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The carbon fiber hoods we we offered from JSP America.I know Lancer and Damron have them but I don't know if anyone else does. My hood developed sunspots and fade marks because JSP did not treat it with UV protection.JSP told me over the phone to send pictures so I did. I was then told that they would take a look at it but I have to pay for shipping and if they fix it, they will pay for return shipping. I could not come up with the amount that I would need to ship the hood back including packaging. I had alot of bills to pay for at the time. Then winter rolls around and I was not sure if I could ship carbon fiber in the cold so I sent them another email asking again about what to do.I between the first and second contacts, JSP called me one morning saying "He we have noted here that you are interested in buying a Vibe carbon Fiber hood." This was after I had already bought their hood and had it installed for about 4 or 5 months....that right there made me feel a little uneasy.I sent them an email last weekend explaining to them my situation again. Here is what they responded with:HI Paul-I am using this email instead of the one you sent on 1/5/07 since thisgave the return policy for your hood. These hoods come with a 60 daywarranty and your 1st emails were within that time frame; however, weare now 7 months from the last email. If you would like to return, youmay as per my email of 6/8/06[below], but the hood is now out ofwarranty and if it has been on your car for this time then we will giveyou an allowance towards a new hood. The hood you originally purchasedwas our sample and sold on an as is basis on 3/21/06. We do still haveyour pictures on file and did review them today.Linda PluffJSP AmericaI did purchase the prototype hood and I was aware of the one and only imperfection they pointed out to me before I bought, and that was a small chip in the clear coat in the middle of the scoop. They didn't say anything about no UV protection. Common expectations would lead anyone to beleive that it was standard pratice anyways.Also, as far as I know, JSP is not making Vibe hoods anymore so what good will a credit towards a new hood do? I gues I could put it towards hacing a nice carbon fiber hood made for my 1991 Ford Taurus wagon...??So I'm waiting for a response to the not so nice response I sent to them just now so I will update you all one this.I knew that f I bought the prototype, if I had any problems with it, they would just leave me hanging and fall back on that....couldn't come up with enough money to buy a brand new one though.This is just something for everyone to keep in mind next time they deal with JSP America...not a very good experience for me at all...Try to search elsewhere if you need any body parts Anyways the following are pics of the sunspots. In the fourth picture there is a single spot on the top of the pic that is how the hood should look. The rest looks like the hood is just dirty but that was after a wash and that is what hte spots look like.

Don't know what to tell you, but I agree about their lousy customer service. Sux to hear your hood is getting so bad, looking almost as bad as mine the day after I got it! lol I'm willing to bet your stuck with it. Sorry bro.

Yeah I am too. I sent them a email complaining so we'll see what happens. If they don't do anything about it, I go to alot of carshows and I hang out with alot of people into cars so they will be losing alot of buisness. I'll start telling people that compliment it that it's from VIS or something and not JSP, or I'll just point out hi=ow crappy of a job they did.So I gues I'm just going to have to paint it, which defeats the purpose of having carbon fiber...on this car atleast.

yeah but it being painted looks nice too... Matrixmanvvtli on MO has his painted blue... looks Bad!sorry you got screwed on the deal... i really want one of them but too much money for what qaulity they did.

Why not do a prep sand and clear coat it? The clear coat has UV protection in it, then keep it polished with a synthetic polish, which also has UV protection and polish it often. Wouldn't take 10 minutes, or maybe less, to polish the hood.

Not many people will touch carbon fiber around here. I also don't want to risk anyone screwing it up when they strip it down. If anything I might just get a coat of black but keep it transparent so the weave can still sort of be made out.Overall not satisfied with their customer service, besides the fact that they original prototype made for the Matrix back in 2004 I believe, had soo many problems, like a 3/4 inch gap between the left fender and hood and it wouldn't even close propperly, also it was like 1/2 inch highed than the fenders in some spots. It also had sun spots or some kind of spots now that I think about it. I should have never even bothered with it.I'm really curious as to what their "allowance" towards a new hood entails since they do not make the Vibe hoods anymore to my knowledge...

in reality, the actual point of carbon fiber isn't to show off the fact that it's carbon fiber, it's because the stuff is lighter. rather than going around with a hood that looks like (removed) for the sole purpose of people knowing it's CF, just have it painted to match and call it a day. -two pennies.

hey merz, sorry to hear about the hood. to me, that's the best looking desgin out there. hope everything works out, but i agree with drunken here. the purpose of carbon fiber is that its lighter than our oem stuff. so a little paint won't defeat the purpose. which has always been my question...why do people go out and cover their existing stuff with carbon fiber? to make it look like carbon fiber? just adds weight to what they already have.good luck. as always, your vibe kicks (removed)

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »in reality, the actual point of carbon fiber isn't to show off the fact that it's carbon fiber.Actually, that is the point of having carbon fiber parts. It's different than what everyong else has and stands out way more than matching paint. The cf hood is only a little bit lighter then OEM. I got the cf hood cause it makes my car REALLY stand out from all the others.I too, though, am having 'issues' with my cf hood and JSP. At least they returned your e-mails and calls, Merz. I've had zero luck and decided to paint my hood, but leave the middle part cf. Like on some Evo's.Fixing the clear coat on a cf pat is hella tricky. You take off too much, you can ruin the whole piece. Then you might as whell paint the whole thing and have everyone think you got some plastic piece attached to your hood.

I agree with you in a way too Drunken, the point of carbon fiber is for the weight or lack there of. However, above I stated "the only reason for carbon fiber ON THIS CAR(the vibe) is for the appearance" Because the Vibe is not a race car and is not even remotely fast enough for the few extra pounds saved to make a difference. The fact that it is lightweight plays a minimal role in the performance. I too bought the hood for the looks.I'm going to have to paint it, or put a light coat of black so the weave is still visible because JSP is not owning up to their mistakes.I wanted to paint it and leave the middle C/F like lancer's originally, but there's just too much sun damage to do that on mine.

See about getting it repainted to like a dark carbon fibre red or something.Sorry to hear about your bad luck though.

So far I think my new one has held up pretty well. I think there are some spots that could use some buffing, but otherwise the construction of the hood is good. The first 1 was showing problems the day I got it and went to hell in a matter of 1-2 days. It sux to hear these hoods that we waited so long for and paid so much for have ended up so ****ty!

Yes sir...and the fact that JSP went through like four different manufacturers before they finally got made, says something about hte company.

Quote, originally posted by Lancer »Actually, that is the point of having carbon fiber parts. It's different than what everyong else has and stands out way more than matching paint. that may be why you do, but that's not why the stuff was created.

But we drive Vibes and a few pounds saved does nothing for the performance so buying it for what it was intended for would be stupid

Sorry to say it, but seems to hold true throughout life:You get what you pay for.With the introduction of a trilogy of films set to rival the likes of Star Wars, The Fast and Furious has had just as much as a negative affect on the auto industry as it did the film industry. Over the past several years, the market has been flooded with cheap, poorly enginereed parts. Thus the first of the ricers were born. Put the stock hood back on. Strap some bottle rockets to the Cf hood, call it a prototype stealth fighter and sell it on ebay.I guarantee you would have seen NO improvements in track times with the "weight reduction".

The whole idea for getting it was the look of it. It still looks great, and EVERYone that sees it says they think so too but the sunspots are the issue. Im gonna get it painted so you probably wont see the c/f anymore...I already sold my stock hood anyways.

i like the DESIGN of the jsp hood. i' like the recessed scoop. love the evo. so, if i had the money, i'd have gotten the hood because of the design. not whether it was CF or not. AND it looks great on the vibe. i envy merz and jason and all you guys who were able to get one. merz, even with the painted hood, people will be staring at an awesome vibe

Quote, originally posted by ramenboy... »i like the DESIGN of the jsp hood. i' like the recessed scoop. love the evo. so, if i had the money, i'd have gotten the hood because of the design. not whether it was CF or not. AND it looks great on the vibe. i envy merz and jason and all you guys who were able to get one. merz, even with the painted hood, people will be staring at an awesome vibe Ditto

Thanks guys

I hate to be the fly in ointment, but dude you actually screwed yourself out of the hood, You should have, contacted them right away when you were unable to ship it back, second you bought the prototype as is, knowing it was a prototype and agreed to the terms of the sale. It sounds to me like they are being more than fair offering a reduced price on a new one. Did you find out what the reduced price was ? It may just be worth it to take them up on the new hood and unload that aggrevation you have been going through. Or find a reputable body shop and have them reclear the hood, painting it with a translucent paint will still show the imperfections, unless they are worked out first. I agree with most, the purpose of having the hood is the WOW! factor, but even if you color match it will still have enough wow! to it. That hood is by far the best style hood for the Vibe and Matrix and its a shame they still don't make it.

Well, I did take a while to respond but that's because I couldn't afford to ship it out. It would have been about $70 and they wouldn't work with me on that. She said they would "look" at it if I paid to have it shipped back. IF they did decide to either fix or replace it, they would cover return shipping. That to me is a little shady to begin with. I understand why they would do that if they didn't know what the hood looked like, but I sent them pictures. so they knew it was screwed up.What pisses me off is that they aren't even trying to do anything to help out. They know I filed a claim a while ago. They never called back when they said they would, I would have to wait like 2 weeks and then finally call them again. I sent her an email 2 weeks ago in response to her "credit" and a few other things and she has not responded yet. Since they don't make Vibe hoods anymore, what the heck am I gonna use the credit on...my '91 Taurus Wagon??? They are a horrible company, yea it was part my fault for not contacting them the day I noticed it, but the point of the matter is that it was made poorly and the customer service is worse than a KFC in Detroit.Also, Damron and I think Lancer had the same problem with their hoods and their's were NOT prototypes. If the new ones were fine and mine was the only crappy one, I wouldn't really be able to complain because you're right, I bought the prototype. Like I mentioned above though, they didnt say anything about not putting UV protection on other wise I wouldn't have bought it. this is what they said and I quote "the only thing wrong with this hood is a small chip in the clear coat right in the middle of the M". So they are not going to get any good reviews from me or any of my friends that are in the market for body parts...and go to ALOT of car shows and street events.BTW, after the extremely shotty work done on my left rear quarter panel that cost me $900 I am deathly afraid to let any body shop touch my car, let alone try to fix carbon fiber, which takes a good amount of skill to work with anyways.

UPDATE. I need help deciding what to do...I received this email back: Hi Paul-We certainly have not forgotten about you. I just reread your email of 1/9 and want to assure you that Vibe hoods are still in stock as well as production, as are about 60 other makes and models. We will waive the return of the sample hood, and will offer you a new hood. Our original group buy was priced at $465.00. Our current consumer price is $487.45. Since you paid $400 for the sample hood, we will offer you a new one for $87.45 + freight. The freight should be slightly higher than before if it goes to the same business address as before. You will need to smash and destroy the sample hood and send us proof that it has been destroyed. Then we will ship you the replacement hood. I do not feel safe destroying and smashing a hood BEFORE I get a new one and after sending off money for it....what do you all think????

Um, no, I wouldn't feel comfortable with smashing it before you receive the new one. And I would tell them that too. Tell them you will gladly destroy it *after* you have received the new one, and send them the proof, but not before.

Tell them you no longer have the original hood and can't legally drive the car without a hood. Ask them for a little trust on this one. After all, you trusted them enough to spend 400.00 and wait for delivery when you bought it. They need to wait for you to replace the hood before the defective hood gets destroyed. What if the replacement arrives damaged??

haha I could photoshop a smashed CF hood if they'll accept that as proof

they probably think you still have the stock hood

buy some CF and smash it, then send them some pieces and anos photoshop of you *smashing* a hood, then send me ur old hood and ll paint it!!! would that work? ; )

Yeah I should do that because they are idiots and they deserve to be cheated.It took three emails and 2 weeks to finally get that emailed response so it's gonna take another two weeks to get anotehr response so we'll see what they say.

Quote, originally posted by Mrizzle05 » then send me ur old hood and ll paint it!!! would that work? ; )haha no that wouldn't work b/c 1. You're selling your vibe... remember? &2. I want it if he gives it away (or really cheap) haha

So they are ordering a "hit" on your existing hood eh? I know some people...

I just received an email from a different guy from JSP and it sounded irritated and hostile so I'm going to go ahead and take the offer they threw down depending on how much they want me to pay for freight. If I suspect they are adding extra cost to frieght to make up for money lost on the new hood I'm going to be pissed.ANYWAYS, I have you all as my whitnesses if they do not come through with their end of the deal correct? If I have to go to court so be it

Quote, originally posted by Merzbow »I just received an email from a different guy from JSP and it sounded irritated and hostile Forward it to a manager

I'm pretty sure he was a manager.

Quote, originally posted by Merzbow »I'm pretty sure he was a manager.Then find their manager

.Quote, originally posted by Merzbow »You will need to smash and destroy the sample hood and send us proof that it has been destroyed. Then we will ship you the replacement hood.I don't think they can require that anyways. Sounds fishy to me

Well I'm going to comply with their terms or I'm not going to get any kind of a deal any more after the next week, and that would really (removed) me off. So I'm going to comply once I get a freight quote. If the freight quote is reasonable, I'll do it, I have you all as my whitnesses if they screw me over I'm taking them to court. I still have my recipts and I will be taking video feeds and still shots of me destroying it.

really man, all you need is someone who can edit video stuff and I can supply the stills all kidding aside, you are going to smash it after you get the other one right?

They say they want proof that it is destroyed before they send a new one. I don't feel comfortable destroying my only bargaining chip but When I call them and get frieght price I'll reason with them, like send them the money, they send me the hood, then when I feel it fits correctly and all that, I will send them video and pics of it being destroyed.

You need to make sure that on the video you send them, it shows you taking a big healthy crap all over the hood.

Ok, I wired them money, they said they have the hood in the warehouse and as soon as they get my pictures it will be sent out. So now I get to have fun and destroy something expensive lol...BTW, I know some of you said you wanted one, the Vibe hoods are now a stock item she said. The price is $485 I believe so if you want their number let me know.

Quote, originally posted by Merzbow »Ok, I wired them money, they said they have the hood in the warehouse and as soon as they get my pictures it will be sent out. So now I get to have fun and destroy something expensive lol...BTW, I know some of you said you wanted one, the Vibe hoods are now a stock item she said. The price is $485 I believe so if you want their number let me know.Good luck and post the pics/vids here too!