made in the USA

I have to blow off some steam about this subject, and wondering how many other people feel the same way. Im someone who goes out if there way to buy American made products, whether it be a $1500 bumper or a pack of underwear..i look for made in the USA. This also means that Im willing to pay more $$$ for whatever it is. The problem is that Im continually let down with the quality, and attention to detail. I paid through the ass for my rear bumper/carrier to support a newer US company..and I'm given a product that had about half the hardware supplied with it that the install required, and it had a weld break when I was 300 miles from home, leaving me with a very tense drive home because I was wondering when I would have 100lbs of wheel/tire come off and crash through someone's windshield. I called the owner of the company, and sent him pics of the break and he was horrified. He did right by sending me s whole new arm, but when I got it, i discover that its unusable because they failed to install the bushing where it hoes onto the spindle. Are you f$$%$$g kidding me?! This rant had been brought on by stuff like this continually happening. EVERY jeep product I've ordered online has had some sort of issue, usually being that they're short on hardware on for installation. It's a HUGE pain in the ass to have to run to the hardware store everytime and try and find the correct stuff yo finish the install. 5 year olds in Chinese sweatshops can count to 10, why can't our companies in the USA seem to do it??? Im to the point where I might avoid US made products, and look for a "made in China" label and save some $$$$. Am i the only one who has had this kind of experience?? And, believe me, I'm not a guy who bitches about everything..its taken A LOT to push me to this point.

Just because something is "Made in America" does not automatically mean that you will get a quality product. It just means that the odds you will get a quality product is significantly better. Perhaps your problem stems from the fact that the company you used is a "newer company" and still going through growing pains. Perhaps they just suck and will soon go out of business. You haven't said who they are and so I wouldn't be able to give you an opinion on them, one way or another. What I can tell you is that are companies like Dynatrac, a well established red, white and blue American company and one who makes products that are anything but cheap. But, you do get what you pay for and I'm happy to support companies like them.

Conversely, I have personally found that more times than not, off-road products Made in China are just not made as well. Sure, they may always come with the right amount of nuts and bolts but, the quality of the metal used, welds and precision of assembly always seem to be sub-standard to me. This is the primary reason why I try as hard as I can to buy American.

Having said all that, I have a lot of good friends in the industry and I enjoy helping to support not only them but the Americans they employ. Of course, that's just me.

I have found both good and bad things from USA products. Depends on the company not where it is made or assembled. :twocents:

I think you will find good and bad in any company or product, I have had USA products fail and China products fail to. China to me uses thinner or I call dirty metal that scares me. I always try to stay with made in USA when ever I can. Metal or precision parts. I would rather support the company that comes good on the product and fixes or replaces the part then the ones that don't give a dam. Also, I try to stay with the smaller shops because I have always had better customer service. :twocents: :idontknow:

'Merika!

Notajerryskid said:

I have found both good and bad things from USA products. Depends on the company not where it is made or assembled. :twocents:

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X2! Its all about the company and how they treat their customers. Are we valued customers, or a line of cattle just to male their wallets thicker!?

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Made in the USA

Everything that goes on my American icon is american made, oh except for the OME suspension, ARB front bumper, and ARB air lockers, other than that, made in the USA:thumb:

Gibbo said:

Everything that goes on my American icon is american made, oh except for the OME suspension, ARB front bumper, and ARB air lockers, other than that, made in the USA:thumb:

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I expected three more "oh and my..." on your list :cheesy:



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I would love to say I buy american all the time, as a 20+ yr military person I sometimes feel it's my duty...BUT; half the time the quality isn't there, the customer support sucks and the price doesn't justify the product or their competitors.

Some of the younger people forget that there was a time when American products sucked and if you wanted quality you bought Asian. I don't think we are at that point but I would never buy just because it has a sticker saying "Made in America"...I buy quality, or try to. If that means it says made in China or made in Texas then so be it.


My dad to this day won't buy anything made by Chrysler due to the poor quality they had in the 70's and 80's, it carries that strong of a stigmata for him.
:twocents:

1yellowjk said:

My dad to this day won't buy anything made by Chrysler due to the poor quality they had in the 70's and 80's, it carries that strong of a stigmata for him.
:twocents:

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Agree with everything you said! And can say that after owning a 85 Dodge, and a family vehicle of a sebring convertible, I can see why your father feels that way! My last 2 Jeeps did me well and is why I'll continue to purchase Jeeps.....UNTIL Chrysler screws me over

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To add to what Wayoflife said, simply because it says "made in the USA", it might be more accurate to say "assembled in the USA". A few of my close friends own manufacturing facilities, some make vehicle axles, some make guns (I still consult for this one), others make aerospace components. The common themes all of these "made in USA" products that my friends produce are they are owned by US citizens, their facilities are here in the USA, all material used in manufacturing are sourced from metal suppliers which produce the material in the USA. And lastly, all use E-verify for hiring of employees. It's getting harder and harder for these companies to meet this standard because of cost associated with spec'ing of quality material due to the influx of cheap overseas steel and plastics. Anyone who thinks china can make a similar quality product when compared to the US is sadly being misled. All manufacturers build things for a profit, no one does anything for free in manufacturing. However, some US and European manufacturers care just as much about ethics, quality, customer satisfaction and repeat business as they do about profit margins. They are will to take in less if it means doing the right thing on all levels.

An example of "assembled in USA"; look at any car manufacturer from ford, BMW, Toyota, Chrysler......

sometimes made in USA is NOT made in USA I can not say the name of the company it is, but not jeep relevant however I used to work for a company who shared office space with another company dealing in flashers/relays these guys would do big sales with over seas company's similar to how we have auto zones and pepboys so these guys were middle men they would buy cheaper Chinese or Mexican built flashers and relays for heavy duty trucks and simply remove or scrape off the origin and slap on a made in USA sticker and ship it off I saw them doing it once in their office and i said that is wrong on so many levels don't you guys feel bad at all? the guys told me sometimes we do but we are getting paid we don't run the company we just listen to the boss.. they soon disappeared as they had to change locations i imagine they are still up to no good we were happy to have pieces of shit like that out of our office. personally I like to buy american because I feel it will help our country for instance I have a friend who got cheap LED light bars asked if i wanted to get in on it I told him slapping a cheap chinese knock off on an "american icon" is a slap in the face I dont have a want for an LED light bar but if i did i would save up and buy rigid , something about putting cheapo parts on a jeep irks me similar to seeing a honda symbol on the back of a jk hard top lol

Gibbo said:

Everything that goes on my American icon is american made, oh except for the OME suspension, ARB front bumper, and ARB air lockers, other than that, made in the USA:thumb:

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I've had a second thought on what I posted earlier, and that is ( someone please correct me if I'm wrong ) I know the front bumper is made in Australia, but I "think" the ARB JK suspension and lockers are at least R&D and designed in the USA and possibly manufactured there as well.