American Muscle Painted Retro Headlight issues
5/16/12, 06:14 PM
#1
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American Muscle Raxiom Painted Retro Headlight issues
So, has anyone else had paint issues with these headlights? My issues are going on 3 months now with no resolution in sight. Long story short, I found a couple fisheye looking defects on one of my headlights after installing them (which was in early March - ordered in late Feb.) and I have yet to receive replacements. Given the price and my perfectionist approach, they were not acceptable.
Nothing but excuses thus far as they still do not have any "good" painted sets in stock and need to purge their existing stock before a new paint run will be done in my color. Ironically enough, when I initially started the return process they inspected their entire Alloy painted stock and all had some type of paint defect.
I normally do not post stuff like this in a forum as I tried working it in the background with AM forum guys (like Chris Rose who I started working with about 2 months ago). But since they all turned off their PM capabilities, that resource has all but vanished. My last call to them resulted with a trivial refund offer to "polish out the paint issue" from someone who obviously had no clue about paint.
I really like the look and style of these headlights, but I really only want to pull the front apart one time to do the swap with a replacement set.
Nothing but excuses thus far as they still do not have any "good" painted sets in stock and need to purge their existing stock before a new paint run will be done in my color. Ironically enough, when I initially started the return process they inspected their entire Alloy painted stock and all had some type of paint defect.
I normally do not post stuff like this in a forum as I tried working it in the background with AM forum guys (like Chris Rose who I started working with about 2 months ago). But since they all turned off their PM capabilities, that resource has all but vanished. My last call to them resulted with a trivial refund offer to "polish out the paint issue" from someone who obviously had no clue about paint.
I really like the look and style of these headlights, but I really only want to pull the front apart one time to do the swap with a replacement set.
Last edited by Doogie; 5/16/12 at 06:22 PM.
5/16/12, 07:33 PM
#2
I guess it doesn't surprise me about AM. I have only been dealing with them since last year but the last couple of times I called I felt like I was talking to a moron. The customer service has seemed to have went down hill lately. I don't blame you a bit for being pissed. Those are way too pricey to accept anything but perfection. Good luck man, I hope you get it worked out.
5/17/12, 06:27 AM
#4
Shelby GT350 Member
Doogie and I have been communicating about this for a while and I've still don't have a set of properly painted buckets either. I got my first set the first week of March and when I received them they had poor paint coverage in the crevice around the light and inside the vents. This is due to poor paint craftsmanship , the painter did not make the effort to ensure good paint coverage and if they're going to only sell them painted , then they need to make sure they're painted properly ...
With yellow the black plastic bleeds through as a pea green , in the first picture you can see it in the crevice where the bulge around the bulb meets lower surface , it also bleeds onto the surface as you can see in the 3rd picture. In the second picture you can see it on the edge of the vent and inside it , the paint stops just inside the vent and the only paint inside the vent is just over spray. It even has poor paint coverage on the outside lip , although most of that isn't visible after being installed , but again that's just poor craftsmanship on the painters part ...
Now to the story , but first I have to say that they are great about sending out replacements and make it almost painless to return them , so I can't fault them on that. I had gone ahead and put the first set on the car so I could see how bad it looked on the car , and as you can see in the 3rd picture it's quite noticeable. So I called them and explained what was going on and since they were on the car they asked me to take a picture and send it to them , which was quite reasonable since they could have asked me to pull them off and send them back. As soon as they saw the pictures they sent me out a second set and gave me 30 days to swap them out and return the first set , which again is great customer service on their part. However the second set had the same kind of poor paint coverage as the first set , again due to poor craftsmanship. I called them again and I told them I assumed that all the sets they had would have the same problem , since it was due to poor craftsmanship and they had probably been painted at the same time. So I felt that until they got the painter to paint some more sets and ensure they had adequate paint coverage there was no reason to send another set. They agreed and told me that it would be in April before they had another set painted and that they would call me. I waited till the last day in April and called them since I hadn't heard back from them and after I told them what was going on they sent out another that day. I asked them if someone was going to check them to make sure they had good paint coverage this time and they said yes. When I got them I knew no one had looked at them since the boxes were still taped shut and you could tell they had never been opened. I called again and told them they had the same problem , so again they sent me out another set and promised that the supervisor would inspect them before they were sent out. Well , when I got this set the tape was off the inside boxes and you could tell they had been opened and I assumed inspected. However as I took them out , I realized that they were satin silver and not yellow
They actually had poor coverage around the bulb too , but it was not very noticeable and you had to look very closely to see it , and if mine had been like that I wouldn't have said anything. So I called again and they sent a set overnight to me , again with the promise to inspect them first , but when they arrived on Tuesday they too had the same problem. So I immediately called and asked to talk to the supervisor this time. I had to leave left him a message with my phone number so he could call me back right away. However he didn't call back till a lot later and I had already left work so he left a message with his extension. I called 4 times yesterday trying to reach him , I left another message the first time , but I still haven't been able to speak to him. I'll be trying again to day 
With yellow the black plastic bleeds through as a pea green , in the first picture you can see it in the crevice where the bulge around the bulb meets lower surface , it also bleeds onto the surface as you can see in the 3rd picture. In the second picture you can see it on the edge of the vent and inside it , the paint stops just inside the vent and the only paint inside the vent is just over spray. It even has poor paint coverage on the outside lip , although most of that isn't visible after being installed , but again that's just poor craftsmanship on the painters part ...
Now to the story , but first I have to say that they are great about sending out replacements and make it almost painless to return them , so I can't fault them on that. I had gone ahead and put the first set on the car so I could see how bad it looked on the car , and as you can see in the 3rd picture it's quite noticeable. So I called them and explained what was going on and since they were on the car they asked me to take a picture and send it to them , which was quite reasonable since they could have asked me to pull them off and send them back. As soon as they saw the pictures they sent me out a second set and gave me 30 days to swap them out and return the first set , which again is great customer service on their part. However the second set had the same kind of poor paint coverage as the first set , again due to poor craftsmanship. I called them again and I told them I assumed that all the sets they had would have the same problem , since it was due to poor craftsmanship and they had probably been painted at the same time. So I felt that until they got the painter to paint some more sets and ensure they had adequate paint coverage there was no reason to send another set. They agreed and told me that it would be in April before they had another set painted and that they would call me. I waited till the last day in April and called them since I hadn't heard back from them and after I told them what was going on they sent out another that day. I asked them if someone was going to check them to make sure they had good paint coverage this time and they said yes. When I got them I knew no one had looked at them since the boxes were still taped shut and you could tell they had never been opened. I called again and told them they had the same problem , so again they sent me out another set and promised that the supervisor would inspect them before they were sent out. Well , when I got this set the tape was off the inside boxes and you could tell they had been opened and I assumed inspected. However as I took them out , I realized that they were satin silver and not yellow
They actually had poor coverage around the bulb too , but it was not very noticeable and you had to look very closely to see it , and if mine had been like that I wouldn't have said anything. So I called again and they sent a set overnight to me , again with the promise to inspect them first , but when they arrived on Tuesday they too had the same problem. So I immediately called and asked to talk to the supervisor this time. I had to leave left him a message with my phone number so he could call me back right away. However he didn't call back till a lot later and I had already left work so he left a message with his extension. I called 4 times yesterday trying to reach him , I left another message the first time , but I still haven't been able to speak to him. I'll be trying again to day
5/17/12, 11:57 AM
#6
Bullitt Member
So, has anyone else had paint issues with these headlights? My issues are going on 3 months now with no resolution in sight. Long story short, I found a couple fisheye looking defects on one of my headlights after installing them (which was in early March - ordered in late Feb.) and I have yet to receive replacements. Given the price and my perfectionist approach, they were not acceptable.
Nothing but excuses thus far as they still do not have any "good" painted sets in stock and need to purge their existing stock before a new paint run will be done in my color. Ironically enough, when I initially started the return process they inspected their entire Alloy painted stock and all had some type of paint defect.
I normally do not post stuff like this in a forum as I tried working it in the background with AM forum guys (like Chris Rose who I started working with about 2 months ago). But since they all turned off their PM capabilities, that resource has all but vanished. My last call to them resulted with a trivial refund offer to "polish out the paint issue" from someone who obviously had no clue about paint.
I really like the look and style of these headlights, but I really only want to pull the front apart one time to do the swap with a replacement set.
Nothing but excuses thus far as they still do not have any "good" painted sets in stock and need to purge their existing stock before a new paint run will be done in my color. Ironically enough, when I initially started the return process they inspected their entire Alloy painted stock and all had some type of paint defect.
I normally do not post stuff like this in a forum as I tried working it in the background with AM forum guys (like Chris Rose who I started working with about 2 months ago). But since they all turned off their PM capabilities, that resource has all but vanished. My last call to them resulted with a trivial refund offer to "polish out the paint issue" from someone who obviously had no clue about paint.
I really like the look and style of these headlights, but I really only want to pull the front apart one time to do the swap with a replacement set.
You and I have known each other for a long time. I definitely don't want this experience to hurt that relationship or the one that you have with AmericanMuscle, so let me figure out what the hell happened on our end and get it fixed for you.
I turned off my private messages to channel inquiries to my team (Shane and Chris Young) - I have a new guy coming in to replace Chris Young next week, but in the mean time we're still answering any PMs that Chris had. Both AMShaneLesky and AMChrisYoung can be contacted on any forum, and our goal is to answer in 24 business hours.
Now as for not having a "good" painted set in stock, that's a terrible response on our part. I'm 30 feet from out paint booth and I can tell you that there's nothing but high quality painted parts being prepped, painted, dried, finished and then boxed up for shipment. Why we can't provide you with another set is beyond me. So, I'm going to fix that for you! Whether we need to give you a full refund, a perfect set or both of those options, I want to keep your business and apologize for this crappy 2 month process.
Give me a few minutes to figure out what's going on here and I'll get it taken care of!
Chris
5/17/12, 11:58 AM
#7
Bullitt Member
Obviously it's the paint that we need to figure out why we had a bad run or two of these.
I guess it doesn't surprise me about AM. I have only been dealing with them since last year but the last couple of times I called I felt like I was talking to a moron. The customer service has seemed to have went down hill lately. I don't blame you a bit for being pissed. Those are way too pricey to accept anything but perfection. Good luck man, I hope you get it worked out.
Last edited by AMChrisRose; 5/17/12 at 12:01 PM.
5/17/12, 12:02 PM
#8
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That gap is usually filled with a clear lens, so it's something that most people aren't used to seeing. That's a weird angle in that picture, the headlights actually look really good, and the seams aren't bothersome.
Obviously it's the paint that we need to figure out why we had a bad run or two of these.
I'm sorry that you felt that way. We pride ourselves on excellent customer service, listening to our customers and making things right when we screw up. We ship out thousands of orders every day, so while I hate screw ups, they happen. We learn from them and put things in place for them never to happen again. If you can give me a little bit more about where we went wrong, I can take care of it and fix it for the next guy. Hopefully there's something we can do to gain back your trust. If there's something we can do - let me know!
Obviously it's the paint that we need to figure out why we had a bad run or two of these.
I'm sorry that you felt that way. We pride ourselves on excellent customer service, listening to our customers and making things right when we screw up. We ship out thousands of orders every day, so while I hate screw ups, they happen. We learn from them and put things in place for them never to happen again. If you can give me a little bit more about where we went wrong, I can take care of it and fix it for the next guy. Hopefully there's something we can do to gain back your trust. If there's something we can do - let me know!
5/17/12, 12:48 PM
#9
Shelby GT350 Member
Chris , is there anything you can do for me ? After receiving this last set on Tuesday , the 5 th set I've received counting the satin silver set , I asked to speak to a supervisor to try and get this cleared up. They said he was on the phone and to leave him a voice mail with my number and that he would call me back right away. I left my work number and he did call me back but not till after 5 PM and I had already left work , so he left a message with his extension. I called it 4 times yesterday and 2 times today and I haven't been able to get him. I really like these buckets and I just want a set that are properly painted. Any help would be greatly appreciated , thanks ...
5/17/12, 12:55 PM
#10
Bullitt Member
Chris , is there anything you can do for me ? After receiving this last set on Tuesday , the 5 th set I've received counting the satin silver set , I asked to speak to a supervisor to try and get this cleared up. They said he was on the phone and to leave him a voice mail with my number and that he would call me back right away. I left my work number and he did call me back but not till after 5 PM and I had already left work , so he left a message with his extension. I called it 4 times yesterday and 2 times today and I haven't been able to get him. I really like these buckets and I just want a set that are properly painted. Any help would be greatly appreciated , thanks ...
Doogie, your issue is being handled right now and I have a member of our team giving you a shout, shortly. If they don't get you straightened out, let me know right away, but this should be your last stop.
Chris
5/17/12, 05:20 PM
#12
Bullitt Member
Chris , is there anything you can do for me ? After receiving this last set on Tuesday , the 5 th set I've received counting the satin silver set , I asked to speak to a supervisor to try and get this cleared up. They said he was on the phone and to leave him a voice mail with my number and that he would call me back right away. I left my work number and he did call me back but not till after 5 PM and I had already left work , so he left a message with his extension. I called it 4 times yesterday and 2 times today and I haven't been able to get him. I really like these buckets and I just want a set that are properly painted. Any help would be greatly appreciated , thanks ...
We're doing a new batch of Screaming Yellow on Monday and that should alleviate all of the issues. There should be good coverage, no runs, no other problems.
We are killing all of the current inventory that was affected, and we triple checked every other color in our inventory and didn't find any issues.
The over-spray on the back of the light cover is common, but is behind the front bumper, behind the headlight itself and not a flaw, but a normal production byproduct.
This should take care of all the issues we've had. We're really sorry about this, but thankfully you brought this to our attention and now we can remove the bad inventory that we found!
Thanks Jay, hope all is well. See you at the car show this year?
5/17/12, 06:03 PM
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Hey Doogie,
You and I have known each other for a long time. I definitely don't want this experience to hurt that relationship or the one that you have with AmericanMuscle, so let me figure out what the hell happened on our end and get it fixed for you.
I turned off my private messages to channel inquiries to my team (Shane and Chris Young) - I have a new guy coming in to replace Chris Young next week, but in the mean time we're still answering any PMs that Chris had. Both AMShaneLesky and AMChrisYoung can be contacted on any forum, and our goal is to answer in 24 business hours.
Now as for not having a "good" painted set in stock, that's a terrible response on our part. I'm 30 feet from out paint booth and I can tell you that there's nothing but high quality painted parts being prepped, painted, dried, finished and then boxed up for shipment. Why we can't provide you with another set is beyond me. So, I'm going to fix that for you! Whether we need to give you a full refund, a perfect set or both of those options, I want to keep your business and apologize for this crappy 2 month process.
Give me a few minutes to figure out what's going on here and I'll get it taken care of!
Chris
You and I have known each other for a long time. I definitely don't want this experience to hurt that relationship or the one that you have with AmericanMuscle, so let me figure out what the hell happened on our end and get it fixed for you.
I turned off my private messages to channel inquiries to my team (Shane and Chris Young) - I have a new guy coming in to replace Chris Young next week, but in the mean time we're still answering any PMs that Chris had. Both AMShaneLesky and AMChrisYoung can be contacted on any forum, and our goal is to answer in 24 business hours.
Now as for not having a "good" painted set in stock, that's a terrible response on our part. I'm 30 feet from out paint booth and I can tell you that there's nothing but high quality painted parts being prepped, painted, dried, finished and then boxed up for shipment. Why we can't provide you with another set is beyond me. So, I'm going to fix that for you! Whether we need to give you a full refund, a perfect set or both of those options, I want to keep your business and apologize for this crappy 2 month process.
Give me a few minutes to figure out what's going on here and I'll get it taken care of!
Chris
From the beginning, I was fine with waiting a bit for a new set after the initial explanation as doing one quick teardown to do the swap was worth the 4-5 weeks I was originally promised. But every time I called after that initial discussion, I only received a run around and lots of excuses. I am more than willing to work with AM on making this right, but I need a firm commitment and follow up on next steps. Me calling and chasing answers every couple weeks is not something I want to continue.
Last edited by Doogie; 5/17/12 at 06:05 PM.
5/18/12, 09:37 AM
#15
Bullitt Member
Yes Chris, we have history and your initial engagement was great as I quickly received the RMA information... but that process came to a halt when no good inventory was available. I also started a PM dialog with Chris Young on S197Forum, but that came to a halt as well shortly after it started. I thought he was leaving AM, which I attributed to that avenue stalling as he told me on 4/27 someone would be calling and nothing has materialized.
From the beginning, I was fine with waiting a bit for a new set after the initial explanation as doing one quick teardown to do the swap was worth the 4-5 weeks I was originally promised. But every time I called after that initial discussion, I only received a run around and lots of excuses. I am more than willing to work with AM on making this right, but I need a firm commitment and follow up on next steps. Me calling and chasing answers every couple weeks is not something I want to continue.
From the beginning, I was fine with waiting a bit for a new set after the initial explanation as doing one quick teardown to do the swap was worth the 4-5 weeks I was originally promised. But every time I called after that initial discussion, I only received a run around and lots of excuses. I am more than willing to work with AM on making this right, but I need a firm commitment and follow up on next steps. Me calling and chasing answers every couple weeks is not something I want to continue.
Our team is working on it now, and they're going to push to make sure that it's taken care of right, for you. Chris Young isn't with AM anymore, so any correspondence should go through AMShaneLesky or myself. I'm hiring for Chris' spot right now, so I should have 2 full time forums employees soon, with the ability to private message either of them at any time.
We do runs of specific colors in our paint booths and sometimes it can be a month or a little longer in between each individual color run. I want to make sure that we have a good set for you, which we should have in inventory.
We'll get it right, this time. No worries!
Chris
Last edited by AMChrisRose; 5/18/12 at 09:42 AM.
5/18/12, 10:48 AM
#16
Shelby GT350 Member
Thanks Chris , I received a call shortly after I posted asking for your help, thanks again. 69Mach1-409 , Chris was right about the picture , it's an odd angle I took that shows the bleed through. The fitment on these is great and the seams match the rest of the seams on the car. When I finally get a new set installed I'll take pictures and you'll be able to see how good they look ...
5/21/12, 11:33 AM
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AM is my favorite. You guys have everything I need and am always please with my purchases. In the next month I'll be buying one of your cold air intakes for my 08 gt/cs. Hopefully for my birthday on Thursday I'll order it.
I've referred a few of my friends to your guys and they have been please with their purchases as well. Keep up the awesome work!
P.S. if you guys have a messed up Performance White retro lights you are gonna toss I'll take it.
I've referred a few of my friends to your guys and they have been please with their purchases as well. Keep up the awesome work!
P.S. if you guys have a messed up Performance White retro lights you are gonna toss I'll take it.
5/23/12, 07:42 AM
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Doug,
Our team is working on it now, and they're going to push to make sure that it's taken care of right, for you. Chris Young isn't with AM anymore, so any correspondence should go through AMShaneLesky or myself. I'm hiring for Chris' spot right now, so I should have 2 full time forums employees soon, with the ability to private message either of them at any time.
We do runs of specific colors in our paint booths and sometimes it can be a month or a little longer in between each individual color run. I want to make sure that we have a good set for you, which we should have in inventory.
We'll get it right, this time. No worries!
Chris
Our team is working on it now, and they're going to push to make sure that it's taken care of right, for you. Chris Young isn't with AM anymore, so any correspondence should go through AMShaneLesky or myself. I'm hiring for Chris' spot right now, so I should have 2 full time forums employees soon, with the ability to private message either of them at any time.
We do runs of specific colors in our paint booths and sometimes it can be a month or a little longer in between each individual color run. I want to make sure that we have a good set for you, which we should have in inventory.
We'll get it right, this time. No worries!
Chris