Broadway Limited Parts/Replacement

[mu26aeh]

A while back I bought a BLI AC6000 that had suffered a decoder failure and resulted in a slightly melted shell.  I contacted BLI regarding availability of replacement shells.  Later that day they replied they had 1 available.  I had some other parts to order for a different repair so figured I'd add it in there to save shipping.  I inquired before and passed at the time, as they wanted $41 for the shell and $15 to ship it.  Now the shell was $50 but shipping was $5 for the whole order.  Here is what I received.



It looks like it took 2 rounds of piercing artillery shells.  The engineer side handrail was also fudged up.  So I sent another email to file a complaint and they were overly sorry about the situation and weren't sure how that make it out of the building.  The shell was also sans couplers, which I pointed out that Atlas will sell you a complete, brand new shell with couplers for $27, to which their response was "thanks for the information".  I sent the torpedo unit back and they sent another one.  Fast forward to this week when I get the replacement replacement.





Now this isn't such a big deal, especially compared to the first one, some touch up paint and good to go, but given a $50 price tag, these should be pristine.  They did include a set of couplers on this one (or at least in a baggy for self installation)  If they are going to be sending out what I feel are obvious returned/warranty units or parts there of, the consumer should be notified, and charged accordingly. 

As of this post, I'm awaiting a response on the second one.  Will update once I hear something from them.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

When I bought a few E8 shells years ago, they told me they were defective returns. This can include anything from a blown decoder to a dropped engine before sale. IM and a few other manufacturers are the same way. Parts departments are kind of an afterthought. We are at the extreme tinker end of the spectrum.

Can you replace the front cab skirt with parts from the melted shell? The shades should be pretty easy to paint.

[peteski]

Yes, my experience with BLI parts and repair dept. is that they don't have a supply of new replacement parts. That is why they don't really sell parts like Kato or Atlas do.  Sometimes if you ask nicely, they will sell some parts to you, but those parts will likely be take-outs from complete models.

[mu26aeh]

I'm going to touch up the paint on the sunshades, or they are considered "pre-weathered" maybe ?  End of the day, my issue is that there is no where that is mentioned you're buying used/defective/returned items when it comes to parts (different from their refurbished product section), then on top of it charge like they are new.  Guess I'm just conditioned to get new product cheaper from Atlas. 

[peteski]

Somewhere on their website it is mentioned that they do not sell spare parts (for ktibashing, etc.), only providing them for repairs of their products. ANd I was also informed that the parts are take-outs form complete models.  But but I have to say that they do try to be helpful, and are easy to deal with.

[mu26aeh]

Yes, that's on their parts request page.  This shell is a direct replacement for their AC6000.  No kitbashing or putting on another manufacturer chassis

[pjm20]

That's unfortunate, I just got some parts for a HO Scale L1 and everything I got was in pristine condition.