Herm The Od Guy, Hope Others Are Not Having Issues Like I Am

I've had this same experience with him. He refused to sell me gears and told me I was wrong. I told him I just wanted to buy the gears and if I was wrong, I would keep them until I was right. He hung up.

 

I bought TL gears from him last winter, but did it through Sam (Partsdude). They arrived quickly, but he failed to mention I would need the torrington bearings pressed in to the OD gear. When I contacted him about buying the bearings and how to do it, he was rude. So I bought them from Timken, made a stepped drift, and pressed them in myself. On another note, I doubt the TL gears have an active patent, they expire after 20 years or so. And the Warn/Saturn OD stuff can be had from Advance. I don't think anything he does or provides couldn't be done by a competitor. It reminds me of another situation in the hobby-military canvas. A few old standby's for canvas have such a long lead time, poor service, poor communication, high prices, there are new businesses filling in to take up the slack.

 

Not trying to make excuses BUT. Without Herm there would no longer be any new overdrive parts. He sources a big portion of the parts for the Saturn overdrive that Advance Adapters sells. There have been more parts shortages in the past three years with no other modern comparison than during WW2. It has become very difficult to predictably source parts. One more issue is that very few people that have the money to buy parts these days have ANY idea of what they have or need. Old Jeep knowledge is a very rare thing today. Do your research, make sure you know EXACTLY what you need before ordering.

 

That may be true but it does not excuse any issue above. False lead times or saying something is on-hand when it is not is not far from a scam. You see issues with home contractors doing jobs half @$$ in what way is this any different... because there are old "toys"? Tell that to the old guy that dies without driving his dream jeep.

I could sell a bunch of jeep parts myself and I don't have the time to make em either.

 

I guess I need to call omix-ada and see if they are hiring.

 

I sell truck parts for a living and have been dealing with nightmare parts availability issues these last 3 years. Many times I've had to tell people that the part they need is on backorder with no ETA. But the one thing you CAN'T do is say it'll be here soon, if it won't. That will definitely lead to some pi$$Ed off customers (like the OP)

 

I agree. I recently had a Husky OD rebuilt by Herm, little touch and go, arrived with a big hole in the FedEx box, not his fault, missing scoop, he sent a new one and luckily no damage. In talking with him on the phone a few times over a span of a few months, one day he's Herm, the other he seems agitated. Hopefully he's not dealing with a major health issue and trying to keep it all afloat.

Side note, Sal at Vintage Jeeper https://vintagejeeper.com/ is offering a lot of what Herm does to an extent, of course the issue with original OD's, it comes down to spare parts availability. But Sal is very knowledgeable, open to feedback and always expanding his offerings.

 

Herm has been a vital part to this hobby for a long time, and I understand getting old and cranky as I sometimes am that myself. Sad to read about all these problems.

 

Seems to me we wouldn't having so much energy going into discussing Herm, unless he has filled an important place in our world.

 

In 15years I've never needed him and I have an overdrive.

 

I get my OD parts from AA, because I don't want to deal with him.

 

I’ve had some real good luck with Herm and one bad experience that made me say never again. His business is a niche market he does his best I guess but 100 %customer satisfaction is not his forte. It’s a hard row to hoe these days to stay in business and thrive . To hire a person willing and able to do the work is nearly impossible and the sourcing of parts is a whole other problem to deal with. I don’t think a bank in the country would give a person the financial backing they would need to start a machine shop manufacturing facility for old Jeep parts . Brenans garage is doing a good job at it but a lot of his things are outsourced he just designed the parts then has them manufactured. That’s one way to do it.

 

I took a look at all of his products and services offers on his website and while there are a bunch of things I'd like to have, nothing I saw isn't available elsewhere. And IMHO, his offering a T-5 trans as the only option for a 5 speed OD trans is rather antiquated. Sure, lots of aftermarket "beef up" parts are available and you can buy one sans Herm's core charge from several different places, but with things like AX15's, NV3550's and Tremac; why would you? Yes, lots of devils in those details but my point is with competition like that 100% customer satisfaction should be a forte. And I'll gladly pay more to deal with a biz that gives me that satisfaction. Again, IMHO, it's that part of doing biz that keeps a lot of small business' in biz.
It's too bad that some biz owners just don't get that. And as @jeep peep69 writes above, it only takes on experience to change a customer's mind. That being said; I wonder how many folks reading this thread will consider ever doing biz with Herm?

As a footnote: I had a service performed on a Jeep component by a prominent forum member. The component came back rebuilt but done wrong. It was fixed by someone else and that original guy came back to me with an apology and a full refund. His mistake was somewhat understandable, and in reality he did perform some work that I would have paid for. But by doing what he did, he kept his rep and I would actually recommend his services in the future.

 

It’s really just the drive train stuff. Nothing says vintage jeep technology like a Dana 18 with an overdrive. And of course there’s the TL gears.

Between Parts Dude, Brennan and the others mentioned, almost everything else is covered or has alternatives… and with good or excellent service. Maybe the Petrowitch engineered gears will become more available (is there a set compatible with our overdrives?). He really deserves credit for the talent in designing those. And he comes off as a thoughtful, kind, decent human being that you want to support.

The business aspect with Herm is frustrating. I run my own business and clear, honest communication is everything. People want to find an arborist who does quality tree care work, but it means nothing if I don’t take care of my people with genuine concern for their situation.

There’s a lot of maybes with Herm….and most of us don’t/can’t know what’s really going on. Maybe he can’t afford to let go. Maybe he’s too tired now. Maybe he’s overwhelmed. Maybe he has health issues. Maybe he drinks too much. And I think most of us want to be compassionate to the challenges of others. But man, if you order an expensive part for your vintage jeep, it’s nice to know what to expect and not be misled or left hanging.

 

Jeff is at most of the events I go to (I don't go to many each year with my growing family).
He's had to take on a lot of top level responsibility at his work. The gears physically cannot support an overdrive at this time. The bull gear is smaller diameter than the pto drive clutch.

In theory i know how you can get around that but it would be expensive.

 

yust received a cluster for a T14 from Herm. very fast. good communication. no problems at all.

 

Just wanted to post final outcome on this issue. At least for me I won't be doing any business with Herm the OD guy/ATV MFg. I did open a complaint with the Washington Attorney General and Consumer Protection agency. They sent him my complaint and he was mandated to respond. His response in bold below is about what I expected from him.

This is the first I have heard of him being unhappy with his purchase. The part he requested is over 50 years old. He wanted a rebuild assembly in good working condition. I explained to him that that particular tower was not designed to be disassembled but would send a good working assembly.

Once I got the tower(almost 2.5 months later), I sent 2 emails to him and tried phoning to inform of the terrible condition of the shift tower, rails etc. Never got a response or call back.

Never once did he mention he could not rebuild or if it could be rebuilt. He even told me in one of the emails that he was waiting to source some additional springs to do the rebuild. If he feels what he sent me is "a good working assembly" he is delusional as rusted up solid as the rails are.

If he is unhappy all he has to do is send an e-mail to us and a copy of his receipt and i will e-mail a shipping label to him at no cost and send a refund as soon as we receive the assembly

Fat chance in He!! that I would send the shift tower back and wait for a refund. I am 100% that would never happen and then he would have this garbage assembly plus my money.

I realize Herm has been a good place to get hard to find parts in the past and I am not looking to make anyone here mad or upset, just wanted everyone to know what I went through doing business with him.

The way he conducts business is pitiful and deceitful. But buyer beware as with him only accepting Cash/Check/Money Order, you do not have any recourse or chance of recovery. The Washington Attorney General closed my complaint saying it could be re-opened in the future if warranted with additional complaints etc.

 

If it were me, I would follow up with requesting a refund. The unit looks toast to me.
Of the refund never comes, then it's back to the WA atty.gen.
By shining it on, it just allows a continuation of bad biz. Just mho.

 

Tralehead, requests were made after receiving this piece of garbage with no response. Then I went to Atty General etc etc. Not sure why you say "shining it on" as their is absolutely zero recourse short of personal lawsuit. The Atty General cannot force him to give a refund, it has already been through their review and seen his response and they made the decision to close the complaint as it sits right now. He will continue this way of business until more folks open complaints. Then maybe it becomes a class action. Herm is well aware of this I am sure and will continue on with "What are they gonna do" attitude.