Dealing with N-Fab

As I became frustrated trying to get updates on my order, I looked around for reviews of nfabs customer service. Finding only a few, I thought I'd put up an account of my experience for others.

YMMV

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Sparknotes Version

Pros: solidly built product, polite when actually reachable

Cons: product finish, missing parts, bad communication, cumbersome ordering process, failure to remedy problems

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The Story

I contacted nfab about purchasing a light bar for my truck. I recieved a prompt reply with special payment details as the product I wanted was not listed on their site. They said I needed to fax a copy of my credit card and driver's license for payment. I didn't feel secure in doing so. I understand that the product I wanted was not listed on the site, but having a web payment system in place, it seems I should have been able to pay in another fashion. On with the story.

After sending my payment, I didn't hear anything back from them; not an order confirmation, not even a thank you. They were initially quick to take my money, but then it was like I had ceased to exist. After a couple days I sent email inquiries which went unanswered. A few days later I then started calling for updates. After several phone calls and almost two weeks later, my product was finally shipped. I am not disputing that products take time to assemble, but their lack of communication is what I have issues with. I don't like paying for something and not knowing where it is. And yes, my credit card was billed prior to them shipping my product.

When my bar finally arrived, I was initially pleased with the packaging job and the quality of the product itself. Upon closer inspection, I noticed several flaws in the powder coating finish. There are also pieces of my bar which were bent. I also soon discovered that they had not included any of the mandatory assembly/mounting hardware.

After placing another call to them and was assured that they would ship me the parts. They have yet to show up a week and a half later. I sourced parts locally and have installed the bar. It should be noted that it also came sans instructions. Most of it was straightforward enough, but I called upon another member here to ultimately guide me through an unclear part of the process.

All in all, I'd have to think twice about purchasing a product from them again. I'm happy (for the most part) with the product itself, but I don't like being uninformed, and was less than thrilled with their customer service.

Again, this post was not meant to tear them apart, or to praise. Just to share my experience.

 

Update:

Received package from nfab today...

...it's still not the correct hardware for my product.

 

I am having "issues" too. How did your story end and who did you talk to there?

 

So...is it recommended


How much did you pay for the bar? I heard they only made them for a limited time...

 

Go through a retailer that sells their product vs. going through them directly. They take care of the people that actually make them money instead of the one-off customers. It’s honestly like this for a lot of comps which is why most end up only selling to retailers only and not the general public.

Getting product from a retailer the transaction should be a lot smoother and all parts should be there. Keep in mind the last thing Nfab wants to do is piss off a retailer who spends big $$$$ buying in bulk. Pissing off a single customer that only profit them a few bucks, not that big of a deal.

I know 4WheelParts sells NFab product

 

I ended up letting it go as I solved my own problems. Was too frustrated to pursue it further. Don't remember names without digging through emails. Sorry.

Haven't heard that. I like the product just fine, customer service was wanting.

Sounds like a good idea, but I don't know if they can get them. I was told the only way to get one was to call them directly. But, I didn't try it, might work!

 

On 8/29/2013 I special ordered a light bar on line for my 2013 TRD, I did not hear back from them until late 8/30/2013 when I received a tracking info E mail. My bar is scheduled to arrive on 9/4/2013. When I called to order before going on line I talked to Lance Parks he was very helpful and offered me a 10% discount. I will let everyone know how it turns out when I receive my light bar. if it has hardware or if it does not. or instructions?

 

Lance is the guy I dealt with, too. He was very friendly on the phone....when I could ahold of him. But the order still had issues. Good luck on getting everything you need!

 

bought my smittybilt/nfab lightbar off ebay for $119 shipped about a year ago. didnt have any problems and didnt talk to anybody. and it was probably cheaper than you paid.

 

True, but as its a completely different product, I'm not surprised.

 

Since I saw your post in another thread, I figure I'd stop in here and give my $0.02.

I can echo everything you have said. To answer the question about availability, I spoke directly with Thomas (owner) via email and he said that the reason the light bar cannot be sold through vendors is the agreement that N-Fab made with Toyota when they created the "T-Force" package. I think that might be South Coast Toyota (the distributor) and not Toyota Corporation, but I could be mistaken.

I had to pull teeth and eventually contact Thomas directly to get my bar in motion. The shipping took forever, but I did finally receive the product. One flange was bent, but it wasn't a flange that was visible when the bar was mounted. There were a few places in which the powdercoating was worn off during the shipping process. Unlike the OP, I did receive all the hardware for the bar, however, I didn't get any instructions on how the pieces were supposed to go together. Talking with another member on her and some ingenuity and I was able to mount my bar.

The interesting thing is I believe the OP received a full wiring harness for his bar. I didn't receive that, but I did get mounting hardware.

I'm sure if you were to badger N-Fab enough, you could get a bar of your own, but be prepared for some hassle.