So I wish I would have seen bobs video before I placed an order with James. Since I was not able to I will let everyone know how my install went.
In June of 2017, I contacted James at Fiberglass Molding and Engineering and placed an order for a 24" fiberglass hightop for a Ford E350, installed with side windows. I was told that I did not have to pay until the install, which would be about a month. James seemed really nice on the phone and told me about his son, Jay Jay, who is an Army veteran. I told him that I am an active duty Marine. He then told me that he would cut me a deal (which I did not ask for). I then later found out when I watched Bobs video that I paid the exact same amount Bob did, so James lied to my face.
About two weeks before the install date, James told me I had to wire him the full amount of 2800 dollars, so I did. He told me he needed the money to get started on the top. I then waited for the day of the install and drove 4 hours to Jame's shop. Once I got there he told me the top was not built, even though he never called to tell me that. This would be a recurring theme. James has horrible communication skills.
He then tried to give me a wrong top, which I would not accept. I have a Ford E350 extended body van, he was trying to give me a regular body van top. Which was about two feet too short. I told him that I did not want it, and he went as far as putting it on the roof of my van so I could see it, just to be sure. I still did not want it and now I had scratches and a large dent in my roof. It wasn't a huge deal because I was going to cut the roof off my van anyway. James then said the gun was broken just like he did to Bob. After about four hours I asked if I could fix the gun which I did. It was a very simple fix, however, James kept getting frustrated and would give up. Once it finally got going I stayed and helped lay the fiberglass. I rolled out the bubbles and hand laid the sheets. I did not ask for anything, I just wanted my top finished since I had driven 4 hours up there. I waited for approximately 10 hours in total and then drove home once James assured me he would be at my house the next day with the correct top to install it. That did not happen.
Then for the next three months, James dodged my phone calls and never returned them. I would call him at least once a week and I sent him a text message at least once every two days for an update and he would either not respond or lie to me. Every time I did talk to him, he lied to me and said they were working on my top. He would come up with the most elaborate excuses on why the top was not done yet. Finally, I got very frustrated and said I wanted a refund. Two days later he showed up at my house to do the install.
When he finally showed up, I then had to keep an eye on him because he tried to cut every corner on the install. He first did not want to use butyl tape, just like when he worked on Bob's top. James also did not connect my rear brake light because he did not have the wires to do so, and said, "you don't even need one". I also made James seal both the inside and outside of the van because he said he was done and had only put sealant around the outside. James also did not clean any of the areas prior to the install which allowed metal shavings to sit in the rain gutters which I will get to later. The most frustrating thing was that he did not bring windows for the install that we had agreed on. I am a very patient man so I told him it was ok and that he could go back and get windows and install them at a later date. I also asked him if he could fabricate a grill for my vehicle as a payment for the mix-up. Man was that a mistake.
James then left with my grill. A few days later, my van started to rust in the drip rails from water pooling due to the poor install. the sealant was pooled up in spaces that trapped water and was missing in others that allowed water to get into the van. After a month more of being lied to when James said he was working on my grill, I got fed up and said I needed my grill back and I needed my top fixed. I told him that I had seen Bob's video and that I was sorry I even did business with him. I told James that if he did not stop taking orders and figure out his customer service, his business would fail. James agreed that he would make it right be there the next day. Of course, that was a lie too, and three days later one of his employees, Edd, showed up at my house and dropped off a broken grill and said he would not install the windows or refund me for the damaged grill or repairs to the install.
I then called James furiously and he said that I never paid for windows and he would not install them. He also said he was sorry about my grill but there was nothing he could do.
I know that Bob said in his video that James was a really nice guy, and I thought the same thing at first. I thought James was a really nice guy with really horrible luck. But now I know that James is an incompetent person who shifts blame at every chance and has cost me a lot of time and money.
I hope that no one else has to make the same mistakes that Bob and I made.
In June of 2017, I contacted James at Fiberglass Molding and Engineering and placed an order for a 24" fiberglass hightop for a Ford E350, installed with side windows. I was told that I did not have to pay until the install, which would be about a month. James seemed really nice on the phone and told me about his son, Jay Jay, who is an Army veteran. I told him that I am an active duty Marine. He then told me that he would cut me a deal (which I did not ask for). I then later found out when I watched Bobs video that I paid the exact same amount Bob did, so James lied to my face.
About two weeks before the install date, James told me I had to wire him the full amount of 2800 dollars, so I did. He told me he needed the money to get started on the top. I then waited for the day of the install and drove 4 hours to Jame's shop. Once I got there he told me the top was not built, even though he never called to tell me that. This would be a recurring theme. James has horrible communication skills.
He then tried to give me a wrong top, which I would not accept. I have a Ford E350 extended body van, he was trying to give me a regular body van top. Which was about two feet too short. I told him that I did not want it, and he went as far as putting it on the roof of my van so I could see it, just to be sure. I still did not want it and now I had scratches and a large dent in my roof. It wasn't a huge deal because I was going to cut the roof off my van anyway. James then said the gun was broken just like he did to Bob. After about four hours I asked if I could fix the gun which I did. It was a very simple fix, however, James kept getting frustrated and would give up. Once it finally got going I stayed and helped lay the fiberglass. I rolled out the bubbles and hand laid the sheets. I did not ask for anything, I just wanted my top finished since I had driven 4 hours up there. I waited for approximately 10 hours in total and then drove home once James assured me he would be at my house the next day with the correct top to install it. That did not happen.
Then for the next three months, James dodged my phone calls and never returned them. I would call him at least once a week and I sent him a text message at least once every two days for an update and he would either not respond or lie to me. Every time I did talk to him, he lied to me and said they were working on my top. He would come up with the most elaborate excuses on why the top was not done yet. Finally, I got very frustrated and said I wanted a refund. Two days later he showed up at my house to do the install.
When he finally showed up, I then had to keep an eye on him because he tried to cut every corner on the install. He first did not want to use butyl tape, just like when he worked on Bob's top. James also did not connect my rear brake light because he did not have the wires to do so, and said, "you don't even need one". I also made James seal both the inside and outside of the van because he said he was done and had only put sealant around the outside. James also did not clean any of the areas prior to the install which allowed metal shavings to sit in the rain gutters which I will get to later. The most frustrating thing was that he did not bring windows for the install that we had agreed on. I am a very patient man so I told him it was ok and that he could go back and get windows and install them at a later date. I also asked him if he could fabricate a grill for my vehicle as a payment for the mix-up. Man was that a mistake.
James then left with my grill. A few days later, my van started to rust in the drip rails from water pooling due to the poor install. the sealant was pooled up in spaces that trapped water and was missing in others that allowed water to get into the van. After a month more of being lied to when James said he was working on my grill, I got fed up and said I needed my grill back and I needed my top fixed. I told him that I had seen Bob's video and that I was sorry I even did business with him. I told James that if he did not stop taking orders and figure out his customer service, his business would fail. James agreed that he would make it right be there the next day. Of course, that was a lie too, and three days later one of his employees, Edd, showed up at my house and dropped off a broken grill and said he would not install the windows or refund me for the damaged grill or repairs to the install.
I then called James furiously and he said that I never paid for windows and he would not install them. He also said he was sorry about my grill but there was nothing he could do.
I know that Bob said in his video that James was a really nice guy, and I thought the same thing at first. I thought James was a really nice guy with really horrible luck. But now I know that James is an incompetent person who shifts blame at every chance and has cost me a lot of time and money.
I hope that no one else has to make the same mistakes that Bob and I made.
