New to Fanatec, came with high expectations left with nothing but a bad taste in my mouth.
Helmut Yip
Member
Hey guys what should I do?
I recently bought into the CSL DD hype and decided to take the plunge into sim racing.
So over the weekend (Friday) I preordered a DD with the boost kit, the csl elite pedals, csl elite load cell kit, table clamp, and a club sport steering wheel rs. came to $1095.63 usd
it wasn't as cheap as I thought it was going to be especially since after conversion rate it came to $1417.70 cad
after Pre-Ordering, I did what most people would do,... check their orders. That's where everything went down hill.
I noticed that the csl elite load cell kit was no longer available in my orders when I clicked on it on the website. I started panicking and started to look for options on what I could do. I decided I could buy the club sport v3 pedals instead seeing as it was only a bit more than the kit and the pedals I ordered.
The website told me that to change my order I would have to reorder my items due to "technical reasons". At first I was like,.. strange but just to make sure I checked the company's cancellation / return policy, to make sure I get the full refund.
I got the full refunded amount in usd, however I am from Canada, and due to the conversion rate on the day (Monday) the refund was processed I lost $75.
That money easily could of went into those Club sport V3 pedals. now here I am debating what I should do next, as Fanatec customer service had just told me its not their problem.
As the title says I came with high expectations, now I'm left here with a bad taste in my mouth, and no Fanatec gear.
I'm also interested to hear what you guys think!
what should I do at this point?
do you guys think its my fault?
is it Fanatec's fault for not having a website that works properly?
any other options or avenues I could try?
Comments
I feel like there was definitely some miscommunication. When you placed your order, was the Load Cell Kit available? If so, it should have applied that to your order then. I mean Incan look at old products that I ordered and when I click them they say not available. I don’t think what you saw was pertaining to your order, more that what you clicked brought you to the products page which indicated that it was no longer available. That is my thought. Unless you were able to get 100% verification that the unavailability was actually for your order, I wouldn’t have canceled anything. I know that what you showed had them saying that the Load Cell Kit was indeed unavailable, but I don’t think they meant pertaining to your original order. Complete speculation here, if I am wrong on any part of this I apologize.
I had exactly the same experience from the UK, Not really Fanatecs fault but they could do better....a lot better.
I think the main financial loss is from the 5% conversion fee as the exchange rate changes were minimal.
My order was changed because of my choice but as you were forced as the stock changed it sucks.
Stick with it, my Clubsport V3 arrived and they are very nice.
Steve
Yeah, you see why I panicked.
I might of made the cut off, but theres a high chance that I didnt.
so here we are now because I didnt stick it out, a hole in my pocket with nothing to show
curious to hear what would you guys have done in my shoes.. given the info that I had
Myself…..I probably would have waited. That is absolutely no judgment on your or your decision. It was justifiable, so I definitely don’t blame you. That is just from my experience, being mindful that if you look up “Buyers Remorse” there is probably a picture of me with two thumbs up…..I have been on both sides many times.
now i cant help but wonder.. did i just shoot my self in the foot... would I have gotten exactly what I wanted had I not changed my order (load cell kit + elite pedals)
Did you order the V3’s? I thought that’s what you had said. If so I wouldn’t stew on it too much. I hear pretty good things about the V3’s from those who have them. There are still times where I’m still like hmm, maybe I should have gotten those instead. I do think the design of how the load cell works is better on the V3’s. The CSL Elite Load Cell has a fulcrum/lever effect depending on where you push on the pedal, so you can almost change the sensitivity just by pressing higher or lower on the pedal face.
I haven't re-ordered anything yet, still debating with my self, if all this is worth it anymore.
Dont forget I still have to pay a chunk to customs making that bill easily $1800 ish cad, oh and plus a $75 mistake.
Gotcha…..I do always forget about the coals that customs rake people through. Yea, that’s a pretty steep bill all said and done. I know it’s not a DD, but have you checked out the 2nd hand market for belt models since they’re on the transition? If you were going to be waiting until November anyway that’s just a suggestion, but I don’t want to persuade you from what you really want. Because nothing will substitute in the end. Buyers remorse sucks. Also, what about the new CSL pedals? No, there is no load cell yet, but if you really needed 3 pedal set you can get the clutch kit. I’m just trying to brainstorm ideas with you, I know sometimes it helps to have a wall to bounce the ball back.
yeah, ive checked the 2nd hand options, still alot of scalpers and people who want a free upgrade to dd
Ill keep my eyes open, but like you said I'm one of those people that "nothing really will substitute in the end" feeling kinda guys.
Im also cheap so I wanna get the best possible deal, although i am willing to splurge at times, but now knowing that ill never get "the best possible deal with fanatec (exchange rate etc...), I cant help but feel bummed
If you're after a general recommendation on staying with Fanatec; my experience was a similar initial rollercoaster of uncertainty, but more for technical reasons... Ultimately I think they make great equipment and it's well worth the money, I've had a huge amount of fun.
Last year I wanted to buy my first force feedback wheel, and went all-in on Fanatec Clubsport, so a BIG investment for me. On arrival the belt drive of the CS 2.5 wheelbase felt notchy, and not at all the 'smooth free rotation' I was expecting for the money I'd paid. I hit these forums feeling really unhappy and thinking I should have gone DD (way more $$ at that time without the CSL DD on the market), or just Thrustmaster or Logitec and saved a ton of money. I found some posts saying the belt could settle in storage, and the notch feeling should go away with use, I was skeptical still but moved forward and built my system up, and started using it. The important part comes next: I can still remember how quickly that uncertainty dissipated (including how the cost of the system became completely irrelevant) when I turned it on for the first time and had a race in Forza Horizon 3 on my Xbox (don't hate me for using a console please ;)), this equipment is simply amazing, well built, and confidence inspiring when racing hard.
Since then I've had a few calibration issues, a steering wheel replacement (just a weird shaped new wheel), and now have a CS 1.5 handbrake that's playing up, and very honestly none of that worries me at all, the equipment just makes racing so damn fun, and it's worth every cent in my opinion. My experience with support has thankfully been good, and I look at this equipment as less mainstream and more enthusiast level; you need to read manuals, check firmware, calibrate stuff, troubleshoot the odd connection issue, grease parts on pedals, communicate with the support team... and what you get for that effort is an experience that's leagues ahead of an department store option, and the money (for me at least, until I run out) becomes nearly irrelevant.
Hey, don’t confuse cheap with frugal my friend. Wise spending leads to happiness. And I could not agree with you more about the scalpers and what not. The prices are ridiculous, for both new and used equipment …..makes me sick. I meant to ask in the beginning, so you have any sim equipment, or are you “jumping in”? I ask because the DD wasn’t going to be available until November anyway, so maybe hang around until then and bank on some Black Friday deals. I doubt the DD will be included in any deals, but there could be other stuff that gets deals.
Hey thanks for the extra feed back,
I liked that you guys were very informative and neutral about this whole situation.
It gives me more to think about, Tbh I was leaning on getting something cheaper such as "Department store option", however, Now I think ill just wait till closer to the launch date and see what's up maybe I can snag a deal here or there
from what I can tell from the mid range enthusiast options are few when it comes to sim racing, and I'm not sure if I want to get something cheap to start just to replace it later down the road.
I figure I'm more of the type to buy a best bang for your buck but prioritizing quality, but i wont constantly buy upgrades, rather ill use it till it NEEDS a upgrade. that's why I wouldn't mind shelling out a bit more just to have it last longer.
take my cpu for example I recently upgraded to amd 5900x, but my last cpu was i7 3770. a good decade of use and value I guess.
+1 to this all the way. The 3rd paragraph in particular has some very important details. Hey Ben, I had similar belt issues with what I could swear was like a centering notch if you will. It also went away with time and use. But for a little while there I could’ve sworn I was going crazy.
i was on ebay towards the end of may and early jun, looking for a good deal on the csl elite base. then i heard about the csl dd... and the priority given to previous customers, etcetc; was only given the option to pre order 2 days later but i did not hesistate.
will be my 1st ffb wheel but was willing to get something good instead of another make and having the thoughts of upgrading later on.
won't be till later end of oct or early nov before i see it but i am happy.
just keeping myself busy now learning tracks and going through the game menus on ACC so i can hit it running the moment i get the base. have even done some custom liveries for the cars that i expect to use. 😁
to date i have only played the free version of R3R, with the limited cars and tracks using the keyboard to drive. i know... i cannot wait to be able to modulate the brakes or accelerator...
fingers crossed for it...
Hey Joshua; yes I think it's a common find on opening the wheelbase box, because without the wheel fitted it's so noticeable turning the main shaft by hand, I recommended Fanatec throw a tag on it to let you know it's normal... It was a stomach sinking moment for me, I don't know why it was such a big deal at the time, I guess never having a wheel before meant I'd formed expectations from reading forum posts/recommendations etc.
So I just went and checked my rig, and a small 'notch' still forms wherever the wheel is left for the day, makes perfect sense really given the double belt drive, but I know it doesn't matter at all now as the FFB just overwhelms it in use.
@ David; I think you've made a great choice, you'll be blown away by the immersion and I hope you get as much enjoyment as I have!
Yea, I never seemed to notice once driving with FFB. Thanks for the little experiment/info about it getting the notch shall we say, even after just a day. Probably not needed, but now I will rotate the wheel to different spots before leaving for the day. Must be that anal retentive-ness in me.
I am new here too anmd went to pay for new CSL DD Pro Gran Turismo Bundle and it would not work. So Live Chat Support here said I can pay by prepayment bank transfer. I did this and now after 10 days Fanatec and their bank Oberbank Munchen say they do not have my money but my bank Barclays UK says they do. So at moment £730 out of pocket got nothing except crap from Fanatec who it seems are even worse than Thrustmaster. Don't buy Fanatec they will steal y our money and not supply the goods.