Are Fanatec about to dissapear?

I was just about to make a purchase, but thought I'd better check the forums first to get an idea of customer satisfaction.

Having read the first few pages, I'm now very wary, because it seems Fanatec support are not providing customers with a response or resolution regarding faulty products for several months from initial contact!

I understand Fanatec have been bought by Corsair, and judging by the abundance of people not able to get assistance with their faulty $1000 purchases, I imagine Corsair are now in the process of closing down the Fanatec offices and most likely laying off 90% of the Fanatec staff. I've previously been made redundant after my place of work was bought by a large corporation, so this is all very familiar to me.

I'm only just dipping my toe into the water and was planning on the 8nm bundle. I won't purchase at the moment obviously, I'd rather wait until Corsair have finished doing whatever they're doing that's causing all the problems.

Could anyone at Fanatec advise on what's actually going on behind the scenes, and when it will once again be safe to make a purchase without fear of being left in limbo if anything goes wrong?

Comments

  • Allan LehtlaAllan Lehtla Member
    edited December 2024

    by look Corsair address, they are in different country. Fanatec self still seem work and handle stuff in Germany.

    Corsair is a owner but Fanatec is that who makes products.

    if you buy some product then keep in mind you to have by default 2 year warranty at Europe. and some like DD2 have 5 Year

  • Corsair GmbH is a registered German company in the same country as the Fanatec HQ.

  • ok my mistake then, because i clearly read somewhere that Corsair the owner is self at England

  • Oui Corsair en anglais mais GmBh est allemand c'est une multi Corsair est proprio et GmBH sont des gestionnnaires

  • Save yourself some headaches and go buy something else. I recieved 3 broken products in the last three months with no support whatsoever. Can't return them, can't RMA them, can't get my money back. Just paper weights. I'm still waiting for a partial refund form last september that I guess will never get back. They don't fix shit with their drivers or take years to fix the most important problems, not to mention how long it takes for other firmware/software problems. I've been a fanatec customer for years but it's only getting worse. I'm not defending them anymore.

  • edited December 2024

    Exactement pareil en tous point ! Je me demande meme si il renvoie pas les RMA en nouveau produit client ! Les bug et les procédures d'ou il arrive sont bizarre ! Déja juste si il changerais leur logique des mise a jours et en faire une général pour tous les produits d'un coups sa éviterais énormement de problème au lieu de leur pseudo mise a jour qui répare l'anciennes version précédentes !! une refonte s'impose !!

  • 3di3di Member
    edited December 2024

    Oh, if you've been having problems with them since last September (2023?), I guess it's not a case of all the problems being caused by Corsair taking over, but rather Corsair haven't yet put any effort into improving the situation. That definitely indicates they aren't bothered about saving the Fanatec brand, so must be about to rebrand all Fanatec products to Corsair, and move all operations to their own facilities.

    I should probably definitely steer clear of buying anytime soon then. I wonder if the Corsair versions will be lower spec/quality. Might just go with Moza. Are Moza the best alternative for a direct drive bundle? I was looking at their 5nm. Would have liked 8nm, but they don't have a bundle for that torque.

  • Allan LehtlaAllan Lehtla Member
    edited December 2024

    other company's usually todo this, but they seems keep sell they broken hardware over the years and not make any changes. and then unhappy customers leave to the other company's, and they start maybe think where it went wrong but then its already too late.

    if they not change how they think. it never goes better

  • Allan LehtlaAllan Lehtla Member
    edited December 2024

    i don't like 5nm strength, when i buy my CSL dd, i buy right away 8Nm,

    5Nm is maybe good if you ultimate beginner but by default its very weak

  • Nothing will be rebranded to Corsair. Fanatec is a brand here to stay.


  • Ah thanks, I guess you're on the staff to be able to give a definite answer. In terms of fast customer support and problem resolution, do you know when it will be safe to buy from them again, and what's the root of all the issues they're having (if not what I've guessed at above)?

  • Allan LehtlaAllan Lehtla Member
    edited December 2024

    i think the question would be more, what you want buy. i just buy myself the Podium Hub before Christmas and that seems just work fine at here, and i not see why it would not work in future

  • 3di3di Member
    edited December 2024

    I'm more concerned about the lack of being able to get a quick resolution if I do encounter issues. Waiting a month for a response, or up to a year for a resolution is not something I want to deal with.

  • Allan LehtlaAllan Lehtla Member
    edited December 2024

    i to have actually multi hardware's from fanatec self. my race would be still made if something happens

  • Yeah smart man. I just purchased a second wheelbase from them and I now realize that was a mistake. They won't even send me an RMA to return my broken wheel and now I also need to return some items and they are not sending me return instructions. I should have bought the Logitech instead. SMH.

  • 3di3di Member
    edited January 3


    Damn, I really wanted a fanatec bundle, but there's no way I can risk it due to the abundance of customer care issues.

    If they can't afford customer care staff, then they should just take the amazon approach and accept all returns no questions asked, refund or replacement within 30 days, replacement within 12 months. The savings in wages would outweigh any resulting losses, and the added security and rapid problem resolution for customers would avoid total company failure due to people being too scared to purchase from them.

    If they can't do that, then they have no faith in the reliability of their products.

  • 3di3di Member
    edited January 4

    Actually, it seems I'm a moron. I hadn't realised that the corsair acquisition was complete. Having checked the press releases from corsair, their owner has confirmed that corsair are going to use their massive customer support and returns infastructure to resolve current issues, and also keep the fanatec staff for designing and manufacturing.

    The corsair owner also stated that fanatec warranties will also be honoured. So in that case, providing I don't need support any time soon, purchasing now should be a safe option.

    Fanatec support, could you confirm if the motor whine/cogging issues are now resolved? I just want to ensure I'm not going to need support in the first instance (before corsair take over that side of things).

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