Sim Racing products: customer support. what is your experience?

I would like to share with you some of my experiences with customer support of various sim racing equipments vendors, and I would like to ask you to do the same, if you've ever dealt with any customer support of a simracing equipment.

I'm a using my racing rig extensively, doing tons and tons of virtual km, training a lot for our championship races. With extensive use, problems can happen to your racing equipment, especially if you have them for several years. When this happen customer support of the vendor is extremely important, and timely and clear responses are the key. I personally think that having a good after sales support is as important as the build quality of the product you are buying.

This is what happen to me in the last 6-7 years. I haven't been always that lucky, I've to say, but I guess this is also due to the extensive use I do of these equipments.

Logitech[b]: my g25 got broken (smoke coming out from the wheel base). I got a brand new g27 delivered at my place in 2 days. Even if my G25 warranty was expired they wanted to change my wheel, taking the case extremely seriously and asking me if anyone got hurted by the smoke . I was really impressed by that. Excellent support.

[b]Fanatec: They recently improved their customer service, creating a priority level of support for high end customers (Premium Service Pack). They sell this as an option when you buy the wheel. Since I bought the CSW, my account has been upgraded to this premium service for free when the launched this initiative. I've been very happy about it.
I only had one issue so far, with the sensors of the pedals not reaching the maximum anymore, but I easily found the solution to the problem in the FAQ on their website, and fixed the issue myself. Very happy so far.

Thrustmaster: the stick of my TH8 RS got broken at the base after 2 months. Looking at the section of the broken piece, you could clearly see that my particular piece was defected, having different colouring on the metal section. Those things can obviously happen in a mass production once in a while. I still strongly think the TH8 RS is a great product, and it was just my piece that had a tiny issue. The problem was that they initially told me that "from the manufacturer's point of view the fault is not covered by warranty and could not have occurred by using the device under proper and normal usage. However, since your retailer is in charge of the warranty, we would like to recommend you to ask them to provide you with a solution."
I was clearly highly disappointed by that answer, and only after 1 full month of hard email discussions with their customer support, photos, detailed descriptions and a lot of frustation, they finally "decided to exceptionally start a RMA procedure".
It's a real pity that with such good products, they can't offer a proper support. Just as I told them in my last email before they finally decided to replace my shifter, I felt that they didn't even contemplate at the beginning the possibility that the shifter went out of the factory with a defect. I was expecting to be treated with more respect and to receive more support. This doesn't mean that I want to be right at any stake, but at least I would have expected a more attentive analysis of the problem.
Maybe I've been just unlucky with the customer support representative I spoke to. At the end anyway, I got back a new shifter, and I'm still very happy with the product itself.
I hope that others had better experiences with their customer support.

GTOmegaRacing: I'm using my GTOmegaRacing EVO from few months now, and I've been really happy with it. Few days back the bar that is holding the wheel got un-welded while I was driving. I sent an email to their customer support, and they immediately acknoledge the issue, and sent me 2 new bars made with stronger weld on the nuts. They also told me that they will work on improving that piece and if I'll have issues on the 2 new bars I can contact them again, and by then they'll have the newly designed piece. That's what you expect from a customer support! Obviously GTOmegaRacing is a small company and people that do customer support most likely work closely with the product design team, but still, you can tell that they know how to build trust to their customer. This goes together with an excellent product. I'm fully satisfied with my choice. Excellent quality. I'm sure that their great attitude will help a lot for improving weaker points of their rig. As a customer I can only be happy about it.


What is your experience with customer supports?
When I had my first problem with the G25 I understood that a lot of us, had issues with their products. Despite being built with excellent quality those product can get broken. In those cases you wish customer support can help you out at their best, especially when you bought a product that costs several hundreds of euros.

I'm really curious to hear about your experience.

I havent read everything... but I share here my experience too with Fanatec:

- I will not write about the quality of the products but only of the experience with the support, because I had to deal with it many times.

I will start with the cons:
- In the first place I had to fix the problems by myself, for example the optical sensor on my steering wheel was damaged, and I had to open the wheel by myself and replace it with the new one, if you are unexperienced with hardware or not so good in fixing things you can easily damage something more. Also with my Clubsport Pedals I had to replace the Hall Sensors by myself and the Load Cell, too. It is no big deal to replace it, but it takes very long to dismount and remount the Pedals again, and then a Hall Sensor was not working, they had sent me. So more then 1 hour of work worthless.

Here comes the pros:
- The support is very quick in answering your questions, also very complex questions about some technical stuff, not every Fanatec supporter has to know, also they are very friendly.
- The support sent the parts to be replaced with very quick, they also provide video tutorials on their youtube channel or handwritten tutorials of more complex things (replacing optical sensor on the wheel)
- After replacing the hall sensor on my Clubsport Pedals, and noticing that the new one was not working too, they offered me to send the Clubsport Pedals to their office/technical department. They paid the transport and within a week (Package sent -> They repaired the Pedals -> Sent it to me again) I had the Pedals again at home working properly. (I have to mention that I live less then an hour by car from the town where Fanatec is settled)

many years that I play simus auto and planes, I saw passing rather well of equipment, at the level of steering wheels I always used upmarket logitech, my G25 lasted me 5 years, without any Probleme, except of course that of the pédalier which was always the endless probleme to Logitech!!! but their service apres sale is extraordinary!!! always fixed in the 5 days according to my statement!! unbelievable!! for 1 to pédalier it always sent me a full steering wheel!!!!
G25 was always for me them better produced, but apres 5 years of intensive use!!! he died!!! lively G25!!! I am crossed to G27!!!
have! have!!! the not similar!!! softer, more smooth!!! I have finds it very difficult to get used me to it!!! and I have never liked it!!!! and of course always the meme probleme of pédalier!!! (running of the accelerator deffaillante)!! apres 2 change!! having finished pédaliers Logitech, I am crossed to the Club Sports Pedals de Fanatec, helas at the end of month!! oops!! meme probleme of cell of load!!! I contacted service apres sale of Fanatec which returned me one from it (only the faulty room under 10 days) therefore anything has say good SAV!!
I have just changed the steering wheel F1 Ferrari of steering wheel for THrustmaster T500 Rs with its addon, tres nice materiel!!!! manufacture tres well-manicured, flawless finishing, in view of photographs I was afraid that the steering wheel F1 have an appearance too much toy, but no!! it is splendid!! taken in hand immediate, very good management of the returns of force in practically all simus, a true culinary delight in NetKar, me have hesitated for a long time between a package Fanatec and T500 RS, apres consultation of the different forums, and opinion of different proprietaire modeles 2 of, my priority was has that ci, of more price is really interessant!!! both steering wheels, foundation, 1 to pedalier, group comes back to me to 480 euro!!!!! with a guarantee of 2 years!
for his reliability if I meet problems with, I shall not miss to signal it on the forum, as well as by the meme ocasion, the quality of their service apres blows!
one thank you very much has Andrea, for the opening this this topic!!! it is always interessant to have advice and opinions of different pilots

Andrea, the only thing I would say is "che sfiga!" (in english "what unlulcky man!"). It seems that almost every device you used had problems

Joke apart, I never had problem with my devices, but only one time i needed to contact a customer service support.
It was for a Logitech Driving Force Pro and the problem was caused by me (a broken wire, not reparable, installing a Frex MOD). It was incredible to me when I explained what happened asking for a replacement wire with connectors and they told me: "Sorry Sir, we don't have such spare part, we'll send you a new wheel for free, just cut your DFP usb cable and ship it us back...." NO WORDS!

Logitech, also reading in different forums is (was???) the best. Don't know if the new marketing decisions will affect also this aspect, unfortunately....

in agreement with you Marco!!!!! service apres sale of Logitech is really extraordinary!!!!! and probably what this fact of better on the market of steering wheels!!! incomparable!!
damage that it do not follow the evolution of the actual offer of other manufacturers

Firstly, as a rookie to online racing....Thanks to all at Netkar pro including racers. Great product and good racing, (although my driving not so good last night!!)

Anyway as for hardware, I only have praise for Fanatec. Bought the CSR wheel with gear shifters and standard pedals for my son, (Birthday present)and watched in horror as he 'spun the wheel around' like a teenager having a fit racing Xbox online in Drifting competitions.javascript:emoticonp('') I'm now weening him off slowly to real racing with Netkar!).javascript:emoticonp('')
After a month his wheel began to 'spike'. Turning the wheel one way then another would cause a 10-20 deg. 'jump'. Emailed Fanatec with problem in the morning, they replied same day asking for a video clip which I supplied showing the problem on the PC calibration screen.
The following day I received an apology for the inconvenience/fault, and a shipment notice of a new wheel that was being sent out!! All that was required to do was send the faulty wheel back once I received the new one!!!
2 days later as promised I received the new wheel here in the U.K and sent the old back. 6 months later the CSR wheel is still working perfectly, even with the 'teenager abuse'!!?
So a very grateful THANKS to Fanatec!