Wheel Vintiques -a BAD supplier

I know this is really for the "hot rodders" but there are some of those guys who regularly read the posts here.

Wheel Vintiques- a BAD supplier

So one of the "smoothies" I bought (Thru Summit Racing) turned out to be out of round and impossible to balance. Apparently the lug/hub holes are out of orientation to the rim of the wheel.

Summit racing was very nice about it and sold me a replacement wheel "at cost" and they paid the freight. GOOD GUYS. They gave me the Wheel Vintiques phone number to see how to return the wheel.

Called WV 11 times! Yes, 11 times and never got to talk to a real person. Just voicemail that says "leave a message and we'll call you back". NO RESPONSE. They never call back. I went to their website and left them an email. NO RESPONSE.

So, I'm out $80 bucks and just wanted to RANT!

I'm posting here and on every other car website I can find. I'll even send them a copy.

Be careful guys.

 

why didn't Summit take them back? they are the ones that sold them to you

 

To make a long story a little longer:

I actually bought the whell in 2009 which was fine for just rolling the chassis around the garage while I started the resurrection of the body. When I actually started driving it, in 2012, the thumping wheel was first noticed. 3 tries a balancing failed so I took it to a racing tire guy who had high speed balancing equipment and all kinds of runout guages.

Summit could not do anything warrantee wise because it was 3 years ago.

I have no complaints with Summit.

 

Summits policy is, "once a tire is mounted on the wheel, neither can be returned for any reason"

They are pretty clear from the start. I believe WV didn't return it, cuz it was bought off Summit, not through them. Barry Grant was having a similar issue, and stopped dealing with Summit all together.

Summits return policy is great for the consumer, but a nightmare for a supplier...

 

So what's the best move when buying new wheels, can you have a tire shop check balance / rim runout prior to mounting tires? A person could check run out by mounting on an axle and setting up a dial indicator, but not balance.

 

i always check the runout on all wheels before i have tires mounted , even new ones. once you have problem like the OP did you learn a lesson

it sucks , but the wheel is now 4 years old and it's hard then to get anybody to help you out

 

Yes, have the wheels "profiled" before mounting a tire, and the best machine I know of so far to do that is the Hunter Road Force balancer.

 

after 4 years, you're lucky to get anyone one willing to help you.

 

^^what he said^^^ grow up

 

We ordered a wheel from them to test on our Chevy. Somehow I made the mistake of ordering it from ShopVintageWheels.com, which I thought was Wheel Vintiques. It was a huge PITA dealing with ShopVintageWheels. They run another Mustang business out of the same building. I ended up having to skip trace the address to find the phone number of the other business (same people) after leaving a month of messages and unanswered emails... I could go on.

As for Wheel Vintiques, our wheel came in a single normal style cardboard box. The steel wheel is heavy and must have been dropped during shipping because it was damaged. I wish they would have put more care into packaging it due to it's custom nature. We'll end up using it as a spare and will order the rest hoping the same doesn't happen.

 

Summit= above and beyond all expectations. Wheel Vintique = reasonable on 4 yr old wheel,but really bad customer service for no reply. At least they should tell you to drop dead,GTH or something.

 

Barry Grants problems were created by lack of taking the time to clean the machined parts prior to assembly by themselves - the consumers and distributers should have never had to deal with that. As for Wheel Vintiques , hasn't that company been sold to Coker Tire in the last year or two?

 

How many negative posts does Wheel Vintiques has to have before people stop buying their crap???????

 

i can understand the OP is not happy he had to buy another wheel , and the maker of the bad wheel won't step up. let's just call it a lesson learned.....check ALL wheels for runout as soon as you get them


that can be said for anything you order and have shipped in.......check for damage , incorrect stuff , and shortages intermediately. 6 months or 4 years later no one wants to help you

as i said in my other post , i learned my lesson a long time ago

 

Is it fair to expect anyone to take something back after 4 years? I think Summit did a great job in this situation. What would you do if you sold something and the guy comes back 4 years later and wants to return it?

 

Hats off to Summit!

 

On the bright side, you have a hose reel that matches your car.

 

(Sorry for the brief hijack)

Has anyone had original merc caps not fit properly on vintique wheels?
My 48 caps will not push on all the way

 

I have a set of Salt Flats from Wheel Vintiques, 17x8's, two have quite a bit of run out, but they balanced OK, and I don't feel it. I'd bought them long before I had tires mounted and put them on the car, and since it doesn't make any difference in normal use, I didn't bother to complain. I welded a center in one of the rear wheels on my '51 Pontiac wagon with more run-out than the Salt Flat on the rear the 'Bird, so I have no complaint!

Brian

 

$80? You got a life lesson cheap.

 

It is not uncommon to buy something to use for a build and not use it for several years. The problem is WV is not responding to the owner of the wheel as I see it.

 

That's really weird...a few yrs ago I called Summit to order some plain steel wheels with an oddball custom offset so I could squeeze 8" wheels ans 26"x10" slicks under my OT 66 Mustang street/strip car for a vintage drag look.
Summit promptly got me on a conference call with the guy from Wheel Vintiques and we had the whole deal wrapped up in five minutes very efficiently.I was treated very courteously,the wheels arrived in excellent condition (although the packaging could have been a bit sturdier,as mentioned in another reply),and they are now mounted with my slicks and ready to rack up more miles...1/4 at a time...
Maybe the wheel company is under new management,as someone else mentioned...?I can't imagine the same outfit I dealt with would give you that kind of run around...
Now,I'm just saying this because I did it once,and I felt like a real jackass afterward,but is it possible you entered the number into your contacts and got one digit wrong?I did that once,called the wrong number all day long,and finally got some irate lady answering her phone when she arrived home from work...lol
Maybe check the number just to be sure you didn't misdial it....worth a shot.
I'll shut my piehole now and go back to just looking pretty...lol

 

Not to sorry bout the situation, Summit has always been fair to me...But after four years its kind of a mute point...take it as lesson learned...

 

Guys,

Before you purchase any wheels, check out my good freind at Pete Paulsen Wheels in California.
Absolutely the best wheels you can purchase with and "old school" owner giving you personal service. They have been around forever! I've owned 4 sets. Yes, they carry Supremes and smoothies too!

 

Given the time frame, I honestly don't see the issue. Anything could have happened to those wheels in 3-4 yrs (in the manufacturers eyes). Damaged in shipping possibly. Then expect a manufacturer cough up a replacement is pretty far fetched in my book. Summit did you the best they could (as you said). $80 is a cheap lesson. Learn from it. I do hope you hear from WV, I'd be interested to hear their take on it.

 

They will tell you that original hubcaps and new reproduction dont fit there wheels,you have to buy there hubcaps. I suggest buying from rally America so you can use original hubcaps. Had a great experience with rally America.

 

It's pretty obvious that some of you are more than happy with substandard craftsmanship and customer service. Kinda pathetic really.

 

Substandard? Has nothing to do with this situation. Procrastination does

 

That doesnt sound like WV's fault. I deal with them often with no problems. Summit would be responsible for the refund, But I couldnt see ANYONE to warranty it after 3 years...

 

It absolutely sounds like Wheel Vintiques fault for piss poor quality control. Couple that with their world famous 'screw you' attitude and you have every reason not to use them ever. And leave us procastinators out of it - I like take my time and not be rushed....