[rcmorgan540]

OK,
So I ordered Stormer 22" with black inserts from Calchrome. I got them in today. They were not packaged very well (single boxed). One had a slight scuff that buffed out easily. One wheel had a huge scuff that caused it to crack on the inside lip. The box was beat up pretty bad (UPS). My question, Is cracking of a wheel from shipping a concern from a build quality standpoint on a wheel? It had to be inspected b/c they put tpms sensors on all the wheels. The center cap was missing from the wheel as well. I am a bit upset b/c the guy is making me wait until tomorrow to see if he has the ok to just ship me out another wheel without charging me. He wants the damaged one back which I offered to ship back in the box that he sends the new one in .. at his expense. I am just a bit concerned that someone would not ok that ok the spot. I did some research on Calchome, all of which was good. Your opinions? I have a photo of the wheel .. I just don't have a n image hosting place right now.

 

[umbertob]

Hopefully he really is just a clerk and needs to get approval from a manager for the switcheroo. From their perspective (I sell expensive equipment online as well...), you could be a crook trying to get an extra wheel shipped for free. :wink: Ultimately though, a no charge swap is the only way they should handle this if they are a reputable company. They should send you a Call Tag to return the damaged wheel at their expense as well, either right away if they really must have the damaged wheel back before shipping out a a new one or, even better, enclose the Tag with the replacement wheel and pre-authorize your credit card until they get the broken one back. My guess is that those animals at UPS will deny their claim based on insufficient packaging - they always do - and Calchrome will get stuck footing the bill. That sucks for them, but by now they should have learned to package their wheels better. They make such a fuss about their "bulletproof" packaging on their web site: http://calchrome.com/shipping.php :think: If you haven't done so already, put your complaint down in writing and email it to them, so you will have a paper trail to refer to.

If the picture is not enormous, you don't need to host it elsewhere. Upload it here as an attachment - it's an option when you compose a message on rangerovers.net.

 

[rcmorgan540]

Thanks .. I am attaching the photo here. I am sure that they will send the wheel. I guess the main concern is the quality of the wheel. Is this out of the ordinary for a wheel to crack when even being dropped off a truck?

 

[Leo]

I doubt a wheel would crack like that if dropped - what would happen if you hit a kerb? You're right to be worried about quality, what's the load rating on these?

 

[gooseyloosey]

That's a nasty looking crack. I would be very suspicious of these wheels. It's likely a cheap cast wheel made in China or India.

If it were me I'd send the whole lot back, get a refund and call it a learning experience.

 

[kstatenupe]

Agreed with Goosey. When I have my Redbournes shipped to the house, it was wrapped in a ton of plastic, and had cardboard tighly around the tires. So are yo usaying the wheels where just loose in the box?

if they didnt care that much about the shipping quality, and it arrives with a crack send them all back. Make sure its on their dime.

Hope you still have the stocks.

 

[umbertob]

With a 20% restocking fee (for the wheels that are not damaged), that's going to be an expensive return. That crack looks bad even by UPS handling standards, perhaps the alloy was already weakened in that spot and when the carton fell off the UPS truck... Better now than later on your car and you have to wonder about the quality of the other alloys. On the other hand, there are a lot of owners here - both RRS and FFRR - who have been running for years on 22" Stormer knockoffs without any issues. Who knows who manufactured yours, but I can't believe there are that many companies making them.

 

[rcmorgan540]

I still have the stocks. I tend to agree with one of the posters. How many people could be making these things? I think I will give them a chance to reship me one. The other 3 were mounted and balanced perfectly.