NRG Innovations - fitment issues and business conduct concerns. Buyer Beware.
Before I go any further I just want to thank everyone that uses this forum. I've been a lurker for quite some time and just about every problem my Z has thrown at me I've been able to find a solution to it buried somewhere on this site. I wish my first post here was under more pleasant circumstances; I will get around to an introduction thread in the near future.
I'll preface this by saying that Conceptz Z Performance has done no wrong here, I've been buying parts through them for the better part of 7 years across 3 generations of Z. Coz has been chasing this up for more than a week on my behalf, he's given me permission to quote the relevant emails here.
Recently I ordered the NRG carbonfibre roof cap through Concept Z Performance. Between freight to Australia and cost of the part I'm out of pocket $994.99 USD. The piece is supposed to simply sit on top of the car via 3M tape already on the roof and whatever your favourite automotive expoxy is. Thankfully I'm not impulsive enough to just cover the car in glue and try to slap it on. I knew something was wrong the second I put it on top of the car to see how good the fitment was. It was too short length ways by the better part of half an inch and too wide by about the same. This is a major problem when the roof has a lip running all the way around it designed to help it hold on to the roof better.
I got in touch with Coz by email and explained the problem and he made a few suggestions, so I took the A pillar exterior trim off both sides to see if the sides would tuck in underneath it. If that had worked I could have simply filed or sanded off the rear lip. Unfortunately there wasn't a hope in hell, theres not even a millimeters worth of clearance. This thing needs professionally cutting down on the sides to stand a chance at fitting and I niether have the tools, skills or time to work with carbonfibre like that.
Coz then got in touch with NRG on my behalf.
This is the first email he sent after making contact:
So... NRG wants to work with you, what's the Roof worth to you? They know you're in Australia, and they know it's never coming back here... they were trying to get it back, and offer a credit. What would make you happy, that's pretty much what they are asking?
I had no wish to bring my expenses up to the $1500 mark all for credit on parts that I'm now skeptical of. I responded that I'll call it fair if they compensated on the cost of the part and freight. I dont't think that's an unreasonable ask.
The second email is as follows:
I've been going back and forth with NRG about this. They rep I had originally working with on this issue had actually stopped responding so I basically had to restart the whole process. The gentleman I am speaking with now has informed me that the first rep I was working with shouldn't have been handling the issue. Which changes things up a little bit.
So the rep I am working with now has said based on the images, it just looks like the front is over hanging a little bit which might be caused by the item not sitting right on the back end. He also informed me that your customer would need additional adhesive to properly have this stick to the roof. They've actually never had an issue with this item before. Being located in Australia, the best that they are able to do is extend an offer for a 25% discount on it.
I apologize that its not quite the outcome that I was hoping for but that is all they were offering to do on the issue. Please let me know how you would like to proceed.
That'll bring it down to only $800 out of pocket. At this stage I am somewhat resigned to not seeing a satisfactory resolution, but I'll be damned if I'm going to remain quiet about it. I am willing to give NRG the benefit of the doubt here that this may have been a one off issue. There may be some step in the production of this part that has been accidentally missed. I am also willing to entertain that the attitude of the reps in contact is not reflective of the company as a whole. I do not intend to start a witch hunt. Worst case scenario is that I might save some other Z fans going through the same experience and it might push that company to do better in future.
I now have a piece of carbonfibre that is completely useless to me floating around the house.
I am going to demonstrate that it is most definitely not just an issue of "over hanging a little bit".
Last edited by Slithz; 10-14-2018 at 01:14 AM.
|