But I will say that after all the bashing, hating, and everything else that was put into the bmw thread, this response was good from ADV1. This was done with class.....
LINK
Response:
I am posting this on behalf of Jordan as he does not have a M3Post username.
Guys, I appreciate everyone's concern in this matter and you all are absolutely correct in saying that this is a major issue that is absolutely unacceptable. My own wife drives around every single day with the same 22" Step Lip rim halves along with my 4 year old and 1 year old baby boys in the back seat. Nothing in the world other than my family matters to and I'm sure that most of you feel exactly the same way. With that being said I was obviously very concerned when I first heard about the issue which was in mid 2011 on order number 1897, 22" ADV08 Track Spec's for a Mercedes ML63 AMG. At that time, the issue had never been seen and obviously we discussed the cause in detail with Mike at Triangle, our engineer, and multiple others to identify the issue and ensure that it's not repeated. At that time, the final verdict from Mike at Triangle was that the issue was due to an issue related to machining / engineering and not the inner barrel. Regardless we obviously checked every last detail on the file and physically checked the center discs themselves to confirm that this was the case which we actually had hoped it was as this is something internal that we can identify and correct ourselves and easily see if any other sets shared the issue. After doing so, we were unable to verify that this was the case as everything was exactly as it should have been. Mike then, replaced the parts for us at no cost, we finished and assembled the set with new hardware as always and advised our dealer of the issue in detail as they explained previously that the vehicle was driven aggressively and could have potentially been the cause in which case moving forward they would be driving under only normal conditions and would report to us if any problems occurred. At the time, no one really knew what the cause was so it was up in the air with possible causes ranging from chrome plating to improper use and several others. Mike did provide us with a detailed statement outlining what was his opinion on the cause which nowaym3 is referring to as he most likely was working at Triangle at the time and was aware of this. Regardless, what he or she is saying is true and was the case at that time.
Moving forward a few months, after keeping tabs on the first issue on the ML63 set and confirming that the issue seemed to have been solved we basically had nothing else to review as there was no final confirmation as to what caused the issue and no identifiable reasons to change anything moving forward as everything was engineered to spec and physically confirmed. I can assure you guys, even though many of you seem to have a preconceived opinion about me which is perfectly ok however this business isn't made for short term success, my own family and the families of nearly 20 of our staff depend on this company and treat it like their own. With this being said, ignoring an issue like this which could potentially cause a huge impact on any company if not resolved it was in not only my own interest to make sure that it's not going to happen again but everyone on ADV.1 staff, Triangle staff and MHT's staff. These are not issues that are ignored and had it been something that potentially could have recurred all parties involved would have stopped production on the affected parts until the issue was resolved. Many of you make comments as if we build all of our wheels with no regard to safety or quality which as you all know if were true we wouldn't be in business right now. Some of those who seem eager to offer their expertise on this matter jump at the opportunity to point out such an issue, although we all appreciate the information it's obvious that pointing this information out is in their best interest. Once again, perfectly fine - nothing we haven't dealt with in the past. I can see how something like this would be amazing news to any of our competitors unfortunately, but not surprisingly.
Had this been the end of the issue, the statements made by nowaym3 may have been valid however this person may not be involved with the more recent activity in this matter which arose in 2012. Order 2169, ordered for a BMW x6M in 22" ADV5.0 Track Spec configuration was reported to have the same issue. Upon learning about this issue personally on Feb 13, 2012 I contacted the client directly to get the details, apologize and get this issue resolved once and for all. I immediately had the wheels picked up and shipped to our facility in CA. I booked a flight the same day and was in the shop to inspect them once they arrived. At that time myself and some of our production related staff took the wheels to Mike ourselves in order to resolve and identify the issue once and for all. Around the same time, this particular order in question (1797) was also reported and was discussed. By that time it was clear that there were no issues with the center discs themselves, no engineering similarities that could have linked the 3 sets to the issue, they were used in different widths and offsets from low to high and on 3 different vehicles so all signs pointed to the one possible factor that they all had in common which was the inner barrel, all of which was the same size (22x7.5 and 22x8 inners) all 3 orders were confirmed to have these inners delivered around the same time frame and Mike himself confirmed that these parts were an older style step lip which was no longer used and also was a possible batch of parts which may have been outsourced to another vendor for the heat treating process which was not the usual protocol for reasons I'm not aware of.
With this all being said, the issues are clearly apparent. They are identified, isolated and resolved. The issue is clearly an unforeseen case of only 12 parts out of literally thousands that have been used not only by ADV.1 but by any 3 piece wheel manufacturer who buys 22" step lip parts. We will continue to support Triangle and work with them on a daily basis not only to improve but also because those who know are well aware that there are no better parts that can be found anywhere in the world and this is why we use them as do other high quality wheel brands.
In regards to Eugene's issues with communication and service from ADV.1, I have no argument here. I completely agree with you and apologize for this and I assure you the issue has not gone unnoticed and the sales rep involved has also expressed his apologies. Regardless, you're right and had I been aware of the issue directly I would have been extremely involved personally as I was and still am on the other 2 cases which both customers can confirm I'm sure. In any case, it doesn't matter at this point - you're not satisfied with your service and there's nothing more to it. All I can do is offer you one of 2 things should you wish to accept, one being a full refund on these wheels which you may choose to keep them if you would like or leave them here, either way is ok or alternatively although I doubt you'd like to have another set of our wheels due to the circumstance, I will offer you a free set of your choice - applicable to any car, any style, any finish, any time.
- Jordan