mcduck

For those who jumped on the first Iforged Group Buy, I'm wondering what your overall impression was of the process of ordering, dealing with iForged, the wait, and the final product.

I'm wondering because I'm somewhat disappointed. I'm not trying to bad mouth iForged or Vince. I just want to see if everyone else's experience has been better than mine. I'm hoping everything will work out quickly and I will have my wheels soon. However, here are the issues I have so far and am wondering if I'm the only one...

• First... everytime I talk to Vince it sounds like he is on a bad celphone that is breaking up half the time. So, it is hard to understand what he is saying. That's a business you're running for goodness sake... spend a little money on a good phone and phone service!
• I ordered my wheels at the tail end of the 1st group buy (Feb 6th) and am still waiting. Anyone else still waiting?
• Part of the point above may be explained by this... I clearly wrote on my order "Do not ship before March 15th". Somehow this was interpretted as "Do not build until after March 15th"... needless to say I was quite upset about this miscommunication as it moved my wheels that much further back
• There seems to be a decided lack of certainty on completion dates. I (and I know others) have repeatedly recieved multiple times the "Waiting on parts to complete your wheels" or "Your wheels will ship Monday" responses. How can you not know when you will receive parts or how long construction will take?
• Lack of communication... I don't know what happens to my voicemail messages or where my emails go... but neither ever get answered. The only way I have any discussion is if the receptionist pages Vince and he answers.

I realize these are custom made wheels and they take longer, but I have now been waiting almost 10 weeks and, not only do I not have my wheels, but I can't even get a clear answer on WHEN I will have my wheels. On the flipside, iForged has had my 50%+ deposit since day 1.... Feb 6th

I hope the rest of you are having better luck and that I will soon. If I don't get some definite information by the end of next week, I think I will be cancelling my order and going with SSRs instead.

R1Rider

At the moment, I'm not disappointed with iForged. The ordering process was simple. Vince answered my questions and set me up with an offset he recommended would look good on the Z.

I'll have to agree with you, that Vince's phone isn't the greatest. Sounds like a cheap wireless or bad speaker phone. Anyways, it has not been that big of a problem with me communicating with him. I've pretty much stuck with e-mail.

I ordered on 1-28-03. I'm still waiting too. Last email from Vince stated they would ship this Wednesday. I'll follow up with him near the end of the day Wednesday to verify the shipment or get another ETA.

I've gotten several of the "They'll ship next week" answers. At this time, it's not a big deal to me. I keep reminding myself that these wheels are being custom made. Plus, from looking at the pics of a couple of member's wheels, it will be worth the wait. Granted, if they are not in my garage by the end of May, then I might have to call and complain to Vince and/or his boss, or the owner of the company. But I don't think it will come to that.

iForged charged my card twice at the beginning of my order. I just figured they were getting the entire payment to begin with. Not a problem with me. Vince stated in a recent mail to me that this was a mistake and that they would credit me back until my wheels shipped. Again, it didn't really matter to me. As long as I get my wheels and iForged gets their money, I could care less if I pay half up front and half at shipment or pay it all up front. Just wanted to state that Vince found a mistake in the order/billing process and he was taking care of it.

mcduck

Yeah... this is what I've been telling myself, too. I've just been getting more frustrated because I cannot get any answer on when my wheels will ship. If it takes 2 more weeks... that's fine, but I want some commitment on completion now. I've waited over two months and that is long enough already.

I could have already been rolling on some SSR GT1s by now...

R1Rider
What email address did you contact Vince through? I've tried using the one linked on this site and the link on the iForge site and I never get a response to my emails.

DrDrilZ

so is this how HRE handles orders also? im wondering if all custom wheel manufacturers take this long?

Brad4rdHay

Mine was fine. It took three weeks for my wheels to come...which was because I was blessed with great tmming. My only complaint has little to do with iFoged, and more to do with myself: I wished I ordered different offsets from the get go. I ended up sending them back in to be re-offseted. Again, not Vince's fault, just mine. If he had moreexperience with the car, then he might have sugested mocing the fronts out farther than they were, but I was one of the first 350z he did, and he was being cautious not to have anything rub or wear down.

Remember, while they may seem a little rushed and overwhemled, thats probably because they are. They seem like a fairly small buisness, and they are getting lots of orders, much more than just the ones on this site. So i back Vince up, and just say try to be patient.

R1Rider

I've just been sending an e-mail with "My350Z.COM Group Buy Order Inquiry" in the subject to vwong@iforged.com

I don't get chatty in my emails, just something asking the status of my order and an estimated delivery date. Vince has replied to them all. Maybe not the same day that I sent the email, but he did reply. If I had not received any response from him at all, then I might have some concern. From one of the latest email's I have received, it sounds like iForged out-sources some of the work. Vince said that it takes this place a couple of weeks to do what they do.

On one of my more impatient days, I copied Sam Tseng - stseng@iforged.com - on the email that I sent Vince. From the web site, Sam is in charge of financial and customer service aspects at iForged. I figured that it wouldn't hurt to let someone else, especially a customer service person, at iForged know that I was wanting information concerning my order.

mannZ

Wait a minute!

Iforged charge me twice at the begining of my order too.
The second charge was only a week after.
The day before I ordered I spoke to Vince and he said that they're build time is much quicker know and it should be out within 1-2 weeks. So I thought that they would be coming soon.
I ordered on Jan. 29 and still haven't got my wheels so you do the math....10 weeks

I am contacting him right now to get this correct so I am not billed again.

mannZ

I just got off the phone with Vince about my wheel status and billing.

Billing:
He stated that this was an error that they thought they had caught all occurances of. They are going to credit me back the second charge and bill me once my wheels are shipped.

Wheels:
They have recieved the longer pad that they have been waiting on and they are working on them currently.

As far as my satisfaction is concerned, I am still happy to be getting these wheels. I understand that I am getting a great deal on these wheels and there is nothing else I would rather have. According to other customers the quality and craftsmanship is top notch. I still haven't recieved my car yet so the wait is not horrible for me. If I had my G35c when I ordered I would not be happy right now. Hopefully I will get my wheels before my coupe.

damen

well i spoke with vince yesterday and he said that my wheels should go out later this week. it's been around 5 to 6 weeks. i'm being patient because i know the quaility will be worth it. i'm hoping they will be here in a week because it takes 3 to 5 days to ship.

jran76

iTrader: (1)

Everything went as stated for me. I was a little disappointed about the lack of communication, but it was not a major issue.

I ordered my wheels on Jan. 28th, recieved them about 2+ weeks ago.

After I faxed the order in, I heard nothting as to whether the order was recieved, when the wheels were coming, nothing. But, I NEVER called, emailed, so it was partly my fault. I did finally send an email out at the 6-7 week mark, and my wheels showed up that day, so the email was pointless. Vince did respond back right away stating that he would get back to me the next day (he was not at work).

Overall, I love the wheels, I have been super busy so they are not mounted, but the quality is top notch. As long as they fit over my stoptech's I will be happy.

My take on the company is they are small and very busy, so unless you make an effort to contact them, they are busy making wheels. I think with these types of GB, they get a little over there heads. I give them 5 stars for everything except timeliness and communication.

I think it will be worth the wait....

mcduck

Perhaps that is good news for me, then. That was the same thing they needed to complete my wheels. I'll check in with Vince tomorrow.

mcduck

Just spoke with Vince. It is as mentioned above. The longer pads just came and he expects my wheels to ship in about a week and half. That should put them arriving here sometime just after the beginning of May.

Guess I'll call around the 1st again and see if they're ready yet...

Brad4rdHay

I do think Vice can be a tad optomistic at times, but hey, thats ok. My experiences thus far, like I've said, were fine.

mcduck

Just wondering how many others from the 1st Iforged Groupbuy are still waiting on their wheels? Please respond if you are.

I saw that the 2nd Groupbuy thread was moved to the Vendor area.. then closed.

I talked to Vince on the 16th and it sounded like my wheels would be done by the end of next week or beginning of the following week... getting impatient now..

jak

I ordered HRE's on a group buy here from Avalon Racing. I placed the order and was charged 50%. The other 50% was charged when the wheels shipped and I got the wheels in 3-4 weeks. I got free banding for the sensors, free lugs, free chrome valve stems, and free wheel locks.

Everything went smooth and I got the wheels sooner than expected. First rate service and first rate quality.

Jeff

damen

i'm still waiting with you mcduck. i was hoping to have talked to vince today to see if my fronts were done. he said that the rears are already done. i hope they get shipped out early next week. i'm not giving up on vince just yet.

mcduck

damen...

sounds like you and I are in the same boat. Vince said they had just got the parts for my fronts and that was the hold up. What sizes/style did you order?

I got 18x8 and 18x9 Senekas

damen

he had the parts in to finish the fronts in for about a week now. i order 20x8.5 and 20x10 evos. high polish

vics350

iTrader: (1)

How are things going with your orders?

I placed my order on Thursday and got a call today from Ryan. He said he was sure my order was in but that he would look into it and if it wasn't he'd call me back.

Did you guys get your wheels yet or a confirmation on when they will ship?

R1Rider

Still no wheels. Order has been in for about 90 days now. Emailed Vince last Friday. His reply was that they would ship Wednesday. I'm trying to be optimistic, but he's given me the same reply for about a month now. I'm not trying to make iForged or Vince sound bad, so don't take any of the above in the wrong context. The fact they he realized they had charged my the whole price up front and refunded half until ship date, tells me that they are a legit company and not trying to take advantage on anyone. I keep lookin' at at pics of the wheels that people have received from iForged and remember that it will be worth the wait.