.)...Thanks! Hate to be turned off to that web site as I planned to use them in the future, but this first experience ....
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Bobberoo said:
In answer to why I purchased the FEM from Thunderbird Specialties is my Ford dealer erroneously told me the part had been discontinued some time ago and there were only used and repaired parts available. Thunderbird Specialties offered New stock through some agreement directly with Ford and he was the only one with new FEMs available. Hindsight offered a different view but there’s not much I can do about it now. By the way the part came from Lakeland Ford so I would suggest anyone looking for an FEM contact them directly.
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I have learned to stay away from Thunderbird Specialties. Their prices are very high, and their service is terrible. I just purchased a new compact spare from Maxxis (OEM on 2003-2005) for my 2004 for$159 with tax and shipping $185.58, Thunderbird Specialties wants $299 for the same tire.
 
You guys aren't kidding - Phillip and Autumn are COMPLETE crooks and refuse to give a refund EVEN when they don't send a part. They lie, cheat and steal. Disgusts me that they are in business and I will do what I can to help other people not fall into their scamming ways...
 
TKW said:
You guys aren't kidding - Phillip and Autumn are COMPLETE crooks and refuse to give a refund EVEN when they don't send a part. They lie, cheat and steal. Disgusts me that they are in business and I will do what I can to help other people not fall into their scamming ways...
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Can’t say there weren’t enough red flags flying. Unfortunately you probably didn’t discover this thread until you were looking for help. Might as well be a thorn under his saddle and keep bugging him! Good luck to you.
 
contact PayPal and visa..they responded and got my grievance solved

has anyone had to seek legal counsel in regards to refunds from thunderbird specialties? the refund i got through my visa / paypal grievance a year ago in regards to my wire rims he is now demanding the amount returned via a letter i got through his lawyer. of course i have no address that i could have returned the rims to his doorstep a year ago. so they sit in my closet.
 
Wow - just wow... I wanted to file a small claims case against him, but it's impossible to find out which county he is in. Does the lawyer have an address? He really should not be allowed to do business. :( Someone sent me what appears to be his home address, but I don't know for sure if it's him or not.
 
TKW said:
Unfortunately it's past their 6 month period so I am out of luck with both Paypal and my Credit Card....
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Not to reopen a dead thread, but just to make others aware to TS's business model, their latest email features a retaining clip set normally $199, on sale for $149.

Amazon has that exact set for $17.99. With 5 removal tools.
 
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VolleyballJIM said:
I just ordered a bezel for the scoop on my 2002 TBird. When it arrived, from "Powersport" (TB Specialties) I was kind of shocked as it was a single piece of metal that you peel the 3M tape off and put on the top of the hood scoop. Well, for $79,00 I kinda expected sometime much more substantial. I cannot imagine it "looks like the Neiman Marcus edition" scoop trim. SO, I plan to return it, 35% stocking fee (my bad), but does anyone have (1) any advice on returning (looks like hardball on their site) OR (2) anyone buying this and it "looking good" (I looked at it and CANNOT imagine it would look appropriate for the car.)...Thanks! Hate to be turned off to that web site as I planned to use them in the future, but this first experience ....
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I have been trying to get a $500 refund for something I cancelled back in June and have gotten stonewalled, unbelievable he can treat customers this way
 
stevedaphotoman said:
Just saw the Battery Tender Plus that I paid $49.00 at a car show for $129.00 on the web site.. Perhaps it comes with a battery also.. BUT If they had the chrome bezels for the rear taillights maybe, just maybe, I would consider buying them.. I understand they are out of production.. So I'm safe.. I guess it's like women's sexy lingerie, it looks great on but boy is it expensive..
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I bought the chrome taillight bezels from this guy, don't bother as they are fake chrome on plastic and look ridiculous.
You can get good accessories for your bird from other suppliers for a better price.
P.S.
I'LL sell you mine for 300$and free shipping.

CherylB said:
I have been trying to get a $500 refund for something I cancelled back in June and have gotten stonewalled, unbelievable he can treat customers this way
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Stay away from this place, your not treated like a good customer and he is way overpriced.
 
I ordered from them and after having problem checked their reviews and was shocked at the many negative statements. I did a dispute on my Amex and did get a discount Phil agreed to. Now he will not send me a Borla exhaust or a refund because he is filling crazy accusations because of the dispute. All I can do is state his many many many negative comments are true.
 
I'm new in the Forum and don't want to cause problems, but one of the main reasons I joined was to warn fellow 02-05 owners about the Wire Wheels from Thunderbird Specialties.

I purchased my '05 50th Anniversary in March 2016 from an individual who bought it new. It had 4,200 miles on it, and was pristine (it still is). This is my dream car, and still love driving it.

In 2017, I decided to purchase the wire wheels from T-bird Specialties. The price then was about $,3000 or $750 a wheel (see them now for 4,995). When they arrived in July 2017, I had the most prestigious installer in the area mount and balance them. They looked incredible and to me completed the car.
The first trouble I had was leaving the installers. When I jumped on the highway the wheels started to wobble at 50 mph. I brought it back, and we inspected everything to to bottom. I then contacted the number for issues (good luck tryin to find it) I talked to the owner. His first comment was the climate in Upstate NY could be a problem!!! Temp was around 80F when I drove the car, and I store it in a heated basement in the winter. He also said that it would probably dissipate to some extent, which was true. The wobble continues to this day at a speed of about 52 to 60 mph. It is not evident at higher or lower speeds. The next thing he said was that the wheels were designed as "cruising" wheels. My response was that although I never intend to pound on the car, from time to time I may have to go in the 55 to 65 mph range on the highway. He didn't offer anything after that, so I decided to live with it. I read that this is not uncommon with wheels that are true spoked wheels

In 2020, while washing the car, I noticed that the chrome finish on 2 of the wheels was peeling. On further close inspection I notice the only place the peeling and rust was occurring was on the hub cover on the back of each wheel. This approximately 8" diameter round cover is made out of a cheap, thin brass material, that is obviously poorly coated.
When I contacted "Mr. Specialty", he completely went on the defense, asking again where I stored it and what I did with the car (The mileage on my car is currently 14,900, so I am averaging less that 2,200 miles a year, and yes, I baby this car). I told him that a lot of my money saved was spent n this car, and I want it to be as perfect as possible. I also asked if I spent $3000 on these wheels, did he think it was right to have them rust out after driving 6,000 miles in perfect weather conditions?
The final straw is that he blamed the wheel manufacturer down the street for the issue. He then said he was afraid to confront him because he would not do any more work for him and he was essentially being held hostage. He told me he was going to remove the wheels from his site, which he did for a while. It is irritating that now he is advertising the same wheels for $4,995!!!

Finally, the wheels are virtually impossible to fix and re-chrome. In order to do so, one would have to completely dis-assemble the wheels as the cover is integrated into every single one of the 100 spokes in each wheel. So my prized wheels look like garbage, and there is nothing to do except call it a loss, and return the original OEM wheels to the car.
Don't buy anything from Thunderbird Specialties - they don't back up what they sell, and are bad business people to deal with!

T-BIRD - REAR VIEW.jpg
 
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I HAD a 2002 Ford Thunderbird. I loved that car. I ordered a reconditioned PCM from Thunderbird Specialties in March 2021. Ordering this part entailed paying for the part, $1,732.95, and paying an additional $899.00 that was to be refunded upon me sending my bad PCM back to Philip Wegener. I was told that, due to Covid creating supply chain problems, this part could take 8 to 12 weeks to receive. I was pretty shaky about waiting for the part and wrote to Wegener a few times. He basically told me to leave him alone and I would know when the part was available when he said it was. Fast forward to February 2022. I had not been able to drive the car since March 2021 since things were lighting up on the dashboard and my mechanic couldn't source the problem because THE PCM WAS NOT FUNCTIONING. Since I used the T-Bird for transportation, I finally gave up and bought another car. In the meantime, I had been contacting Wegener asking for a refund of my $2,631.95. I even had the unmitigated gall to contact the BBB. It was at this point that Wegener said he would refund my money minus a $300 fee for his trouble of reading and answering my "dozens and dozens of emails." (In reality, I sent him about 20 emails over the course of a year.) I AGREED TO THAT! Then he decided that since I "made it legal," he was referring everything to his lawyer. He sent me a threatening email saying that since I bothered him so much, I may be liable for his legal costs. I was unaware that you can keep someone's money because you consider them to be a pain in the ass. Has anyone had any success getting money back from this guy? Let me know.
 
This guy is a certified crook, ordered coil suspension, years ago from him, never got them. Since I paid him by PayPal, I notified them, and they investigated , and paypal yanked my money out of bank account. Dunno why people are still buying from him. I also got a nasty e Mail,, and basically told him to go F… himself.
 
Mike Barnes said:
Don't buy anything from Thunderbird Specialties - they don't back up what they sell, and are bad business people to deal with!
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Think of your, and other contributor efforts as archived statements where perspective Specialties buyer may catch he's a crook. For that, good job! Found he has three registered domains, one overseas. Clearly a web vendor that has a shady history. Do a Who's-Who domain lookup on his sites and it reveals he is flying under the 'try and find me' radar. Crooks reveal they're crooks.
 
Yes , Philip has a problem if you ask too many questions about shipping your item. I think I received my "partial refund" but I'm not sure. I waited for 3 months for my order. Don't trust them.
 
mtbronco said:
My 2 cents about Thunderbird Specialties and Philip Wegener - cheat and crook, don't by anything from this company!

Our 2002 T-Bird wouldn't start this spring, it would just crank over but not start. I just thought it was a low battery even though the tender is on and it shows it was charging just fine. I began some self diag thinking it was maybe a fuse or relay, have spares on hand, replaced each that it could be but still nothing. I looked around on the internet and after lots of reading it sounded like it could the REM module. Figuring it was beyond what I could fix, I put the T-Bird on the trailer and took to Bison Ford in Great Falls Montana, my local dealership who I have bought many many cars from. They diagnosed it and said it was either the REM or fuel pump, it acted just like the owners 2 T-Birds and his daughters T-Bird when their REMs went out. I said lets start with the fuel pump and that wasn't it so it looked to be the REM was bad. They used to send to a place in Detroit but they don't fix these anymore and at the time there wasn't any available from Ford. So we began a horrible route of trying to contact this company to fix. We sent the REM to Philip in agreement he could repair it, for an original cost of around $1100 though his website said charges began at only $250. Here is where everything went south...... After he received the REM in early June he didn't try to fix or repair, we mailed him multiple times and received no reply, we began to worry if this was a legit company, more on that later. Finally in late July/early August he replied saying he couldn't fix it but gave no answer as to why, don't think he even tried to repair it, he said for another $200 plus additional costs he could get a reman REM from Ford, now we were really confused, as Ford said none where available. Bison looked at their site and oddly they showed some were now available, we tried to order one, but couldn't as Philip locked up my VIN with a dealership in NC trying to get one ordered. We contacted dealer and said here is what Philip is trying to pull, they agreed that once they received my REM from him, they would ship the new REM directly to us, well he never sent my original REM to them and still has it. After some time of working with Ford, they released my VIN so we could do an order for a REM through Bison, after a few weeks we received the REM and our T-Bird is running again, with no help from Philip Wegener or Thunderspecialties.com. We have sent messages to him only to have him state that during the summer he sent mails to Bison and they never replied to him, he considers the matter closed but I have communicated with him that how can you consider it closed when you are still holding onto my REM and won't return it.

Long and detailed but after this encounter and hearing of others who have had similar encounters, I'd steer clear of Thunderbird Specialties and Philip Wegener, he will cheat you out and never get you your parts you paid for.
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I had looked at this website for parts and decided that the prices were too high. I am now glad that I consistently read about other people's experiences. This guy is undoubtedly a CROOK! I'm sorry so many of you have been screwed by him, but at least you have saved the rest of us the anguish of dealing with our friend(?) Phillip. JJG
 
Thirty-eight months ago I ordered replacement seat covers to include the Ford Thunderbird logo from Philip Wegener‘s Power Sport California Custom/Thunderbird Specialities. I paid in advance plus a shipping fee. I have NOT as yet received the product and Thunderbird Specialties continues to advertise the item as well as a much cheaper slip-over-seat covers. I have asked Mr. Wegener for delivery or a full refund, which he has refused to do. Be weary of ordering big ticket items from Thunderbird Specialites.
 
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