Warbird Information Exchange

I'm at my wits end and it's time to vent my frustration and rant a bit (my apologies).

I was wondering if anybody out there has ever had any problems doing business with Ed Kaleta and Kal Aero Services located in Dulzura, CA? I know Gary Austin mentioned he had some unpleasant dealings with Ed regarding some parts he tried to acquire for the Lil restoration. Apparently Ed strung him along for quite some time and in the end sold the parts to some other guy.

I have a similar gripe but I actually paid for the parts and didn't receive everything that I paid for. Most of you might remember that I acquired that large stack of scrap ball turret parts that Ed was selling on Barnstormers. I paid $650 for the parts and another $500 to cover the freight costs from San Diego to North Central Wisconsin . The deal also took nearly 7 weeks to complete. When the parts arrived I noticed that the rare ball turret internal ammo cans were missing (they were in the ad picture). I emailed and called several times inquiring about the missing ammo cans. Ed called and left a message saying that the ammo cans didn't fit on the pallet and had to be sent seperate . While I don't believe that it sure would be nice to let me know in advance. On the second call I actually got to talk to him in person. When I asked about the ammo cans he claimed they were boxed up and ready to go out UPS (that was 2 weeks ago). Since that time I've emailed and left messages on his answering machine and have received no reply.

I'm finally getting the impression that Ed has no intention of sending the ammo cans that I already paid for and has likely sold them to someone else. I'm so angry at this point I could sh*t tacks! The main reason I jumped on that pile of turret parts was because of those rare internal ammo cans and I get shafted in the process. Does anybody have any ideas or suggestions on what I should do?

John

Here's the picture from the original ad. You can see the ammo cans sitting on top of the pile.

From San Diego, who had them here? Looks like the east county by the looks of the terrain.

I can poke around if its something local

Jesse,

Dulzura is located about 25 miles southeast of San Diego close to the Mexican border. The parts were actually shipped out of San Diego. Ed ran his business there at the following address and was planning to sell off everything and go out of business.

Kal Aero Service Inc.
17961 Hwy 94
Dulzura, CA. 91917
Phone 619-468-3759

If you have some free time and would like to try and contact him I'd be much obliged!

John

I have no idea why Dulzura did not register with me, its where I used to go target shooting!

I will be working in the East County this weekend, I might try on Sunday, but I will also ask around with some of the local airplane guys.

Stay tuned!

Thanks Jesse...please let me know if you find out anything.

John

This kind of sounds like one of my eBay experiences.

Oh boy...don't even get me started on "epay"! I've been down that road many times myself and learned a long time ago that you can forget about getting any type of help from ebay or paypal when someone stiffs you.

John

Lemme guess....

warbird_relics ???

Bela P. Havasreti

I believe this is the business owned by Micheal Ryan which recently relocated to Tennessee. I've seen his auctions on ebay but have never bid on anything (thank god). The "warbird relics" website is still up and running but hasn't been updated in over a year. I actually tried ordering some parts from them...filled out the online form and everything...and never heard a peep from them again...WTF?!! It's beyond me how some of these guys can a run a business like that??

John

Just filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau so we'll see if he responds to the complaint. Since he's supposedly going out of business I doubt much will come of it.

John

That's him.

In fairness, his father-in-law finally made good on the eBay deal
that went bad (took 2+ years however to get the part I had paid
for, and then the part that was sent wasn't the actual part I had
bid on).

Maybe his father-in-law had a talk with him, as his feedback on his
current eBay account he operates under (aircraftstock) is a definite
improvement over his previous account....

Bela P. Havasreti

Hmmmm...interesting.

Yeah...when I see shady business practices like this it really makes me leary of buying warbird parts from businesses or people I don't know...especially big ticket items!

Another thing that really gets me going is when you're trying to work out a deal for a part and you never hear from the seller again. I don't know what it is about warbird parts sellers and their lack of email etiquette. You send an email asking how much the part is for...(no response). Then a week later the guy emails me and offers to sell a diferent part. I email and ask how much...(you guessed it...no response). Three weeks later we've finaly agreed to a sale and I ask about payment methods...(no response). I try again...(no response). About a week later I receive an email from the seller informing me he's sold the parts to someone else. It's crap like this that just drives me crazy. If they don't want to sell the stuff then fine...just give me the common courtesy of replying to my friggin emails! (rant off)

John

J Peters,

if you search on here there have been other threads about Mr. Kaletta and his dubious dealings with customers on here.

JH

Considering all the PM's I've received from others regarding Mr. Kaletta I think I would have to agree with you. Sounds as though he has quite the reputation within the warbird community!

John

I know people that have bought stuff from him but they went down there and looked at the stuff, made a deal, and took it away with them. Not so easy in your case unfortunately.