What the hell is happening with Fanatec?

[@AKK5I]

Spent all their money on marketing and bs partnerships instead of production and logistics

[@udaysingh9_11]

This ☝️

[@wdmeister]

THIS! It's ridiculous and pathetic.

[@Firssen]

Not exactly... As far as I know they still are small company with few employees.

[@sethdale4721]

Yea but their presence is that of something a whole lot more major than a small company with a few employees. AKA they’ve spent a TON on getting their name plastered all over every website and race track wall

[@Starmast3rmusic]

This 100%. Not trying to defend them at all here, but I truly wonder what would happen if they upscaled their workforce for such a niche product line, only to have to make massive cuts when sales lull. It doesn't help that they also received a massive amount of sales during and shortly after COVID. I think until sim racing gear is mainstream (fingers crossed lol), I don't know how much sustainable growth they can have in terms of logistics and production capacity. No doubt there is room for improvement, but it's going to be a business game trying to deal with a large influx of customers.

[@johnathanrmarsh]

Most of their issues could be fixed with communication. A wait isn’t a problem if it’s communicated beforehand.

[@JavierMares]

with communication you an also cancel orders and make their waiting time someone else's problem.

[@RubberStig]

Yes, managing your customer's expectations by reaching out can smooth out most situations.

[@mattburkett9419]

It’s not going to end well, they’re going to to have so many chargebacks that they’re going to be seriously at risk just from the fines and fees, let alone the risk of losing their merchant accounts. That’s not even the threat they face from European and Australian consumer protection laws, and lawsuits from the US and Canada.

[@stormmy66]

They could also try not telling lies. My 10 week old order is for items that apparently are in stock according to the website. Clearly that is not true.

[@fervunk1143]

Thank you for bringing this to light. Fanatec has been a nightmare since BF.

[@ocram2912]

Since before, when they changed warehouses

[@NickDoddTV]

What is bf

[@Invin_cibles]

Black Friday is an excuse. They’re still selling on the price of 4-7 day shipping. This is criminal negligence.

[@astraracer]

@@ocram2912 Since before that. I had customer service issues in 2019 - items going missing, no reply to emails, just random invoices sent out with no details of what was being sent or when. And their rep was pretty much garbage then already, I think they only survived this long because of pandemic purchasing. They can just get in the bin.

[@MrMikap74]

Honestly, KZbinrs should deactivate their affiliate links to Fanatec till all problems solved.

[@DanDiMaggio]

they should have never "pre-sold" the clubsport dd + without having the sony license in hand, period. That's a clear indication of how they prefer to do business.

[@grahamkelly8662]

Yep. That’s like some trying to sell you a house, that they do not own , yet.

[@theonlyegg]

How else would they get HUGE interest-free loans from us, the consumers??

[@andyw0340]

Can only imagine how many sales they have lost recently and will continue to lose in the future due to there bad business practices. I for one was considering buying from them a few months ago but so glad I didn't . What put me off back then was there poor reputation on delivery and customer service and that's only got worse since. Shit show of a company.

[@grahamkelly8662]

@@theonlyegg so true. I can see them Hibbing hands together. I’m so glad I didn’t drop around £1800 on Black Friday. I almost bought Wrc CSL elite wheel, the 15nm Ps5 wheel base, v2 pedals, sequential shifter.

[@Lacktausch]

@@grahamkelly8662OMG, then you would also have been stuck with a Wheel that doesn’t even support the full torque of the base! The WRC Wheel just supports up to 8Nm. If you meant the CSL one. Regardless of the QR attached, btw.

[@RATTMAN]

One thing you need to add. They mark the Warranty status way too soon. In my case, they marked the warranty as starting a day after I placed my order. Product didn’t actually ship until a few weeks later and it took a month to receive. So people are loosing probably up to a month of warranty for each item. I am still waiting on a resolve.

[@matteoaversa2247]

My warranty started on the end of november but still I didn’t receive anything

[@trevz1048]

Tells you everything about this scammy company

[@The_Mup]

If you are in the EU, then by EU law if you buy an item online the warranty starts on the day you receive it.

[@matthewbeale8570]

Same down here in Australia ​@@The_Mup

[@Netrole]

@@The_Mup That's true, but the website still lists the purchase date (even for pre-orders wtf) as the day for the warranty. Sure if you make a claim then the date of the delivery counts, but still a lot of people might see the date on the website and think the warranty has run out

[@misterdog7]

Biggest fail for me was that they urged people to add another item to their basket on checkout during Black Friday as it had a nice discount. But when they did add it there was a pricing error on their website which meant the discount was calculated twice. Then they sent people an email two weeks later saying they canceled their entire order because of this pricing error and basically accusing the customer of bad intentions for ordering this way. So these people had their entire order canceled with multiple items included, they lost the BF discount this way and to add injury to insult they offered a 10% discount on one specific wheelrim.

[@Lacktausch]

Yes, but at least they made it a general 10% Discount in the end. It’s not limited on Wheels anymore. But you are right with anything else you said.

[@pilkjaer]

Ha! I didn't get a bonus item that i was supposed to get on offer. I emailed them and am still waiting for a reply...

[@misterdog7]

@@Lacktausch Probably due to the backlash :D

[@Jpilgrim30]

@@misterdog7exactly. It seems backlash is the only thing that gets a response from them.

[@TheBadBone23]

People actually received used devices...their facebook page and Reddit is filled with people complaining about that as well. It's incredible how bad they felt....

[@imlvee8909]

Omg, wtf are they doing

[@Invin_cibles]

Can you please point me towards these posts. I have a case built up against them as it happened to me and require evidence of this happening amongst other people since they don’t respond to any messages.

[@marcocheng3729]

@@Invin_cibles I saw one in fanatec owner group (FB) with scratches on the DD base and opened seal

[@chetu6792]

Were they really used tho? If the previous buyer returned it within 14 days and just unpacked it but didn‘t really used it, it‘s still considered a new product in Germany. And as Fanatec is german and the shop is a German shop, they are not doing something wrong. It’s still weird tho

[@zackjay71]

Thats not fanetec it the places people are buying from Amazon , Ebay, outlet stores.

[@phineas59]

Never known for quality after-sales support, Fanatec is facing an ever-increasing and improving universe of competitive products. Rightly or not, Fanatec is demonstrating to the SR community that they really don't much give a damn about their customers.

[@Firssen]

Depends of ur luck. I had great support all the time, many people complains. Maybe they don't have enough people to maintain support well...

[@CloudHugger79]

If it really were a company with great support, it would never depend on luck. It would just be great @@Firssen

[@r8ers2002]

They use to be great about it. When I first started buying fanatec I dealt with the CEO in some of the emails and orders. Use to have as good as you could have without phone support. Not like that now though.

[@The_Mup]

​@@FirssenThats not an excuse. Fanatec have been around since the late 90s. They should have their shit together by now.

[@waider]

Typical German customer service.

[@doOf3r]

FANATEC have had loads of problems way before any warehouse change or the latest Black Friday fiasco, their shoddy Customer Service goes back for years. They've always had an awful reputation, it's just getting magnified now due to the massive blow-up on their sales post-cov!d.

[@MrMikap74]

I wouldn't be surprised if Fanatec will file for bankruptcy. They are a company in bad health. They lost a big chunck of the market to Chinese companies, who didn't had problems with chip shortages. Their shares have tanked, and they probably reduced staff and servicing to compensate losses. Fanatec does all the things a company in bad shape does.

[@rogerwennstrom6677]

@@MrMikap74 Maybe, but I get the feeling they are still selling a fair amount of product though. (If not, then why are they constantly out of product?)

[@MrMikap74]

@@rogerwennstrom6677 At the moment in all 4 regions (EU, Japan, Aus, US) only the Podium dd2 is sold out, mainly caused by their BF offer (799 euro). And they reason their wheelbases were sold out in the past year's was mainly caused by chip shortages and warehouse problems, not due extremely high demand. If fanatec was in a good shape, why would to sell the CLS DD in extremely low priced Ready-to-race bundle? Why would they offer so many products for give away prices at BF?

[@MrMikap74]

@@rogerwennstrom6677 Fanatec has 4 regions (EU, US, AUS, JAP). In EU only the Podium DD 1 is sold out and in US the DD2 is sold out. In Aus the CLS DD 5 NM is sold out and in Japan everything is available. If Fanatec is in such a good shape, and the demand is so high, why would they offer the CLS DD in an extremely low priced bundle? Or why would they offer so many products for give away prices at BF (799 euro for Podium DD2 for example), knowing they have warehouse problems? Fanatec isn't the undisputed marketleader in the midrange/ high-end segment any more. They have to compete against Asetek and Chinese brands like Simagic, Cammus and Moza.

[@BenRowe83]

Been going on since the podium dd1/2 fiasco

[@KeepItTiny]

Choosing to get a new warehouse, choosing to accept preorders on a product you do not have certifications for, choosing to run a black Friday sale when you KNOW you have supply chain issues, not prioritizing customer support staff, its all corporate greed mixed with incompetence. THEY ARE STILL ACCEPTING MONEY, WHILE THEY KNOW THEY CANNOT SEND OUT THE PRODUCT. It's that simple. Want to not be called scammers? do what you say you are going to do! Want to protect your brand name? Completely stop accepting new peoples money, until you can give all the old people, whose money you already took, the products they paid for. It really is that simple.

[@sebastiennudo7792]

It’s a shell of a company with no customer service and no logistics department but above all the stopped caring for their customers.

[@texnorthman]

I'm so happy Fanatec have had delivery challenges. That made me cancel my CSDD+ order (upgrade from CSLDD 8Nm, partially to get the new QR2), and instead I placed an order for an Asetek Invicta base + round wheel. Absolutely blown away by how good this wheel base is! So so solid, incredibly detailed yet smooth feedback, and finally a rock solid quick release that is super simple to use. Reckon I will be getting a set of Invicta pedals too, and selling all my Fanatec gear.

[@AdamOutlaw87]

👍🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁Asetek.....its a new track record!!!!

[@AdamOutlaw87]

@@SIMRIG412 those are good brands also u cant go wrong

[@Jpilgrim30]

I went with a Simagic alpha ultimate but I definitely understand. Sell the rest of that Fanatec gear and not only will you not have to deal with Fanatec support you will likely say goodbye to RMAs and dealing with customer support period!

[@ellr4650]

I got a bad feeling overall and decided to not order before new year, needless to say I'm confident this was the correct decision.

[@felixeur1276]

Same here, decided to delay my purchase to next year or the year after

[@starshipfpv]

I got my order and emails answered with no problem. Got my order within a week of order

[@vernonbrown5168]

Same im gonna wait for them to get through this rough period but im also really now leaning towards asetek but i heard they aren't much better at customer support i heard simucubes software is archaic and moza have a ton of long term qc issues so right now im gonna give it a few more months b4 i make my decision maybe ill wait all the way til the sim racing expo this November just to see who gets their shit together

[@hhaste]

I'm personally just going to put my money towards Thrustmaster or even Logitech. I don't need anything Fanatec level and with this added on top.. nah.

[@dfb-gaming8039]

Ordered Dec. 11th, recieved everything on Jan. 2nd. (two seperate shipments, though it seemed to be on the delivery side and not Fanatec) It took longer than expected but it wasn't too bad. I'm in NA so that might explain why,

[@bsmarques]

Finally someone who did the work to talk to Fanatec properly. Thank you!

[@luka7337]

And I was just a few days from ordering GT DD Pro bundle and the Mclaren wheel - approx. 1000 EUR. No way am I ordering anything now.

[@jj72rg]

People forgot where Fanatec came from....and how they used to be 10 years ago, they are practically.....the same company, a small cottage homegrown company that lucked into the "mainstream" due to the pandemic, they spent what they earned into sponsoring stuff like real motorsport and fancy esports events, and never invested into better inventory systems, community communications or diversify their supply chain.... I remember in one of their esport events they were talking about taking apart the race rigs because they need the chips for customer's DD1 orders.....

[@d.j.nderground]

So klein ist das Unternehmen auch nicht, der Mutterkonzern ist immerhin ein Aktienkonzern. Ich zögere derzeit noch bei Fanatec zu bestellen.

[@matteoaversa2247]

Not to mention the disaster that happened with the clubsport formula wheel 2.5x resulting in an oversell which led to terrible delivery times. Waiting for my order since the end of November

[@MIMCKMedia]

Same

[@The_Mup]

Same..I put in a paypal claim. Fanatec have completely ghosted me. They're not even responding to Paypal. Paypal have said they will refund me automatically if Fanatec don't respond by Jan 12th (and I bet they won't!)

[@Bilalx1905]

I ordered on the 25th of November and i'm still wsiting too (germany)

[@sjorsrozendaal218]

Same here

[@SAF1_Midas]

Same this side, I am really stressed that the situation is so bad that they will ship it to the wrong address and i won't even be notified

[@paulocarochas9591]

Thanks for your video, I would just add that they should expeditely, and this means in no less than 3 working days, refund the money to the people who wish so. Keeping people’s money and not delivering is indeed kind of a scam.

[@nordic]

A few weeks ago I was between a Fanatec DD ready2race and a Moza R5. Wasn't sure which way to go until I realised that with Moza I could buy it from a local UK retailer and get it delivered in 2 days, knowing exactly what I had to pay. With Fanatec it was a case of 1) having no clue when I will receive the items and 2) not really knowing how much I'd have to pay due to import duties. Needless to say I went with Moza and 2 days later I had my pack at home.

[@anfridge7844]

wish i would have done this, bought a fanatec in october and it took a month to ship and i had to pay 20% import duties

[@brakozonhs1]

@@anfridge7844Where do you live? Country.

[@kawa2455]

Which retailer did you get it from? I was wanting to go for the Moza R5 but their shipping price is horrendous. And did your parcel arrive fine? Any issues?

[@nordic]

@@kawa2455 GT Omega, parcel was shipped the next day, arrived perfectly 24h later. No issues whatsover and tracking codes from day 1. I'd expect the same with overclockers, but I used GT Omega in the past, and it was like £5-10 cheaper.

[@anfridge7844]

@@brakozonhs1 uk

[@wavehopper4183]

My own company has had issues for quite some time, namely getting hold of certain electronics from China. Either someone is buying a lot of chips in vast quantities or a lot of factories closed down over covid (I know of quite a few in the USA that shut up shop during that time). We've had lead times go from 2 weeks to 3-6 months for several components. That doesn't excuse Fanatec's abysmal lack of communication though.

[@noname-gp6hk]

It's nuts how busted the supply chain situation still is. We saw lead times for certain chipsets go up to 50 and then 100 weeks and they never really came back down. Trying to get network controller chips from Intel or Broadcom is still a mess.

[@f3rny_66]

the red sea situation also doesn't help, I know a lot of cargo was lost in that area months ago and even now. But yeah, this is not the first time fanatec has issues with logistics,.

[@Renovatio2]

I think the issue with Sony's delay in certification of Fanatec's bases is likely to have a lot to do with Sony's recent loss in the French Courts where it was ruled Sony had engaged in unfair and unclear practices regards PS4 accessory certification. This may be causing Sony Europe to task their inhouse lawyers to reassess their certification process to avoid future liability. While some may say its only France & related to the PS4 it is a large EU market & these wheelbases are compatible with both PS4 & PS5. These cases also have a tendency to spread to other jurisdictions or get noticed by the EU Commission & that would be very bad news for Sony.

[@808GT]

That could be a reason or it could also be Fanatec not willing or being able to pay the licence fee anymore.

[@Starmast3rmusic]

It's totally understandable and makes a lot of sense why the DD+ is being delayed. The problem is that Fanatec said it was going to be available on the 12th of December and was openly selling pre-orders as early as late October. They didn't communicate and tell everyone that the Sony situation was happening until a week ago, according to Reddit. They probably knew that things were going to be delayed, but they waited to tell people until after they closed their fiscal year-- that looks super scummy when you think about it.

[@Renovatio2]

@@808GT I'd say they are probably quite flush with cash from all of the sales but being unable to deliver some of them will be dampening that revenue a lot. I can't imagine anyone wants to pay Sony's licence fees (I wonder how much it is) but I reckon its not a lot compared to the overall profit margins.

[@Renovatio2]

@@Starmast3rmusic My understanding (I'm a qualified lawyer but not in France) is the ruling has come as a shock to Sony. They thought it was a winnable case. Its likely the Sony's PR people Fanatec were dealing with were telling them there was nothing to worry about & then boom all of a sudden the SHTF with the ruling & Sony have left everyone high & dry. It wouldn't surprise me if all of this, the French Court case, Sony's licencing issues and also Microsofts recent accessory licencing changes are all tied together. Its become a mess for the accessory manufacturers. And now sadly their customers too.

[@tw88gttama]

Well the ftc documents shown last year has some other shady things from Sony

[@17peteclarke]

you have an affiliate link with fanatec, but are making these critique videos. I think that's a solid move and transparent, no sarcasm. a lot less can be said of other channels that have affiliate links with fanatec

[@randomcallsign]

this channel has always been like this. :P

[@bosneb]

The more irritating thing, in my experience, is having received gear from Fanatec with faults. Then support will take at least 3-4 days (or longer) to reply to any emails. If you need a part... well, the cable I needed took over 3 weeks to get to me (after over 2 weeks of dealing with support emails). And of course that part didn't fix the issue, so I get to send my gear back. Taking bets on how long it takes to get back to me. I'm guessing 2 months. By the time they get my gear back to me I expect the warranty to be over.

[@Michael_Lorenson]

Waaaay back in 2009, I tried to buy a Fanatec wheel and pedal set, which would supposedly ship right away. But, when I couldn't get any kind of shipping confirmation from them, I cancelled the order and bought a Logitech G27 instead, which I have been using ever since. Given Fanatec's ongoing QC and service issues over the years, I've always felt that I dodged a bullet by cancelling that order.

[@SAF1_Midas]

PLEASE can you keep us posted about the Fanatec situation !? This would mean the world to a lot of viewers old and new 🙏

[@yundaz]

2 months... I waited 103 days. Yes I'm not joking, Yes I counted each day, Yes I didn't give up on it. and YES thats INSANE!

[@AC_Kabser]

That’s over 3 months wtf

[@Mr450pro]

I would have canceled the order..

[@RoarS89]

Just cancel your order and look elsewhere, seriously. You're far from the only one who is waiting for your Fanatec order to show up.

[@yundaz]

I have it now it just took an era@@RoarS89

[@doubletapgaming1189]

I am so glad that I got my CSL DD bundle and it has worked well... Fanatec may never recover from this mess.

[@johannesbrunjohansson1636]

Same. I'm super happy with the CSL DD, but I'm for sure going with something else next time.

[@Khosumi]

I also got a CSL DD bundle recently. I did have one issue with it, the locking mechanism for the shaft wasn't tightened properly with the C clamp. It was extremely loose, kept sliding out of its connection under use. So I disassembled the shaft, inspected how it connects, was surprised to see it was literally just a USB C connector header tacked on at the back of a metal shaft. EIther way, nothing seemed bent or anything so I put everything back together and paid attention to the fact the C Clamp requires 15 NM of torque, which it clearly was not. Looking up online, I saw many reports of people being told by fanatec support to "Go buy a torque wrench and do it yourself". Bruh. So I said fuck that, and just tightened the ever loving shit of that one shitty bolt. It works now, the shaft does not come loose anymore. I was very close to opening a ticket and sending it back, potentially wasting a huge amount of money through postage since they do not do free shipping, in fact I had to pay for import duties, so the bundle came out $200 more total. Import duties was not communicated up front, so I was very frustrated to have to pay for that to begin with, and then the clamp bs. While the wheel works nicely now, it sure did leave a bad taste in my mouth. I'm hesitant to buy the power pack now. The C Clamp has a very flawed design, as the tightness applies on one side of the shaft, which basically holds the wheel in by sheer friction. I'm guessing a very small angle is also causing it to stay put, which fair enough, but god damn is it not a proper solution for securing a shaft. A double sided clamp would have been a much smarter idea.

[@tonyf9076]

I've had my csl dd since June 23, then started going wrong, loads of disconnects and tried all fixed as per community, nothing. So start of Dec 23 I started contacting tech support. Nothing heard so far 😢

[@rafaeldts8980]

Thanks man for addressing this. You have a new sub. Bought a shifter in November and so far nothing. It's ridiculous

[@NickDoddTV]

I literally just started my sim racing journey with a GT DD Pro, and it shipped without a power cord so I couldn't even use it when I got it!! Had to wait for it to ship out separately in the mail. What a pain in the ass.

[@chrisc3825]

they're making hand over fist, and have been. it's long past time for them to invest in a modern website, inventory management, the ability to charge at time of shipping, the ability to ship partial orders, and some experienced operations and customer service personal

[@O.Tech.]

Zen's Simwheels, these guys are doing a great job with the wheels and services!!

[@East-North]

I saw their wheels at the sim racing expo 😍

[@mike605]

trust is everything when you lose your trust in a company the people will go some where else to buy their products. It's bad here in the U.S too.

[@luisuchuya4117]

This issue is not isolated, also here in the US takes forever to get items and email responses. No tracking information is available even after receiving the items. YOKE!

[@NewTechChannel]

It took 3 weeks for the order to change from processing to sent to warehouse. For 4 days now it is still in the same status. This is absurd.

[@PhilipThompson]

Well this was a great time for my CSL DD wheelbase to brick itself... sent in my support ticket yesterday. Let's see how long it takes.

[@DCImaging118]

Mine smoked two weeks ago. Sent in email the next day. Got response in 7 days, RMA in 4 more days, and return label last night. I'm ok with that timeframe, relative to all they have going on. Now, how long till I have a working unit back in my hands.....................

[@PhilipThompson]

@@DCImaging118 this gives me some hope at least! Hope you come right soon.

[@misterdog7]

My condolences in these difficult times. Hopefully you'll get it replaced before summer.

[@aroper1]

At the end of the day, I wouldn’t mind waiting a little longer than expected for a new product, or any product. Why I canceled my DD+ order has everything to do with the nonexistent communication and the fact that Fanatec had me pay the full order total despite not knowing when I’ll actually get the order. Had they properly communicated delays from the start or taken a percentage of the order total (like ~25%) at checkout, then the rest once it shipped, I truly, truly wouldn’t mind waiting. But these aren’t cheap products, and because of that, none of this is acceptable.

[@bosneb]

Yeah this whole pay then wait months bs is ridiculous.

[@ertugrulbae46]

Seems like the company needs to be acquired from a larger corporation that knows how to properly deal with shit. A small shed in Germany isnt going to cut it. They clearly arent scalable and dont know how to make the business scalable on an international scale

[@okami803]

Fortunately, I have had two CSL Elites(recently went to PS4/5 because of the death of Forza), with flawless operation. Unfortunately, I own the Clubsport shifter, Clubsport Handbrake and CSL Elite Pedals, all with issues. The shifter has to be disassembled frequently to rectify misshifts. The Handbrake failed due to a bolt within shearing, rendering it useless(fixed using random at home hardware). The CSL Elite Pedals are great except for a crack that developed near the throttle pedal which allows the pedal to articulate up that much higher, making Heal Toe difficult. I do use my gear often, but never do I beat on it. The wheel base is the only thing I've purchased used. Everything else has been purchased new, deemed defective, and reported within months. To which Fanatec gave run arounds for resolution before opting to send it in and have it repaired. Unfortunate when the shipping / wait time is measured in eons. Fanatec will not be who I upgrade with in the future.

[@MrBreakthompson]

Fanatec having bad customer service? My word, Im so shocked...

[@avgsenpaigaming]

I remember, I ordered my CSL DD back at the end of August, only to receive it at the end of November, with having to wait 20-25 days just to get a customer support reply, also had my package go back to warehouse and then take another 20 days to be sent back. Now I don't mind waiting times, but saying it will take 4-5 days to ship and I ordered it as a gift for someone it took 3.5 monthss, that is just awful. Just more transparency on the waiting times on the website would be very very helpful and would fix half the problem.

[@marcocarboni6133]

I've ordered the formula x 2.5 steering wheel since the 24th November... By now I would have been able to walk all the way to their warehouse and pick it up directly twice... The blog said they will get back with the shipping on the 10th of January... Then I'll e-mail them if my order exists or I'll have to wait March for the restock

[@Doza137]

When I ordered my csl dd bundle there was a random $500 rebate in the cart when checking out. Placed order. They sent it. Sometimes a bad company isn't always a bad thing. lol

[@qbikaej]

My wheel from BF arrived early december, so it was pretty fine. However it was damaged. It was almost a month until the joke of a support acknowledged the issue and raised a RMA for me...

[@noname-gp6hk]

They saved me from spending $1500 on a damn BMW M4 steering wheel. I don't trust them to ship it and they're the only vendor that forces signature on delivery. I've struggled to get a tracking number in the past and that's ridiculous when I have to arrange to stay home the day it's supposed to deliver and it take an unknown amount of weeks to ship in the first place.

[@shawn25126]

Yeah im currently going through the pain. I can assure you guys when you get the automated email saying expect a response in 2 - 3 buisness days DO NOT BELEIVE it. it took 3 customer support tickets and 3 weeks to get an email that my voucher would be emailed to me (cancelled order due to delays) in 2 - 3 buisness days. That was 2 weeks ago.... Sent another support ticket yesterday, my hopes are lower than a limbo champion with a broken back.

[@prunn]

not sure if it is normal, my wheelbase came with QR2 only, never gave the downgrade option. Untill they ship QR2 adaptors, I'm stuck with a paperweigth. "Future Steering Wheels and Wheel Bases will come with QR2 by default, with the option to select an appropriate QR1 accessory (available during the transition period)."

[@scottpearson4066]

I’ve waited since 25/11/23 for my Clubsport V3 pedals, still no sign of them, yet I see 100’s of others getting theirs & they have ordered way after I did. Communication is the next problem it’s pretty much non existent which is the most frustrating part.

[@TryHardNinja23]

My Black Friday order took a month to arrive. It was a little longer than expected, but I am in Canada and was expecting it after 3 weeks. After 3 weeks I sent an email and they responded in 24 hours updating me on all the issues with their website and warehouse. Honestly besides them not letting me know of the issues ahead of time I couldnt have expected more. Just an anecdote but id say my experience was a 4/5 with this fanatec order.

[@Gumston]

Fellow Canadian here in BC, just curious do they ship it from the west coast east coast or Europe? Hoping after BF I can get it in a bit less time.

[@n283d27]

@@GumstonVancouver Island here. I ordered Jan 1 (knowing the inventory days would delay shipping). CSL DD 5nm WRC ready2race, clutch kit, and shifter. Over the past 6 days I’ve received 7 separate USPS tracking numbers. From the label creation notes looks like it’s shipping from California. Nothing has been received by USPS yet, so we’ll see how long it actually takes to ship..

[@001sander2]

Today I canceled my order for the DD+. I had already canceled my order for the QR2 and the formula wheel and now I have to sell the CSL pedals. I didn’t mind waiting but I just dread ever having to deal with them if I ever need to RMA.

[@akfortyfo7024]

Im glad this happened. I originally ordered a DD1/QR2/shifter/handbrake/BMW V2/Formula 2.5. Only the formula wheel, shifter, and handbrake ever shipped. So I ordered a Simucube and VNM pedals instead.

[@apexaviour]

Timely vid. I was only looking up what fanatec rig bits to buy today. Just assumed the website says what it means and 4-7 days later toys arrive

[@sevantofra]

I ordered one (2 days ago) that was marked as "available" on the site and when I get my invoice it says August for a delivery date. The shipping initially said about 3 weeks, I would have never known August if I hadn't looked at the invoice they mailed. It was "handed over to the warehouse" the day after ordering. Not sure what to count on at this point.

[@dblgonzo]

I ordered the CSL DD with Mclaren gt3 wheel, csl pedals with loadcell upgrade, WRC rally wheel and the QR2 mounts. Order was placed on Nov 21st. I received the last package on Jan 4th. But my date for warranty is Nov 21st. I am real happy with the gear. I just wish I would have been told upfront that it might be 8 to 12 weeks to arrive. I bought some Win Wing flight sim gear from China and it arrived in less than 10 days. Fanatec needs to be firing some people.

[@Jpilgrim30]

I think the problem is that they need to actually hire some people because their customer support is nonexistent

[@thedude4795]

Very simple = don't buy from a company that literally can't deliver. Or offer reasonable queue time for customer support. There are several alternatives. Seriously, they just couldn't say no to new orders. That's what even Warren Buffet values the most in junior investors : integrity.

[@NoDepth]

Loyal customer for four years. Have owned every wheelbase from CSL Elite PS4 to the DD2. Failed orders around Black Friday, multiple refund delays, including currently still awaiting an RMA refund since November with a signed delivery confirmation at their US warehouse! No response for nearly two months on status, and this is a US customer! Sold it all over the holidays and switched to SIMAGIC. Been very happy so far. Crazy how quickly it all went sour, I never thought I’d leave their ecosystem.

[@Jpilgrim30]

Same here but glad I did. I love the alpha u and the sequential shifter. I’ll be selling my Heusinkveld sprints and grabbing the p1000 pedals soon. I got so tired of doing the RMA dance with Fanatec. Email them. Wait 24 hours for a response. Email them back. Wait 24 hours for a response. You better hope you have a short conversation because if not it would probably take a whole month and that was long before any of this. I just don’t understand how you can grow a business offering more and more products without spending anything on the customer service side of that business and expect anything else other than the issues that have been plaguing them. It’s irresponsible and just plain bad business.

[@andrewvillegas7747]

If I gave my bosses at work answers like this CEO does I wouldn't be there much longer. Their systems and operating procedures really seem dated by 2024 standards

[@nickb997.1]

I ordered during BF week and got products in around 3 weeks, not too bad (UK order). Wrapped up under the Christmas tree for another couple of weeks or so and then finally got to use them once rig was built up. CSL DD lasted 2 hours before a puff of smoke and burning smell and it switched itself off. Quick Google on this and it seems it's a common fault, possibly one component that needs to be swapped out so why are they shipping products with known likely faults...

[@Invin_cibles]

You’re entitled to a refund via consumer rights if they do not respond in due time. If it’s paypal it’s even easier

[@nickb997.1]

@@Invin_cibles Yeah I will go that route if I have to but really just want a working wheel resolved in a reasonable period of time rather than waiting weeks for emails to be responded to, etc.

[@Jpilgrim30]

Man that sucks. Previous issues like this with Fanatec is why I went with a Simagic setup.

[@nickb997.1]

@@Jpilgrim30 Yeah it does. I chased them on day 7 of no reply and got a response asking some questions about the circumstances of when it died and confirming that a RMA email would follow shortly. Still waiting for that to show up so will have to chase that up too next week.

[@Invin_cibles]

@@nickb997.1 they won’t reply. They’re knowingly taking cash flow from customer knowing they can’t deliver. At worst they’ll file for bankruptcy and keep the money as ‘salary’. They’ve lost 80% of their value in the last two years too.

[@DeejayJeanP]

Worst thing is being a customer for about 10 years, now having spent well over 1k on new gear, and it's still not here well over a month after ordering. Now I want to cancel it and go for a Moza wheel, but even refunds take months. Good you made the video, more people should know about this.

[@Jpilgrim30]

Call your credit card company and charge it back. If you still haven’t received your order then I’m sure they’ll back you up.

[@OutLanderUSN]

I finally got my Black Friday order today, and I'm in the states. When it comes time for a new base, I'm going to go with another company unless Fanatec can get their issues worked out.

[@patrickm6627]

I feel like they have the habit of selling more than what they can and the lack of communication is intentional to buy them time. Then when cant deliver, they pass the blame on something else.

[@reviewforthetube6485]

Well I've got to say I've yet to have issues. Still am not having issues. Bought the dd+ and then rhe mclaren gt3 rim and both will be here today. Shipped within 24hours. Thw trick is never pre order from them and always wait for in stock items. Never buy bundles and always buy each part. So pick the parts yourself. For me it's worth spending the slight extra and getting it on time. Edit: wheelbase literally showed up just now haha. See? So 48 minutes after my comment my dd+ and mclaren gt3 rim showed up with the qr2 wheel side.

[@MrTomWaffles]

I bought a CSL Elite a few years ago and a Mclaren rim V2 as well, after seeing the support, the overall customer service i wont be ever buying anything from them again unless big things change, once my current gear give up ill be looking at another brand

[@cmacdhon]

I have thought of switching to Simcube or one of the others, but I have many thousands of dollars invested in Fanatec gear and I'm hesitant to start from the ground up with a different brand of equipment. Not to mention how difficult it would be to sneak more gear past my wife!

[@Jpilgrim30]

You can get good money for your used Fanatec gear on the market and you don’t necessarily have to get a Simucube 2. I went with the Simagic Alpha Ultimate after watching Racebeyondmatter’s comparison to the Simucube and it’s been awesome. I love their sequential shifter and their P1000 pedals with the hydraulic brake and haptic motors looks awesome as well as being priced extremely well. I bet you could sell all of your Fanatec stuff and probably break even while having a much better and more reliable setup.

[@teteringen8]

Fanatec is destroying a lot of shareholder value. It is a matter of time before this will hit their Boardroom. You simple can not upset so many customers for such a long period without getting hurt yourself. If Sony does not approve the DD+ Fanatec will go out of business. It is a pity.

[@zFL3TCH]

They tried charging me nearly £50 for a replacement load cell for my v3’s, over half of which the cost was shipping and a “handling fee”, So I bought vrs pedals.

[@chrisCKDE]

I get you man. They tried to charge me 30€ for a cable.... Freaking hot wired that shit myself. Since then i bought only moza stuff. Happy as ever.

[@bigredracingteam9642]

I've seen the same situation with a single QR screw. The screw itself: 3 euro. Plus a 10 euro handling fee and 20 euro for shipping.

[@Castro3868]

I’m one of the people who pre ordered the DD+ and yes these delays and lack of communication are pretty frustrating especially for me being a new customer. I guess one thing I’m curious about is, if SONY hasn’t approved the DD+ with the new security chips, then how is it that some of you reviewers on YT have received these bases? If this is a security chip issue, I don’t see how Fanatec is able to send those out even for review.

[@the_normsk]

I had the DD GT Pro and contemplated switching to the DD+ for greater FFB and the QR2 standard. I figured it might be a launch disaster based on what I knew of the company so got the 8Nm supply instead, the 2.5X wheel, shifter and hand brake on BF and avoided anything “new”. Glad I did. I got my gear and the new generation troubles can work themselves out before I think about switching again.

[@FirestormCH]

After making two trys with an order and waiting for 3 months without an delivery i canceled everything and moved on to moza and simagic.

[@MrNismo121]

I posted this on another channel but saying it again here as it's relevant to the video. I purchased the Ready2Race CSL DD 5nm package in stock. Took a month to get my tracking number and a little over a week for the order to actually be delivered. The entire month I waited from what I read was my order just sitting in the warehouse. I ordered 2nd gen Audi TT car parts coming from New Jersey and they were here in 4 days with instant tracking number with no rush shipping. Crazy I can order car parts for a discontinued car with low stock or a whole engine and it takes 4 days to get here in Texas. Because it took so long to get my Fanatec order, I wish now I added the 8nm boost kit with it. If I knew ordering from Fanatec was a huge issue I would have gone to the Microcenter 40 minutes away and just picked up the Moza M5 or M9 package stuff they sell in the store. But I wanted Fanatec for all the wheels and accessories they have.

[@viet1098]

I just went through the black Friday sale nightmare. It took them an entire month to send me my order. Customer service sent me in circle.

[@Blurple_GTR33]

I live in SoCal about 45 mins from one of the warehouses, and it still took about three weeks for my QR2 base side attachment to show up

[@AnterKacau]

We should start a kickstarter for suing Fanatec.

[@rarewhiteape]

We’re lucky in Australia. We still have to deal with overseas after sales support via email, but as far as the retail side goes it’s pretty smooth. All the stock is shipped to a local warehouse and orders are sent from there and will only take a week if they’re in stock. The website for our region has stock levels that reflect what’s actually here in the country, so if it’s sold out or on back order, the information is accurate. Although, ordering a bundle requires three separate items (wheel, base, pedals) sent on three separate shipping labels for some weird reason, so we might get three different deliveries on three different days. It’ll be more if your order has magnetic shifters and a quick release. I think Fanatec should switch to doing what basically every other wheel manufacturer does and instead go for general retail for delivery. Sell it in brick and mortar shops! Let people be able to drive to a local retailer and buy what they want off the shelf, and go back to that same shop if they have a warranty issue, need a refund, or exchange if purchased item is DOA. This would take a huge amount of pressure off its supply chain because they would be distributing to a hundred retailers rather than a hundred thousand individual end users. I’d like to see this suggestion make its way to the ear of the boss-man. Fanatec might take a hit on the bottom line if it switches to wholesale, so it could do that, or continue on the current trajectory and rely on its product being desirable enough for people see past the problems forever.

[@stubacca543]

Good to hear this. I'm also in Oz and really want to pull the trigger on the Mclaren ready to race bundle as it seems to be the best option for both PC and Xbox connectivity at this price point. No doubt I'll keep procrastinating though!

[@Moelders109]

I ordered QR2 parts on the Aus site and still waiting for any news since November when I ordered them. The 'available date' on the website keeps getting further into the future. Don't see how it's any different to the situation in Europe. Maybe if the parts were already in the warehouse in Aus (presumably older parts) then you might luck into something getting delivered quickly...

[@joretoGT1]

Cammus is the same, still waiting for my C5 bundle which was ordered on 18 December 2023 (order status is still "processing" ), they also don't respond to emails.

[@Adrian_Acosta_]

I ordered a dd2 and almost half of the fanatec shop (v3 pedals, 2 swheels, handbrake, shifter). I first ordered the dd2 and 3 days after the rest of it. I got everything 16 days after BUT the dd2 is not here. I have a tracking number for it but it says something like “we will give you a date someday”. Its almost 2 months now

[@tenbob1973]

Glad I took the decision on my Thrustmaster TGTII and TLCMs.

[@GaryGod76]

I ordered a 5Nm CSL bundle withload cell kit and Bmw wheel ten days before Christmas, four days later the courier literally threw all the boxes in my garden and still now I don't have a tracking number on Fanatec website an the order is still in "handover to warehouse" state. In meanwhile I have mounted all, I have registered the serial numbers and I'm having fun using my new Fanatec setup.

[@CreedBratton2234]

16th November I ordered. Tracking is just stuck as "on the way." Sent an email 40 days ago, and I still don't have a reply. I actually can't believe that a company that sells such expensive products can get away with this. The long wait times aren't great. However, if there was at least some sort of communication, I could put up with this, but it almost feels like I've been scammed. If nothing happens in the next week, I'll be requesting a chargeback with my bank and moving to a different company. It's completely unacceptable for a company as large as fanatec to not have any form of customer service, and there's no way I'm going to be hitching my horse to a cart with no wheels.

[@jraces]

Emails not getting answered by Fanatec is nothing new. I experienced that a number of times when I was in their ecosystem. Eventually I got tired of the quality and communication issues and got out of that ecosystem.

[@WildStyle]

Nonsense! I have been a sim racer for over 10 years now and Fanatec has always had EVERY problem possible, but never their fault.

[@NuffxSaid]

These kind of things happen more often then people know with big companies. I've witnessed it first hand. Logistics is the toughest part of running a business. Factories shut down and/or materials end up produced at other locations. Due to the regular location no longer making said part/parts for various reasons. Shipping issues with materials, important/export rules, etc. It gets crazy

[@pjmack75]

Not centered in Europe. It’s worldwide. And where have you got end February for DD+ from?

[@mj-np9sy]

I ordered on Dec 25th 2023, never heard anything but it was processing no shipping numbers or anything- but it arrived over 3 days last week. On one day I got a hub, on tuesday I got almost everything else, thursday I got the base QR. So they seem to be shipping now

[@klendatas1]

Even if fanatec raised the bar years ago, now is a best time for other companies to slingshot to treetops! I got burnt by them like many thousands of us and went straight to other company like I should in the beginning. Im just mad that they ruined a chance to use BF discounts elsewhere as it takes them months to announce something what should take a day or two and mad that they hold our money as hostage. Official announcement should sound like - PEOPLE CANCELL YOUR ORDERS NOW!

[@punchawaterfall6302]

It always felt like you were hard pressed to find a creator who will say a bad word about Fanatec because it's obvious that they take decent care of their partners who will promote their product and will have a direct line to someone at Fanatec if they have any issues. The rest of their customers simply don't get that kind of attention. I think it all starts with their unwillingness to authorize dealers in different parts of the world which would help immensely with distribution, they can pick and choose who they want moving their product but since they're insistent on doing it themselves they have to deal with EVERY SINGLE individual who has an issue with their products instead of a retailer or authorized mailorder company working with customers. I think they're still trying to coast on their dominance of the industry for so many years. It's been damn near three years since they ran out of CSL DD's for almost an entire YEAR, and they STILL haven't sorted out their customer service and logistical issues.

[@bigredracingteam9642]

It's not just attention. These "creators" (i.e. streamers and "reviewers") get everything for free for basically being Fanatec's shills.

[@SticksAandstonesBozo]

Yep. But I do have to say…. When I cancelled my order it took 4 hours and one email. Be careful though. All I did was ask about a possible refund if cancelling was even an option as it had been a month. 3 hours later I got a reply saying done your refunded. I might have just let it ride but ok lol.

[@aoalr]

I also sensed that they would rather cancel discounted orders than to fulfill them. Maybe they weren’t making enough money. I placed an order for V2.5X wheel and got the “refund now or wait 4 months” email. I would rather wait, please. The discount was too good.

[@SticksAandstonesBozo]

@@aoalr ohhh good to hear. I had that as well but I cancelled before that happened. Glad I did now.

[@georgesummer536]

to me it always was ridiculous that they had such long delays and lack of stock that's why I never wanted to get their equipment in the first place

[@4SUBLIME2O]

I feel for the ones caught in this drama. I would lose it if I had gotten ghosted on messages for my paid setup. I’d personally give up on fanatec by going with Logitech or some any other company so as long as they stand by their product and give good communication. Stay strong brothers 🍻

[@jackakascko]

Bought my TM gear 5 years ago, even back then there was so much negativity around Fanatecs customer services I just didnt want to take a plunge in their ecosystem. In retrospective, i guess i did the right thing

[@bigredracingteam9642]

Indeed! This is not news.

[@JazzTechie]

I think I was reading somewhere that it was primarily European orders that were having issues. I ordered mine in December and I got it relatively quickly, but I’m in the US.

[@jamus1217]

Here in Australia i purchased a GT DD Pro on the 29/12/2023, the order was passed onto the warehouse the following Monday (even though the website said no orders would be processed in the first week of January). Everything shipped on Tuesday (with tracking) and everything arrived by 8/1/2024 (the next Tuesday). I installed the drivers and software and everything worked without any issue,. It was practically plug and play. The (dreaded) QR1 Lite is a tight fit, the wheel base is completely silent in operation and the pedals are without issue other than needing to drill extra holes into the GT Omega ART wheel plate and acquire nuts/bolts from the local hardware store (~$15). TLDR: It might be that the Australian warehouse doesn't have as many orders to process, but my first experience with Fanatec was a flawless one (so far). I am very happy with my new GT DD Pro

[@UltrawideANCHR]

Lmao they sent me everything within 48 hours and i had all items delivered within a week. EXCEPT the QR attachment. So i had $1500 worth of items delivered but unusable cuz of the missing $30 attachment 😂😂😂😭

[@Kraziiboi]

I made my first sim gear order from Fanatec on black Friday not knowing the situation until afterwards. It took about 1.5 weeks from time of order to receive my tracking numbers which came in over a span of 3 days. Another 1.5 weeks passed before any of the items started to move at all. Another 1.5 weeks later items slowly started to trickle in 1 or 2 items at a time over a span of 2 weeks ish..

[@101wilku101]

They make orders in advice. Now they have the money and can pay for manufacturing new units . All that is pushed to us, customers. Not a great idea to make business. Clearly it works now like crowdfunding.

[@randomcallsign]

this is incredibly common throught all types of industry, and not even touching in JIT.

[@Mike_Speeds]

Great video man! Since placing my dd+ order on black Friday i've been wondering this exact thought daily.

[@abuster250]

I’m new to the hobby. I’ve been watching videos on different wheel bases and there is not a chance I would buy from them. The amount of bad publicity and not owning up to parts being broken. I don’t know how they ever recover. I believe the only way that could be, a way out is for them to sell the company and have new ownership be fully transparent. I can’t be the only one to the hobby and not buying their products.

[@MCplayer94]

Cant complain all my products came home prestine, super happy

[@The_Mup]

All of these problems are simply down to incompetant management, simple as. Theres too many compounding problems for them to just lay the blame on third parties. Fanatec brought all of this on themselves and i have no sympathy for them.

[@nanoverse]

Yes this has been going on for years. Only reason the CEO is still there is they make shitloads of money.

[@bigredracingteam9642]

@@nanoverse Hey, it ain't cheap racing F1 cars in your spare time!

[@Tec12s]

I waited one month for my order and then it took only 3 days for the load cell brake pedal to fail in my CSL Elite V2s. Currently waiting to hear back from support. I didn't mind waiting the month for the shipment, but they need to be responding to support emails within 24 hours.

[@Mike_D_3]

The brake failed on my CSL Elite V2 after about 5 hours use. It is stuck on 100%. It has taken them 4 days to reply and that was just to ask for a video to confirm the fault. No idea how a video showing 100% brake when the pedal is pressed or not is going to help.

[@Tec12s]

Yes same here I sent them a video. They agreed to send me a new part and I replied saying yes please send me the part. Now it’s been 5 days since I replied and I haven’t heard anything.

[@jcdentonunatco]

I bought a GT DD pro in Nov and when it arrived it lasted 45 minutes before popping and smoke pouring out the back. So I had to RMA it, which wasn't a great process, with very little communication. But they eventually replaced it with a brand new one and brand new power supply and all is working now. It was a pretty rough experience, but I'm happy at the moment and enjoying the product