About

What's with the Redpants name?

The Redpants nickname started a long time ago all because of an incredible "peacock" speech and the resulting pair of very red pants. When the original Redpants was first started in the US, the nickname was used for the company because it was so charactaristic of Rich and what he was doing.

Where are you located?

Redpants is based in Yokohama, Japan, and we keep all of our "in-stock at Redpants" items here. We also have suppliers and distributors located across the US as well as in Canada, England, Germany, and Poland.

What do the stock level notices mean in the Online Store?

Many of the products in my Online Store have inventory levels that are monitored and maintained. Meaning, I know how many I have on the shelf and restock them as needed. Some are not monitored, either because they're made-to-order or because they're shipped by suppliers or distributors and I don't have access to their inventory counts.

In Stock: This can mean three things:

1. If it's something kept in-stock at Redpants, it means it's currently on our shelves. But, we may not have more inventory available if my currentt stock sells out.
2. If it ships from one of our suppliers or distributors, it's reasonably expected to be in stock on their shelves.
3. If it's made-to-order, ti's available to order even though it will take some time to ship (BC Forged wheels and ECPS products, for example).

Note: It's possible that something listed as "In Stock" became unavailable from a supplier or distributor before we were notified, which can result in it being delayed from shipping or an order being cancelled.

In Stock (can be backordered): It's kept in-stock at Redpants and is currently available to ship. If it sells out, the product listing will change to "Available on backorder" and the item will still be available to order but won't ship until restocked.

Available on backorder: This can mean three things:

1. The items is usually kept in-stock at Redpants but all the inventory has sold out. More should be arriving soon and the item is expected to ship within a week or so.
2. The item is Special Order and will ship as soon as we receive it from our suppliers. This can take an additional week or two on top of the usual delivery timeframes.
3. The item may or may not be ready to ship in a timely manner from our suppliers (BC Racing coilovers, for example, which hsve historically shipped within a few days or could take several weeks).

Note: Orders that include items listed as being available on backorder will ship when the backordered items have arrived.

Sold Out: The item is not in stock and cannot be backordered. It's expected to become available sometime in the future but we don't know when, so we won't accept orders for it until we have an availability date.

Why are things missing from my order?

First thing's first, double and triple check the packaging. I get a couple emails a month from people saying that items were missing from their order, only for them to check again and find it was actually in the box all along. So, please thoroughly check the packaging material if you think something is missing that should be included.

The other thing is that some items ship separately, be it for packaging reasons or because they're coming from different suppliers. It's very possible that you'll get a second (or even third or fourth) shipment before your order has been completely fulfilled.

Why do you repackage the Aston Martin parts you sell?

Aston Martin doesn't package most items for consumers. Things like filters, thermostats, bolts, O-rings, etc, etc, are either in flimsy boxes or loose bags. Many parts aren't packaged at all. Why? Because only Aston's parts and service personnel were ever meant to see them. Mechanics want parts to be in working order and ready to install. They don't want to mess around with nice-looking packaging or anything else. They've got work to do. So I take the time to go through all the loose items that I order in bulk and package them individually for my customers. This makes them easier for me to keep sorted in my inventory, protects them in shipment from me to you, and helps you guys to identify each item when you receive them.

Are the OEM items actually from Aston Martin?

Everything listed as an OEM Aston Martin part is brand new and from Aston Martin. If I sell something meant to replace an Aston Martin part (such as oil bypass filter cover plate bolts for the 4.3L V8 engines, which I include in my oil change packages), I will state that they are non-OEM in the product description. I also sell things for Aston Martins that are the exact same part but I source them from other manufacturers, like Jaguar. In these situations, I'll list it as an OEM item from the source I got it from (in this example, it'd be along the lines of "this part for your Aston Martin is an OEM item from Jaguar" or something like that). I have a tendency to err on the side of over-clarification, but if you still have concerns about anything listed, please ask!

Are the parts sold by Redpants new or used?

The products sold by Redpants are brand new, unless explicitly stated otherwise. We do have used items for sale on rare occasions, but those will be clearly marked as such and listed as a "Garage Sale" item. We sometimes show pictures of used parts in product listings for new items. This is because we actually use most of the parts we sell, be it for normal usage or new product development on the famous Redpants V8 Vantage, so we can help you make informed decisions. The pictures might show the parts in use, but all the parts and products we sell are brand new unless a product listing specifically states otherwise.

How long does shipping take?

Shipping times are highly variable and impossible to accurately predict. We do everything we can to ensure shipments go smoothly, but disruptions and delays can and do happen.

Shipments within Japan are usually delivered in 1-3 business days. Shipments to Australia, Canada, East Asia, Europe, and New Zealand are usually delivered in about a week. Shipments to the US are wildly unpredictable due to the US Government's changes to customs and import regulations. US-bound shipments may take less than a week, or as much as 3 weeks. Domestic shipments within the US are unaffected and are typically delivered in 1-5 business days.

Special Order items typically take an additional 2 weeks on top of typical shipping times, but some may take longer depending on the item.

Each product listing has additional information about where the product is shipping from and if it is a Special Order item.

Are import duties included in shipping costs?

No. Any extra charges for import duties or taxes are due directly to the shipping company delivering the item or the government agency charging those fees. There are far too many variables and inconsistencies for Redpants to be able to accurately predict how much these will cost, or if there will be a charge at all for them, and Redpants is not involved with them whatsoever - they’re charged by the shipping company directly to the receiver of the delivery (the customer). We cannot change or affect the costs of these duties - those are controlled by the government in the customer's country.

Do you offer discounts?

Very rarely. Sometimes I'll find a random reason to put on a sale or offer a discount code for a limited time, but it really doesn't happen often.

I spend an absolutely massive amount of time helping people via email and personal messages, and even really long phone calls, plus researching topics to provide in-depth information, creating DIY guides, and developing new parts to improve the Aston Martin ownership experience. That leaves me little time or energy to haggle prices.

The sales from our Online store fund the work I put into my YouTube videos and DIY guides that show you guys how to work on your cars, and those save you far, far more money than a discount code ever would!

What about returns, refunds, customs/import duties, and other stuff like that?

Please read the Terms and Conditions page. It will answer more questions, plus it applies to all orders and interactions so it's worth reading.

Why haven’t you answered my email?

There are a few reasons this may have happened:

1. I didn’t get the email. I can’t answer emails I never received. Make sure you’re sending it to rich@redpants.jp (not .lol, .com, or any other email address or spelling). This can and does happen when people email me directly rather than using the Contact page.

2. I was given an email address I couldn’t reply to. If I don’t have a valid email address, or the correct email address, I can’t reply to your email. This can and does happen when people use the Contact page.

3. It’s about something I can’t or won’t be able to help with. This is usually the case when someone asks me to help them with something they bought from someone else. I’ll save this rant for another day but if you bought a product from someone else, I can’t and won’t get involved with it.

4. I’m way behind and haven’t gotten to it yet, or I completely missed it. I sometimes get a ton of emails so I may have just been behind, or it got losted in the pile, or something else. If I haven’t answered within a couple days, please feel free to send another email.

5. It was a message sent on social media. I really don’t like social media and spend little time on it. I don't use Facebook anymore and only get on Instagram once in a while. If you want to get hold of me, please use email.

6. Plot twist! I did answer it but you didn’t see it. My email may have gone to your Spam folder, or your email service provider blocked it (looking at you, Spectrum), or something else. Whatever the case, this does happen every once in a while, too.

Will you help me with something I bought from another vendor?

No. I'm too busy helping my own customers.

Do you accept PayPal?

No. PayPal does not provide adequate protection against fraud and, as a business, I cannot afford to lose as much money as I have through PayPal without protection. Even in cases of obvious fraud, PayPal has rarely been helpful, so I stopped using it entirely.

Why are you banned from 6speedonline?

I was a sponsor of that forum for a few years. Eventually my credit card they had on file for automatic payments expired. Spending a couple hundred dollars a month to sponsor a forum I almost never got on wasn't much of a priority so I didn't give them a new card to keep charging. Unpaid accounts automatically revert to "banned" to lock the account and force payment, but again I almost never get on forums anymore so I didn't bother.

The fact that I was listed as “banned" rather than being listed as a former vendor, to me, was extremely inappropriate and I decided I would no longer sponsor a forum (read: pay a company) that would use underhanded tactics like that to force renewals

What mods should I do to my car?

I hate giving a canned answer to this question so the answer usually isn’t straight-forward. I often tell people to address the basics first… Fix or change what’s bothering you. Not fast enough? Add power. Doesn’t ride well? Change the tires and suspension. Hate the brake dust? Swap out the pads. I talk to people regularly about modifying their cars, and the way I prefer to do it is to ask questions and then offer suggestions based on that person’s own answers. Not sure what to do? There’s tons of reading material on Redpants and I’m happy to help as well if you email me.

Who makes your private-label Redpants products?

Some of the products I make myself, and for others I work with a variety of manufacturers in Japan and the United States. I choose manufacturers based on a number of requirements, such as capability, availability, cost, and quality. I may stop offering a Redpants product if any of these factors change.