FS: FX-R / Mini RETROFITS and BHLM (NO DOWN TIME!)

All that aside, bearing in mind my usual level of legitimate give a damn - people need to remember the aftermarket equipment industry is enormous, lighting in particular is exploding as most of us can guess based on the sheer volume of sellers hawking LEDs of any flavor and retrofit services.

They can quite literally be here today and gone tomorrow, and a large chunk of them are. Get a product cheap, sell it for a premium and then get the quick and easy cash.

Think twice about giving $1000+ to people who may not be around in a week or in a year or in five years, and certainly don't count on their claims of warranty.

Instead of sucking up what is less than $100 of actual expense between supplies, and hourly labor to repaint and reseal a customer's lights, you'd rather create this environment for yourself and lose out on unknown amounts of future sales.

 

Another fine statement

 

Well crap...now I have to shop for another retrofitter.

 

Good Call

 

I've seen three pairs of headlights created by this guy in person. All three had issues. Any issues that looked like moisture in the lens, Rechelon blamed on the paint, regardless of when the headlights were made. Seems like by now they might have found a way to avoid the issue with the "paint".... I know I already have. And from my experience and what I've heard from others, their "warranty" is non existent.

 

Paid over $1k for headlights built by these guys from another TW member. Been planning my install. I hope they're ok. He sold them to me before ever installing.

 

Doubt this guy gives a shit about customer service. Super fast to respond to potential buyers, but once he has your money... Good luck!

Weeks before Rad took over customer service he was told this thread was going downhill, but still no peep.

 

I just need to get mine installed. They still look good in the box and they sat in my garage all summer in the heat. The work looks really good and the equip seems first rate. The guy I bought them from paid extra for the RX 350 projectors. However, it won't be this weekend - going skiing!

 

I'm probably gonna get a bunch of crap for this but I don't care.

I completely understand how annoying it would be if something happened to these lights. But I definitely wouldn't come on here and bash them for it. The warranty expressed is 6 months, not 18 months or 2 years. If you were to buy a brand new car with a 36,000 mile warranty and at 36,001 miles the engine blows up, the manufacturer has no obligations to repair or replace it. If you bought these headlights from your local Walmart and something happened after their return policy, then your out of luck.
He offered the clean the insides of the lens or whatever and even replace them. Yes it was expensive but you can't just buy lenses.

And honestly, taking the lights apart isn't very hard. If it were me I'd just take them apart and clean them myself. If that didn't suffice then I would buy a complete headlight housing from eBay and make a simple swap.
Annoying, yes, should the problem be there, no.

I just feel if it were me, I would've consulted with them to see what my options were to fix it knowing the cost would be on me, not him.

I will still continue to support this business and refer anyone that asks where they can get some for their Tacoma.

 

Let's put this another way---Toyota gives you a 30k mile warranty. But then later comes out and says because of the paint on your car (put on by them) your car will rust. Now, if it was Toyota they would put out a TSB and allow you bring in your car for a fix, regardless of how many miles were there. It was put on by the company and they are accepting the fault.

 

I get that 100%

However we aren't talking about a multi billion car manufacturer. We're talking an independently owned and operated business. I had a Pioneer head unit that I paid $600 for once. It stopped working a year later and I didn't ask them to replace it, the warranty was over.

 

Rechelon could fix this for $100.

The only independent, small business that can't afford to lose $100 today to gain $1000 tomorrow is one that doesn't have a clue on how to be successful and one that isn't going to be around long.

 

Well said...

 

If you don't like the "can't afford" comment.. if they can afford it and refuse to do it anyway, the same rule applies.

Sometimes business has situations where you lose money. Whether it's keeping a customer happy or otherwise some instance that you can't walk away from without it costing your money and not someone else's.

That's part of it. Every business has to spend money to make money sometimes.

 

Beat me to it. It's not about the paint, or the labor, or the "pickiness" of a customer. It's about taking ownership of issues with your product and demonstrating to current and future customers how you're willing to make things right, even at a loss. This thread is a terrific example of how to run a promising business opportunity directly into the ground.

 

The fact that people think what these guys are doing is ok because of "warranty" blows my mind! Like seriously the problem did not happen because of clients negligence, not because of faulty parts on Trs or the headlights, it happened because of shoddy, crappy, half-assed work on the builders part. They knew that the paint and baking work was a problem so they changed it. Now because of said "warranty" expiring they make like it's not their problem. It is 100% the builders fault and if they truly cared about their customers they would of handled this no questions asked instead of hiding behind some half baked excuse of a six month "warranty"
Then to suggest the customer fix it them self is absolutely stupid. He just spent over $1000 for this product expecting it last and not become a pos in 18 months. It is not his fault that they used shitty paint or didn't bake it enough.
The builder even states that the problem is caused by the old paint they used and the old baking method.

 

In other news....

My lights arrived this past Friday and had them installed this week. There was custom work involved so I had them professionally installed.

Here are the specs:
- New OEM housings
- FX-R 3" Projectors
- Apollo 3.0 shroud (painted flat black)
- Flat black bezel and bowl
- Lightly smoked orange reflectors
- Keep the DTRL and corners left chrome
- Morimoto H4 wiring harness
- 35W Morimoto ballast
- Upgrade to OSRAM CBI Xenarc 66240 bulbs 5000K (ordered OSRAM Night Breakers 4300K, but was sent these in error, will try them for awhile)
- Morimoto XSB 2.0 LED halos, front mount. Wired as white only on stand alone switch

Custom install included the wiring for the halos. Wanted them wired separate. Wanting a clean and OEM look, purchased the FJ Cruiser auxiliary lighted fog light switch and matching harness. Here are the part numbers:

$58 PT297-35070-AS Auxiliary Driving Light Switch

PT297-35070-AS

$36 PT297-35070-SH Lamp Wire Harness

PT297-35070-SH

There are several threads from wonderful TWers that helped with pin and wiring diagrams which made for a good plan and install. Just needed to add wire, a relay, tape, flex tubing, etc.

The weather in NE Ohio right now is cold and crappy. For now, I've just got some low resolution iPhone pics at night. When it gets nice out I'll get better pics and update the Clone Trooper build thread:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/clone-trooper-build.205303/

Regarding the build, if you have read the previous 122 pages of this thread, you know too well about the drama. I'm not adding to that discussion. If you want to know about my experience with Burt and Rad, send me a PM. I did literally months of research and took a risk knowing the history.

The light output is phenomenal. I drive a lot at night on dark county roads and this upgrade is epic - functionality first and aesthetics second. More adjectives to follow later when I can do a proper write up.

So for now, enjoy the pictures!






Crappy pics of the halo's - they are bright enough to drive at night w/o projectors:














P.S. I need to clean my engine bay so it looks like this again:

 

....aaaaand he's gone.

 

If you end up not liking those CBIs, let me know. I may want them. Been wanting a pair. Btw your left side can come down a bit.