Lares Corporation - Cambridge, Minnesota

Zack

My Saginaw TC/GM Type II power steering pump was leaking but otherwise working. I sent it to Lares for a rebuild. When we (my car club) installed the pump in my car, we followed what we thought was the standard procedure: lifting the front end of the car, taking the cap off the reservoir, turning the wheel turn-to-turn 30 times, cranking the engine then immediately turning it off, then turning it 30 times again to see if any bubbles came out. Bubbles did appear, so we did the same procedure a second time and no bubbles came out. We then started the car with the wheels still off the ground and the power steering pump absolutely screamed, unlike I've ever heard a pump scream before. It's was crazy loud! My assumption was that they rebuilt my pump in the reverse rotation from what my car required as some similar models use the exact same pump but with it turning counterclockwise where mine needs to turn clockwise.

So, we removed the freshly rebuilt pump and installed a spare pump rebuilt by a different company that one of our club members had on hand. We did the same procedure as we did with the Lares rebuilt pump and this rebuilt pump worked perfectly fine, no noises. It's still on my vehicle and I just did a 400 miles car show road trip.

I normally keep good records but I could not find my receipt to save my life. I called Lares to explain the situation about my pump and my missing receipt but they claimed they do not keep customer records or customer transactions. Lares stated the only way they could verify they rebuilt my pump is with my copy of my receipt. They claimed they didn't have the "storage space" for these types of records. I was left speechless. I've never called a business of any medium to larger size post say 2005 that didn't keep electronic records, especially for those within the same year.

In addition, Lares told me I didn't follow the proper bleed procedure. They stated that I needed to follow the one on their website (which I didn't even know existed and was definitely not with the receipt I received when I got my pump back) which included pulling whatever fuses were necessary to allow the engine to crank but not turn over. Nevertheless, in all my years as a shade tree mechanic and after talking to many other shade trees as well as professional mechanics, the pump may have made a whine if I didn't do the proper bleed but it would not have screamed like it did. Something had to go wrong with the rebuild. But, because I don't have a copy of my receipt, it's like it never happened apparently.

If they had made a mistake or if they could have looked up my information in their computer and we could have worked something out, I would have been satisfied with that level of service but now I'm out my money andba lot of my time. I'm now going to send it elsewhere to have it rebuilt yet again. At this point, I will never send anything to be rebuilt by Lares nor will I ever buy pumps that they manufacture or rebuild. I just can't do business with a company that runs their business like this which is incredibly disappointing because they do all this type of work in Minnesota and I love supporting American businesses, especially those in the Midwest.

John I.

Bad part out of the box. To answer the response yes we called tech support first guy we got was not helpful asked to be transferred to a different person second guy knew what was up made recommendations that helped but did not solve the issue. Called back got the first guy again and he was the same unhelpful again wanted us to replace the body mounts on a Mopar stated he has been doing this 30 years and knows what he is doing.

Jonathan M.

Terrible customer service . Earl is very rude and does not care to actually help. To these folks at lares “they are right and customer is wrong”. They try to make up different problems with the part I sent back on warranty. Even with proof of condition they still are sticking with the scheme saying I “cut their rod ends”. They run a sketchy, scummy business and won’t even hear me THE CUSTOMER out. It’s obvious as to why they need to make money off warranty fraud . Don’t worry Earl legal action will be taken if you don’t refund the return, I have proof of condition. You’re trying to run and hide from a simple refund for a defective rack and pinion.

Bradley M.

I called Lares regarding an issue I was having with a new steering gear that I purchased. The guy I spoke to was a jerk and he seemed to busy to talk to me and that I was bothering him so I just will return there steering gear back to Summit and buy a different brand.

B P.

I ordered a new pump from Summit Racing. It drop-shipped from Lares. The shipment arrived very quickly and everything looked great on the outside but when I opened the box, the dipstick cap was cracked. I messaged Lares directly and told them of the issue. Kal Uthe, the senior product manager, replied to my message the next day asking for a photo of the packing slip to ensure the proper address and that he would get a replacement to me right away. That was on Monday. Today is Saturday and my new dipstick/cap arrived. No issues. No hassle. Just an American made pump manufacturer doing their best to fix a problem beyond their control. Thank you Kal! Thank you Lares!

derrick M.

I ordered a new power steering pump 12155 from summit racing for my 1978 trans am. Out of the box, my shop said this is no good its leaking... Who manufacturers parts that not QA'd to companies to sell bad products? This puts Summit Racing in a bad position to buy parts from. I called Summit who is known about this company to sell parts that have issues.. what are we doing out here Now my trans am is leaking fluid in my driveway waiting for Summit to deliver another hopefully not failed part from Lares.

AutoHaus O. N.

I send a my leaking power steering valve from my 1954 Mercury Monterey Convertible to Lares Corporation. The service was outstanding and the part works flawless again. I highly recommend them for any service.

Steve K.

Unfortunately, I did not have good experience with this place. They sent me the wrong ZF power steering pump. Unfortunately I had to send it back and pay for shipping cost not only that I sent back my core. They told me the ZF one was not able to be rebuilt as it was badly scorned, so I asked him can they please send me the right ZF power steering pump?
They said sure we can, that they have one in stock and it will ship it out within the next day. They lied to me and sent me a cheap knock off no name brand and he won’t even tell me what brand it is! That’s really shady!
You sold me cheaper junk that I didn’t agree to!
That’s a terrible work ethic!
I’m not putting a no name junk brand on my car shame on you!