Fanatec - an absolute nightmare

Philmm · Dec 17, 2019

The absolute worst customer service in the world!! Horrible. I had an issue with FANATEC's Podium Racing Wheel F1 with DD1 from the first day I got it, instead of taking ownership of their defective product and replacing it (which every other company in the world would do), I got the run around for 2 weeks before they ask that I ship it back to them for a repair that they will cover the cost of. WHATTT?!!! I am now at over 1 month of having spent over $5000 and NEVER even had a chance to use it once. NOT EVEN ONCE!!! All I was able to do is look at it. Absolute BS and they don't care. I was originally told by their dealer that it would only take a day or two for the repair to happen... LOL what a joke!!! I'm over a MONTH of waiting now. The dealer apparently has sent multiple emails to follow up and ask what is happening with the repair, and we are getting zero answers. I bet it will be another month before we hear anything back and I may get to use it. Their products are sub par, obviously, with many issues (check it out online, they are probably so backed up in repairs they can't even mange them).
If they can't even stand by their product and just replace it (the product didn't work out of the box, defective on day 1) how are they going to be after 1 year or 2 years of ownership?? Find an alternative to buy from. This company is a complete joke.

gnoshme · Jan 8, 2020

@MarkR interesting comment on the need for a bunch of tools lying around.. I concur. I received a replacement plastic wheel back for my broken Elite CSL wheel with no instructions and no tools. Required Torx, Hex that I don't imagine everyone has lying around, and also if I didn't have better than typical quality small phillips head screw drivers it would have been a botch job. Replacing the back is not trivial, so again, anyone without experience in taking stuff apart would have been stranded as there are many steps that without some experience would lead to:

- how the hell do you get this off
- ****.. where did that spring just go across the room to
- how do I remove this ribbon cable from the board

I was lucky too. I was able to fix my SECOND broken wheel with the part, even though the part order had been suggested for my FIRST broken wheel - which support knew also had broken pins. If I hadn't ordered a second wheel in frustration at how slow things were going, and waited for that part (which I had to pay for) and bought a new wheel in the interim to get up and running again, I would have been down for 4 of the first 5 weeks of ownership. Spending cash is one thing on a $169 wheel to get up and running again, but that's about as much as I would be willing to drop.

Based on the fact that I caught the second wheel being thrashed to death by firmware / settings combo to back up my story on how the first wheel broke (they assumed I hadn't attached the rim bolt) they offered me a refund on the first wheel thank God.

If they read this thread, there are some things they need to learn:

- most companies have learned that if they provide excellent customer service they avoid creating people like us who will post negative warnings about them continuously.
- if something arrives DOA, overnight a replacement. It's the right thing to do
- if something stops working in 30 days, replace it for free.
- this is a community that does't want to sit around for days waiting for something to be resolved. Build processes to get people up and running as quickly as possible
- you might THINK you are being nice offering free shipping on replacement parts, but if you think sending something that weighs a couple of ounces to someone for free FedEx Ground is doing them a favor when it could be there much faster sent USPS Priority for the same money, and not giving them the option to pay for faster shipping themselves. you don't understand your customers.
- if at best you're going to add to a support ticket once a day, include any and all information that can be useful
- if at best you're going to add to a support ticket once a day, expect the wrath of your customers to come down on you like this

MarkR · Jan 10, 2020

I'm finally getting some sensible answers from Fanatec - they are sending me a replacement Pedal Arm Link for the V3 damper kit - apparently it's the actual V3 pedals themselves that have been built out of spec which caused the issue. You'd think quality control on £300 pedals would be better.

We're still 'discussing' the late delivery and delays due to the lost table clamp, they don't seem to want to give anything for the inconvenience but I'm not letting that one go just yet.

It's a shocker that they seem to be a company that you have to get very firm with (not rude but absolutely direct) to get an answer from. I prefer to buy from companies that see great customer service as a basic norm and like to delight people who spend their money with them.

gnoshme · Jan 10, 2020

MarkR said:
I'm finally getting some sensible answers from Fanatec - they are sending me a replacement Pedal Arm Link for the V3 damper kit - apparently it's the actual V3 pedals themselves that have been built out of spec which caused the issue. You'd think quality control on £300 pedals would be better.

We're still 'discussing' the late delivery and delays due to the lost table clamp, they don't seem to want to give anything for the inconvenience but I'm not letting that one go just yet.

It's a shocker that they seem to be a company that you have to get very firm with (not rude but absolutely direct) to get an answer from. I prefer to buy from companies that see great customer service as a basic norm and like to delight people who spend their money with them.

Part of it is cultural difference between US / UK and Germany. I live in the US now but remember very clearly when I lived in both Belgium and Germany how customer service is just different. Here in the US there's a combo of a) if as a customer I think I deserve something then I'm likely to get it and b) companies in most of the western world have smartened up and realized that the cost of not adjusting to provide (a) means threads like this, a reputation like this etc. There's much about the German culture though that just can't comprehend (b) as a strategy. It's offensive to them.

K

Vranq · Jan 10, 2020

This generalization is indeed offensive.

gnoshme · Jan 10, 2020

Vranq said:
This generalization is indeed offensive.

Sorry not my intention. Perhaps heavy handed.. I'm not trying to say ALL German companies are like this. I'm saying that when I look at my experiences of Fanatec, I can attribute some of the disconnect that leads to frustrations to the cultural differences, and I'm not just throwing out random assumptions.. like I said, I've lived there.

Furnace Inferno · Jan 11, 2020

Well making a generalisation German engineering is world renowned so maybe because their goods usually work it’s not something they have to worry about

.

In all seriousness though I’ve noticed they have changed their marketing from auto grade to enthusiast grade which I think is far more accurate. Nothing they make is automotive quality but all just high-end consumer gear. Just a number of weird material choices like aluminium bolts which lots of people have stripping issues with.

5-Card-Major · Apr 23, 2020

As someone who is shopping for sim racing equipment, these posts about Fanatec's alleged customer service problems & product deficiencies concern me a lot.

IMO however, I will say that human nature being what it is, marketing surveys generally reveal that people who are not happy with a product will tell/post, on average, 10 times more about problems w/ the product and/or service at multiple websites than people who are happy w/ a product and/or service. So, negative mentions will tend to be over-represented and praise posts under-represented.

This observation is based on my 39 years of corporate sales with various companies, including IBM.

1972 BMW '2002tii'

dud · Apr 23, 2020

5-Card-Major said:
As someone who is shopping for sim racing equipment, these posts about Fanatec's alleged customer service problems & product deficiencies concern me a lot.

IMO however, I will say that human nature being what it is, marketing surveys generally reveal that people who are not happy with a product will tell/post, on average, 10 times more about problems w/ the product and/or service at multiple websites than people who are happy w/ a product and/or service. So, negative mentions will tend to be over-represented and praise posts under-represented.

This observation is based on my 39 years of corporate sales with various companies, including IBM.

1972 BMW '2002tii'

Yeah, but you don't see the same bashing of any other vendor, whether it be less expensive (Logitech, Thrustmaster) or more expensive.

5-Card-Major · Apr 23, 2020

dud said:
Yeah, but you don't see the same bashing of any other vendor, whether it be less expensive (Logitech, Thrustmaster) or more expensive.

My phrase... "...concern me a lot..."

Heppsan · Apr 23, 2020

I have only had good experience with them so far.
Had a Handbrake that stopped working after a year, got a shipping label the next day to snd it in for repair, and after a week or so I got a brand new one sent to me.
Then a pin broke on my Formula black resently, was out of waranty by several years, but I could buy a replacement main cable for 5 euro to replace it myself.

5-Card-Major · Apr 24, 2020

Good news a good thing.

gpellis87 · Apr 24, 2020

I'm having a disappointing experience with them thus far. Purchased something that was listed in stock, received a completely shipped email, but no tracking information ever came. They emailed today to let me know they didn't have any stock and the estimated ship date was May 8. Nice.

Warren Dawes · Apr 24, 2020

Currently (during the corona lock-downs), many companys are having stock and shipping difficulties, so delays right now might not be a good indicator.

Re my experience, I've had G25 / G27 for more than 10 years and they have been very reliable. About a year ago, I decided to upgrade and went with Thrustmaster (TS PC) and it ended up in a nightmare of faulty products, continuous shipping costs, and zero support from Thrustmaster. In the end, I managed a refund from the retailer, and purchased a Fanatec CSW 2.5 and wheel. Best decision I've made, excellent quality, reliability, and service so far.

Of course, it's often just luck of the draw, and everyone will have different experiences.

gpellis87 · Apr 24, 2020

Warren Dawes said:
Currently (during the corona lock-downs), many companys are having stock and shipping difficulties, so delays right now might not be a good indicator.

Re my experience, I've had G25 / G27 for more than 10 years and they have been very reliable. About a year ago, I decided to upgrade and went with Thrustmaster (TS PC) and it ended up in a nightmare of faulty products, continuous shipping costs, and zero support from Thrustmaster. In the end, I managed a refund from the retailer, and purchased a Fanatec CSW 2.5 and wheel. Best decision I've made, excellent quality, reliability, and service so far.

Of course, it's often just luck of the draw, and everyone will have different experiences.

Yeah, agree about shopping delays. I've had zero issues with Thrustmaster, even had my TS-PC repaired. I'm sure Fanatec is fine, the communication is a problem when you call something shipped that clearly isn't.

Either way, looking forward to the pedals and my Accuforce.

blanes · Apr 24, 2020

Not to start a fight of "my wheels better than yours" etc. ... but I had numerous Fanatec wheels and always problems including a brand new one that simply blew up day one and they would not replace it saying it had shorted due to a power surge. However my V3 pedals have been fantastic and only issue with my Fanatec Shifter was a small spring which they promptly sent and I replaced myself.

In terms of DD Steering Wheels I gotta say I have had my original AccuForce Wheel since January 2015 and it continues to work brilliantly. I did have a repair couple of years back due to the control board dying ... but I caused that by breaking a data cable and trying to glue it back on then breaking a small connector ... anyway they replaced the control board which I sent back and the wheel continues to be an excellent Racing wheel and backed by a company who do stand behind their products absolutely 100% ... apparently Berney can rub some the wrong way but in my dealings with him he is always honest, direct and no nonsense ... some say abrupt but I actually like the way he does his biz and backs his products !

5-Card-Major · Apr 24, 2020

blanes said:
Not to start a fight of "my wheels better than yours" etc. ... but I had numerous Fanatec wheels and always problems including a brand new one that simply blew up day one and they would not replace it saying it had shorted due to a power surge. However my V3 pedals have been fantastic and only issue with my Fanatec Shifter was a small spring which they promptly sent and I replaced myself.

In terms of DD Steering Wheels I gotta say I have had my original AccuForce Wheel since January 2015 and it continues to work brilliantly. I did have a repair couple of years back due to the control board dying ... but I caused that by breaking a data cable and trying to glue it back on then breaking a small connector ... anyway they replaced the control board which I sent back and the wheel continues to be an excellent Racing wheel and backed by a company who do stand behind their products absolutely 100% ... apparently Berney can rub some the wrong way but in my dealings with him he is always honest, direct and no nonsense ... some say abrupt but I actually like the way he does his biz and backs his products !

5-Card-Major · Apr 24, 2020

blanes said:
Not to start a fight of "my wheels better than yours" etc. ... but I had numerous Fanatec wheels and always problems including a brand new one that simply blew up day one and they would not replace it saying it had shorted due to a power surge. However my V3 pedals have been fantastic and only issue with my Fanatec Shifter was a small spring which they promptly sent and I replaced myself.

In terms of DD Steering Wheels I gotta say I have had my original AccuForce Wheel since January 2015 and it continues to work brilliantly. I did have a repair couple of years back due to the control board dying ... but I caused that by breaking a data cable and trying to glue it back on then breaking a small connector ... anyway they replaced the control board which I sent back and the wheel continues to be an excellent Racing wheel and backed by a company who do stand behind their products absolutely 100% ... apparently Berney can rub some the wrong way but in my dealings with him he is always honest, direct and no nonsense ... some say abrupt but I actually like the way he does his biz and backs his products !

As a potential customer with some specific questions about the AccuForce WB, I've sent 2 emails to the SimXperience website, one to sales and the other to tech support. It's been about @ 10 days or so since the first sent email, and 4-5 days since the last one I sent.

...NO RESPONSE, and this is a potential sale for them, not customer complaint emails!!

Furnace Inferno · Apr 24, 2020

They are much smaller than a Fanatec so only have a few people working for them and from what I understand Darin Gangi who was dealing with that side of things has been let go because of Covid. Honestly people need to be a little more forgiving of time delays right now and see the bigger picture...

As to the whole discussion the way I see it, if I’m paying extra for a premium product, build quality should be part of that. The very fact it’s you get so many reports of issues is not good enough IMO.

Whilst they make good products performance wise I don’t trust their reliability because cost saving measures are implemented when for the same money you can get similar products which almost never break.

Just look at the failure rate of other high end DD wheels, it’s almost non-existent because using industrial gear gives you industrial reliability. Consumer products just don’t have that same bulletproof performance because their not designed for that. For example the industrial motors are designed to be on 24/7 which means in a year it’s raking up nearly 9000hrs, even if you raced 5 hours a day everyday it would take you nearly 5 years to hit that and it’s not going to be spinning up flat out 24/7 when you race.

Sure you don’t necessarily need that much but you know it will easily do the job when it’s over engineered.

5-Card-Major · Apr 24, 2020

Furnace Inferno said:
They are much smaller than a Fanatec so only have a few people working for them and from what I understand Darin Gangi who was dealing with that side of things has been let go because of Covid. Honestly people need to be a little more forgiving of time delays right now and see the bigger picture...

As to the whole discussion the way I see it, if I’m paying extra for a premium product, build quality should be part of that. The very fact it’s you get so many reports of issues is not good enough IMO.

Whilst they make good products performance wise I don’t trust their reliability because cost saving measures are implemented when for the same money you can get similar products which almost never break.

Just look at the failure rate of other high end DD wheels, it’s almost non-existent because using industrial gear gives you industrial reliability. Consumer products just don’t have that same bulletproof performance because their not designed for that. For example the industrial motors are designed to be on 24/7 which means in a year it’s raking up nearly 9000hrs, even if you raced 5 hours a day everyday it would take you nearly 5 years to hit that and it’s not going to be spinning up flat out 24/7 when you race.

Sure you don’t necessarily need that much but you know it will easily do the job when it’s over engineered.

I really hope I hear from them, as I am interested in their DD wheel.