Chief Aircraft in Oregon

[Paul Agaliotis]

I don't like to rain on peoples parades, but these people need to be exposed. If Chief has the parts/supplies in stock it is a seamless transaction. If not, look out.
I ordered some radio gear for a WACO ride aircraft. By the time we got the plane in and the gear installed it had passed their Warranty period. That should have been the end but the radio shop that fixed the problem determined that the defect was due to the wiring internal to the radio was never hooked up. This was a "refurbished" radio because they wont sell a new one to you unless installed by a approved installer. I called Chief explained the issue, and they said it was past the Warranty period. I had them connect me with the highest level I could get and again explained that this unit would have never worked as I received it. Their answer was slightly different it was "get screwed" it out of Warranty.
This was about ten years ago and I decided to give them another try. I ordered some carburetor repair parts and they were out of stock and I got an email that it would take 3 weeks to get them. I replied and OK'd the time and they charged my card and gave me an order number. Now today they tell me that since I didn't respond ( I did) they haven't even ordered the part, but could sell me a different part for 30% more. I told them to cancel and credit my card.
If anyone is thinking of using Chief Aircraft, beware!
Paul

[Richard]

I've been "burned" by chief aircraft also.. Now I call and make sure they have the part in their hands, before I order anything from them.

Richard

[kyleb]

I had a similar experience years ago when they made the wiring harness for the radio stack in my RV-6. They missed a couple of pin-outs and had zero interest in making it right. They have been off of my "approved vendor list" for 14 years now.

Thankfully, I'm not one to hold a grudge.

[MikeB]

It always kind of bugs me when you put in a warranty part during the rebuild process of an aircraft (think mags or cylinders) and of course the rebuild takes longer than the warranty period. Now try to collect on the warranty even though it only has a few hours on the part (sorry...you're over the 90 days or whatever). Dealing with a smaller company seems to be better if you can make your case.

In one of my former lives I worked warranty for a large truck and diesel engine company and we tried to make the customer happy locally but if it got kicked up the corporate level where they were not directly involved it got a lot harder.

Mike