Need your comments re: ECB Limo

[SANTOS]

I have always purchased Krystal limousines but am now considering switching to ECB. Do any of you guys currently own or at one time owned an ECB and what were your experiences with them in regards to quality, finish and warranty. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Wade Randolph]

Originally posted by SANTOS:
I have always purchased Krystal limousines but am now considering switching to ECB. Do any of you guys currently own or at one time owned an ECB and what were your experiences with them in regards to quality, finish and warranty. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Rich I have one of their 140" Fantasy III Excursions. It has been an exceptional unit. Almost no problems at all. I have owned it for a little over 2 years now.

[Rupert]

Recently bought one of their Icon units - quality of the build is excellent but there were a few drawbacks:

- interior was not built following our specs (wrong colors, seats and carpets did not match)

- there is NO documentation at all for the stretch section and the equipment installed by ECB (well for the $$ paid you may expect excellent docs!)

- on pickup there was a hole in the upholstery from a hot tool that was placed there - got fixed on the spot but we also noticed some more minor quality control issues ....

All in all a good vehicle, very well received by clients but be careful with exact specs and follow up closely - sometimes we got the impression that they do not exactly know what they are doing ;-)

Summary: go for it and spec exactly so you get what you ordered ...

Good luck, we still like the ECB!

Rupert
http://www.amadeuslimo.com

[Dean Schuler]

Rich, I purchase LCW now but I used to purchase Executive exclusively. They are a wonderful organization in every aspect. Superior Interiors ! Five years ago they had a rust problem on their bigger cars. I had to pay to get the rust off around the coachlights and above at 60,000 miles and then again at 80,000 miles. It was terrible and pissed me off no end. I have been buying limousines since 1976. I wasn't convinced that they had corrected the problem so I went with LCW after a plant tour-workers I knew from the 1970's and 1980's were still there ! LCW builds a lighter& tighter car and if you know your limousine history-Robert Peterson of Lehmann-Peterson-then you know lighter is better. Springfield builders produce heavier cars. If the rust problem is gone I can certainly recommend the wonderful folks at Executive Coach. They do have awesome cars !!!!!!!!!!!!

[SANTOS]

Thank you everyone for your comments. As I mentioned before Krystal has always been #1 on my list. But after seeing ECB at the show I was amazed at how nice their interiors were and I was equally impressed by the overall finish quality of the car. I just wonder now if they are as equally priced as Krystal. We'll see...

[Dean Schuler]

I have never purchased a Krystal. I have heard good things about them from people I respect. I would certainly consider Executive again. Each buying cycle I select three or four builders and compare.

[Wade Randolph]

Originally posted by SANTOS:
Thank you everyone for your comments. As I mentioned before Krystal has always been #1 on my list. But after seeing ECB at the show I was amazed at how nice their interiors were and I was equally impressed by the overall finish quality of the car. I just wonder now if they are as equally priced as Krystal. We'll see...

Rich you will save probably at least 10% per car if you go with Executive.

[SANTOS]

Originally posted by Wade Randolph:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by SANTOS:
Thank you everyone for your comments. As I mentioned before Krystal has always been #1 on my list. But after seeing ECB at the show I was amazed at how nice their interiors were and I was equally impressed by the overall finish quality of the car. I just wonder now if they are as equally priced as Krystal. We'll see...

Rich you will save probably at least 10% per car if you go with Executive. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I waiting on a quote from them now. The only thing is that that I am also looking to aquire a limo coach and Krystal gave me a pretty good two vehicle deal. So we'll see...

[Bramalea Limousine Service]

I have a 2001 ECB which has been a headache from day 1....
Leaking windows
Rust on both sides
3 AC units
Car went on fire
Rear end problems
Transmission problems
T.V. Monitors falling down
Now I have RUST problems again
Overall this Lincoln runs like a piece of S**t
This car has only got about 80000 miles on it but feels like 8000000.
Funny thing is I love the interior of this car and have made inquiries about a Chrysler built by ECB
ECB were helpful to a certain extent,but if they wanted to make me a happy customer they should have replaced this shitbox when I asked them 3 yrs ago,I was willing to pay the difference.

[Dean Schuler]

Bramalea, Very disturbing report ! Do you feel that you were "hosed" on the miles ? Rust is easy to take out, windows leaking easy to fix. The rest of your problems come from excessive mileage and neglect. Whom did you buy this unit from ? Who inspected the unit for you ? These individuals didn't do their jobs !!

[Dean Schuler]

Rich, I have been around for 30 years and have never bought Krystal. I hear that they are fine and I hear everything else relative to them too. I like them and may at sometime buy from them. I bought Allen Coachworks for decades, now I buy their successor LCW. I think LCW is the best by far and I have purchased over 100 vehicles in my career. Not many by your Eastern Standards but alot in the Deep South. LCW is the GOLD STANDARD and easily the best coachbuilder in the industry today. Springfield cars are VERY GOOD, but can be too heavy. Notice I said "can". Otherwise you cannot go wrong with Springfield Builders. Federal is coming along very well too. I have been to their plant and have been to most of the plants in the industry.

[Bramalea Limousine Service]

Originally posted by Dean Schuler:
Bramalea, Very disturbing report ! Do you feel that you were "hosed" on the miles ? Rust is easy to take out, windows leaking easy to fix. The rest of your problems come from excessive mileage and neglect. Whom did you buy this unit from ? Who inspected the unit for you ? These individuals didn't do their jobs !!
Dean,this car was bought with around 50000klms on the clock from the ECB dealer in Ontario Canada.I don`t think the mileage was tampered with,I think I just got a LEMON.It has really soured me on Lincolns.I hate driving this car,my 96 runs a lot better and its got 500000klms. on it,I am hoping to unload it if I can get a 300 stretch.

[Dean Schuler]

Santos, In the 1980;s my Allen Coachworks cars with the fine wood and grey leather interiors beat the Springfield cars my competitors had and everything else. In the 1990's I had Allen, Victor's Royal Coach ( Victor is retired now but he built great cars for me and duplicated QVM stats with the help of my engineers ) Executive ( SUPERIOR INTERIORS ) and now that I am 100% corporate-no weddings, no proms, no nights on the town for the general public, I have very conservative LCW limos. I have always came up with better cars than what Krystal produces relative to the interiors. And Krystal is mighty, mighty!! My partner and I have been around for a very long time and we design our own interiors. And that is in fact the key-customization. There are always 5-6 builders that are QUALITY, the rest are second tier. Ps I drove formals and short Allen Coachworks& Maloneys, etc in my driver career in the 1970's. PPS So no one gets their panties in a wringer please know that I like Krystal very much ! Royale builds my six-inch CAREY cars ,I have not purchased limos from them yet. I have seen FEDERAL's impressive plant and I certainly consider them a TOP NOTCH BUILDER with the Legendary DANNY ALDRIDGE present as Sales CZAR !

[Alimo]

So Dean, you'll know what a Porta-Lunga is then ?

[Dean Schuler]

Yes, of course. I always had good luck with Allen Coachworks. But then-I had a 1986 73" Ultra that never gave me even one problem. The only vexing vehicles I ever had in my fleet were a 1977 Moloney that we had to rewire and a 1987 Grand-that was the builder that sold you the vehicle stretched and painted and you had to do the interior yourself. I had a partner at that time who thought he could do the interior and it did not turn out top notch, to say the least. Still we made money with the unit and I sold it at a nice profit in 1988. What was the most ugly vehicle you ever saw ? For me it was the National Coach 113" inch cars with the console that looked like it belonged in a trailer park kitchen. Those units were "General Public Specials "- no way you could ever go to corporate/rich people/livery with a car like that. But alot of folks made serious money with them and National did build nice corporate cars. Their method of construction was ahead of the times and the owner was a great car guy. Anyone remember the beautiful Diamond Coachworks vehicles from Chicago that had two small windows instead of a long one in the stretch section ? How about Marquis Custom Coach that had the smoked glass partition that could turn from clear to dark with the touch of a switch ? What was your favorite car ? Today I viewed a stretch SUV at the repair shop that had evidently experienced extremely hard use. ( Drug and alcohol party people ! )Knowing who the owner was and in addition knowing that he trains his ex-sharecropper farm worker drivers to ignore any and all illegal behaviors I seriously thought about calling my sign shop and ordering GENERAL PUBLIC SPECIAL slap on labels for this unit and any other like it I run into. But like J.H.J. says, I got a grip on myself and walked away from the unit...

[Limo Bus Lord]

I own 2 120 Icon's and love them. I have owned Krystal's before and the are peices of junk. ECB stands behind there products where as krystal will fight you tooth and nail for a 15.00 switch that went out 2 days after warranty. Krystals paint sucks with all the EPA laws in California, it will start craking after about a year. I have had no problems with warranty with ECB.