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Terrible: Zygote Autosport

4K views 1 reply 1 participant last post by  BaconFlavoredChunkies 
#1 ·
As a longtime member of the community here, I was well aware of Pete @ Zygote Autosport's generally good reputation on the forums. Though I had never dealt with him personally, I felt confident going through him when it came time to order a set of wheels for my new Scat Pack charger.

The initial experience was great - Pete emailed a few options to nail down my style preferences, offered a bit of advice regarding fitment… I felt I was in good hands, and he was running some sale pricing, so I gave him a call and paid in full with the expectation that the wheels would be waiting for me when my car (which hadn't even been ordered yet) arrived.

I wasn't in a particular rush and remained relatively hands-off at first. I assumed Pete was doing the right thing by me. Two weeks go by, and I hadn't received any supporting paperwork behind the transaction. I checked in and was promised receipts were going out and that he would look into the status of my order… No problem.

A month goes by and all I've received are vague responses with no real information. Now I'm beginning to get a bit worried, so I pressed harder. I need some sort of firm delivery commitment, in addition to some documentation behind the transaction. Pete was, as always, amicable and apologetic… An invoice was finally emailed to me (over a month after the card was charged), along with a promise to "find out today" what was going on. Once again, I received no return communication.

I let another month go by - now we're passing the 60 day mark, with no information on the rims. I'm unable to get a solid response as to whether the order was even placed with the wheel manufacturer. At this point, the alarm bells are beginning to sound. I find a few other recent bad experiences on the forums… So I send a firm email that I need some sort of delivery commitment, or I'm going to bail on the order. The reply comes back - "out of town, but I'll do what I can to contact the vendor. I have other wheels behind from them as well."

Hmmm… Ok, just about had it. I'm going to take matters into my own hands call the "vendor" - aka, the wheel manufacturer. I inquire about the lead time on the exact rims I ordered: "Yup, we have them in stock, ready to ship."

Have you had issues keeping these in inventory, or…? "Nope."

But you have to drill out the 115X5 offset, right? "Yeah, there's a two day lead time on that."

Now I'm pissed, and I'm suspecting fraud. I speak with the rep who handles the Zygote account, and plead my case… I inform them that I'm considering a chargeback, but don't want to screw Pete with an unsold set rims if they've actually been ordered and he's financially on the hook for them with the wheel manufacturer. I'm annoyed -- but I'm a fair guy and understand that sh!t happens. Guess what? No order was placed for my wheels, nor were there any outstanding orders for their account. I won't go into the rest here.

Wow. So Pete charged me a good chunk of change and sat on my money for over two months without doing a damn thing. All the while assuring me the delays rest on the vendor - an utter fabrication. After my phone call with the manufacturer I sent a firm (but reasonably polite, considering) email explaining my findings and demanding a refund within 48 hours… It's been "radio silence" since then.

I'm not worried about the financial side of things - I'll get my money back via the chargeback process. But I'm befuddled, shocked, angered and upset at being taken for a ride by someone I assumed was a stand-up guy.

Silver lining for me is, the good folks at Dodge were able to build-to-order and deliver me an entire 2016 Charger Scat Pack during this same 2+ month period. But yah... Buyer beware.
 
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#2 ·
To follow up...

The card issuer credited my account a few days after instantiating the request. There was a 60-day window during which the Zygote could contest the reversal -- but this window has since come and gone, transparently to myself with no additional action needed. Ultimately I got my money back and have since had a great experience purchasing wheels with another supporting vendor on the forum... So, I'm able to put the whole frustrating ordeal behind me.

Sadly, I received several PM's with regard to this post from folks having similar issues with Zygote... I hope they can pursue a similar resolution, and once the dust has settled, are able to post their experiences here (for better or worse.)

-Tim
 
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