| Caravanshaka |
10-05-2009 12:39 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by kdo2milger
(Post 223195)
did they not ship the replacement wheel yet?
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hell no, that'll take at least 2 weeks, probably 4 months....
There are more issues with the finish.
E-mail sent to forgestar and Mike at DDM:
Quote:
First off, I was told by Vince that they were making an entirely new set of wheels for me. What I got in the mail were the re-powdercoated ones. The bolt holes were not bare metal like they are on your normal wheels, so I can tell the difference. Why was I not sent the new wheels as promised? On top of this, I was sent the old center caps when I was supposed to get the new ones as well.
The quality issues - I'm going to start with what I noticed as soon as I opened the boxes: The first wheel I opened I was a little disappointed with the finish. It wasn't gloss like I've seen in pictures, it was more of a stain and had a dull reflection to it. the other 3 wheels I opened looked great, nice gloss to them and the only issue I found was some pinstriping paint on one of the spokes that I was able to remove with a fingernail.
Putting all 4 wheels next to each other, in person you can easily see the 1 wheel that was more of a satin finish. Even my wife said "why does that one look different" before I said anything about the wheels. Now, on the car, it doesn't look as bad, but you can still if you pay close enough attention to it. I believe Mike has forwarded some pictures of the finish difference
Now, after I got the tires mounted and everything installed on the car, I noticed more problems: Once I had the wheels installed I rolled the car out of the garage and was washing it for some pictures. When I got to the wheels I noticed a brigher reflection coming from some of the spots on the wheels on the inside parts of the spokes. I got closer to inspect it and realized that the powder or paint didn't entirely cover the metal inside some of the spokes where the 'U' bends are. You can flat out see bare metal in there, and it was reflecting the sun and can pretty easily be seen by anyone walking beside the car. After looking at all 4 wheels, not a single one was covered entirely with the finish. On top of this, part of the pinstripe on the satin-finish wheel scraped off when I was cleaning it with a cloth and carwash soap…
I have had a set of Ruff Racing wheels that cost me $550 shipped for the same size wheels as these on my old 350z that had a better overall fit and finish. If I came across this exact set of forgestar wheels in a shop, I would not expect to see a price tag over $700, the quality of the finish just looks too cheap to be any higher.
By the way, this is what I have gone through these past 4 months waiting for the wheels…just to give you an idea:
Monday, June 08, 2009 Wheels ordered
Week 2 - Told that the wheels have been finished, just need bolt holes drilled and pinstripes done
Week 3 - Told that the wheels had defects and they had to send them back to be re-finished
Week 6 - Told the new system us up and running, and the delays should stop. New shipping date is scheduled for July 30th(a week later) but they are hoping to be done sooner
Week 7 - Told the wheels won't ship on time, they are just now scheduling the pinstriper to come in
Week 8 - Told the wheels should be finished today, pinstriped tomorrow, shipped the day after
Week 9 - Told the wheels still aren't back from powdercoating, they were avoiding talking to my dealer to even tell him this
Week 9 - Told the powdercoater is the problem, and they are now supposed to be powdercoated by August 17th (a few days later)
Week 10 - New story, was told that the piano black finish was back-ordered and everything up to this point has been wrong. They instead got some titanium wheels and are going to strip that finish and powdercoat them in a gloss black.
Week 11 - Wheels went to the powdercoater, and got sent back saying they weren't stripped enough. Wheels went back to the powdercoater and should be done, pinstriped, and shipped by August 25th.
Week 12 - August 26th rolls around and I am told that 3 wheels are done, 1 had a "defect" in the finish so had to go back and get re-powdercoated. This is after a forgestar rep told me that multiple powdercoating heating cycles can cause issues with the structrual integrity of the wheel. They are "thinking" it should be back and finished by friday or monday (31st)
Week 12 - Was offered to wait another 2-4 weeks for a brand new set of wheels to avoid "re-powdercoating", or to just have them re-powdercoat the 1 wheel and ship them to me.
Week 13 - Was told the wheels are still at the stripper, and supposed to be off to the powdercoater in the next couple days. Keep in mind this has been 3 business days since I told them to refinish the 1 wheel.
Week 13 - Was given a completion date of Sep 30th (an additional month) for a new set of wheels. Told them to send me whichever ones would get here first as longa s they pass quality control
Week 14 - Was told the wheels are at the powdercoater, expected to be back by Thursday of this week, and hoping to have them pinstriped and shipped by the end of the week
Week 15 - Monday, wheels still aren't back from the powdercoater
Week 15 - Wheels returned from the powdercoater on Wednesday, asked for an ETA on getting them pinstriped with no response
Week 15 - Spoke with Peter on Thursday at 5pm local time, he said the wheels are sitting and awaiting the go-ahead from Vince to pinstripe but Vince didn't come in today. He said if pinstriped Friday, they will ship Monday the 21st
Week 15 - Vince tells me the re-finished wheels are not perfect, so he wants to make a new set for me. "They should be done by next week"
Week 16 - Vince said "if everything stays on schedule we can do the pinstriping on Friday". This means shipping on Monday, September 28th.
Week 17 - Monday, was told the pinstriper didn't show up on Friday but he is there pinstriping the wheels right now
Week 17 - Wheels shipped via UPS from Forgestar on Tuesday, 9/29 (Day 113). Scheduled Delivery Date of Friday, 10/2 (Day 116).
116 days have passed since ordered
16.6 weeks have passed since ordered
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