do take some time to read through the various threads in the forum. click "recent discussions" below and go through at least 3 pages of thread. spend some time. might give you a valuable and cost saving perception.
Seriously, do yourself a favor: don't buy into the Fanatec ecosystem. Not now. As David said, look through the forums and you will see page after page of evidence, people with products that are in need of repair, who can't get in touch with customer support and are waiting multiple weeks just to get a response, often just to be told that more information is required and they're forced to wait several more weeks for another reply...or the customer can't respond at all due to Fanatec's email inbox being full.
Sure you may be fortunate enough to get something that works perfectly well. But if you are unfortunate enough to need support, ask yourself if you're really prepared and willing to sit through potentially months at a time without a usable setup while you wait.
Assuming you're interested in the GT DD Pro because of Playstation compatibility, I'd recommend something from Thrustmaster. Now, depending on who you ask, they don't have the greatest customer service reputation either, but at least their stuff is generally more readily available and easier to come by. They're also planning on releasing a DD wheelbase later this year, so if you are willing to wait, that might prove to be a worthwhile option. And by waiting, maybe with some luck, Fanatec will have sorted out their Customer Service and/or Quality Control issues by then, making buying their products less of a gamble than it currently is.
I ordered a DD Pro as soon as the standalone was first ready for pre-orders. It came 3rd week in April, about a month earlier than the shipping estimate. So far, its been great, out of the box. I’m coming from a CSW V2 wheelbase, still working fine, but I wanted the DD and PS5 functionality. With 2 wheels, peddles, shifter, I’m already invested so the risk seemed low, and I’m glad I did as its a great product at a very good price point.
Its a shame that people are having these various issues, and the pandemic and supply chain issues aren’t helping. My few interactions with support over the years have generally been good.
So I’m still overall positive about the brand - at some point stock will come back, so don’t wait if you are still interested - get a pre-order in. It took a couple of months between DDPro Kit and standalone, so probably similar for the next batch.
BTW the drivehub offers compatability options with non-PS wheels but that too is hard to get. I used one with my CSW V2 for years.
Stock ain’t the problem. If you experience a delay, are missing parts of your order or God forbid get a defective unit as many of us have had you are in for a very nasty ride. The advice of Gregg and David are to be taken seriously at the current time. Bear in mind that their support mailbox is now full so your email will get rejected and they have taken their hotline offline so no way to contact them if you face any kind of issue. Like David said, read the posts and educate yourself, then make an informed decision as there are real risks involved right now.
Having flashbacks after reading this thread. I returned the GT DD Pro (base shaft was tilted to the right and also lack of FFB in GT7 (not Fanatec's fault)) and it was stressing, Not Fanatec's fault completely either. UPS lost the package for a week and then they finally found it, and were able to deliver it to Fanatec.
That was scary enough (although the package was insured for 1000 euros), but the moment Fanatec recieved the DD Pro they completely stopped messaging me. I was asking for them to confirm the reception, and nothing, complete silence for about 10 days. Then I opened another ticket and finally got an answer and in a few days my money back. The whole process was from march 22 to april 27.
So honestly, as Faizel says, if everything goes well, no problem, but they must be seriously under staffed and if there is a problem then things will get very slow, and it seems it's worse now.
That timeline is just unacceptable, also communication is a serious problem. When they exchanged my unit I heard nothing from them just got a confirmation from UPS and the invoice in my fanatec account was showing "fanatec sticker bundle" for 0€ that was also weird, Anyway, Im glad you got your money back but damn over a month!!!!
S B
Member
Comments
do take some time to read through the various threads in the forum. click "recent discussions" below and go through at least 3 pages of thread. spend some time. might give you a valuable and cost saving perception.
Seriously, do yourself a favor: don't buy into the Fanatec ecosystem. Not now. As David said, look through the forums and you will see page after page of evidence, people with products that are in need of repair, who can't get in touch with customer support and are waiting multiple weeks just to get a response, often just to be told that more information is required and they're forced to wait several more weeks for another reply...or the customer can't respond at all due to Fanatec's email inbox being full.
Sure you may be fortunate enough to get something that works perfectly well. But if you are unfortunate enough to need support, ask yourself if you're really prepared and willing to sit through potentially months at a time without a usable setup while you wait.
Assuming you're interested in the GT DD Pro because of Playstation compatibility, I'd recommend something from Thrustmaster. Now, depending on who you ask, they don't have the greatest customer service reputation either, but at least their stuff is generally more readily available and easier to come by. They're also planning on releasing a DD wheelbase later this year, so if you are willing to wait, that might prove to be a worthwhile option. And by waiting, maybe with some luck, Fanatec will have sorted out their Customer Service and/or Quality Control issues by then, making buying their products less of a gamble than it currently is.
I ordered a DD Pro as soon as the standalone was first ready for pre-orders. It came 3rd week in April, about a month earlier than the shipping estimate. So far, its been great, out of the box. I’m coming from a CSW V2 wheelbase, still working fine, but I wanted the DD and PS5 functionality. With 2 wheels, peddles, shifter, I’m already invested so the risk seemed low, and I’m glad I did as its a great product at a very good price point.
Its a shame that people are having these various issues, and the pandemic and supply chain issues aren’t helping. My few interactions with support over the years have generally been good.
So I’m still overall positive about the brand - at some point stock will come back, so don’t wait if you are still interested - get a pre-order in. It took a couple of months between DDPro Kit and standalone, so probably similar for the next batch.
BTW the drivehub offers compatability options with non-PS wheels but that too is hard to get. I used one with my CSW V2 for years.
Stock ain’t the problem. If you experience a delay, are missing parts of your order or God forbid get a defective unit as many of us have had you are in for a very nasty ride. The advice of Gregg and David are to be taken seriously at the current time. Bear in mind that their support mailbox is now full so your email will get rejected and they have taken their hotline offline so no way to contact them if you face any kind of issue. Like David said, read the posts and educate yourself, then make an informed decision as there are real risks involved right now.
Having flashbacks after reading this thread. I returned the GT DD Pro (base shaft was tilted to the right and also lack of FFB in GT7 (not Fanatec's fault)) and it was stressing, Not Fanatec's fault completely either. UPS lost the package for a week and then they finally found it, and were able to deliver it to Fanatec.
That was scary enough (although the package was insured for 1000 euros), but the moment Fanatec recieved the DD Pro they completely stopped messaging me. I was asking for them to confirm the reception, and nothing, complete silence for about 10 days. Then I opened another ticket and finally got an answer and in a few days my money back. The whole process was from march 22 to april 27.
So honestly, as Faizel says, if everything goes well, no problem, but they must be seriously under staffed and if there is a problem then things will get very slow, and it seems it's worse now.
That timeline is just unacceptable, also communication is a serious problem. When they exchanged my unit I heard nothing from them just got a confirmation from UPS and the invoice in my fanatec account was showing "fanatec sticker bundle" for 0€ that was also weird, Anyway, Im glad you got your money back but damn over a month!!!!