FYI before ordering from the wheel smith or any other custom wheel maker

first off let me say wow. I am stunned. I am building a 30 coupe fenderless.
I ordered rims 3 weeks ago with a custom offset in the rear. I explained to Rex exactly what I wanted when I got off the phone with him I felt as if I ordered exactly what I wanted.they are just the bare steel OE wheel, when I got the rims the offset was totally backwards. I made a phone call back and told them what the problem was and that the offset was moved 2 inches in the opposite way that I wanted and this was going to make my problem worse. Rex said it was my mistake and he would fix it but shipping was on me and I said I would like to speak to someone above him. He was the only one in the shop at the time and I would get a phone call first thing in the morning. eleven o clock rolled around so I called them Bob the owner wasn't there, He called me at 3:30 and in his words not mine "my people don't make mistakes, you made the mistake" and I was shit out of luck. a little argument started brewing and he ended up hanging up on me.

I was pissed so I called the CC company and put a dispute against the rims. they are not what I ordered and he isn't wanting to make it right.

Fast foward to 20 minutes ago

I just got off the phone with Bob and he told me that I was a low life for putting a dispute against him and the were mine then told me not to call him again and hung up the phone on me a second time.
I'm done. This is just flat out bad buisness with a bad attitude. they sent me the wrong rims and now I was going to have to keep them

the resolution,I called Bob and he is going to fix the rims.i am going to pay for the freight.all is well butterflies on my nose, you can learn a lot from this about what terminology to use when ordering rims. I an happy now do I think it was my mistake no, but next time I'll be sure and do my homework and use the right terms and not just descriptions. I will use the wheel smith again

 

Hmmm... When I needed special salt flat rims for the '38, I called and ordered them from Bob, as he came very highly recommended.

I received exactly what I ordered, they were professional in dealing with me, and the quality was outstanding.

Is there possibly more to the story?

 

Always put what you want in writing - that way there is no room for error. Perhaps you should also mention what offset you wanted on here and what size wheels so that we see the bigger picture.

I have always had great service and product from The Wheelsmith for over 15 years now.

 

I have ordered several sets of rims from Bob never had an issue! ALLWAYS was a good transaction!

 

I'm betting that there are two sides to this story & someone screwed up with the communication to how they wanted their rims.

 

No help from me other than using the term back space instead of offset.

 

15x7, with a 4.5 bolt pattern with a 2 inch offset bringing the wheel closer to the body and over the axle. I got the opposite pushing everything farther away

 

verbal communication is too prone to error. a quick sketch saves a lot of headache.

 

Bob's words It was my mistake and I should have to eat it. His people don't make mistakes, and I'm just a low life kid

 

I've had great luck with Early Wheel in so cal. They don't screw you on shipping either.

 

Tough to make judgements when we are hearing only one side of the story.

Wish Bob would weigh in.....

 

Offset ~ The distance from the mounting pad to the centerline of the wheel. Offset can be positive (more backspacing) or negative (less backspacing).
Backspacing ~ The measurement from the mounting pad to the inner edge of the wheel.

 

Me too, explain yourself

 

Von rig is right!
Less room for error using back space.

 

Most Folk are Honey Bear and warm 'n fuzzy when all goes well...When your buying or selling....TRUE CHARACTER has a habit of showing when there is a problem....I think it is written ''Out of the mouth the HEART speaks''.....It tends to be a bit more 'grinding'/frustrating when your the buyer and some dude has your (normally hard earned ) dough and won't work with you. I've been in business and it sometimes isn't so much ''fun'' either....Mayhaps if Bob and 48 Chrysler read this they can both be a bit MO congeniel to whomever.....

 

I've never dealt with wheelsmith, but have heard nothing but great things about him. In my experience ordering wheels the ONLY way to get the correct rim is to order by back space. Anything else over the phone is too prone to confusion.

 

I honestly tried i lost sleep over it last night thinking about exactly what I was going to say and how we were going to resolve this, I don't complain about anything this is my first dispute with a company ever. I got one sentence out and he cut me off with anger the phone call lasted literally 47 seconds. He cut me off with anger saying it was my fault and that I was a low life and not to call him again

 

May be interested. What is the back spacing? Measure from back of wheel where it sits against the axle to the outside of the rim.
How much for shipping to 60468

 

I would think that ordering wheels would be a simple task. There is diameter, width, lug pattern and offset/back spacing. The wheel maker should ask some simple questions to make sure that they and the customer are talking about the same thing, since the wheel maker probably knows more.

I raced dirt cars back when and we to used the term 2, 3, 4 off meaning that is how many inches the wheel was pushed out away from the car/mounting surface, zero being right in the center. Going the other direction in towards the car was 2,3,4 inset.

I guess it all comes down to the terms used. I would think that the buyer or seller would say do/i want the wheel moved towards or away from the car.

 

Not for sale yet, I want to try and work this out first, thanks though

 

Two sides to a story.

 

48 chrysler, I hear you loud and clear. When wronged, yell loud and clear. When satisfied with a vendor, let us know that too. The support for wheelsmith is interesting. I would think the issue of offset verses backspacing was one that was taken care of over the phone. That is why it is very crucial to pay with a CC, it is at times the only solution to poor service. No paperwork on who made the mistake? Chances are you will win the dispute. Good luck

 

48chrysler, your post does not give the exact wording you used to order the wheels, your description you gave was very vague and confusing (to an outsider). Lets hear it, as it may unravel this mystery....as they say

 

Yup, they have all kinds of words and measurements for wheel offset, plus, minues, positive, negative, I've seen +1, -1, etc...

Using the backspace measurement eliminates confusion as to what you are talking about, it's the space from the back.

 

Hopefully there is 2 lessons learned here. First, CORRECT TERMINOLOGY, Von Rigg, nailed it, and it dont need to be repeated. Its like going to the alignment shop and saying I need more caster. Positive-negative what? Second is getting things in writing, because we ALL make mistakes. It happens, from both sides. If you are on the computer, chances are you can send a e-mail, and then print the e-mail. This is your proof, and if the other party answers the e-mail, print that too. On a item as spendy as a set of wheels, even if you have to go to the nearest Kinko's, Library, whay have you, to send a fax, you can do that instead. Now you have a actual copy of what you asked the other party to produce for you. A pencil sketch faxed or e-mailed would have been worth a thousand words. The manufacturer would have probably caught your mistake in terminology, gladly gave you a quick lesson, and you would have the wheels you wanted. Chalk it up as lesson learned, and hopefully move forward.

 

I explained that there was about a 5 inch gap with the current rims (zero offset) between the body and the tire and that i wanted to close this gap by bringing the wheel closer to the body, that i wanted the rim to go closer to the body and over the axle. That i wanted it to be 2 inches closer so i needed a custom offset.

I got the opposite.

 

This isn't what I asked for. His receipt is scribble and just says 2 not positive not negative. I explained the situation and what I needed and I did not recieve that. All He can say is that I made the mistake and I really feel as if I correctly described it over the phone. He told me his people don't make mistakes.

 

hopefully Bob will see this and chime in i've got to go to work

 

48, I added some more info, the pencil sketch might have helped eliminate the problem. Faxed over, or e-mailed and then the manufacturer could have clearly seen what you wanted. Pictures are worth a thousand words. Sometimes that's all it takes, that's all I'm saying. We ALL make mistakes, I hope you get things worked out.

 

So, you publicly bash the guy, then say you want to work it out?

Think this will help your cause?