Be Warned: www.volkswaparts.com

[VDub Dan-O]

OK folks, lesson learned:
I usually take chances with on-line transactions so I decided to go for it with volkswaparts.com and order my timing belt kit for Frank.
Prices were reasonable, order 5 items=free shipping.
Never once did the site say anything about the Japanese or Chinese origin of the parts.
Box shows up:

• Water pump back-ordered
• Fuel filter back-ordered
• Serp belt says, "MADE IN CHINA WITH JAPANESE RUBBER"
• Timing belt says, "MADE IN CHINA"
• Tensioner, yup you guessed it, "MADE IN CHINA" as well as the tensioner and idler pulleys.
• Chinese T-Stat

Disappointed and feeling deceived, I decide it's German only for the risky timing components. I email the folks back, and right away get told, "The parts are guaranteed for X amount of years, not to worry." When I questioned what would happen when the $1.50 Chinese timing belt breaks and bends all my valves, I was told that the belt would be covered but not any damage that the failed part caused and to refer to their return policy if I didn't want the parts. So after $10 shipping back, AND a 15% restocking fee, I felt compelled to urge others to consider not purchasing a timing kit from volkswaparts.com
The other parts may be OK, Who knows, but I'm not going to install inferior timing components on my ride to save $30.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

OEM for everything stock, in my book! OEM = PEP (precision engineered parts). If it's OEM, it should at least last the life of the original part under the original warranty. But, be careful, I've noticed a lot of Sellers calling parts OEM that aren't, in the sense we think of. They are Original Equipment Manufacturer of that manufacturer. A little, deceiving, play on words!

[DZLBUG]

Pure C.R.A.P. (Chinese Replacement Auto Parts)

NEVER buy anything from this crook, Pete Rothenbacher. He sells a lot of parts on ebay (Prothe), plus many of his other copycat websites that all sell the same crap. He buys large volumes of the cheapest of the cheap Chinese junk he can get his hands on.

Some of his other aliases...
http://www.emiata.com
http://www.dieselvw.com
http://www.dieselvw-canada.com
http://www.tdi-parts.com

And there are many more as well. The sites all look the same though, horrible formatting with tons of keywords to try to improve his Google ranking.

[01Blacknbtrb]

Timing Belt Kits from ECS Tunning are the Ultimate!! Check them out.

[DZLBUG]

Originally Posted by 01Blacknbtrb

Timing Belt Kits from ECS Tunning are the Ultimate!! Check them out.

If you order from ECS, make sure you get a water pump that is anything but Meyle brand. They use shoddy quality bearings, most of the rest of their products are fine. I think ECS' standard kit has the Meyle pump.

I prefer the kit from Metalman:
http://www.metalmanparts.com/product...8&categoryId=8

He includes the serp. belt and motor mount bolts, price is $155 shipped. Then just pick up coolant locally.

[VDub Dan-O]

I've got a 1.8T, the $155 kit is for a 2.0

Was issued my refund and after the extra shipping back AND the 15% "restocking' fee (notice the quotes) an oil filler cap and a thermostat housing cost me $32 out of pocket.
I'm still not so happy about the deceit with the Japanese and Chinese switch-a-roo.

[NewBeetleMechanic]

Is that guy really still selling that crap? I heard about his crappy stuff like over five years ago.

I second that, NEVER buy parts from this guy.

[VDub Dan-O]

My wife says that he's probably been selling the same crappy timing kit over and over and making his money on the Return Policy.

[kellyyysayss]

Originally Posted by VDub Dan-O

My wife says that he's probably been selling the same crappy timing kit over and over and making his money on the Return Policy.

This made me laugh. Good call on her part. She's probably right!

[Smileybug]

Sadly yes, Prothe is still around and scamming people left and right with his chinese crap. People are also still buying his injection pumps, only to have them start leaking soon after (if they even work at all!) I usually hear about him getting to the older VW diesel crowd (as in Mk1, Mk2) but he's after anyone that will buy from him. He claims he rebuilds the IPs and has a tester...it hasn't been proven. We stick to autohausaz, 1stvwparts, germanautoparts, and a few others for our MK1 TD needs, as well as my NB.

Glad you got your refund from him. If you see any somewhat sketchy parts website in Charlotte, NC, best to stay away as its likely him. He just keeps creating new sites.