UNCTYPE-S

Well I thought about just keeping my mouth shut but figured I would give the warning to all interested parties and buying direct with this company. I would only hope others would do this out of respect for our local Infiniti community.

This story is similar to TeRRoRiFiC35's story but slightly different.

Below is a cliffnote version of my story and what I went through the last 6 weeks. Keep in mind the reason why buyers like me get so frustrated is because we don't have the weather you West Coast and FL people do. We have a certain timeframe of nice weather and when were quoted a date range, we expect it to be within that time otherwise we might as well wait til next yr.

For the record, I am well aware of the custom wheel, "it takes time to make" bull****. Here's an idea...don't take someones hard earned money and tell a potential buyer a timeframe if you're not going to follow through with it. Tell the truth! So here we go....

~1st week - week of May 17th - Purchased Forgestar F14F 2pc wheels. Told build time is 4-6 weeks.
~2nd week - currently being built
~3rd week - asked for an update. Sales rep didnt really know.
~4th week - Rep went to manufacturer. Wheels were being powder coated.
~5th week - (Monday) told the wheels were assembled and shipping will be Thursday or Friday. Sweet right?
~5th week - ask for tracking number on Friday since I was told the above. Rep tells me, only 2 of 4 wheels were assembled. They didnt have the parts for the other 2 wheels as the parts were discontinued. Asked why I wasnt told this WEEKS AGO before I even ordered and they claim they didnt know from the manufacture as they dont have a clue to their inventory. Since they still technically have another week to come up with a solution, I waited.
~6th week - "Solution" time! They offered me either 4 wheels of a bigger size or keep the 2 assembled wheels and 2 other ones that are bigger. I say "How about choice C and get me what I ordered!" THEN they offer me the 3pc (more expensive) wheel for the price I paid for the 2pc wheel. build time would be another 4-6weeks (are you kidding me?)

I demanded a refund or I would take it up with my bank who would've claimed a dispute again Forgestar. Refund of my 50% purchase was made on 7/7 free and clear.

This was a very shady situation and just poor customer service all around. How do you tell me they are assembled and going to ship on Thurs/Fri and then proceed to tell me on THAT Friday that only 2 are assembled and the other 2 aren't. What a waste of 5 weeks and I will never refer any business to this company in the future.

Some of you with the F14's had good experiences and that is great, but for you forged 2 and 3pc buyers, beware of this before purchasing from them.

I hope this information was helpful to you and if any questions, I would be happy to help. Sorry for the long rant.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

it seems they at least made it right by refunding your money though, but indeed it does suck that it took so long though, and having to wait (and yes the same situation here, with the nice weather)

UNCTYPE-S

Refunding my money was about the only right thing they did for me. I'm happy to of walked away without any attorneys being involved. Learned my lesson, bought another wheel IN STOCK and will be here by Monday.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

only issue with stock though, is that they won't fit perfect , but sometimes you have to be willing to play the wait game (but this was a little extreme though, they should at least try to deliver on time, cause if they tell me the wait ahead of time, i don't have too many issues with it)

UNCTYPE-S

Why wouldn't they fit perfect? They had exactly my fitment in stock. I'm not going too aggressive as it's my daily driver so the offset between the old wheel and this one is very similar. I should be OK.

Ya, if they told me 6-8 weeks or 8-10weeks, etc...I would've just waited to order in the fall or winter so I would have them by spring. Would not have had a problem with that.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

so why did you order them custom in the first place then?, if somebody carried them in stock

UNCTYPE-S

^Went custom because I liked the wheel design, was within my price range and very rare wheel within the G community.

Bought this new different wheel in stock from a completely different company (Volk) whos offset is close to what I ordered with the custom wheel.

d-townhakuzo

I have Forgestars. A very close family friend owns the only authorized shop in Dallas. He says they always give him great customer service. Maybe because he is a business and buys numerous rims from them. Then again I know individuals with great experiences too. sounds like you got a little unlucky.

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

Those mother fuckers..

glad you got your $$$ back.

SuperTrooper169

iTrader: (2)

I'd be disappointed too spending that much money on custom wheels and not get good customer service. You'd think since they're getting top MSRP for them they'd go above and beyond for you, but doesn't sound like that was the case at all. Glad at least you got your money back without too much hassle.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Unfortunate situation and a waste of time, but at least it worked out and you will be rolling on new wheels very soon.

invisiblewar

They offered you a 3piece for the same price. Even if they would have to build them, in my eyes thats a pretty generous offer. Maybe its me and Im not reading everything in its entirety but I dont see what the issue is other than it took along time for the wheels

Bearcat94

Fixed.

oonowindoo

If they have refunded you the $ right away and they offered you upgrade for free, then they are a good company. Alot of the times it is not their fault technically and when they offer you upgrade, they are losing profit to make you happy because trust me those wheels are NOT made in house and their suppliers won't offer free upgrade to them.

I was in automotive industry (aftermarket) for almost 10 years and it is very normal to wait 2-4 weeks longer than what they orginally estimated because they do not manufacture everything in house and parts do get backordered/discontinued or they were told the false information. This is especially true in custom wheel industry (Forgestar, DPE, HRE, Iforged and Volks if Mackin doesnt have any)

In this situation, i believe they took your order, and then they place their order with whoever the sub-contracting to make the wheels. When you called, then they would call their supplier to check the status and usually most of the suppliers will say oh it is almost there.. 1-2 more weeks. then they would tell you 1-2 more weeks. But sometimes that is just how it is.

That is how that whole industry is. If you want volks and Mackin doesn't have them in stock, then good luck, they would tell you 4-6 weeks but in reality most of the people wait for 2-3 months, sometimes longer.

Things like this happen almost everyday:

Customer called to order XXXX and we didn't have any in stock and we check with our distributor/suppliers, and they told us they have it in stock.
We tell the customer they will be ready tomorrow
When we go pick it up from our supplier, they might tell us oh there is a system error, apparently we dont have them in stock but can order from manufacture 2 weeks ETA
Now, calling the customer, we don't have them in stock and they can be ordered. 2 weeks ETA
2 weeks past, customer called and we call supplier, WHERE THE HELL IS IT??
Suppliers check with manufacture - sorry back order 1 month
We tell the customer: sorry they are back ordered 1 month

So you tell me whose fault is it?

oonowindoo

I have seen custom wheel companies that are far FAR worse than what you just described.

IMO, the $1000-1500 saving from the 3pc wheels is worth the additional 4-6 weeks of your time.

If i were you, i would call back forgestar and tell that rep who helped you that you would take the 3pc offer but make sure he PERSONALLY stay on top of your order and call you if they can't make the deadline before you call them.

UNCTYPE-S

^ Regarding the couple comments about taking the 3pc wheel offer.....FUCK THAT!!! They just strung me around for 6 weeks. Do you think I'm going to take them up on their offer, risk another 6 weeks and even give them my business after they screwed up once? No.

I don't care if people have had far worse scenarios than me. I care about myself. I was told 4-6 weeks. If the nature of the custom industry is that they always delay past that time then either tell me the truth before I slam $1500 into their bank or give me my money back. It's very simple. I am not in the wrong here.

S14 n Tsx

I am used it now.

When I ordered my Volk TE, took me over 2 1/2 months to get mine. They told me that it will only take about 4-5 weeks.
When they say 4-5 weeks, it means 6-8 weeks, IMO.

phee

iTrader: (5)

i dont see how two extrA weeks was unacceptable..they had a legitimate reason for being late and they even offered to remedy it at their cost.. i know people who wait months for wheels.

invisiblewar

Yeah no offense but you just seem butthurt that everything didnt go according to plan. I understand its frustrating that it didnt happen the way it should of. I dont know if it needs to be said and youre a few years older than me so I think you should know.
Things dont always go according to plans. They admitted to the mess up and even offered to upgrade you to an even better wheel. That seems like a reasonable fix for them making a mistake.

invisiblewar

And I think most people here would gladly wait an extra 4-6 weeks for 3pc wheels. Do you have wheels on the car now anyways? if so, whats the hurry?

UNCTYPE-S

You obviously aren't comprehending my story.
How would you feel if someone told you your wheels were assembled and shipping in a couple of days, then when YOU follow up (I always had to initiate the status update) they tell you only 2 of the wheels are assembled and the other 2 the manufacturer discontinued the part?

Again, it wasn't that everything "didn't go according to plan"....it was the fact that they LIED to me for 6 weeks. The Forgestar rep told me he drove over there and said ALL wheels were getting installed. Then he tells me only 2 out of 4 are ready and the other 2 they can't make?

Sorry but that's shady as fuck and I don't care if they offered me a better wheel or not, it wasn't just a delay..it was a lie the whole time and a company like that does not deserve my business.

Bearcat94

I agree with the OP:

- Don't tell me 4 weeks if it's going to take 8. And,
- Don't take my money, string me along for 5 weeks, tell me "shipping Friday", then on Friday tell me, "Oh, sorry, that size is discontinued".

Complete "customer service".

jjashaa

iTrader: (23)

did you talk to the same guy you called the first time every time you called?...

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Unfortunate, but they did the right thing.

We all make mistakes and they clearly didn't have good communication throughout the supply/build chain but they offered you a higher end model for the same amount of money, meaning you not only were getting your rims, but you were getting the difference of the upgrade for free. The only thing lost, time? Oh well. IMO you shafted yourself by only getting refunded what you paid AND opting for something else in stock that clearly wasn't what you had your heart set on.

This thread made me feel like I WOULD do business with them if I was in the market for wheels, ironically. If they are on a forum somewhere with other manufacturers, I would venture to say they could start a similar thread about customer's they'd prefer never to deal with either. No offense, just my view.

phee

iTrader: (5)

about me not comprehending your story.. it wasn't that complicated.

keep in mind that i don't HAVE to agree with you in order to understand.

UNCTYPE-S

Yessir.

Again, what they offered was great, no doubt, but I was not about to accept their deal, risk getting the run around again after 6wks of bullshit.


Sure, you don't have to agree with my decision but they also didn't give me a "legitament reason" for the delay which makes no sense in your post.

They fuckin lied to me or at least had their head in their ass for 6wks.
You would think they keep in touch w/ their manufacturers to see what parts are available and what aren't. It's like a case of, take my money now, figure it out later.

oonowindoo

I understand why you are pissed off but it is what it is. people in car industry are not as responsible as others. Even if they try to be, sometimes it is really out of their control.

I am not defending Forgestar since i am not TOO familiar with them but i know aftermarket auto industry as a whole is just like this, from wheels, wholesale, retails. All the same.

phee

iTrader: (5)

seems like a legitimate reason to me

besides, you have no proof that they were lying.

UNCTYPE-S

My point was to share my story and alert others. I know this happens alot but some people don't share with their fellow car communities.

If that's their legitimate reason, I should have been told this before I spent $3000 on wheels and waited 6 wks for nothing.

I have about 20 back n forth emails regarding the above. Wanted to make sure everything was documented.

Crazy Bimmer

They took full payment even before the wheels were ready?

UNCTYPE-S

No, they took half as mentioned in my original post but technically I committed to a full payment that was never fulfilled.

synth19

Yeah, it sucks but glad you got a full refund. The problem with any custom wheels is the downtime and expected/unexpected delays... not to mention bad communication. I don't know one wheel manufacturer who excels at communication. The only exception would be maybe a wheel vendor that deals directly with a more established wheel manufacturer.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

I don't know about others, but when I spend my money and the vendor gives me a timeframe and other terms and conditions of the purchase, then I expect them to abide by them. That's how business should be done.

Now, it could be an honest and legitimate mistake. That's fine and can be worked out. I'm just saying, some people don't have the "meh, it's another 4-6 weeks, what's the big deal?" mentality. If you tell me one thing, only to say something else later, that's not acceptable, especially after 6 weeks. In my world, that's a lifetime.

A responsible business would contact the supplier/manufacturer to acquire information before giving the customer a timeframe. If not initially, then throughout the process.

oonowindoo

In theory, yes.

If you are dealing with the manuf directly, then yes if they give you a time frame then they should stick to it but when you are dealing with a company and a 3rd party supplier then a lot of things could go wrong.

The company could acquire all the information they want but the supplier could simply say " not gonna be done for another 1-2 weeks" the day before, then the retailer will look like they were lying to the customer. Customer will want the retail the "abide" the purchase agreement.. yah with what? The retailer can't magically make the wheel appear out of nowhere.

Since there are only a # of "Suppliers" in custom wheel industry, you can't just simply change a supplier.

When this whole industry is like this, then what can you do? not buying the parts? This happens wayyyyy too often regardless who the "retailer" is because there is really not much they can do.

So if the retailer is willing to give you a full refund or take a loss to give you an upgrade then i would say the company is a good company.

UNCTYPE-S

Amen! I'm in a very professional sales role with my job which involves updating my customers, giving them accurate information, dates, transit times, etc... so that they can update their customers also. I would never handle a situation like they did. Then again, these are wheels we are talking about. Nothing too high in value.

FYI I dealt with Forgestar directly because they had the best price and I wanted to avoid most common 3rd party issues. Welp, that didn't work as well.

oonowindoo

By 3rd party i mean the ppl who Actually produce those wheels.. Forgestar is just the middle man... i am surprised that you havent noticed from the the things we said.

UNCTYPE-S

Oh, then yes. They work with a separate manufacturer and the major issue from the start was the communication between both companies, resulting in relaying false information to the buyer.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

I agree with you on several points. I know there are delays. That's just the dark side of supply chain. But I'm emphasizing the communication and knowledge part of it. This isn't just a delay. It's a discontinued item. If you are going to sell stuff, you should know about it, most importantly whether it's even available or not.

To me, it sounds like the middle man did the bare minimum in terms of following up with the order. Whenever the customer inquired about the status, they probably either just guessed or got the most minimum of info from the manufacturer. Had they bothered to look into it further, they would have found out sooner that the product had been discontinued. I just can't fathom being a salesperson and selling products to customers without knowing whether it's even available or not. I personally would feel like a dumbass.

Having said that, I think they offered acceptable alternate solutions. It's just that the OP didn't want to risk any more delays or wait longer which I would probably have made the same decision. There are many other options out there. There is no shortage of aftermarket wheels. Pick up a catalog, go to tirerack.com, etc.

.02

UNCTYPE-S

^Correct. The communication was the kicker. This guy told me (in email), he went over to the manufacturer, saw the wheels being assembled and should be shipped soon. Then he tells me 2 wheels are short of discontinued parts? Stories are bogus.

oonowindoo

Yes, unless you are buying something that is "in stock" then you will always have the risk of delays and it is very likely that he will see the delays again from another company.

From my personal experience, i have seen more "unexpected delays" than people who actually got their wheels "on time". The reason i suggest OP to take the deal is #1 it is a good deal #2, usually the 2nd time around, the sales rep will personally follow up with the Manuf to make sure the OP gets what he wants THIS time. Honestly, if it was a new order, he probably just took the order and forget about it until the wheels are finished. But unless he s a total ass, which it does not sound like he is, then i think OP would have better chance of getting his wheels on time with Forgestar this time than with another company.

If not, then i hope OP understands that and next time if another company tells him 4-6 weeks, just be prepared to wait a little longer if there is a delay.