Fanatec Warranty Expiration - Buyer Beware

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novadave

novadave

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Canada
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SUPERNOVADAVE
SUPERNOVADAVE
I thought i would let the public know about my recent problems with Fanatec.

on July-16-2009 i ordered a Turbo-s wheel from fanatec.
of course they charged me at the moment i placed the order.
after almost five months of excuses and waiting - according to them they were ready to ship out my wheel on November-30 -2009
well recently ( dec-19 ) i contacted there service dept. about a problem with the force feedback motor.
i just received a responce this morning stating that it is unfortunate but my warranty has expired as of November -30 -2011.
even though i received the wheel on December-29 -2009
and they also tell me the wheel is not repairable.
all it needs is the motor - so basically they are saying that they do not carry replacement parts.
this wheel was advertized as a limited collectors edition - am i supposed to throw it away because of a defective force feedback motor.
i could easily repair it in about one hour if i had a replacement motor.
for the moment i can still use it if i turn off the force feedback.
so basically i have lost a months warranty because they calculate that the warranty starts when it leaves the warehouse.
like any other product or company a warranty starts when the customer has received the product
i have to say that i am really pissed at them.

here is the responce i received this morning.

( Hi Dave,

thank you for your email and video.

Usually your wheel has to be replaced because it´s irreparable, but unfortunately it´s out of warranty.

As you see in the invoice, delivery-date was 30.11.2009

I´m sorry for that

Best Regards / Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Johannes Kirsch
(Fanatec Support Team) )
 
How'd it take a month between shipping and you receiving it?

In any case, if it is a collectors item and you used it, can't say anything for that but even if it is a month out of warranty, that is some BS. Is it not the same motor from other wheels where you could buy one and replace it yourself?
 
from the shipping date to the u.s. customs it took one week - then it took another week to clear u.s. customs - then on it`s way to canada customs and clearing another week - by the time i received it a month had gone by.

since it was shipped at the beginning of the holiday season it seems it is normal to take a month to get it to canada.
none the less it is not fair that we the customer loose time on the warranty because of fanatecs shipping process

not even a month out of warranty - it is only two weeks out of warranty

and they could send me a motor because they informed me that it would require that they have there technician remove it from a new wheel - it seems it is the same as there other model wheels - and they have no replacement part system - so when the warranty is up we are screwed if something goes wrong.
 
Did you ask if you could send it in for repair or buy replacement parts? If it is out of warranty then there shouldn't be any issue with you opening the wheel up. I've linked a video on how to take the base off. I've linked the first video of a series of 7 so skip ahead to the various parts that you need to know about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYQfWB9MHnE

This may be an option for you. Sorry to hear though.
 
Hi VWMaster.
yes i did ask them for a possibility of repair or a replacement motor to do the job myself.
opening up the wheel to diagnose the problem and repair it is also no issue.
i work as an engineer and design all types of components whether they be electronic or mechanical.
as i stated in the OP my issue is with the warranty and the fact that they can not sell any replacement parts because they do not have a replacement part system in place.
what this means is once the product is out of warranty throw it away if we have a problem.
as an example from what i understand with fanatec .
let`s say they order 10000 wheels from a factory they deal with in china - out of the 10000 they will keep a percentage of that amount to be salvaged for replacement parts - when a customer has a problem that is under warranty they would either replace your wheel or send you the part needed from the salvaged wheels in order for you to repair it yourself.
but once your warranty is up they will not sell you the part required because they need to keep the parts to send to customers who are still under warranty.
so if they come out with a new wheel every two years they expect us to keep buying a new wheel to replace the out of warranty wheel.
so far i am still waiting for a reply from them about a motor part # and the address of a company where i could purchase it from.
they told me in a e-mail that i could by the motor from anywhere else but them.
i think that really sucks - really bad service !!!.
thanks for the video links - i will look at them.
 
That is a really bad business model and that's all I can say about that.

Knowing this and going forward, have you tried eBay, Craigslist, or whatever sort of way you can get your hands on used products cheaply? If you can find a similar wheel with another broken part but has a good motor, I would hope you can buy it cheaply and salvage the one you have now. I mean, with a policy like they have, there are probably lots of broken wheels that people aren't fixing.
 
Hi.
so far i haven`t looked on ebay etc. etc.
for the moment i intend to keep after fanatec for a part#.
i intend to keep this wheel and hand it down to my grandkids to play with and in order to do that i will probably heavily modify it starting with an aluminum base case - remove the wheel rim circuit boards to install in a button box etc, etc.
it would be a good project to work on with the kids.

in all honesty i enjoy this wheel but the fanatec products i have purchased have been such a pain - when they work properly they are fun but unfortunately this is not always the case.

i thought i had a months warranty left when this latest problem happened.
but then they tell me it is out of warranty by two weeks.
then they say it is not repairable and they do not sell parts :ouch::ouch::ouch:
 
That's tough. I would look on ebay for some, we have three faulty wheels here for sale on ebay.

Have you posted on gtplanet, maybe someone has some spares.

I got my wheel a week after the invoice. I guess its not Fanatec's fault it takes a month to get delivered. If I lived in a remote place I would've tried to clear up the warranty thing at the time of buying.

It's sad how they won't help you though. You're one of the those who helped them to get where they are today and actually took a risk paying upfront months in advance.

Not sure what companies do start warranty on delivery except buying a car. Anything online is usually the ship date. If I bought a PC or ordered some PC parts, the warranty would be when shipped out and invoiced, not delivery. That's the problem with online.
 
Something is going wrong here (obviously). The Fanatec products have not changed so drastically from model to model to model. In the end they should be able to sell you a motor from another wheel. Even if it's a slightly different spec it should function very similarly. Like as far as I know the CSR is still using a very similar motor to the original PWTS. The motor was not listed as some of the significant upgrades through the various models so I'm really struggling with your issue. If it had slightly more or slightly less FFB, a bit more stable or a bit worse. I'm sure you'd rather have it do that than nothing at all. Regretfully I don't have any suggestions on how to escalate this. It's not like your asking for a free motor. You have it appears accepted that it is out of warranty and that it's crap luck. Once you said you wanted to buy a part I'm not sure why they wouldn't sell it to you. Have you asked about buying the innards of a GT2?
 
here is the last e-mail i received from fanatec on dec-22.

Hi Dave,


If you want, I also could inform me about the motor´s specifications that you could get one from anywhere else.



I also saw your thread on insidesimracing. Just for information:

There are guidelines we have to follow and unfortunately the warranty is over. You also have accepted our Terms and Conditions where the warranty exactly is pointed.



Best Regards / Mit freundlichen Grüßen



Johannes Kirsch

(Fanatec Support Team)



Endor AG
Seligenthaler Straße 16 a, D - 84034 Landshut
Telefon +49 (871) 9221 299 (Mo-Fr 14.00-16.00) (UTC+01:00) - Telefax +49 (871) 9221-221
Internet: www.ENDOR.ag www.FANATEC.com - E-Mail: e-support@fanatec.com
Sitz der Gesellschaft Landshut - Handelsregister Landshut HRB 5487
Vorstand: Thomas Jackermeier (Vorsitzender), Andrés Semsey
Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: Andreas Potthoff


i believe it is obvious that they could not care less about there customers once the warranty is up.
and i am still waiting for the motor part #.
they got my money and now they avoid me
 
Well you did agree on the warranty issue, so it's not that they don't care. My experience has been very good. When I got accepted into the beta test for the CSR Elite they responded within a day, usually less than that. When the load cell failed on my CSP's they responded in two hours, the next day it was on it's way (Free of any charges) to my house. I've had very good experience with Fanatec, it's just because the warranty ran out that they can't really provide help. You agreed to the Terms of Service, it sucks, but it's how it is.

I would think it would have to do with the fact that the Turbo S is out of stock. I'd imagine each motor would have to be tailored to each series of wheels, so it's not like they could gut a GT3 RS and take that motor.
 
crispychicken49
Well you did agree on the warranty issue, so it's not that they don't care. My experience has been very good. When I got accepted into the beta test for the CSR Elite they responded within a day, usually less than that. When the load cell failed on my CSP's they responded in two hours, the next day it was on it's way (Free of any charges) to my house. I've had very good experience with Fanatec, it's just because the warranty ran out that they can't really provide help. You agreed to the Terms of Service, it sucks, but it's how it is.

I would think it would have to do with the fact that the Turbo S is out of stock. I'd imagine each motor would have to be tailored to each series of wheels, so it's not like they could gut a GT3 RS and take that motor.
Click to expand...

Hi.
of course when we place an order we automatically agree with the terms.
but not many of us read the fine print or can even find it.

and as a matter of fact the motor is the same for the turbo-s - gt2 - gt3 - csr wheels .
eventually everything breaks down and will require replacement parts to get them running again.
in fanatecs case they remove a part from a complete wheel to send as a replacement part to a customer under warranty,
but when the warranty is up it`s tuff luck.
 
When my PWTS broke a month (belts snapped) or so ago and was out of warranty they told me they couldn't just send me replacement belts and that they would have to send a new GT2 base to me.

I thought this would be rather expensive but it was only €30 including shipping which I found to be very reasonable as it came with all electronics (minus main circuit board) and a new motor!

So I'm slightly confused as to why they didn't offer you the same service :odd:
 
on the 4th they responded to my e-mail by telling me that they would ask there technician if he could remove a motor from a wheel to sell to me for 10 euro + shipping.
i found that to be fair and am still waiting for them to send me the bill so i can pay for it so that they can ship it.
waiting - waiting - waiting
 
My CSR wheel is great but I think my GT2 wheel is a lemon. After a big hassle, they agreed to fix it and I shipped it to them. A month later I emailed them asking where it was and they said they never received it but they had a notice from USPS. Really??? So I complained and they fixed it partially and shipped me a non-working wheel. Now they are shipping me a board to fix some part on it and expect me to fix it. The wheel is not that old and it has been broken for almost 3 months now. I'm asking them for a new wheel or a partial refund (either way I'll give them their wheel back).
 
Hi Guys.
just like to say that i finally convinced Fanatec to sell me a motor and received it today.
it cost me 33.00 dollars and has taken over one and a half months to get it.
glad it is over with and now i can repair my wheel.
if anyone else has problems with Fanatec - keep at it and do not give up. :cheers:
 
novadave
Hi Guys.
just like to say that i finally convinced Fanatec to sell me a motor and received it today.
it cost me 33.00 dollars and has taken over one and a half months to get it.
glad it is over with and now i can repair my wheel.
if anyone else has problems with Fanatec - keep at it and do not give up. :cheers:
Click to expand...

Congrats! It's like winning the lottery.

They shipped me the part I needed to replace. With a little help from my significant other, I replaced the part without too much hassle. (my wife is very mechanically inclined) *chagrin* Unfortunately, it didn't solve the problem just yet.
 
Hi Yakapo.
what exactly is the problem with your wheel.
i will help if i can with your wheel
 
novadave
Hi Yakapo.
what exactly is the problem with your wheel.
i will help if i can with your wheel
Click to expand...

When you turn on the wheel it's ok for a second, then it turns by itself all the way to the left or the right and locks. I tried calibrating it on the pc and it still does the same thing. The sent me a small part to replace and after replacing it - same problem is still there.

Now fanatec has stopped answering my emails. This wheel is less than 1 year old and it's been broken for the last 3 1/2 months. If they had fixed it when I shipped it to them I wouldn't be stuck witha broken wheel.

I hope the next xbox 720 supports a logitech wheel.
 
Hi Yakapo
when you say it locks do you mean that you can not turn it without forcing it ?
which part did they send you - was it a sensor at the end of the motor ( close to a small black colored gear )
or was it the sensor mounted behind the large cog gear ( for the belt )
 
This is the old one that I removed. I can't believe fanatec is just ignoring me.


aauYfPaq.jpg
 
yakapo
This is the old one that I removed. I can't believe fanatec is just ignoring me.


aauYfPaq.jpg
Click to expand...
Hi.
the sensor in your photo is mounted at the end of the feedback motor - unfortunately it is not the proper part to repair your problem.
your problem is caused by the center calibration sensor - this sensor is mounted just behind the large belt cog wheel and to replace it you will need to completely disasemble the wheel base.
to help you locate the sensor the wire colors are ( red - orange - purple - black ).
take a look at the link i posted in one of the posts above and look at the photo of the wheel base - you can see the sensor.
 
I emailed them that they gave me the wrong sensor. I doubt they will respond. I lost Thomas' email address. Do you have it? That's how I got them to start working with me in the first place.
 
I'd be happy if they would just mail me the right sensor. I'm not looking forward to taking the whole thing apart but if I can get it working maybe I can sell it on ebay or craigslist and get something out of it.

Some people have posted that it sometimes takes several weeks for them to respond to emails. Perhaps I'll just keep emailing and see what happens.

I've looked around on gtplanet. Could you point me to a thread where he has posted? Thanks!!!
 
yakapo
I'd be happy if they would just mail me the right sensor. I'm not looking forward to taking the whole thing apart but if I can get it working maybe I can sell it on ebay or craigslist and get something out of it.

Some people have posted that it sometimes takes several weeks for them to respond to emails. Perhaps I'll just keep emailing and see what happens.

I've looked around on gtplanet. Could you point me to a thread where he has posted? Thanks!!!
Click to expand...

here it is - you will need to be a member to get access

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/member.php?u=115714
 

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