Buyer beware they’re only there for the sale!
Ultimately I do not recommend buying anything from Brindlee. We purchased a pierce ladder truck from them and now it’s getting junked/sold for whatever the department can recoup. The truck was driven back to washington from Alabama by a paid professional driver. The driver noticed several issues / items that needed to be repaired and addressed. Our current Cheif at the time who’s since retired went back and fourth with brindlee and a local facility in attempting to get the repairs fixed and the truck in service. Roughly 9 months after the truck was in wa state we finally took possession and had in in our station. During yearly inspection of the apparatus the inspector had noted rust on the frame and the truck has failed inspection. Mechanically the truck passed with flying colors, engine and pump ops were great, ladder passed no issues. Upon taking the truck to Hughes fire in tacoma the truck has a hole in the frame behind the fuel tank notable in size. The truck was quoted at about 200,000 to fix new frame rails all parts and labor. Not including anything else that might be found. Our neighboring department bought the exact same ladder truck from brindlee currently going through the same thing rotted rusted frame. They’re spending about 350,000 to fix. Both departments spend about 175,000 on each truck. In our case we contacted brindlee a few months after it was in our station, in our possession. About 13-14 months after it had been in washington state. We were told it didn’t have any warranty it stated the day it left there lot and drove up here, and it had since expired. Brindlee took almost all of our departments money purchasing at the time the nicest truck we’ve ever had for our growing community filling with town homes apartments etc. With no help now we’re facing at least a 180,000 loss.. I will not recommend anyone to ever buy apparatus from them. They will not help you. They will no be there for your future. Just how I feel and ultimately our volunteer department suffered from it. I’ll keep this here as well… The truck never saw action on a single fire… just training in the station.
By Tyler W.
Response from Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus· Apr 13, 2023
Tyler,we have no record of you contacting our company and respectfully disagree with these statements. We stand behind products and reply to customers.The last communication we had from anyone with your department prior to your post was 03/05/2021. Your public review was posted on 04/18/2022.We have no information as to what transpired between 03/05/2021 and 04/18/2022.As you will see from the thorough communication history, the review posted was the first communication from your department in 13 months,and was the first indication that there was a problem with the truck rendering it not usable.With this information, we disagree with the phrase:“They will not help you. They will not be there for your future.” The history shows that this statement is emotionally laced and not based in fact; we responded to every inquiry and worked through issues with the truck whenever we were notified one existed. Once communication stopped we had no knowledge there were any issues to work on, until the review was posted We have been and remain available for any questions you may have. We have many lines of communication open, our office number is 256-776-7786 plus all contacts listed on our website here https://www.firetruckmall.com/CompanyDirectory -are happy to help in whatever way we can For the complete communication history, please see details below. 05/07/2019 - dept contact re truck 06/05/2019 - Reps from dept inspect truck 06/06/2019 - Sales agreement signed 09/23/2019 - work complete, truck driven appr. 2,500 miles to dept. 09/24/2019 Repair shop identified to correct issues on drive. 09/25/2019 Contacted Chief; awaiting estimate for repair 10/2/2019 Follow up re estimate, contact for repairs 11/19/2019 Spoke with shop; sourcing parts for them 11/20/2019 Contacted Chief-updated 11/22/2019 Customer requests additional parts 12/30/2019 Shop requests schematics re engine brake 1/27/2020 Dept’s local shop completes repairs, finds 2 issues they can’t repair 1/28/2020 Speak with customer re add’l issues; they are disappointed with local shop who was unable to complete repairs. 1/29/2020 Scheduled tech;E-pump needs replacement 1/29/2020 LVM for Chief to call 1/30/2020 Chief called;rec’d truck move to local shop for the add’l repairs 2/3/2020 Discussed repairs with shop; hydraulic syst Rec’d est. 2/11/2020 Called shop re est & schedule for repair 2/11/2020 Called customer re:work estimate 3/2/2020 Called shop on parts avail rec’d info back from factory. rq date for truck in shop 3/2/2020 Called customer-shop has parts info from factory & date scheduled 3/3/2020 shop placed parts order; start repairs the following week. 3/3/2020 Truck scheduled into shop with customer the following week 3/11/2020 Truck arrives at shop;engine brake problem is identified 3/12/2020 Engine brake repair auth given 4/22/2020 Repairs complete at shop; truck is returned to dept 4/23/2020 Chief advised;few minor issues-will repair themselves with parts supplied by Brindlee 4/24/20 Parts processed for shipment 5/12/20 Invoice received from customer for transport expenses 5/13/20 Invoice for transport expenses processed for payment 5/15/20 Payment for transport expenses disbursed to customer 3/4/21 Customer contacts us regarding corrosion on undercarriage;rec’d copy of inspection report dated 1/7/21.Inspections were noted within factory spec 3/5/21 Em’d customer-according to report that the frame was in spec with explanation this could be verified with factory along with the recommended remedy - descale frame and undercarriage components;treat with corrosion inhibitor/sealer per factory guidelines. Also noted to them that the Brindlee warranty had expired on 9/29/20 but the frame treatment could be handled with a shop that has these capabilities As noted above, we have no record of ever hearing from you during this time period related to this truck or any issues but you are always welcome to contact us and we will respond quickly and thoroughly as we have every time