Sometimes I wonder what folks base there opinions on!
I'm also on other forums, and by and large I'd say more folks complain than are happy...in general with any product. Also a lot of manufacturers appear to think that support is a forum based user community, is it little wonder that all you see on these forums is problems!
and to balance this there are many who will pass on the manufacturers view because it gives them something to say or because theres something in it for them.. advertising, review products etc.
Another challenge is you cannot try out most of these devices, you have to rely on another persons opinion or experience!!
So who can you trust??
Over the last 18 years I've had many Wheels (is it that long since f1 by gc?)microsoft, thrustmaster, several logitechs, some brd wheels, and fanatec wheels.. some were good some were down right terrible!!
does that make me someone you can trust.. I don't see why it should!
I've also bought real life cars that were a joke, we don't have lemon laws in the uk, but I did on one occasion have to call into question fords guarantee of satisfaction and make them give me a new car!! (which they did.. eventually)
so cost is no guarantee of quality or fit for purpose!
So why do you think folks are still buying fanatec Wheels, and why would some folks buy another after they have already bought one (I'm in this camp, although I never bought another ford!) I suspect it's because the majority of fanatec wheel owners, like the majority of ford owners are happy with the products.
This doesn't mean that other cars or wheels which are less costly, cant get the job done.
It just means that the features of the other products (fanatec) justify to the purchaser the difference in cost over other products..
each purchaser will have a different selection criteria, each of these criteria will have more importance and together they represent what the purchaser believes is of value.. then it's up to them to determine if the purchase price asked is reasonable and affordable for them in return for a product that delivers that value..
Your opinion looks to be based on the fact that you think the wheel's are not reliable, and are expensive in comparison with other wheels.. and it would appear that durability is a feature that is of value to you, I respect your opinion.
In my experience, both my fanatec turbo s wheel and my fanatec RS GT3 wheel have never skipped a beat, the force feedback implementation is the best I've felt over the last 18 years (I'm sure there are better, but I suspect the difference in cost would be too much for me to justify under my value for money criteria
)
My selection criteria were..
- Good consistent Force feedback,
- not too noisy
- easy to mount on a rig
- works on pc and ps3.. later i liked the idea of xbox too
- adjustable from the wheel (compensates for console games which give you no force feedback adjustment)
- upgradable
- Better than I had before!!
I still have a g25 setup connected to one Rig and my fanatec turbo sport clubsport edition on the other rig.. I will replace the G25 when the upgrade board for my gt3 arrives from fanatec (it's a V1).
Having driven them side by side in GT5 I can say in my opinion, the G25 is a great product, but the feedback is not a patch on the fanatec wheel.
and that both of my fanatec wheels have been very reliable..my GT3 was obtained back in Feb, 2009 and is nearly two years old, admittedly it gets less play now I have the Turbo S wheel, this gets at least 2 hours play a day, and sometimes all day on the weekend!!, and I've had that since october 2009 many of my friends have tried it and the feedback from them has been excellent.
Would I buy another fanatec wheel GT2? No, it's not any better than what I have and I dont need another..
Are fanatec perfect.. no like other manufacturers they have supply, logistic and it would appear occasionally quality issues.
Could there support be better.. Yes
that said, given the size of there business I think it does well, I've used it twice and had responces quickly that were helpfull..
Finally I'm only responding to this to thank you for sharing your opinion on fanatec and logitech, both fine manufacturers of quality wheels (in my opinion) I Just thought I'd balance the opinions..
Or wether you want to expand your rather limited, one sided and unrealistic "opinion" and recognize that all companies occasionally let a dud slip through, and its how they DEAL with them that shows the companys worth.
