Safari Gard Sale!

[bernardmann]

I don't know if anyone has posted this already, but the SG website is having a 20% off sale right now.

[keptin]

...probably because they are loosing lots of business due to thier horrible BS customer service...and RTE's awesome kick ass customer service.

They wanted 4 weeks to "make" a steel wheels......first, they dont make them, they order them from procomp, and second, 4 weeks....WTF?!........plain bull $hit.

...got the same exact wheel from someone else and it arrived 4 days later.



sry....just have to vent... there are threads (long ones) you can read on dweb about it. Some people have good experiences with them.....on the other hand, many others do not. My advice...if you want something from them....call them and talk to a person.

[roverX]

Originally Posted by keptin

...probably because they are loosing lots of business due to thier horrible BS customer service...and RTE's awesome kick ass customer service.

They wanted 4 weeks to "make" a steel wheels......first, they dont make them, they order them from procomp, and second, 4 weeks....WTF?!........plain bull $hit.

...got the same exact wheel from someone else and it arrived 4 days later.

x2 Customer service will do wonders for your business. Oh, and they ain't called $G for nothing.

[keptin]

Originally Posted by roverX

Oh, and they ain't called $G for nothing.

Another good point....20% off means that $G products are about "normal" priced...going from $1500 (SG bumper w/ everything) to $1200....(equiv to RTE w/ everything).

Btw.....RTE's are supposedly stronger too..(another dweb thread- "RTE vs SG"...I believe).

[RageRover]

Can't say I have gotten anything from either company, but now that I have heard from two people, how bad customer service is, I will spend me money some where else.

[roverX]

Originally Posted by RageRover

Can't say I have gotten anything from either company, but now that I have heard from two people, how bad customer service is, I will spend me money some where else.

http://www.myrover.net/mofab/mofab.htm

[RageRover]

Originally Posted by roverX

http://www.myrover.net/mofab/mofab.htm

Wow. I am impressed with what these guys do out of their own garage. This is how I plan to start making custom Rover parts .................

[Art Vigil]

It's funny, I used to never miss an opportunity to say something bad about Safari Gard, now I just sit back and smile when I see what they've become in the Rover commuity's eyes.

Ahh what the hell, here's one for old time's sake:
SUCK IT SAFARI GARD!!!


~Art

[SCSL]

Sorry guys, but I have to take the opposing view on this one. Lately the boards have been a "pile on" SG... I've had nothing but positive experiences w/ SG and their products. SG was a pioneer of aftermarket Rover mods and still makes a damn fine product. I've always been able to contact them and haven't had any issues. I'm not arguing w/ those who may have had different experiences, but the constant negativity towards SG is confusing, at least to me. It's hard running a small business w/ a limited target market. I can't speak for SG but I would imagine they do their best to take care of their customers and effectively run their business.

That being said, clearly RTE makes awesome stuff and Steve Turner is among the nicest guys you will ever meet. I have products from both & couldn't be happier. I wheel w/ Steve even though I have a bunch of SG stuff on my Rover. Supporting one doesn't mean dogging the other.

[keptin]

Thats good, I was expecting you to tune in steve, you and Gotrover are running ALL SG stuff, its good to get a balenced opinion.

...I wouldnt be dogging on them if I didnt have a bad personal experience with them. To let others know...they were pretty good with contacting me, it took 3 days for them to first e-mail me, but after that it was either within the day or the next day. It's just they lied....or simplified it by saying they "make" thier wheels....and any company that takes 4 weeks to drop ship one steel wheel has issues they need to work out.

[Art Vigil]

Originally Posted by SCSL

"Sorry guys, but I have to take the opposing view on this one. Lately the boards have been a "pile on" SG... I've had nothing but positive experiences w/ SG and their products..."

No need to apologize, you've been fortunate and I am happy for those who can make statements like that. Hopefully, you will at the very least concede that you are part of a small minority of faithful customers. I don't however agree that this SG bashing is new. You can find posts (not all me) on the D90 yahoo group archives that go back to the late 90's talking about what a crap company Safari Gard is. My first bad experience with them was somewhere around '97 and over the years I've heard customers repeatedly complaining.

Originally Posted by SCSL

"...SG was a pioneer of aftermarket Rover mods and still makes a damn fine product..."

Agreed. They were one of the first to make stuff for D90's back when there were very few owners thinking about modifying their vehicles. I suppose I owe them a thanks for that.
But, a damn fine product, no. I don't agree. Everything they make someone else makes better and sells cheaper, except the 3-link which I'll get to in a minute.
Their bumpers look great but are not as strong as the competitors boxed versions. Yes, I know the ARB is not boxed either, but it has more mass out front (sticks out further) to compensate for this and works well. The downside is the bad approach angle which others like Rockware addressed by making a similar bumper to SG but boxed for strength.
Sliders: These had to be redesigned because the first ones they sold were flexing into the bodies of the vehicles. Now they market the new ones as heavy duty. They should have been heavy duty in the first place. Again, there are others making better ones, cheaper.
Diff guards, they fall off if you hit them. How is that a good protector? Yes you can tack weld them on, now. The first versions didn't have a hole for the drain plug. When a friend of mine called to complain, Greg's response was "so drill one". Nice customer service, dick. Interestingly enough, the next version offered had a hole. Buy a mantec if you want a strong diff guard.

Okay, now to the three link. Too radical for a daily driver. Seriously, why would anyone want one? Think about the reasoning of someone who would want purchase it. If you want to make your Rover more capable off-road, buy a locker. It is stupid and dangerous to completely change the geometry of the front end to get a bit more wheel travel. If you want a rock crawler, build or buy a real one like this: http://www.4x4wire.com/feature/sniper00/ I just don't get this mentality that causes someone to trash a vehicle thinking they can turn it into something it will never be. There was an over-modded D90 here in Colorado that recently sold that was a perfect example of this. The idiot owner with obvious phallic issues kept hacking on it until he realized it wasn't going to become the jeep rock-crawler he wanted. Now I've heard he's finally building a buggy instead of trying to polish a turd. Musta grown a brain. That or his mommy found out how much of her money he was throwing away. Before him there was another red D90 owner that went the same route because he had too much into it to stop. I doubt he ended up with something he wanted either. I just laugh at the morons who can't accept that they will never get where they want. Even Safari Gard realized that they could only go so far and built a buggy: http://www.safarigard.com/newRock90.htm

I do applaud the owners of Rovers who bobtail or chop tops or do other major mods with a plan in mind to get to a desired and well thought-out end result.

Originally Posted by SCSL

"...I've always been able to contact them and haven't had any issues. I'm not arguing w/ those who may have had different experiences, but the constant negativity towards SG is confusing, at least to me. It's hard running a small business w/ a limited target market. I can't speak for SG but I would imagine they do their best to take care of their customers and effectively run their business..."

Hopefully, my rant will help explain my negativity at least. To sum up my opinion: I think their products are over-priced crap, their business practices suck and I would not be the least bit sad to see them go away.

But, what the hell do I know

~Art Vigil (slipping back into lurk mode)

[keptin]

woah woah dude....slow down....no need to destory SG, they will get what they have comming.

IMO, the 3-link is a good idea....and its not just a little more flex, its insane.

[gordo]

BTW, the SG Husky bumper is on sale for like 750. Beat that and they are one of the few suppliers of a Husky bumper (RTE does as well). I would argue that they make the best looking bumper out there, although I dont own one. My experience as Ive posted before has always been positive and they are an excellent sponsor of the FLRC (amazing sponsor actually). So from my standpoint they are top notch. I think folks are too quick to bash a vendor. SG makes some good products and my experience with them has always been positive, albiet somewhat limited. Gordo

[SCSL]

Originally Posted by Art Vigil

There was an over-modded D90 here in Colorado that recently sold that was a perfect example of this. The idiot owner with obvious phallic issues kept hacking on it until he realized it wasn't going to become the jeep rock-crawler he wanted. Now I've heard he's finally building a buggy instead of trying to polish a turd. Musta grown a brain. That or his mommy found out how much of her money he was throwing away.

Wow.
As it happens, I know this individual & wheel with him and have a different take on his desire to push the limits of what you can do with a Rover. Your description here certainly comes off as a bit harsh. Why? Why not push a Rover to the limits as you would any other off-road vehicle? The community is a big tent full of vehicles & owner-mindsets ranging from bone-stock & shiney to body-damaged and extreme. Respectfully, Art, it seems like you have issues w/ this person that go beyond the scope of this thread. But your same logic could be applied to my DII, or Steve Turners DI. Are we trying to "polish turds" by building up our Discos into rock crawlers that run the same lines as any built Jeeps?

Last thing I wanted to do, however, is start a web battle on an otherwise civil forum,,, especially with a Coloradan. I guess I've had a better experience than some w/ SG and certainly can't argue w/ the experiences others have had.

To Keptin's point, I think the issue w/ the wheels is that Procomp doesn't stock them in 5x120.

[stevenr]

I have had only good experiences with Safari Gard. I ordered a rear bumper from them, requested no powder coat so I could make some personal modifications and it arrived within a week. I ordered a 3-Link and most of it arrived within a week. When my cross member didn't arrive, Mary got a call and shipped it out next day. I ordered Fox 8 way adjustable remote res. shocks and was forewarned that they would take a few months because they submit the order to Fox to have built. I know people have had bad experiences, but I wanted to share the good ones that I have had.

I am a big fan of Steve at RTE as well. I have some of his products like his 3 inch springs and rear links. I have gotten other things from him and also enjoy just talking with him and Seth about Rovers. BTW, where do you think the design for the RTE Slimline bumper came from?

Art, the 3-Link is not in anyway too "radical" for daily driving. My Disco has become my daily driver again and I tavel 30 miles each way and have no issues with it's handleing. If it is set up properly (which many people do not take the time to make the correct adjustments) it handles flawlessly.

I might just take advantage of the 20% off sale right now and get the droop kit for my rear springs. I have retainers but have had my eye on those for a while now. Anyone have 'em?

-Steven