Is Chuck @ Rotary Extreme going out of business?
 

I'm planning on buying a PolyUrethane front end from him in acouple of months when I paint my car (not ready to spend the cash right now), but I heard through the grapevine that he may be shutting down his operation. Is their any validity to this?

Chuck! You out there?

yes...

i thought someone else was gonna take over for chuck?

No way!!! This sucks...

yes he is closing down but no date set for when that will be.

That totally sucks. I have a whole list of goodies I want including a V-mount, but no $$$ at the present; guess that's the life of and FD owner: big lists of hopes and dreams & empty pockets

Going out of business has the wrong connotation. He's exiting the business.

Yup, he is exiting gracefully :)

Guys, this is what they make credit cards with 0% intro purchases for ;)

I already scored toe links, trailing arms, and upgraded front sway bar mounts from him. The community will really feel his loss after Chuck's gone......

Was there a reason why, or is he just moving on?

Chuck's moving on to other things....but it looks like at least a portion of the business will be handled by someone else. I'll let Chuck chime in with any details if he happens to stop by...

That really sucks. He made really good products.

But if the buisness is getting handed over then it'll still be there right???? Maybe under a different name???

Just IM'ed CHuck, hopefully he chimes in and explains the full details if someone will takeover...

Thank God I got all the stuff I needed already from him while I was living in Cali...

He will be missed since I have became good freinds with with in the last 2 years that I have known him....

The prices he charges for 'shipping' I'm surprized he hadn't ' exited gracefully' along time ago..

Care to elaborate? Did he charge you what you considered exorbitant shipping to canada?

Yah, last time I heard he was just handin' over the business. Well, I best be planning out soon to get some exclusive-stuff while I can within next month or so...if he's still around... :( First JT-Imports...now Rotary Extreme. Well, at least they both offered support to the rotary community. :D

Guess there may be some hope, Chuck will be chiming in soon....

Damn I need to pic up a replica Feed carbon fiber rear wing before he leaves. May not be available later on.

...that, the FEED sideskirt, and the CF intake box and the VMount. :(

3 things can happen at this time.

1. The business can be sold: Right now my broker found me a buye for the business for a good amount of money but it's not finalized yet. The buyer has to come down to take a look at the shop and negotiate the final price.

2. The business will be handled by my current employee at another location. Some products lines will be discontinued to cut down the inventory and overhead cost. As you know, the RX7 market is shrinking and the RX-8 owners are not helping, either.

3. The business will be closed for good, which is very unlikely at the moment.

One thing for sure is that after end of May or end of June, I will not have any direct involvement on the operation side of the business.

I will keep you guys updated on what's going to happen. At this time, nothing is for sure yet.

Chuck

if the business does close (pray and hope it doesn't), will there be a huge going out of business sale extravaganza!!!!?

dont really know chuck but he does carry some good stuff
unfortunatly he had to leave exactly when i blew all my money on other things :(
hopefully someone takes over and keeps things running

Very unlikely at the moment. If there is anything that we are dumping out, you can find them on our subforum here or on the website under monthly special.

Chuck

Didn't know this. Well, yes, I realized that there are fewer and fewer FDs every year due to attrition (and we will find out exactly how few in a day or so - https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/interest-knowing-how-many-fds-registered-531604/) but given the amount of continued activity on this board I assumed that lots of people were still modifying away merrily. Or, is everybody spending their money on $100 eBay intercoolers?

Bingo. Everyone thinks guys like Chuck make so much money off of oil cooler kits and such. Hah. Chuck sells high-end parts...THAT's the market that's shrinking.

You hit the nail on the head. People care more about the price than the quality. Building a fast reliable car is not cheap. You get what you pay for.

Yup, ebay intercooler no good, and ebay copy of anything is no good, oh did I mention I don't like ebay?

$600us for RE FC compy front bumper.. $600us+ for shipping to Canada.. and that was without the chacking to see where we were in Canada,non tracked, non insured...

Price to ship similar size package from Japan .. $440 cad., insured and tracked..

time of delivery for both; based on RE's past delivery times.. almost on par.

Really a no-brainer where to get the part from.. plus the fact that the guy is as condescending as they get. not really upset to see him go.

ebay must die, all that fake crap people sell in there

:rlaugh:

DAAAM!!! This sucks! Who are we to rely on now? Rxecret7....GONE, Rotary Extreme...GONE, who's next?? Shit, I better hurry up and get the parts on my list.

Obvoulsy you stand alone. Everyone else is sad to see him go.

BtW- Nothing is cheap to ship to canada. Doesn't your mail get delivered by a park ranger on a horse????
:)

:rlaugh: I know Chuck personally so I can tell you he doesnt jack up shipping prices or anything. Hes known for being very helpfull and producing quality parts and at good prices...but I guess the other 99 people on this thread who agree with me must be wrong...

Chuck is as fair as they come.

+1 !!!

Never have problem with Chuck's business since before he started Rotary Extreme. All I can say is I trust him wholeheartly.

POM HB

Did you buy one or what's the story?

Anything that goes by freight, we ship freight collect unless it's requested by the customer. We don't charge freight in advance because we DO NOT make money on shipping. Freight cost is a lot right now. Don't blame us. We don't run a freight company if they charge you $600. That money dose not go into my pocket. All the stuff shipped by freight can be tracked either by phone or online and they are insured. Why wouldn't us insure it since you are paying for it and paying to the freight company directly? :dunno:

Anyway, I can't satsify 100% of the customers out there even though I am trying. If you did purchase one and you weren't happy, I am sorry aobut it.

Chuck

Why don't you take Chuck's place in leaving???

I have not purchased much from him but what I did get I was satisfied with. I just hope if someone takes over for him they do as good a job as he did.

i guess given the shrinking market of rx7 in u.s., it's inevitable shops will close down :( i have several goodies from chuck as well, it's always been pleasant doing business with him, you will be missed chuck :)

There are quite a few guys on this forum that would disagree with you on that one.

hopefully i'll get a few parts from him before he closes. and i thought rxecret7's been closed for a while already, last time i checked it all they had was close-outish items most of which not for our cars. and i agree people whine too much about having to actually pay money for quality parts. i'm a cheap guy but i at least know that if i want to keep my car running skimming on parts and other things is ridiculous. you want cheap parts go and buy a honda for god sake.

Well seems blatantly obvious that it's cheaper to ship from Japan to Canada then to purchase from RE and ship to Canada.. Given that every other body kit mfg. in the US can ship for 1/2 that cost or less.. I wonder where/what extra service you get..

moot point now, customer had me order from Japan so all is good

Typical pathetic attempt at a slam on another country.. you've got enough internal issues to deal with without trying to start more shit.. you ignorant hick

Chuck ROCKS!

Now get your FD in shape and I'll see you at the track!!

Dang I've only been to Rotary extreme once and it was fun, would like to go there more before it shuts down....DAMN but in a year or two me and a few friends will open a rotary shop probably in vacaville, hope it will be as good as chucks lol i wish.

I don't know about that. I live in Ottawa and he's always given me great service. I've bought a few things off of him and had plans to buy quite a few more so I don't know what to do at this point. I really hope the shop doesn't go out of business. He always helped me with any questions I had and his shipping fees were QUITE cheap compared to other companies. The shipping companies he used were the cheapest I could find even if I was shipping things out. Also, the quality of his stuff is amazing...I would find it hard to meet such expectations. Anyhow hopefully I can buy some stuff before it's too late because I'd not only like more things he carries but like to support his business.

I just want to throw in my .02.
I work in an air cargo export department. (worldwide freight forwarding company) You may think that air freight charge from japan to canada would cost ALOT more compared to United States to Canada, but it's actually not true. Flight distance actually doesn't matter. ;)


Chuck and Sonny, Thanks for the ABS Sensor! My car is now mechanically in perfect condition!

i think i know where my next paycheck or two is going. on top of that, i think i better make a pilgrimage before the mecca is lost (never been yet, yet its only a hop, skip, and a step over).

im saddened that i've never had the pleasure to do business as of yet. from all of the praise of products and service, i feel like i've really missed out.

if only this promotion of mine could've come, oh, six months earlier. damn.

well chuck, the best of luck to you. i seem to recall a while back somewhat of a foreshadow of what was to come. keep us all posted =)

i don't believe the market is shrinking, i just opened about 3 months ago full time and my waiting list is growing longer by the day. i'm sure a small portion of FDs die every year but at the same time some people resurrect them, there has been a growth in population of all series 7s in the Sacramento area over the past few years, maybe i have contributed to it maybe it is just the growth spurt of the area but i really do not feel the car line is dying.

it is still sad to see another rotary specialty shop close down regardless, i can hardly keep up with the customers i have.

i too have had great experiances w/ chuck! he does great work and makes awome parts, btw i recived tos somoked 99 turn signals and they look great!

ben i have a feeling ull be seein some of my business pretty soon :)

I'm assuming you build motors? If so, you are in a different boat than an FD parts seller. There will be an endless revolving door of new owners to incorrectly mod their FDs, pop or overheat the motor, sell it after 'x' times this happens, and then the endless cycle begins again.

An FD specialty shop can only sell a finite number of front bumpers, vmounts, toe links etc. There are only so many FDs around (we'll soon find that out thanks to uscmatt), and that number continues to shrink due to the idiot kids that buy them and promptly crash them. Some may be resurrected, but those aftermarket parts are still on the car. They may get taken off and sold, but they have to installed on an FD somewhere.

Bottom line, the FD aftermarket parts market is definitely drying up. It makes sense, it's been 11 years since the last new FD rolled off the assembly line......

Not exactly true. Just since the US got any of them. ;)