[Hotcoupe]

I bought a set of SF71's (Feb 10) pre the group buy at the same time as another forum member (not known at the time).

I purchased the wheels from an Alufelgen distributor called 'Wheel Addicts',who was very helpful and the transaction went very smoothly.

The wheels arrived undamaged at Heathrow (where I picked them up from),and on the whole I was pleased with the quality and finish, and they are fitted to my car now.

I am well aware of the problems encountered by some involved in the original group buy,and it's fair to say they didn't have the best of times dealing with the situation that then unfolded.

For those interested in buying you need to know a few important points (if you don't already)

The wheels will be subject to the following:

UK Customs Duty (at the time I bought it was £19.33)
VAT(at the time I bought it was £117.53 VAT was 17.5%,the wheels were $600.00, delivery - $299.00. Total $899.00)
Use of Schenker deferment £22.00
Customs clerance £55.00
Airline handling £40.00
Cargo processing fee £10.00

I would ask the following questions of the Guy from Alufelgen:

Is the $80.00 delivery charge to each individuals home address,or to the Port (if shipped) or to the nearest Airport (if Aircargo) of the buyers home address,if it's either of the last two options,buyers have to be aware.

If as Kerr has suggested that the price is the same as advertised over the pond,it's hardly a group buy discount,the only saving being made is on delivery,which might just be to your nearest port/airport.

Personally if the above (price) is the case,frankly Alufelgen are taking the proverbial,and like so many US based companies think us Brits are not the sharpest knives in the drawer.

With respect to the Guy from Alufelgen,nice wheels , but sharpen your pencil and stop taking the piss!

Have a nice day

[Hotcoupe]

We must have been writing our posts at the same time Paul.

Originally Posted by M3-FAST

(I will now prob get a nasty PM like I usually do telling me to keep my nose out!!)

Never had one of those from Alufelgen,is it something to look forward to?

[idnan]

Originally Posted by Guvernator

Thanks not had a chance to have really close look. So you were one of the lucky ones in regards to shipping. How would you rate the quality of them? Also do you have any pics of them on your car?

No probs. Yep mine arrived fine but I imported mine personally rather than in a group buy. In fact I ordered mine only a month or two before Merlin335i ordered his set.

Not the best of pics:



I'm pretty sure m3-fast had some good pics of the sf71s on his m3.

Quality is good and I had no issue with the finish and I inspected every wheel after reading of the problems that others had. They are very light and my tyre fitter always comments on that when he puts new tyres on. Also they are made in the same manner as OEM wheels so they are less prone to cracking when compared to low quality reps etc.

[Guvernator]

Wow not been on this forum long but it has some very helpful members I have to say.

Thanks to Hotcoupe for some excellent info, of great benefit to those like me who are thinking of buying.

Idnan, cheers for the info and pics. I have to say the wheels do look stunning and I love white E9x's. Probably my second favourite colour now!

[RagingKileak]

Ideally, we need a 'wholesale' GB as opposed to a traditional GB.

IE, someone like Evolve to get involved and handle this - with a known cost to the end user up front. That way, the 'wholesaler' would have a lot of infrastructure for handling the ongoing shipping, queries, payments etc etc.

It was tough enough when I took on the Blackline GB and 95% of that was handled by the very helpful people at Derek Woodman BMW. Taking on this challenge would be EPIC and surely warrant a medal (or free wheels almost) for the organiser.

Matt

[Kerr]

The RRP of the SF-71 is $1600 but even the links from the official Alufelgen site about where to buy say $1099.

http://www.**********s.com/Alufelgen...Wheels-BMW.htm

Upgrade these to 19" and you are $999 too.

http://www.**********s.com/Alufelgen-CS7-Wheels-BMW.htm

[N11KDJ]

If any of you are interested i'm selling a very similar set of excellent quality 19" CSL reps in the classifieds section.

Cheers

[MERLIN335i]

Originally Posted by rogerxp

It's been nice knowing you .

It's been nice knowing you all too !!!!

Surely they are out of bed by now

[MERLIN335i]

Originally Posted by ALUFELGEN

That has now been resolved and our packaging has taken a 2-year test and not failed a single time.

Sorry, stop being economical with the truth !

My order date was February 2011, (NOT over two years ago) do you really want me to post photos showing the state of the boxes and wheel damage with the shipment date.

But there and again, probably no point, you will only have them removed AGAIN !

[CarAbuser]

I can't believe you would be punished for voicing what is a valid concern.

I thought this was a quality forum supported by ad revenue generated by its users and not a place where users are openly silenced in order for others to be short-changed.

[creepy coupe]

Originally Posted by ALUFELGEN

Not a single email goes without response. We are working on obtaining touch-up paint since our factory uses internal codes for their paints and they are not part of the PAL system.

Not so, your lot blanked me twice, when I requested help with colour match codes.

[makkan00]

Sounds like many unhappy customers....
I liked those but considering everything, will stay clear.

Thanks Hot Coupe, Merlin 335i, Idnan, & creepy coupe for point out some real issues.

As Matt suggested, way forward is to ask 'somebody' to handle it toward GB sale, and not imported sale.

[m1bjr]

Originally Posted by creepy coupe

Not so, your lot blanked me twice, when I requested help with colour match codes.

Me too.

Alufelgen are talking nonsense when they say they answer all emails.
YOU DID NOT ANSWER ANY OF MY EMAILS EITHER.

And come on....
AS YOU SAID ABOVE - 2 YEARS AND YOU STILL DONT HAVE A PAINT CODE FOR ME?

Jokers.
I would avoid.

[M3-FAST]

Wheels good

Customer service appalling

Customer care.......none existant!

[AlwynMike]

If there are any disbelievers here;

I am completely impartial, I haven't had any Alufelgen wheels, I won't be getting any, and I don't personally know anyone who has bought them.

I do, however, remember the thread(s) about the group buy, and the sudden disappearance of the thread that (rightly, it seems) slated the condition of the wheels and the lack of customer service.

This is an International forum, but it seems that there are certain elements that have perhaps too much of an influence on Moderators.

Mike

[m1bjr]

Originally Posted by AlwynMike

If there are any disbelievers here;

I am completely impartial, I haven't had any Alufelgen wheels, I won't be getting any, and I don't personally know anyone who has bought them.

I do, however, remember the thread(s) about the group buy, and the sudden disappearance of the thread that (rightly, it seems) slated the condition of the wheels and the lack of customer service.

This is an International forum, but it seems that there are certain elements that have perhaps too much of an influence on Moderators.

Mike

Quite.

And if a company gives satisfactory service, then they grow business quickly and cheaply on an enthusiast forum.
But those who fall short ?
Whether or not you pay a lot of money for an advertising presence should not be relevant to feedback.
By all means keep it factual, but to bury genuine complaints or issues with a supplier only degrades the integrity of a forum board.

In fact its an odd concept to me, deleting critical postings on a forum that is run from the USA.
The land where customer is king, and mail order customer service is generally about the best on the planet, in my experiance.

So why not let the membership decide which traders persist?

[davyk31]

Site sponsor = protected species. Just try saying anything against Sytner either and you will find that disappears as well. Seems money talks....

[makkan00]

Money talks every where in the world....same applies to internet world.

[RagingKileak]

Gents,

If you remain constructive and keep your comments based on facts as most of you have done, I'm sure you'll be fine.

Beware of wandering into the trap of abusing the mods who have a tough job when it comes to things like this. They have to protect the continued investment of the sponsors - how many of you have donated money to the forum?

That said, I'm sure fair and reasonable comments based on fact will be ok. That's the sort of thing that Alufelgen have the right to refute and indeed I think they must provide more info if they expect to sell into the uk.

Matt

[phil200tdi]

Maybe big motoring world should become a sponsor!

[vivekk]

Originally Posted by MERLIN335i

Sorry, stop being economical with the truth !

My order date was February 2011, (NOT over two years ago) do you really want me to post photos showing the state of the boxes and wheel damage with the shipment date.

But there and again, probably no point, you will only have them removed AGAIN !

Tony & I will decide if anything needs removing on here, or not. If Mark & Jason are involved, we'll speak to them & sort the matter out.

Any non-UK forum sponsor/vendor does NOT have automatic privilege to advertise in the UK section at all. From the very beginning of the moderated UK section, Mark & Jason gave Tony & I the choice of deciding what we were happy with, regarding this issue.

So, it'd probably be helpful if Alufelgen could respond appropriately regarding communication problems with UK customers, as described.
It'd also be helpful if the precise terms & costs of this potential group buy are posted for all potential customers to see, without hiding any taxes, charges or delivery costs customers may face at the final point of delivery.

If I'm not satisfied with the response & it appears that transatlantic communication has not been improved, then I'll simply stop any advertising by Alufelgen in the UK forum. It really is as simple as that.

Viv

[A_P]

Originally Posted by MERLIN335i

It's been nice knowing you all too !!!!

Surely they are out of bed by now

Hey Merlin, I just read your super long thread on what happened with you and Alufelgen. What the hell. I know you were not trying to play the innocent victim card but I cant help but think if I or anyone would be in the same situation. What could we do?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!

The customer service and care that was offered was simply non existant. No wonder there are so many members on here sore about Alufelgen.

Its a shame you had to go through that.

In regards to Alufelgen, yes these things can happen in shipping and well that is business and that is life. No one here is knocking the company and saying we wont do business with you.

What I would suggest though:
* You consider giving a TRUE group discount where you offer the actual wheels at a discounted rate and/or contribute to paying all import duties and taxes.
* Offer peace of mind by ensuring that you will replace any goods that were damaged in transit and/or are displaying manufacturing defects.
* The damaged goods will be replaced free of charge and that you as a dealer are willing to pay for the cost of shipping for all damaged goods.
* Consider shipping your wheels with a PAL compliant paint code for U.K customers.

Fact: There have been numerous documented occasions where you have failed to provide a satisfactory service.

Would it not be fair then for you to take the initiative and make a gesture, by honouring the above requests? It would be a chance for you to redeem your image and hopefully build a long, prosperous and mutually beneficial relationship with your customers here in the U.K.

Look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards.