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PTK, how stable are they?

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Old 09-16-2005, 11:27 PM
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Default PTK, how stable are they?

I am so ready to buy a kit through PTK, but after doing some reading and looking at their status page (see the link below) I really question how stable this company is. I've heard really good things from early buyers, but over the last several months they seem to be quickly slipping on their delivery times.

http://www.proturbokits.com/pages.asp?pid=1

PTK is telling customers 2.5 to 3 months for delivery. Looking at this page, there are guys who ordered in March and STILL havent received their kits. If you look at the column "Percentage of Fabrication Completed" all kits ordered as far back as June have only "10%" listed... which if you read the bottom of the page it looks like this just means writing up the paper-work and maybe ordering parts (like steel tube). Obviously 2.5-3 months for delivery time is a pipe dream for these people, never mind the guys who ordered back in March that are still waiting!

To make matters worse PTK wants ALL of your money up front. I'm so ready to order a kit from them because I feel they have a superior product... BUT, given all the turbo companies that come and GO, I don't know about giving them $9,000 for a kit while I lay in bed sleepless for 6+ months hoping they don't file bankruptcy with my money! If I could pay COD I'd have ordered a while ago, but I understand the turbos, IC, WG, and BOV as well as labor to fab the kit all cost money.

Talking to Dalton at PTK (he seems like a good guy), he said I could give them 70% up front, but they'd want the remaining 30% within a month... which is no better IMO. I understand they need money to cover the cost of producing these kits, but if they truely need 100% of the customers money to cover costs, well that means they are making NO money! This isn't true so I have to question why they need ALL of the money up front... unless things pretty unstable. As much as I'd like to think everything would go smoothly, I still can't help but think placing an order is very risky. So my question is this:

Is there any "safe" way to order a turbo kit from a company you're not convinced is very stable???


BTW, I'm not trying to trash PTK in ANY way so please don't take this post in that context! I'm just expressing my feelings and looking for feedback/help from others. Thanks...
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Old 09-17-2005, 12:42 AM
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I hear what your trying to say..... with anything there is a chance..... i took one back in Jan and had a LOSS with AP Engineering.... they were going to do a turbo kit for me and had a great price.... they had done my 1st and 2nd motor..... i called all the time and not alot was said about completion and what not. Come to find out they went under and i was stuck with almost nothing done....
I then decided to trust Joe @ Stenod Performance who has done some AWSOME work for me. Now this is a custom kit so it will and has taken some time.... but i get pics of progress almost every week. In all now i have recieved over 75 pic's of progress.
If you are wanting have a kit done i say do it in your home state close to you so if something does come up your not a 1000+ miles away.... like i was the first time i got screwed... thank god for some fellow guys here on Tech who went and got my car for me.
Im not saying dont go with PTK either.... but i dont like there wait either and as far as i know we havent seen a one of there kits yet and NO numbers on it or track times......
Thats just my rambling story and me trying to say what i feel..... like i said its just my .02 and yes your right its alot of $$

Kyle
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Old 09-17-2005, 01:08 AM
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Well turbo kits aren't just coming off a press, thats the problem. These are all pretty much hand fabricated (albeit with a jig or two ). So it's going to take time. Best guess if your impatient is to buy a used kit, I believe Hellraiser is selling a kit now. Besides that you just gotta shop around or wait in line
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Old 09-17-2005, 04:41 AM
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well i am on that list and I received my stuff from PTK on june 10th
i was build #285 and my stuf was right on time from PTK the things that held me up was waiting on the turbo and the exhaust housing
my kit just said shipped about two weeks ago
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Old 09-17-2005, 06:18 AM
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Using a credit card for the purchase gives the customer a chance to do a chargeback, should problems arise, giving you some security.
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Old 09-17-2005, 06:33 AM
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PTK is out of San Antonio. They are legit. They are not some huge company. From the pics I have seen on here. Plus the one they put on a stang at Dynotex Qaulity work. Id say if I had the money and didnt have a T trim bracket now for my vortech kit I would sell it and drop my car off to them no problem!

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Old 09-17-2005, 07:14 AM
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If they need all the money up front, I'd go look else where. I'd be scared too. If they really are a "company" then they should have the funds to run the company, they have to front the money to keep it going. Doesn't sound like they are financially stable. Maybe they need to explain themselfs.

Look what happen to Absolute Speed. Great product but ended up going under with a lot of peoples money.

Always use a credit card if at all possible.

"When in doubt, pull it out"
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Old 09-17-2005, 08:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Billiumss
If they need all the money up front, I'd go look else where.
True, but aren't all the LS1 Turbo kit manufacturers this way?
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Old 09-17-2005, 08:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Wet 1
I am so ready to buy a kit through PTK, but after doing some reading and looking at their status page (see the link below) I really question how stable this company is. I've heard really good things from early buyers, but over the last several months they seem to be quickly slipping on their delivery times.

http://www.proturbokits.com/pages.asp?pid=1

PTK is telling customers 2.5 to 3 months for delivery. Looking at this page, there are guys who ordered in March and STILL havent received their kits. If you look at the column "Percentage of Fabrication Completed" all kits ordered as far back as June have only "10%" listed... which if you read the bottom of the page it looks like this just means writing up the paper-work and maybe ordering parts (like steel tube). Obviously 2.5-3 months for delivery time is a pipe dream for these people, never mind the guys who ordered back in March that are still waiting!

To make matters worse PTK wants ALL of your money up front. I'm so ready to order a kit from them because I feel they have a superior product... BUT, given all the turbo companies that come and GO, I don't know about giving them $9,000 for a kit while I lay in bed sleepless for 6+ months hoping they don't file bankruptcy with my money! If I could pay COD I'd have ordered a while ago, but I understand the turbos, IC, WG, and BOV as well as labor to fab the kit all cost money.

Talking to Dalton at PTK (he seems like a good guy), he said I could give them 70% up front, but they'd want the remaining 30% within a month... which is no better IMO. I understand they need money to cover the cost of producing these kits, but if they truely need 100% of the customers money to cover costs, well that means they are making NO money! This isn't true so I have to question why they need ALL of the money up front... unless things pretty unstable. As much as I'd like to think everything would go smoothly, I still can't help but think placing an order is very risky. So my question is this:

Is there any "safe" way to order a turbo kit from a company you're not convinced is very stable???


BTW, I'm not trying to trash PTK in ANY way so please don't take this post in that context! I'm just expressing my feelings and looking for feedback/help from others. Thanks...
Hard to argue all these points. Try buying this ptk kit, no wait!

https://ls1tech.com/forums/lsx-parts-sale/380305-ptk-kit-possibly-sale.html
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Old 09-17-2005, 08:52 AM
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Originally Posted by bboyferal
True, but aren't all the LS1 Turbo kit manufacturers this way?

i don't think so, not 70% and pay the the rest within a month. then have to wait for them to make it. why not just charge enough for parts? then when it's ready to ship charge the rest?
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Old 09-17-2005, 08:54 AM
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Originally Posted by red90cobra
i don't think so

?

I was just askin'!

So......





which ones ya talkin about? Tell me which ones are COD, please. I'm not too sure myself.

Last edited by bboyferal; 09-17-2005 at 08:59 AM.
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Old 09-17-2005, 09:02 AM
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Originally Posted by bboyferal
?

I was just askin'!

So......





which ones ya talkin about? Tell me which ones are COD, please. I'm not too sure myself.
i'm not too sure bout cod. i'm talking bout putting up money for a spot on the list. i'm not sure who will cod.
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Old 09-17-2005, 09:21 AM
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Okay, some are half, some are 3/4's, some are full payment, the whole point is you HAVE to pay first to get on the list. Some lists are small. TTI gets you their kit in approximately 2 weeks according to users here, and PTK takes the longest (I know ).

But you have to pay to get on the list for all. Some are fast, some are long. You have to pay first, then you're on the "list." After you pay it all, then they send you your kit. I'm pretty sure this is how they all work.

The list PTK has is just a page to check the progress of your kit. It's not a waiting list if that's what you're thinking. Anyone there is having a turbo kit in the process of being fabricated and delivered. They just won't start this process until you pay up. TTI, the fastest 'round here, I think, may have some on their shelves in surplus or even nearly done to achieve those quick delivery times, but even they won't start processing any part of the order until they have your payment. THEN, they'll start working on it, fast for some, slower for others. PTK is agreed to have the best quality by many here. It's no surprise it takes the longest. Trust me, I know

I never paid to be on a spot on a list. All who have paid PTK have paid to have a kit made.
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Old 09-17-2005, 09:37 AM
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Originally Posted by red90cobra
why not just charge enough for parts? then when it's ready to ship charge the rest?
Good question, I don't draft up their payment policies and neither do you.

But that IS how they are, I thought, at least. I still want you to tell me which one isn't.
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Old 09-17-2005, 10:09 AM
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PTK has a reputation for building excellent stuff, but also has a reputation for taking their time to deliver. You don't build a car using PTK and expect to hit a target date, that's just the way it is BUT when you do get your stuff, you can rest assured you have something that makes the wait worth it. I'm not a PTK customer, but have a few friends who are -- and that was their understanding going into it as well.
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Old 09-17-2005, 11:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Brains
PTK has a reputation for building excellent stuff, but also has a reputation for taking their time to deliver. You don't build a car using PTK and expect to hit a target date, that's just the way it is BUT when you do get your stuff, you can rest assured you have something that makes the wait worth it. I'm not a PTK customer, but have a few friends who are -- and that was their understanding going into it as well.


Yup.

I tell myself it will be worth it as I try to go to sleep every night.

Still hard to sleep sometimes, though.
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Old 09-17-2005, 11:56 AM
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Guys,

I completely understand where you are coming from. On the flip side as a consumer I might feel the same way also.

That is why it is up to us to prove to all of those out there that we are here to stay and grow into the company that meets everyones needs on all levels.

Quality, Speed of delivery, Performance of product, Expandability, And excellent customer service.

And in my mind we only have 3 of those catagories. We have much to improve on in all catagories but mostly in Speed of delivery and Customer service.

I dont feel we are nearly where we need to be. But thats why the is always an opportunity to grow.

This last week after interviewing many people I found a guy that I hired to fabricate for us. I belive he should be able to improve our production by 2 more systems a week.

To expand upon why we have chosen to do 70% deposit or better is because we know first hand that 50% does not work. It almost put us out of business 2 years ago. And this is why.

You guys think that if we need to have all the money up front then we are not stable. But look at it this way. If 20 guys bought kits at 50% deposit that would mean that we would have to float around 75,000.oo for give or take 3 months. We are a small company and that is alot of money. Thats alot of money for any small company. I am not making excusses just stating the facts.

Now we are doing all we can to grow safely, honestly and at a good pace. And we will accomplish our goals. For a small company we do alot of business.
We have more profesional race cars out there than anyone else. And since we have begain, we have produced some where around 700 total systems. That is not bad being that they are all hand built. We also have 26 different jiged turbo systems that we can build.

One of the main things that has made this possible is our outstanding customers.

Most of the guys that talk negitivly about us have never bought our products and have no experience with us.

Take from this what you want. If anybody wants to talk give me a call,
Or email me.

Dalton Campbell
Pro Turbo Systems.LLC
210-657-2076
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Old 09-17-2005, 12:06 PM
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There it is. Ive personally seen these guys work on numerous cars here in SA at lethal performance. I was very impressed. Hell and the work Ive seen was on mustangs not f bodies. I only wish I had the funds for one of there kits. I would sell my blower with the quickness. And if PTK has any cars there I wouldnt mind going over to take pics of the sytem installed on a F body
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Old 09-17-2005, 12:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Spambell
Guys,

I completely understand where you are coming from. On the flip side as a consumer I might feel the same way also.

That is why it is up to us to prove to all of those out there that we are here to stay and grow into the company that meets everyones needs on all levels.

Quality, Speed of delivery, Performance of product, Expandability, And excellent customer service.

And in my mind we only have 3 of those catagories. We have much to improve on in all catagories but mostly in Speed of delivery and Customer service.

I dont feel we are nearly where we need to be. But thats why the is always an opportunity to grow.

This last week after interviewing many people I found a guy that I hired to fabricate for us. I belive he should be able to improve our production by 2 more systems a week.

To expand upon why we have chosen to do 70% deposit or better is because we know first hand that 50% does not work. It almost put us out of business 2 years ago. And this is why.

You guys think that if we need to have all the money up front then we are not stable. But look at it this way. If 20 guys bought kits at 50% deposit that would mean that we would have to float around 75,000.oo for give or take 3 months. We are a small company and that is alot of money. Thats alot of money for any small company. I am not making excusses just stating the facts.

Now we are doing all we can to grow safely, honestly and at a good pace. And we will accomplish our goals. For a small company we do alot of business.
We have more profesional race cars out there than anyone else. And since we have begain, we have produced some where around 700 total systems. That is not bad being that they are all hand built. We also have 26 different jiged turbo systems that we can build.

One of the main things that has made this possible is our outstanding customers.

Most of the guys that talk negitivly about us have never bought our products and have no experience with us.

Take from this what you want. If anybody wants to talk give me a call,
Or email me.

Dalton Campbell
Pro Turbo Systems.LLC
210-657-2076
Set forth well, indeed.

I look forward to an amazing product.
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Old 09-17-2005, 12:30 PM
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It's no different that having someone do a room addition to your house. You'd be a fool to give someone $20,000+ up front to do a room addition and then either they take their good old time or you never hear from them again. I feel sorry for the poor souls down south that will get scammed within the next 6-12 months. (Mainly older folks)

Watch your local news, people get scammed out of their money daily because of this. I'm not saying PTK is doing this, but if they can't front the money for 20+ kits then maybe they should stop taking orders until they get the first 10 done then take more orders, kinda what Phamspeed did when they first started out. Small companies end up being big companies if they can follow through on a timly manner.

When it comes to handing over thousands of dollars to someone you never met, you better think twice, common sense goes along way....

just my $.02

Bill
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