Merlin no longer employed at St. Charles !!!

[VX KAT]

Yikes! :freek: Just was told Merlin is no longer employed at St. Charles.

"He's moved on" was all the guy "Phil" would say.
He said he's worked there 7 years, but I don't know if that was in Isuzu or another of the dealership's brands.

Anybody know about this?

[johnnyapollo]

That Sucks!

[Scott Larson]

OH THE HORROR :eek: !!! Seriously, that may be bad news indeed. He really did know his stuff and he knew how to treat us VX folks! He will be missed amongst the VX Community, let's hope that his replacement is worth a toad sneeze...

[Triathlete]

Wonder if that means they are getting out of the isuzu parts game?

[blacksambo]

Well it sure is inconvenient, and I'm surprised he didn't let any of us know?

[ABDragonVX]

That's too bad, he was awesome to deal with.

[TheGanzman]

It's the end of the World as we know it...:thumbdn:

[Leon R]

That definitely sucks! Did Phil mention if they are still selling Isuzu parts?

[JoFotoz]

I'm gonna have to sit in the corner of a dark room :(

For all the amazing help/advice and input he's given us all over the years...
...I can only wish him well and hope its an onward and upward move for him.

BUT OMG....what a huge loss to the Isuzu community.

Jo

[nocturnalVX]

He got hired by Tesla, and couldn't be happier. I have not asked about ISUZU parts availability, or if he appointed a replacement club friend at St. Charles Automotive (a Nissan & Hyundai dealer). I would assume any ISUZU factory authorized service(former sales) shop could still place orders, but we would not get the special treatment we received from Merlin. My go-to former ISUZU dealership is a Dodge/Jeep store.

[JoFotoz]

SWEEEEET!!!


He got hired by Tesla, and couldn't be happier. .

A great loss for us...but good on him.
And a smart move by Tesla, they are very fortunate to have him :thumbup:

jo

[nfpgasmask]

Wow, that definitely sucks. I used Merlin many, many times over the years. Great guy and I wish him the best with Tesla.

Bart

[Scott Harness]

NOOOO! Congrats Merlin and Tesla

[CarNerd76]

Hello VX friends!

My good friend Gill made me aware of this post this afternoon, and it sure was nice to come here and read all the warm responses. It has truly been a pleasure working with so many of you over the years, and there's a few personalities here that I will sincerely miss speaking with on a regular basis!

The Moab trip you helped make possible for me a few years ago is still one of my fondest memories, and to this day I remain humbled by the generosity of this site's members. If I didn't get a chance to thank you in person...thank you!

Someone mentioned being surprised that I didn't let anyone know ahead of time that I was leaving Isuzu, and I certainly understand that sentiment. Allow me to explain...

I was not actively looking for a new position when I was approached by my new employer. The decision to leave St. Charles Automotive after fourteen happy years was certainly not an easy one, and the process leading up to it was exhaustive. Once I gave my two-week notice, the clock was ticking on getting all of my professional matters in order before I left.

At that time, I thought of this group, and really wanted to not only let everyone know what to expect in the future, but also share my excitement with a group that provided such a great deal of encouragement to me over the years!

However, I had a responsibility to my team to make sure systems were in place to keep things flowing after my exit. I knew if I said anything to the kind folks on this site that the phone calls and e-mails of support would soon come pouring in, and potentially create a distraction from my efforts to squeeze a lot of work into a very little amount of time. In addition, every time a coworker would drop by my office to ask about my move I'd have to explain the story over again, and I'm pretty sure the other guys in my office were as tired of hearing that story as I was of telling it!

Again, this group has really meant a great deal to me over the years and I love the small slice of 'celebrity' that's been carved out for me here. It's pretty dang cool, and I'm gonna miss it! You guys have been great, and I hope everyone continues to make the journey out to Moab year after year for many years to come! I call shotgun :bwgy:

Best Wishes,

Merlin Richardson

[Mark B]

Being from Missouri, Merlin was always helpful when I needed parts.
Good luck on your new Job. Tesla is lucky to have you.

[vt_maverick]

Ditto!

[SinJin]

Have a great journey Merlin !!!

[VX KAT]

Awesome to hear Merlin! Congrats! :_beer:

But ya'll know what this means dontcha?
We've all got to buy Teslas now! :goof: :rotate:
:disturbed

[nocturnalVX]

But ya'll know what this means dontcha?
We've all got to buy Teslas now! :goof: :rotate:
:disturbed

That is what Cece was going to post! Great minds think alike...

[workmeistr]

Happy trails, Merlin. You will be missed...:sady:

[TheGanzman]

Merlin - I guess that means that we'll be SoCal neighbors, yes? If so, be sure to look me up down here in San Clemente!

[H3_VX]

thanks for your kind assistance merlin. You will be missed and hopefully st charles can find someone even half as helpful as you.

[CarNerd76]

Not moving to California...yet. We have a service center here in STL :)

[Triathlete]

Good luck in your new adventure Merlin. Thanks for all the help you have provided throughout the years!

[LittleBeast]

Merlin sad to see you go, but excited for your new position! Best wishes!

[Mile High VX]

God bless you in your new adventure...:bwgy::smilewink:bgwo::bgwb:

[tysamigo]

Merlin is DEFINITELY the best!! He has been an ENORMOUS help in my restoration process over the last couple of years. I've spent thousands with him lol....

But... Merlin + Tesla = AWESOME SAUCE :)

I have no doubt at all both he and Tesla will love the new partnership :) it's a perfect fit!


On a different note however... I just spoke with Phil about a couple of parts that have been on backorder for a while. Also I have ordered a part (front foam piece next to the radiator) and the part that arrived had the correct part numbers and all that, but the part in the bag was NOT the correct part. Phil gave me the normal speech about parts availability... "well we all knew this was inevitable... where parts are becoming more and more scarce..." but beyond that Phil said "especially for the last 6 months, Isuzu has been discontinuing many parts in the massive amounts". He said it has been very noticeable and is happening at a very fast rate. He said several parts related to each other will go into "discontinued" status at the same time now as opposed to the "one here and there" going discontinued...

Man this sucks... I'm just a couple of months away from driving my DREAM CAR... my totally refurbished/rebuilt/modded from hell VEHICROSS that took 2 damn years of not driving... and then when I get it all together... I have to make sure no one EVER gets close to me on the road lol maaaan..... what a life lol

but you know what... it's still all worth it...


:yesy:

[tysamigo]

I would love to adapt the electric/battery technology in the Teslas into the VX for an electric conversion... that would be sweeeeeeet :)

[blacksambo]

Congrats Merlin. Really a smart move; we wish you all the best. Now all we VXer's need is an Isuzu dealer like Stoddard of Ohio for Porsche 356 to pick up the VX charge. It's not a far leap, just look at the recent publicity for Simon Cox's move to Infiniti, it's all salutes to his VX work. Now we need is an another dealer to go hog wild for the VX and the parts will be there for us.

[AZOutlaw]

Hey everyone, I never had the chance to work with Merlin, but I think I spoke to Phil for a couple parts recently. I got the "backorder" response but when I called my local shop they said I could get the same parts either same day or within a few days (not months) They might be worth a call. Www.chapmanchevy.com I got my regulator and window gasket from them...and my windows work great (thanks to SBC too)

[VX KAT]

wow, that's great to hear. Were they genuine Isuzu parts?

[H3_VX]

even if parts are discontinued, there is always someone out there to fab something

[CatFish]

Good Luck Merlin, thanks for the help getting parts. Tesla sounds like a great opportunity.

I hope I am still going to get my back ordered parts, let me know if I need to call them or something.

Chris

[AZOutlaw]

wow, that's great to hear. Were they genuine Isuzu parts?

As far as I know, yes. They are still listed as an official Isuzu location on Isuzu.com but the website forwards to Chapman Chevy.

[Triathlete]

I bought my VX from Chapman Chevy used car lot! Funny story...while signing my papers there was an older couple wanting to test drive an anniversary edition convertable vette. The battery was dead. Instead of grabbing a new battery and throwing it in they made them stand around and wait while they out a charger on it and charged it! I remember thinking they must not of wanted to sale that vette very bad. The couple looked like they were ready to buy...I would have walked out the door!
Luckily my transaction went a lot smoother! :)

[blacksambo]

Can somebody like Baldwin (who knows these folks) make contact with Isuzu and find out what they recommend?

[Triathlete]

They will probably recommend you buy a new car. :D

[H3_VX]

They will probably recommend you buy a new car. :D

most likely not, since there are no new isuzus to buy. Lol

[VX KAT]

Just placed an order through Phil, says "backordered", but doesn't say discontinued. Will be interestting to see how long or if I ever get it. Phil said it could be 6-8 MONTHS!

[rowhard]

Phil said it could be 6-8 MONTHS!

some of us, not you Sue, are old enough to remember the old days and British sport cars (and forgetaboutit if it was Italian). It had better not been your daily driver cause 6 to 8 months waiting for parts was the norm.

good luck Merlin,

[CatFish]

I got my backordered part on Friday so everything seems to be fine. I am not sure who our contact is going to be for parts but I will bet St. Charles has someone we can order from. I guess we will find out when someone calls them to order some parts.

[VX KAT]

I got my backordered part on Friday so everything seems to be fine. I am not sure who our contact is going to be for parts but I will bet St. Charles has someone we can order from. I guess we will find out when someone calls them to order some parts.

See in Post #1 and #39 -name is "Phil".

[CatFish]

OK I missed the #39 post where you mention talking to Phil, but the #1 post just says Phil told you he did not work there, I did not interpret that to mean he was the new contact. Either way should I ask for Phil or will any of the guys there order parts for us?

[VX KAT]

OK I missed the #39 post where you mention talking to Phil, but the #1 post just says Phil told you he did not work there, I did not interpret that to mean he was the new contact. Either way should I ask for Phil or will any of the guys there order parts for us?

He's answered the phone twice now when I asked for Isuzu Parts, so I'm just guessing he may be "the guy", but not sure if there's anybody "officially" designated. I figure since I've talked to him twice and so did another member, (and told him I was part of the Vehicross group) I'd just keep asking for him.:_shrug:

[dasidd]

So I recently had to buy items for my VX because it's starting to get to be that age for the car to replace things... ;)

I blew out my catalytic converter last month. Being in CA, and the new laws that passed, I had to get OEM parts. So I had to buy 2 cats. I went to Merlin and he ordered them from a place in Detroit (and might have been the last ones they had). So that was a month ago. Then last week, I noticed my windshield washer reservoir was leaking, and my mechanic said I need a new pump. So I went to call Merlin again. When I asked for him, they said he was no longer employed there. Then they transferred me to Phil. I asked Phil, and he said that Merlin had moved on. So, ok. I asked him about the pump, and he quoted me $41. At the time, I was also on the web looking at the part on their website, and it said the regular price was $41, and the sale price is $36. I told Phil that, and he said, "yeah, that's our web price. I could give you that."

So call Phil if you want to check availability, but also check on www.stcharlesautoparts.com first for the sale price.

Now I might just have to buy a Tesla. Their main office is just down the street...

[blacksambo]

I still think we need Baldwin to speak to his Isuzu contact on parts procurement issues. Thx

[mborodi]

He's answered the phone twice now when I asked for Isuzu Parts, so I'm just guessing he may be "the guy", but not sure if there's anybody "officially" designated. I figure since I've talked to him twice and so did another member, (and told him I was part of the Vehicross group) I'd just keep asking for him.:_shrug:



yeah... last week I ordered new driver's side window rubber.. he said there's 7 left on the planet he can get his hands on.. lol.. I've gone one.. today I called and got ds regulator- same guy.. last week when I called I actually said MERLIN!! I NEED HELP! lol.. he said Merlin's no longer with us.. BOO HISS.. lol.

[frankd14321]

Ya I called them last week and they told me he left. Sucks..

[CatFish]

yeah... last week I ordered new driver's side window rubber.. he said there's 7 left on the planet he can get his hands on.. lol.. I've gone one.. today I called and got ds regulator- same guy.. last week when I called I actually said MERLIN!! I NEED HELP! lol.. he said Merlin's no longer with us.. BOO HISS.. lol.

I also ordered the weather stripping for both sides and an extra headlight for each side, the headlights are very pricy and Merlin gave me a great price I got the discount on the website plus another 15% off for ordering other parts that totaled at over $1000.

I know it may seem strange to order parts that are not broken but I have another car that is 30 years old and the taillight we available for years and then there were none, then someone make them aftermarket for a short time and I was unable to get a set. I was not happy and now you cannot get them at all, so I got a set of headlights for the VX before this happens as the headlights will be very hard to reproduce and used one are already hard to find and I have no idea how a person could even attempt to make them or even something that would come close to fitting the VX.

[Baldwin]

I still think we need Baldwin to speak to his Isuzu contact on parts procurement issues. Thx

Man, Merlin was my man too! Isuzu headquarters is now in Anaheim, CA. Oh...and I spoke to Tesla last year about using their technology to retrofit the VX...or any other car for that matter. They said they are not interested in doing that other than OEM to new cars. They are working with Toyota and GM right now.

[tom4bren]

Man, Merlin was my man too! Isuzu headquarters is now in Anaheim, CA. Oh...and I spoke to Tesla last year about using their technology to retrofit the VX...or any other car for that matter. They said they are not interested in doing that other than OEM to new cars. They are working with Toyota and GM right now.

Sorta like when I talked to Borla about making a 'cat back' system for our beloved VX. They kindly replied 'No Thank You'.

[nocturnalVX]

Sorta like when I talked to Borla about making a 'cat back' system for our beloved VX. They kindly replied 'No Thank You'.

Jeep, Ford, or GMC... Sure we can hook you up! A 13 year old VehiWhatsitsnuts? Not so much...

[blacksambo]

Let's stop complaining and organize an approach to Isuzu Anaheim!

[disasterlady]

Just heard ...
You'll still be one of my heroes... so many ways that you helped me out. Thanks Bud and shine on at Tesla!
Julie from San Diego area.