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3 guesses where my wheel is and the first 2 don't count.
Yep,had to send it back to HRE for the peeling clear coat. So far I've spent $660 and this is the second time this wheel had to go back for repair. I'll share my HRE nightmare shortly. 😡
We're sorry we haven't been able to meet your expectations. However, given the situation where we know the damage was done by a third party and not a defect and have offered you free refinishing of the outer lips, and 50% discount on our refinishing for the center of your wheels, we do not know how else to satisfy you. We have also offered to waive the disassembly/reassembly labor charge. I understand that it's an unfortunate situation when you yourself didn't cause the damage, but passing blame to us when we manufactured the wheels to perfection, only to have them damaged by your tire installer is unfair in our eyes. I believe we've gone beyond the call of duty to ensure that you're happy.
As an example a couple years back I bought a brand new LG TV, I was so excited to see it arrive and to have it installed. Best Buy had a deal where they would install the TV and wall mount for me for no additional charge, so I took them up on the offer. While the Best Buy rep was lining up the TV to install it on the wall mount, he clipped one of the corners on my table and caused a crack in the corner of the TV. I was in the other room at the time, I had no idea this happened, but the Best Buy rep owned up to it and apologized and said he would get a new TV out to me the next day. Had he hid the truth and installed the TV, I probably wouldn't have noticed right away, but eventually, maybe a few days or weeks down the road, I would have noticed the damage. Sure, that's enough rationale to be upset, but that doesn't give me justification to call LG's TV department and demand a free replacement because clearly in this situation someone mishandled my product and caused the damage.
The below email was sent to you on 7/10/17
Hello Jeff,
We have received your wheel and had a few senior managers including myself inspect it. I can confirm the issues on the lip are not defects and would not be covered under warranty. The damage appears to have happened during installation/removal of the tire from the wheel. We also found several spots on the inner portion of the outer lip that has rock chips along with many swirls on the clear coat. Any damage done by a 3rd party or road hazard is not covered under warranty.
We also reviewed the images of the first wheel sent in and confirmed the damage done to the outer lip was not a defect. There are clear signs of impact which caused the clear coat to chip.
That being said, I’m happy to offer you a one-time “goodwill” refinishing of the outer lips at no cost on the wheel we have here along with any of the remaining wheels you want to send in. If you wish to refinish the center sections (spokes) we can offer you a 50% discount on any finish and we’ll waive the disassembly/reassembly labor charge. The only other additional cost you would need to cover is the shipping.
I hope you find this offer fair as none of the issues we have seen are defects or would be covered under warranty. Jon can provide some preliminary costs depending on what you want to do.
Story sounds very familiar Jeff. I've got to ask though...I would assume your wheel lips are polished, and therefore no clear coat. Your painted centers then would be where the clear coat was peeling? If so, how does installing a tire, cause clear coat to peel?
Alright HRE,you opened the door. I've got pictures and all correspondence between myself and HRE. The 50% offer was only made AFTER I paid the intial $440 to get the first wheel fixed. As of today I've spent $660 out of my pocket to fix these very expensive wheels. Back in January I noticed a spot on one of the wheels that turned out to be the clear coat peeling of. Since the wheels were still under warranty I got in touch with HRE only to be told the damage was the result of an impact strike,not covered under warranty. How is it the clear could be damaged with not a single mark on the aluminum surface underneath? I know this didn't happen on my end but I had no explanation so I paid the bill. Now in March im cleaning up my car and I noticed another spot where the clear started to fail. Once again I send the wheel back to HRE and once again same excuse but HRE refinished to wheel,no charge but I paid shipping now I'm out $660. HRE has made the offer to refinish the other 2 wheels,no charge but I will have to pay the shipping fee,if I did send to other 2 back I'd be out a total of around $1100. On top of all of this HRE chipped the paint on the first wheel wheel and had denied this. One of the remaining wheels has a spot under the clear that's starting to lift,it hasn't broken the surface but it is a spot that will peel once it breaks the surface. This rear wheel that I just received,the last shop that mounted a tire on that wheel was one of HREs authorized dealers. When HRE had this wheel back the very time for a defective Schrader valve there was no mention of any damage so h the clear coat. When a business in situations like this will do a thorough inspect to guard against any bogus claims of damage,no mention of a failing clear coat was ever mentioned at that time. HREs claim about impact strike damage is just an excuse to dodge responsible,I know this becaus the only wheel that has to issues actually has a very small spot on the wheel that something in my garage hit the edge of the lip,left a small devit in the surface of the wheel yet the clear isn't peeling in that area. HRE has failed to take responsibility on these wheels. I didn't even get these wheels on the car because of a failed Schrader valve,disappointing yes but things happen. Failed clear coat on the first wheel,weak excuse on HREs part and money out of my pocket,deal with it and get the car back together. Failed clear coat on second wheel,more money out of my pocket,unexceptionable. HRE has refused to refund me any money spent on my part and won't even pay shipping to repair the remaining 2 wheels. I know this car like the back of my hand,the peeling clear coat on the rear wheel was not there after that he first shop mounted the tires. When I clean these wheels I pull them off the car to clean the inside of the wheel,if I'm willing to go to such great lengths to clean a wheel I would know if the clear was failing long before now. I have no problem paying for something,I did buy a set of HRE wheel after all. HRE has got an excuse for everything in regards to the poor quality with these wheels. You buy a set of what you want you had always believed to be the best on the market only to be very disappointed. An HRE wheel is not different from any other wheel out there. The only thing that separates an HRE wheel from all the rest is a name an price,nothing else. Full disclosure here. After the second wheel failed I asked HRE to replace the wheels,the idea of all four wheels coming completely apart for repair is unacceptable. Am I being unreasonable? I know I'm not the only pissed of customer and I've got an idea how to reach out to other dissatisfied HRE customers that have had to deal with the same grief. I've asked to be put in touch with the owner of HRE only to be rebuffed;does anybody honestly think HRE would be in business today if this is how they treated their customers? I had wanted a set of these wheels for as long as I've been driving,nothing else would do but an HRE wheel. Imagine that for as long as you can remember you wanted the finest watch,only to find its junk? I'm sure HRE will spin this in their favor but the fact is they did very little to fix this situation. Initially I wasn't sure I was going to post this type of response,I got my wheel back today and the grief was starting with to subside abit and thought about revising my post about but HRE posts this trying to spin in their favor,you dropped the ball on this HRE,simple as that. This is the peeling clear on the first wheel.
This is the chip that was in the first wheel when I got it back from HRE. Of course they've denied responsibility so they this,its not a rock chip and it wasn't there when it left my possession. I believe on of the fasteners,bolts was dropped on the wheel either disassembly.
This is the area on the wheel that's underneath the clear coat,it hasn't broke the surface but it will. The shape looks a lot like the spot on the first wheel that started to peel. I understand with these posts I've pretty much burned my bridge with HRE,that's alright,I'm not going to spend one more dime on these wheels. When the clear fails on the other 2 wheels I'll take care of it myself,I've reworked 3 piece wheels in the past and I'll do the same with these.
[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"] I understand that it's an unfortunate situation when you yourself didn't cause the damage, but passing blame to us when we manufactured the wheels to perfection, only to have them damaged by your tire installer is unfair in our eyes.
The very last shop that mounted a tire on that wheel was Wheel Enhancement,your authorized dealer,care to explain that one?
Story sounds very familiar Jeff. I've got to ask though...I would assume your wheel lips are polished, and therefore no clear coat. Your painted centers then would be where the clear coat was peeling? If so, how does installing a tire, cause clear coat to peel?
Jim the outer polished hoop is polished and clear coat. If I redo these my self the barrels both inner - outer will be brushed with no clear coat. I did a set of aluminum rally wheels for my Nova and actually like the brushed look. I have a machine I made years ago for the sole purpose of putting a brushed finish on a wheel. The only reason I'm not doing it now just don't have the time. I'm not pissed off so much as disappointed and the excuses only added to the grief. Eventually I will have a conversation with the owner of the company,maybe have a conversation with the President of the company when I see him at SEMA. I guess if I had spent close to $12,000 for a set of HREs for my Ferrari things might had had a slightly different outcome.
So, you want to tell me you did such a thorough inspection as to note swirl marks in the surface but you made no mention of the peeling clear coat when that wheel was at your place the first time around? There was nothing to note because it wasn't peeling at that time. Wheel Enhancement was the last shop that removed the tire,sent it to HRE and if the clear would have failed at that time because -my installer-damaged the finish it would have been noted when you did the inspection the first time around but it wasn't damaged at that time,you guys have an answer or I should say excuse for everything. HRE,you want to make this right? Replace both inner and outer hoops,polish the outer hoop and if you can't guarantee me 100% that it won't start flaking off,leave it bare. Because one of the centers has a chip in it now,refinish that one center,if you can't guarantee 100% that it will match the other 3 centers do all 4. The only reason I would like all inner-outer hoops replaced is because 2 of them have been completely apart,you pick up shipping,I'm not out any more money,I go away happy done deal. For anybody thinking I'm being unreasonable in all of this,one rear wheel cost me $1500,I know people that wouldn't even pay $1500 for a complete set of wheels let alone one. Just to be clear in all of this other than the obvious,these wheels are perfect, no curb rash or damage of any kind,less than 1000 miles on the set. Car sits in the garage,never seen rain in all the years I've had it and never sits outside overnight or sits in the hot sun.
Jim the outer polished hoop is polished and clear coat. If I redo these my self the barrels both inner - outer will be brushed with no clear coat. I did a set of aluminum rally wheels for my Nova and actually like the brushed look. I have a machine I made years ago for the sole purpose of putting a brushed finish on a wheel. The only reason I'm not doing it now just don't have the time. I'm not pissed off so much as disappointed and the excuses only added to the grief. Eventually I will have a conversation with the owner of the company,maybe have a conversation with the President of the company when I see him at SEMA. I guess if I had spent close to $12,000 for a set of HREs for my Ferrari things might had had a slightly different outcome.
Gotcha Jeff. My outers (Fikse) are polished without clear, thought yours might be the same. Sorry you are having such problems with HRE. I had similar problems with Fikse. I agree with you that these manufacturers should stand behind their product and put the customers first. Sad that they don't 👎
Gotcha Jeff. My outers (Fikse) are polished without clear, thought yours might be the same. Sorry you are having such problems with HRE. I had similar problems with Fikse. I agree with you that these manufacturers should stand behind their product and put the customers first. Sad that they don't ��
It's odd how somebody will work so hard to build a company in the beginning only to turn out like this. If I were responsible for what's happening with these wheels I'd just get them fixed but when I go to extreme lengths to keep my car in the shape it's in only to have to deal with defects,not gonna happen. And the BS excuses from HRE,I'm not even done with this,I won't ask anything else from HRE,won't call them for a thing. It's the excuses that get me fired up. This one spot on the wheel that's developing under the surface and will start to peel. If I was to to work with HRE on this one wheel eventually once they reliezed this one wheel is defective,they would have to take responsibility for the one wheel but would stand behind their earlier claim that the other wheels were damaged. If this one wheel that isn't peeling yet didn't exist,I wouldn't be bitchin. I'd just figured it happened,can't explain it it just did. Now I'm going to go out in the garage,put that damn wheel on my car and drive the bastard! Hasn't seen the sun in about 3 weeks.
As an example a couple years back I bought a brand new LG TV, I was so excited to see it arrive and to have it installed. Best Buy had a deal where they would install the TV and wall mount for me for no additional charge, so I took them up on the offer. While the Best Buy rep was lining up the TV to install it on the wall mount, he clipped one of the corners on my table and caused a crack in the corner of the TV. I was in the other room at the time, I had no idea this happened, but the Best Buy rep owned up to it and apologized and said he would get a new TV out to me the next day. Had he hid the truth and installed the TV, I probably wouldn't have noticed right away, but eventually, maybe a few days or weeks down the road, I would have noticed the damage.
My opinion is this: if that chip in the center was caused by a dropped nut or bolt - then obviously the clear is defective. It shouldn't chip from a small impact. The pic of it coming loose before breaking the surface pretty much explains that the clear is defective. There is no way that could be caused by any outside action. HRE should pay to have those wheels shipped to them, and send you a brand new set. Period.
I realize it's a little late now Jeff but since it's been an ongoing issue for some time and given your location I might have made it a point to show up here:
I'd have had the conversation "toe to toe" and maybe have been DONE!!
There's a half dozen or more USER ID's here on the CF that appear to be HRE or HRE Vendor affiliates inquire of them maybe.
Most are very likely HRE_xxxx. An advanced search by user ID here using just HRE_ and you should get valid responses.
There's also a Vendor "feed-back" and mention section also. I understand your feelings and maybe now "regrets" but maybe a presentation somewhere other than here will help your cause.
I'm not familiar with them - where did you need to return the product to for the inspection and refinish that was done?
It might be interesting to know what product they claim to use for their "clear coating" operation.
There's way more reasons for them to "step to the plate" than there are avoid you. Maybe their first approach with any problem is the "you pay 50% off and that nonsense" - if you go away they're done.
You've had these since maybe early '15 - how long has this issue been going on? This thread could be maybe interpreted as recent. Maybe '15 isn't recent.
I realize it's a little late now Jeff but since it's been an ongoing issue for some time and given your location I might have made it a point to show up here:
I'd have had the conversation "toe to toe" and maybe have been DONE!!
There's a half dozen or more USER ID's here on the CF that appear to be HRE or HRE Vendor affiliates inquire of them maybe.
Most are very likely HRE_xxxx. An advanced search by user ID here using just HRE_ and you should get valid responses.
There's also a Vendor "feed-back" and mention section also. I understand your feelings and maybe now "regrets" but maybe a presentation somewhere other than here will help your cause.
I'm not familiar with them - where did you need to return the product to for the inspection and refinish that was done?
It might be interesting to know what product they claim to use for their "clear coating" operation.
There's way more reasons for them to "step to the plate" than there are avoid you. Maybe their first approach with any problem is the "you pay 50% off and that nonsense" - if you go away they're done.
You've had these since maybe early '15 - how long has this issue been going on? This thread could be maybe interpreted as recent. Maybe '15 isn't recent.
Hi Dave,from what I understand their PC process is in house. What I find hard to believe is if something hit this wheel to the point of fracturing the surface of the clear why didn't it leave a mark on the wheel surface? The offer of 50% was made only after I paid to get the first wheel fixed and never before. I've got all of the correspondence from HRE if they want to dispute this. I got these in April of 2015,first found the problem in January of this year so the wheels were still within the 2 year warranty window. I sent the wheels back to the authorized HRE distributer I got them from for unmaounting-mounting tire,I didn't want to give HRE any reason for an excuse. This wheel was in the possession of their distributer and both HRE and neither business made note of any issues of a peeling clear coat at that time,this is something that failed over time with no damage to the wheel. The fact that one wheel has got a spot that is lifting but not failed yet can,will disprove every single excuse that HRE has givin me for these issues. One thing that makes me absolutely furious beyond words is when somebody takes advantage or straight up lies to me. The only reason I'm bitchin about this is to release some pressure. The one thing that dissappoints me more than anything is Ive always had this image of HRE wheels being the pinnacle,the very best in wheels. Maybe at some point,not anymore. I'm going to keep digging until I have a conversation with the owner of the company. Im not pissed anymore,don't expect anything from HRE,they might reach out with more excuses but don't expect much. When the other 2 wheels fail I'll take care of them myself.
Jeff I would have them or somebody else polish the entire wheel and be done with clear coat. Yeah it's more work to clean the wheels but you won't be dealing with clear coat issues anymore. Just a thought.
Jeff I would have them or somebody else polish the entire wheel and be done with clear coat. Yeah it's more work to clean the wheels but you won't be dealing with clear coat issues anymore. Just a thought.
Hey Daryll. I'll do something with these when I get a chance but not anytime soon,I've got something in mind to change things up abit.
07-21-2017, 04:45 PM
3 guesses where my wheel is and the first 2 don't count.
