STAY AWAY FROM BONSPEED! Horror story inside.

[madmax]

Hey everyone,


I ordered some Bonspeed Intense 5 wheels a couple months ago because of the following information I found on this board:

1. Quality is awesome
2. Bonspeed is very reputable
3. Wheels relatively inexpensive compared to other 'comparable' companies such as Budnik etc.
4. I really liked the design ;)

I bought them through Joel at Custom Revolution. He is a great guy to deal with and want to say up front that he was never a problem, always worked hard to resolve my problem, and it was Bonspeed's fault, not his.

After about 5 weeks? (can't remember) I received the wheels and they looked great with the plastic still on. Then, out of the plastic, we found chipping, nicking, peeling, gouging, pitting... you get the picture. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves (sorry 56k'ers)


Gouges on the LIP

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif


Polishing agent on all wheels

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif


WTF?

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

Improper welding?

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif


......

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif


More pitting

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif


Gouging

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif


More improper welding?

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif


You get the idea. We thought, maybe there was a new guy. Maybe the machine was messed up. Maybe they missed a step in quality control. They'll fix it or make us new wheels no problem... we can deal with that.

We sent the pictures to Joel and to Bonspeed and the wheels got shipped back (on Bonspeed's tab). A few days later, after several calls to Bonspeed, they finally said these wheels are acceptable. There is nothing wrong with them.

We obviously said... there is something definitely wrong with them. Bonspeed said, well, it is not a show car, so the finish doesn't have to be that great. If you want show quality wheels, we can fix them. For a price. :screwy::ripped::bsjerk:

WHAT'S THE DEAL? We got our money back and told them to keep the damn defective wheels. I sure don't want to put 700hp through them. Who knows if they are structurally sound? Probably. Want the risk? No. Want them to look like crap? No.

Run from Bonspeed. Don't walk.

Just wanted to let people know so they don't make the same mistake. Now I have to find a replacement wheels... but I'm probably going to have to spend another $700 that could have bought me nearly all my tires :crying:


Max

[Roadrage David]

damm they realy look like s..t . i would not whant them for free under my car

[Roger Poirier]

Are all the pictures from the inner part of the rim? What size did you buy? What was the cost? What type of rim, 1 piece? 2 piece?

I'm sure you have heard this a million times. You get what you pay for...
Try Billet Specialties They are not cheap, however quality is very good.


The good news, you got your money back!

R.P.

[gchandler]

Are those pictures of the Inside of the rim?

Could you post a zoomed out picture of the rim?

I want Bonspeed to be given a fair chance. This tread so far is a little closer to vendor bashing then this site usually experiances.

[quadfather]

i do believe those photos are of the inside of the rim . i got mine thru them and they were awesome. the weld from the two halfs is on the inside . you would never see it when on the car. as far as the nicks go . i am kind of surprised. mine were perfect. i'm suprised they wanted to charge you to fix them? they should have taken care of that. my opinion of there quality was good after getting my wheels. i hope yours was just an isolated case.

[JamesJ]

Well I hate to say it but, it sound like everything went fine. You were not happy and they gave you your money back. And paid for the shipping to get them back. Just saying that it could be much worse.

[madmax]

I know that it could be much worse. I got my money back mostly due to Joel at CR. All the pictures were taken from the inside of the rim. He also said that I am the 3rd customer to have the same kind of problems within a month or so, and has since stopped doing business with them. The wheels should not have been like that... they are a forged aluminum 2-piece wheel, and only heard good things about them, like the set that quadfather got. I just wanted to send a heads up. We didn't even ask how much to fix them because we were so disgusted with the whole thing. I paid $2300 for the set... Detroit Speed wanted about $3200. DS&E uses them, so they must be good.

Max

[madmax]

I unfortunately don't have a picture of the front of the wheels... because we just assumed we would be getting them back LOL.

I do have one zoomed out of the back. I would not have been as mad if you couldn't see the marks, but where the hoop is welded looked like that on every wheel AND you could see it from the outside. Plus there were scuff marks on the outside lip of the wheel. I can't find that picture.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

Roger, I know that old proverb, but these wheels were not 'cheap' and I did a lot of research. The fact that Joel has had a lot of problems lately with Bonspeed may mean that the quality is going downhill from before. I just wanted a heads up for people, not necessarily 'bash' them. I know thats what i just did though... lol. I'm not like most on the site, but I know when I'm stuck on the wrong end of the deal.

Max

[LowBuckX]

yea Man "You Get what you pay for" My $700 Centerlines where perfect the first time out of the box. You did pay less than that right??..

Rock ON :firefire:



Sarcastically yours LOWBUCKX

[Nine Ball]

The polishing agent - no biggie.
That weld bead where the hoops meet doesn't look good at all.
Those pitting areas also look like crap.

Typically, I don't really care what the backside of the wheel looks like, but those are obvious material flaws and should have been rejected. I've bought many, many custom wheels in my life, and none had issues as bad as those look.

[zbugger]

That doesn't look all that objectionable to me. If it was the face of the wheel, I'd have thrown a fit. When I got my Cragars that I have on my car now, I went through at least 6 wheels that didn't have pits or gouges in them to get a clean pair. The guys thought I was nuts, but they understood. The backside didn't matter to me. I mean, unless it's a show car going for the Riddler against Chip Foose, I would have accepted those wheels. i admit that I would have questioned the quality of the welding, but that's a matter of safety. If the face of the wheel was clean, I would have been happy.

[MrQuick]

My cheapie intro's didn't look like that and I paid alot less note: great costomer service and turn around time.Come to think about it my Colorado Customs didn't either....did you bitch alot before you got em? perhaps its a chef spit in soup syndrome? But I too would like to see the outer finish...the insides usually look ike crap after a 1000 miles anyways.

[madmax]

The polishing agent - no biggie.
That weld bead where the hoops meet doesn't look good at all.
Those pitting areas also look like crap.

Typically, I don't really care what the backside of the wheel looks like, but those are obvious material flaws and should have been rejected. I've bought many, many custom wheels in my life, and none had issues as bad as those look.

I had no problem with the polishing agent. A little elbow grease, and it would have been fine. It wasn't even that this happened in the first place. It was just that they wanted to charge me for what I payed to get.


My cheapie intro's didn't look like that and I paid alot less note: great costomer service and turn around time.Come to think about it my Colorado Customs didn't either....did you bitch alot before you got em? perhaps its a chef spit in soup syndrome? But I too would like to see the outer finish...the insides usually look ike crap after a 1000 miles anyways.

The face looked pretty good, except for the gouges on the nice fat lip. They looked stellar, actually (there were light scrates on the face, like a dime had been dragged across it) but you would never know. No big deal. But the hoop hadn't even been welded all the way!

This wasn't really supposed to be a bitch & moan post, but just a warning to others. I know other people on this board have bought and have referred people to them (I referred two before I got the wheels!). I just want people to know so they can make the decision themselves.

Max

[MrQuick]

no I understand, just curious why you had the services you did. Its like they rushed them out?

[ProdigyCustoms]

We got a set of Intense 5s for Pete's Camaro and they looked nothing like these from a quality stand point. I would have rejected these no matter what the cost, unless I bought them as seconds.

Stuff like this is really too bad for a company, although they did do the right thing and make you whole again, your still pissed. I was quoted a fact in a business seminar once, "make a customer happy, he will tel one person, piss a customer off and he will tell 17 people."

This was in the days before the internet were you can tell 4000 in one post.

[madmax]

no I understand, just curious why you had the services you did. Its like they rushed them out?

Yeah, they almost seemed like seconds. Wierd?


I would have rejected these no matter what the cost, unless I bought them as seconds.

I could go to Sears and buy a GM cast wheel for $70 that looked better.


Stuff like this is really too bad for a company, although they did do the right thing and make you whole again, your still pissed. I was quoted a fact in a business seminar once, "make a customer happy, he will tel one person, piss a customer off and he will tell 17 people."

I totally agree. I did get my money in the end, so they did something right. But I wish it had turned out differently and had my 3 months back that I am behind now (needed them to mock up my rear!). Like I said earlier, I don't want to BASH them too much, but the fact that the guy I bought the wheels from had the same problem with 2 or 3 orders tells me something, that this isin't an isolated case. Just wanted to get the word out.

Max

[DB Z28]

Looks Like FINE CHINA crap :usa:

[slck6t9]

Why is everybody so worried if it was on the back side or not? To me if I paid that kind of money I would want a product to be right everywhere. I just bought a set of Billet specialty wheels and was amazed at the quality of their product. Even the BACKSIDE is as polished as the front with no flaws. At least you got so money back but I still can't believe Bonspeed said they were OK and that they weren't for a show car. Who are they to determine that. To me it is all about customer service and I think Frank hit it on the head about making a customer happy.

Scott

[Steve1968LS2]

My Budnicks were as nice on the back as the front.. and only $1700 for the set..

Bad workmanship is bad wormanship.. any scuff on the front side is a rejectable offense.. the back is more of a personal choice..

After all, if you didn't car you would have bought some el cheapo wheels and painted them.

[MuscleRodz]

I almost bought a set until I decided to step up to 19's. The only discouragement I had heard was delivery was slow to slower. Those wheels to me look like crap as well. Even though the back side will be nasty in 1000 miles, shouldn't be your decision to let them get that way rather than the wheel manufacturer? Everyone makes mistakes. I guess what set you off is their response to you which would have set me off. I can't stand it when a salesmen or rep tells me how it will be.

Mike

[LTorres]

This is really to bad Max. Sorry to see that your having the issues you are. I managed/worked in a brake and alignment shop for a number of years and would frequently do suspension mods lifts/lowers where the wheel tire side of the business would send over vehicles with new wheels. I'd have to say that from vendor to vendor many other wheel companies have a few wheels that will sometimes slip through the crack's of quality control....some customers were okay (if given a small discount for the flaws) and some were not okay (typically guys going all out for looks). In your situation it is at least nice to hear that you got your money back $$ (good for you)!! If I were spending the $$ wheels I too would have sent them back....then again I am pretty picky when it comes to quality.

[madmax]

This is really to bad Max. Sorry to see that your having the issues you are. I managed/worked in a brake and alignment shop for a number of years and would frequently do suspension mods lifts/lowers where the wheel tire side of the business would send over vehicles with new wheels. I'd have to say that from vendor to vendor many other wheel companies have a few wheels that will sometimes slip through the crack's of quality control....some customers were okay (if given a small discount for the flaws) and some were not okay (typically guys going all out for looks). In your situation it is at least nice to hear that you got your money back $$ (good for you)!! If I were spending the $$ wheels I too would have sent them back....then again I am pretty picky when it comes to quality.

If it had slipped though the cracks, no big deal on my end, and it may have even been okay with a moderate discount. But their CS sucked. Good thing Precision Brakes is awesome in both price and CS!

Max

[DeepBlue68]

I agree with others who are thinking along the lines of "who is the manufacturer to tell you whether their product is suitable for your car or not?" I think I would've been perfectly calm until they told me that it wasn't a big deal because I wasn't building a show car, and then I would've exploded. It speaks volumes about the company that they not only let that kind of crap out of their shop, but then tried to play it off as not a big deal.

I think that the fact that the scratches were on the back of the wheel makes absolutely no difference. A messed up wheel is a messed up wheel, regardless of where the flaws are. I can't be the only one who takes their wheels off from time to time and completely cleans the insides as well as the outsides. It might not be a big deal to some, but I like the wheels on my car to be completely clean, not just on the outside.

[jonny51]

The bottom line is you were not happy with the product.How hard would it be to give you a differant set and make a happy customer?I really don't get the customer service of some of these aftermarket company's.

[6'9"Witha69]

I have to join in on the "who the hell are they to judge MY car"!!!! It is none of their business to tell me I do not have a show car!! If I heard that I would have blown a gasket too. Good thing you got your money back.

[Modo Innovations]

My Boyd's came in double boxes and were perfect. The 18 x 12's took me 8 weeks to get. I would have done the same thing if they looked like yours, (send them back).

You can't even see where they are welded and they are the fat lip hoop. I have heard that since then they have a hoop manufacture that make the hoops in 12" widths.

You might want to consider them.

[madmax]

Thanks for the advice Shannon. It seems like someone should make a hoop in a 12" size. How are the Boyd's priced?

[Modo Innovations]

The 18 x 12's were $855 ea. This was before the single piece hoop though.

[shmoov69]

I would be Pissed!! After the response at least. It is not like they were mass produced TTII's from China! I can understand a borderline quality company sending that out at first to see if they can get away with it, but them not taking care of it AFTER you sent them back and made them aware of it is PR suicide!! Sucks to be them after this bad press! Hmm, how many hits has this subject had!?!? It would have been MUCH cheaper to GIVE you a new set of wheels than to have this bad press and loose quite a bit of potental sales from people on this site alone! I mean seriously, big inch stylish billet wheels.......Pro-Touring.......DUH!!!

[Larry Callahan]

I think this thread has gone on long enough. Since everyone's point has been made and I can see no further use in bashing bonspeed without them here to defend themselves I am closing this thread. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I know a few people with bonspeed wheels and I have never head of any problems so I don't think this is typical.