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.

GEO147 · Jan 12, 2023

Yeah I get what you are saying and it's a good question but you should still be able to pay for a repair unless it was dropped from the top of the empire state building.
What if it was sold working perfectly and broke a week later for instance.
In this day and age where we are being told to recycle everything this policy seems a bit off the mark to me personally. And I say that as a very happy Fanatec customer for some years now.

Wreckoning · Jan 12, 2023

Without knowing whats wrong with it it’s difficult to understand what the issues are. I know Fanatec had some supply issues, do current DD1s have different components to older ones and spare are in short supply. Maybe the motor burnt out and melted the insides, who knows.

I agree this sort of kit should be repairable, but without knowing the specifics its a bit difficult to make a judgement on whether a repair would be viable. It‘s possible that a whole unit shipped from wherever these are made is a lot cheaper than the parts and labour of doing a “service centre” type repair if its really screwed.

Durge Driven · Jan 12, 2023

Spare for a thought for me.
Marketed as "Unbreakable" my BJ Sim Racing Shifter broke.
$600 for sequential shifter.
I contacted company in Spain and get message from google they won't accept my email lmao