[HWYSTR455]

Ok, I'm a strong supporter of US companies, and WILL pay more (to a degree) just to express that support. But, when a company has poor service, poor customer relations, disrespectful, and can't deliver within a reasonable time, then I have to complain.

5 weeks ago, I tapped a curb in the LeMans, and bent one of the Centerline wheels, enough to where it won't hold air. This was a Friday night, and Tuesday I called Centerline to order a replacement. I've always had real good dealings with Centerline in the past, excellent service, polite, helpful, courteous sales people, good pricing, and great turn around. Over the last 8 or so years, in combination with friends and myself, have purchased more than 20 sets of Centerline wheels. Because of my past experiences, and others, I have recommended Centerline to litterally hundreds of people. Point is, I have a general baseline.

Week 1:

When I called to place the order for my replacement wheel, I was told that there was a slight backorder on the inner rim halfs, that they purchase from a supplier. A delay of 2 - 3 weeks is possible, though they expect a shipment in 3 days. Ok, I can live with that. The sales person suggested I call back at the end of the week, and see if the wheel half came in. Which I did, and the sales person, Louis, or "louie", said that they didn't make it on that truck, giving me some explination as to why. They expected another shipment the following Tuesday, and suggested I call back then to check on the status.

Week 2:

I chose to call Wednesday, and got 'Carlos' on the phone in sales, and I politely asked to check on my order status. He immediately, upon pulling the order up, snapped that this order wasn't 'late', and that they still had 2 weeks before it would be. I shrugged this off as maybe Carlos was having a bad day, and chose to call back at the following Monday.

Week 3:

Tuesday I called to check the status, and got "louie" on the phone again, and he said that some came in, he believes he has one for my order, though he needed to check "With the boss-man, who is on the production floor right now". Louie stated that since it was close to lunch, that he feels the 'boss-man' would go to lunch, and would not be able to talk to him until then, and that he (Louie) would call me back in the afternoon with the status of my order. No call-back that afternoon, blew it off as maybe it got busy, or just slipped his mind.
Wednesday I called towards the end of the day, and Louie said that my wheel-half didn't come in, and gave me the repetitive story of problems with the supplier. This time though he said it was the outter half they were waiting on. Ok, maybe he made a mistake. He further told me that they were expecting a shipment in tomorrow, and that he would call me back late in the day. No call back...
I chose to call Friday, mid-day, and got a completely different story from 'Louie', that they were waiting for the centers, which mid-way during the story, he changed to the inner wheel halfs.

Week 4:

I chose to call on Monday towards the end of the day, and I think 'Louis' must not have gotten laid over the weekend or something, and was taking it out on me. Now, I have to say, all but the first, these conversations were not 'customer-oriented' conversations, and there was certainly an attitude which made me feel that 'Louie' felt he was doing me a big favor making a wheel for me. This conversation was just plain rude, and he even chuckled, finding humor in how he was handling the situation. So, after that conversation, I called back, and was talking to the receptionist, and I asked if there was someone else I could talk to. Her reply was "No, Louis is the guy, and you need to talk to him". Ok, what came to mind is the comment before about him having to go ask the "Boss-man". So, I asked who his manager was. With a snap, and as-crappy attitude, she replied "Listen 'SIR', Louis is the only person you're gonna get, and you're just going to have to deal with him with any issues you might have", and slammed the phone in my mid-sentence 'thank you'. I've been promised numerous call backs from 'Louie', and never once has he called back, even after I had him verify my phone number, deal with his attitude, and there's no one else to talk to...

Ok, so, Monday makes week 5, and this past week, I've been shopping for wheels. I LIKE the wheels on my car, I have the optimum backspacing, and would prefer to buy the replacement and not spend 2k+ for a new set. But I'm about there, because I'm at a point where I have NO IDEA WHEN I WILL GET MY WHEEL FROM CENTERLINE! I have NEVER GOTTEN A CALLBACK WHEN PROMISED by CUSTOMER SUPPORT, and I don't believe for one min that there is some 'backlog' anymore of wheel inners, outters, or whatever, especially after the dealings with 'Louie'.

In summary, I will say, and sad to, that CENTERLINE WHEELS WILL NO LONGER GET MY BUSINESS!! These recent experiences with them has proven to me that their' CUSTOMER SUPPORT IS WORSE THAN POOR, and is more along the lines of REPULSIVE. I also will NO LONGER RECCOMMEND CENTERLINE WHEELS to any of my friends or people who ask.

HAS ANYONE ELSE recently or in the past had any SIMILAR EXPERIENCES with them? I've notice that a number of places are not carrying many of their wheels anymore, most show like only 2 or so styles. Summit shows a 2 week wait time on them, why 5 or more for me? Maybe if I ordered a whole set? Are they sucking under? Am I some kind of exception to the way they treat customers? Maybe because my name or something resembles someone 'Louie' may have had an issue with in the past?

[BILL BOWMAN1]

I hate big business, I bet they didn't even have a real person answer the phone. Why are you dealing with C/L directly? Jegs or Summit should be able to help.

[71 Ventura II]

That's weird, even if you dial the 1.800.345.8671 main number there's no prompt for public relations or marketing. I was hoping to find a customer sevice manager. The operator transfered me to what she called the "Public Relations" Dept which was a voice mail for "LOUISE SANCHEZ"! WTH? Does this guy own the company or how many people do they have with the same name? Very weird! JD

[ClassJ]

I just had a custom set done by Louie and Carlos for one of my other cars... My first pass at using centerline wheels. Overall, I can't say I am unhappy but there is something missing in their support chain for sure.

They shipped on time but took them a few weeks to straighten out a couple issues I had with damaged centercaps. I am still missing one damaged centercap. I also had some problems with weld spatter on the face of the wheels I had to buff out. (they were willing to fix but I would have had to mail the wheels back and wait 2 weeks +)

Now...could I have went elsewhere for 1100 dollar 17x7"s? Sure.... But with that said they were one of the only companies that made a really period looking proper wheel that cleared 4 piston calipers and did not cost 2K plus.

So maybe in that respect it was worth it. Overall, idk.....I would have to think about it before ordering again. But I do love the wheels to death. :usa2:

[Will]

hwystr455, there is a very good chance that your damaged wheel can be repaired. Start searching around, there are quite a few companies that can do this.

I wouldn't buy from Centerline again after that either. I'd also try to find out who their CEO is and write him a letter explaining in detail why. Maybe put in a link to this thread, also.

[JKGTO]

You might try talking to Scott Esterle at Summit or Ron Landis at Jegs. They may have more success with Centerline. They are Pontiac guys and members on this board. Jim

[HWYSTR455]

Bill Bowman1 - I ordered directly from them because one, I've had great luck with them in the past, and two, why not go to the manufacturer to order one replacement wheel?

JKGTO - Don't think I could call Summit or Jegs directly at this point, since I've ordered already directly from them (Centerline)...

71 Ventura II - Yes, I found it very odd that there are only sales departments, and the fact that everything you choose goes right to 'Louie'. Like I said, dead end.

Will - No chance IMO, the outter half would have to be replaced, and fear the cost would be higher than buying a new one. I will try finding out who the CEO is, which is public information, and may try writing him, though honestly, I have a strong feel he either already knows there's a problem, or doesn't care. Or both!

ClassJ - I think maybe if I ordered a full set, I would probably have gotten better service, and a better turn-around, though from your experience, still not sure. Once you got your wheels, seems they didn't really want to deal with you either! And weld splatter? Damaged center caps? Where's the QA? As for clearing a caliper, look at the Billet Specialties Street Smart line, at about $325 a wheel (for a 17x8), it's the same price as the Centerlines. Now, one last thing, I've had multiple sets of Centerline, like I said, USED to swear by them, so, if you want a center cap, let me know, I have a selection of spares. PM me and I'll send you one for free...

[steve]

i bought a used centerline off ebay a while back. it was months before i put it on and found that the silicone seal was leaking. luckily less than a year earlier i had bought one retail so i was able to return the used one under warranty. i had no problem with customer service then ????

[ClassJ]

Thanks...only the one cap was badly damaged, the other was just a scratch and I buffed it out mostly. At first they said no problem, two caps are going out today. Then two caps of the wrong style and size arrived. It took them a few days to figure out what cap was correct and I had to measure the cap on the wheels they sent me which seemed really odd. Then they sent me only one correct cap. So being a decent guy, I sent the two large wrong caps back to CA on my coin and asked them to send me 1 more correct cap. Nothing ever came.

Here is the fully story......

It was a slightly strange buying experience even getting a full set. First off all google led me to a website that had their prices listed. It let you build the wheels, pick your backspacing, sizes, etc. Then it spit out a price and said to print the page then call with a credit card to pay. Ok.

I called, credit card in hand, and they said, sorry, website is wrong and old, that page should have been taken down and you can't access it from our home page anymore. The prices have changed and are now $50 higher per wheel! WTF. So after arguing with them I sent the link, and bossman approved the lower prices.

Wheels came on time which was a month lead or so. The did indeed have spatter. Some of the welding on the back looked improper but they swore left and right that the welding was ok. I had one badly damaged center cap and one light dink. The caps were packed in loose fitting foam sleeves and ended up bouncing around in the back of the wheel cavity during shipment.

I also questioned why the inset parts of the spoke were not polished. They don't look bad but it was wierd. I was told "these are machine polished wheels, for the prices we charge we do not hand polish the crevices and they stay as machined".....I said "you list "full polished", not surface polished, just because the wheels are on sale and normally $400 list does not mean you don't polish the whole wheel"

They wanted me to send the set back at their cost to fix some of the issues. But it would have been 3 weeks with the shipping from NJ to them, etc.

But the wheels looked great even with the issues. I waited a month for them, had tires ready to go on from tire rack, car was on stands already, and they were one of a few that fit the car and were 17x7" (for my 1965 t bird landau w/factory disk brakes). So I ended up buffing the spatter and anything else that bothered me over the course of a couple evenings in the garage.

So now over the winter I want to do something with the wheels on the goat. (67 disk brake car). But I am not sure if I can deal with them. I hear cragar is doing custom work now. Maybe I will end up with SS's on the car if they can work the caliper clearance and BS.

[HWYSTR455]

ClassJ - So what style did you get out of curiousity? Center of the spokes, like did you get Thrusters?

Also, like I said, check out Billet Specialties, they have a number of wheels that are affordable, custom backspacing, and around 325-350 a wheel. The vintec and street smart line look ok.

http://www.newstalgiawheel.com/billet_special.asp

And like I said, if you want a center cap, let me know, I'll shoot one to you, no problem...

[ClassJ]

Hi....thanks for the offer on the cap but I have a good set at this point after taking that one to the buffing wheel so I am good. But thank you! :)


I bought the 5 lug meteor 17x7". This is what they look like on a chevelle

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/fe.../photo_04.html


Since they were going on the tbird I wanted something a bit gt-40 cobra wheel like. I like em. But see how the spokes are recessed in areas around the middle. Those end up just as a machined finish. They have a interesting look to them just machined like that, but at first thought they missed a step.

[HWYSTR455]

I like those, and was going to get those, but the reason I didn't was because of the recessed area. I figure it would be impossible to polish! I like those better than the thrusters I have, but like I said, I figured polishing would be in issue. The only issue I have about mine is the fact that I can't get my fingers in between the narrow spokes, and it ends up not getting polished. It's ok, because since they're so close, you really can't notice anyway. And the heck if I'm spending THAT much time polishing wheels for a driver! I think I do them maybe twice or so a year, and they look kind of rough the rest of the year! Heh-heh!

[ClassJ]

Thanks! The Thrusters are nice. It is a shame since most of there wheels are pretty sharp looking.

These have been on the car since the middle of may and so far they still look good. But the car only has been out maybe one a week this summer in mostly nice weather.

I just have been wiping them down with spray detailer to keep the brake dust off of them. I have nu-finish wax/sealer on them which usually seals the pores of the aluminum pretty well.

I hear there are other products like Zoops that work great too.

[HWYSTR455]

Yeah, I do like a number of their' designs, is a shame...

I did the Zoops on the Hopsters on the 442, after about 6+ hours of polishing on each. Thing about billet, they always get shiny-er with polishing, and the sealers prevent you from polishing. They can also create a a little bit of a 'dull' appearance, though most don't complain. Mine's a daily driver, and I go through snow with it. Yeah, you can imagine what they look like in the spring! Heck if I'm polishing in the winter! I may actually try like a spray detailer or wax in the fall, see if it prevents the 'crud' from embedding itself! One other thing, when running an agressive brake pad, when they get hot, they start 'spitting' little chunks/ambers, and it makes these little 'spots' on the wheels, almost pitts. THOSE are a PAIN to polish out!

I actually started another thread a while back, wanting sources for aftermarket wheels, because I'm sick of constantly polishing these things! That thread didn't go far, bummer...

[HWYSTR455]

Week 5 update - Called this morning, Carlos answered, needed to check with 'Production Manager' about the 'wheel outters'. (Outters? Or inners?) Said he will go find him, and either he or the 'production manager' will call me back within a half hour.... That was about 3 hours ago, still no call-back. And I think by now I know that the 'production manager' is 'Louie'...

[jimmy daniel]

I had wheels for my 63 ordered from BilletSpecialties forever. They advertised thru I think Jegs and Summit and I know in Natl Dragster. They were constantly backordered with no "good" date to expect them forever. I was finally told by one of the 2 mentioned BIG chains, you might want to order something else, I'm not sure they have any idea when they are going to get any. I ordered something else but still checked back from time to time and they were still backordered.

[HWYSTR455]

Jimmy Daniel - How long ago was that? And what was the wheel size you were waiting for?

I called back yesterday afternoon, spoke to Louie, and he said no word on the outters. He said he was expecting a 'shipment' later this week, but no telling if they would be on there. He also said he was going to attempt to source the outters somehwere else, and to call him at the end of the week. He did make a comment that he can do 8" width wheels all day long, ship immediately. No help, since this is a replacement, don't want to buy 2, and don't want to drop back to a 275/40 in the rear....

[HWYSTR455]

Update - Week 6 - 'Louie' says that he checked with the 'production manager', and he's expecting 'outters' later this week. He said "we've heard that before, no saying if we'll get them". Will have to cross my fingers I guess...

I did in the mean time toss the wheels off the 442 on, was killing me not driving the car! If I don't see the replacement wheel in the next couple weeks, guess it's time for a new set.

I did look into repairing the wheel, but the outter lip has enough damage that it would be obvious. Maybe someone could build it back up, but that's reaching I think.

If anyone knows a place on the east coast that does exceptional repair, I'd be interested to hear...

[ClassJ]

I know one place that does repair but with damage like that I think you are correct that it cannot be repaired.

[HWYSTR455]

Week 6 Update - Called back as instructed at the end of the week, spoke to Louie, and after he 'checked' with his production manager, said that the production manager called the supplier, and they're expecting a shipment by the end of next week, check back then. He also mentioned that the supplier said that the 'orders will by filled by the end of the month'. Wonder if that means I'll be waiting that long! This is just plain unacceptable...