Just a quick question for you all. I was planning on buying some rims from WheelMax but I've heard about some people having bad experiences with them. I've also read post from people who haven't had any problems with WheelMax. Any feedback you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
-Jeff
WheelMax

 

i've heard both good and bad...def more bad then good experiences but it sounds like a YMMV experience

 

I know I'm resurrecting a very old thread, but this one had wheelmax in the title and seemed like the right spot and I want to my experience in an easy spot for others to find.

I just ordered Exel Ennios from these guys - do not, repeat do not do business with these people.

1) The wheels are suspect quality at best. It took four - yes four - trips to the installer to get them balanced correctly. At one point, we thought one was defective. I'm not 100% satisfied, but can live with them because returning them is not and option. If you are performance minded, stay away. They'll drive you crazy.

2) I suppose WheelMax has the same return policy as most on-line vendors. Read this carefully. The total bill for my wheels was $600. If I were to return them, it would cost me $200 for the initial mount and re-mount, $50 to ship back, $100 restock fee, and they reserve the right to charge you an additional 50% (or $300) restock fee if they are less than perfect condition (and they get to decide). That's $650 folks, so you'll loose all your money if you return.

3) While customer service was easy to reach, they were no help. The most frustrating part was they'd change their story every time I called - and this was dealing with the same person. We'd agree to something, I'd go do it, and I'd call back and suddenly the deal has changed. This happened multiple times. The one example was with (what we thought was) the defective wheel. I got a letter from the installer (as instructed) saying it was defective - this was to be the trigger for them to ship me a wheel, I'd remove the bad one, and ship it back. Oh no - when I faxed the letter then the deal changed - I was to put the bad one in the mail, and that would trigger a new wheel to be sent. Luckily I had my OEM rims still. So get this - if they do ship you a bad wheel, AND YOU CAN PROVE IT, they'll still expect you to remove it, ship it back, let them test if it's defective, and if they agree, they'll ship you a new one. If they don't, it's like a return, which means you'll likely eat it and have to buy a new wheel or have the old one shipped back.

Bottom line - anything you send back they get to decide if it's suitable to return or exchange. They have no reason to look out for you, and they won't.

My advice: if you were fixing to spend $150 per wheel anyway, save a little extra and get a $200-$250 wheel instead from a reputable brand and vendor. The extra $200-400 will pay for itself 10 times over just by avoiding Wheelmax.

 

this is why i love ebay or the black market

 

i've said before that their excel line of wheels is of questionable quality, but i never had any issues with them in terms of service. however, i haven't used that website since i bought rims for my civic in 2004

 

^^ on one hand, I think all on-line retailers will have difficult return policies for good reason. I expect they have to deal with a lot of people who get new wheels, ride for 30 days, and decide they don't like them and want a refund. So, I can see in order to run such a business, you'd require a restrictive return policy.

My problem with wheelmax was that they were just as restrictive when I thought I had a defective wheel, which they should have been much better about. The customer service person all but lied to me, changing what we agreed to with every phone call - and has yet to make good on the last promise they made 5 days ago. If you have a questionable product and a pain-in-the-butt return policy, it's just trouble.