My Experience With CBI Offroad

Sure, photos with proof of defective product after a shop who installs these on weekly basis must be bullshit. The master Toyota tech with 20+ years of experience that works there must also be full of shit when he's telling me these are defective and came with missing hardware. All the email exchanges between CBI must be bullshit as well and this whole thread must be a lie. Listen to yourself, seek help and I hope you find it sooner than later. It's not that serious, it's words on a screen you don't have to get all bent out of shape. In the end I will get my money back because it costs them more to ship it back than to make them so to me there is no difference worst case scenario can do a credit card charge back. At least the word is out and TW members will reconsider when they are in the market for armor in the future after reading this thread so I got what I wanted out of it. Seems like you're not here with a solution or valuable discussion but to talk trash instead because you have nothing more fulfilling to do with your time.

 

The only word people are seeing is a lesson of what not to do when receiving a shipment. A lesson you sadly deny yourself. Thankfully there is a small silver lining. Best of luck OP.

 

Agreed, they should learn from this to inspect shipment for missing hardware but defective product is still defective. CBI already admitted this is a problem they're aware of.. so that being said people should also know not to buy from sub par vendors charging high prices with sub par customer service. Read the other responses in this thread about other experiences besides mine.

 

At least the powder coating was protected. On a set of sliders. Made specifically to get dragged over rocks.

 

lol the irony of some people in here saying "we only have one side of the story and your assumptions OP!" and then go on to assume that maybe the hardware dropped out in transit or a whole other bunch of assumptions no one would have any idea of even possibly knowing except OP or his shop techs.

Here's what it boils down to OP.

CBI, you, and your shop are all at fault as far as time/money wasted on the first, impossible install due to missing hardware. CBI should have packed it properly, you should have double checked, and your shop should have triple checked. I don't think a discount code is unfair to ask, but it's also unfair to expect it, as CBI is not responsible for when/how/where you planned to install the bumper, and it's not on them that you chose a shop an hour away, with an install scheduled for immediately after you received it. All parties should have checked at some point before shipping/transporting/installing.

As far as the improperly fabricated slider, CBI is at fault for that 100%. Now, if they're saying that it's a common occurrance, they might have some wording in their T&C's that might absolve them of this responsibility, but it's still pretty shit of them to continue to produce a product that is not a guaranteed bolt-on product if it's being advertised as such. The only way you would be at fault for this issue is if you had mistakenly ordered the wrong sliders, but I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here and assuming that you knew the correct slider to order.

I don't blame you for cancelling your order, I've heard so many horror stories of CBI's poor customer service. Overall, this entire scenario could have been handled better by everyone involved, and all parties are somewhat at fault for the initial problem, which was missing hardware which led to an unnecessary install trip, delayed install, and a waste of the shop's time and labor.

 

The powder coat option was extra $150 USD so why not protect it during transit? Why would CBI even wrap it at all before shipping out? When they get dragged on rocks the damage is underneath and not visible to anyone unless they're under the truck. Besides, if you've been reading this thread the missing hardware is no longer the issue, the sliders are defective and CBI is aware of it and they will be returned. Done deal, just reconsider if you ever think about buying.

 

CBI needs to send the correct sliders. No argument there and they need to eat all of the cost for shipping, my guess is they wont have you return the sliders but who knows, and it that case maybe you can make a quick buck.

That said, anyone who actually uses sliders knows their primary purpose is for lateral protection not under protection meaning anyone and their mom can see the scratches which are on the sides and top of the sliders. Sure they bang underneath too but don't assume thats exclusive.

 

Perhaps they should be called bumpers then?

 

You technically slid eon those as well. I rattle can my sliders after trips but you can see the markings. These are also angled 20 degrees up.

 

100% I should have checked for missing hardware but as soon as I say CBI should have maybe checked before shipping out people lose their minds and the boot licking starts. Anyway the problem is far beyond that now as the are defective, I will be getting my money back and buying from a different brand, I don't think they even want it back because it costs them more to ship back than to make them and they can't resell it because they're defective.

I know they're going to get scratched up but that's what spray can is for because steel rusts. I think I would prefer to do the refund instead of dealing with them any further and let another reputable brand take my money. As far as selling these, I'm not going to scam someone and sell them defective sliders. If they are welding them on and are willing to cut off certain parts to make it fit properly then that's a different story but I don't see why anyone would want to go through the hassle when they could just buy weld on ones that are made for that purpose.

 

I'm pretty sure no matter how hard you off road your sliders see more action from door dings in the Walmart parking lot.

 

probably true for most

Sadly my truck is offroad exclusive

 

What brand are those? The clearance looks way better compared to CBI and the construction quality looks to be the same if not better. Price? Did they touch your pinch welds at all?

 

Mobtown, they sold their business and no longer make armor. They were also the only company that fully boxed the frame and used I-beam clamps in the rear.

 

Yup. Only edit to my previous post is I would say CBI should have packed it properly AND double checked before shipping. Plenty of companies have people that do a quality check before shipping out multiple items, some even have the QC person initial so that someone can be held responsible if the shipment is missing anything.

Glad to hear they're willing to work with you, it's possible that they will only offer the option of a replacement rather than a refund, but I would fight for the refund considering the bad taste you already have for this brand because of this. Any future issues are gonna be a nightmare, and I would bet you would be flagged as a problematic customer. That said, I would certainly still try to sell the faulty ones, just make it known in your post so the person purchasing isn't blindsided and knows what they're getting into. Even if it's only for a couple hundred bucks, that's still money made. You'd be surprised how many people are willing to do custom work or have people who can do custom work to save a few bucks

IDK where you're located, but if you're local to SoCal, or planning to take a road trip there sometime in the future, @Shmellmopwho makes and installs sliders at his house, pricing is great, product is great, and he's a really swell dude. He just won't ship because of how much of a hassle it is for those products.

 

I have there front recovery bar, its a shame they went under.

 

If they are willing to send a new set to me free of charge then it's a done deal. It sounds like they are expecting me to pay shipping which I am currently back and forth with them about. If that fails then I will ask them for a refund. If they deny the refund then my only option is to perform the credit card charge back. I've already been to the shop twice for these sliders and shop didn't even charge me the second time they felt bad but the time wasted sucks and here's no way I'm going to pay another $300 USD for shipping on a new set when the defective issue is on their end.

 

I'll probably go with Wescott Designs sliders after reading this thread.

 

they’re asking you to pay for shipping on a defectively made product to swap it out?

 

If the option is on the table for a full refund/replacement at no cost to you, I'd do that; mainly, because I don't think you'll ever be happy with them, and at the end of the day, thats okay. If it were me, I'd crawl my fat ass under my truck with a 12mm, 14mm, and 3/4" wrenches and make the minor adjustments needed to "probably" fix your issues. I can't see under your truck, so I can't confirm, but 'most' sliders that are mass produced typically have elongated vertical holes for adjustability, as you can see in the picture you shared earlier. I know you have tons of trust in your shop, and thats fine too. Some of us however tend to think that if you want things done right, you do it yourself. I understand thats not always possible, but if you have any understanding of how a wrench works, I'd highly recommend loosening all nuts (not completely) and seeing if there's any adjustment/wiggle that you can squeeze out of them to get that front off the pinch weld. Pic attached is reference to those elongated mounting holes I was talking about; disregard the missing parts circled in red.