newbie232

So recently I bought a cen matrix TR arena. I purchased it online, and was forced to wait over a week and a half for fuel. Now this is understandable, as it is not cens fault at all. So i was obviously a little anxious to run my truggy. So i start up my TR. 28 once i get fuel, and run about 10 or so minutes of the heat cycle method. Then of course my one way bearing breaks, i literally saw two needle bearings fall out of the bearing, and i looked with a microscope only to find out that the holes where the needle bearings should have been, were enlarged and there was no way of putting them back in without them falling back out again. I talk to cen they say that they dont have the one way bearing for sale and thatt I will need to wait a month to purchase one. Then the person I am speaking too puts me on hold, and then informs me that they will ship me one right away. They take down my address etc. and say that the part will be at my house with 6-8 days. So i wait, until the 7th day and then phone to check on the part. turns out they have no record of sending it, but informed to check my engine for metal shavings of an internal damage. I checked my engine and discovered that there was a peice of metal shaving rubbing slighly againt the con rod, I then talk to a neighbour experienced with motors and he tells me that my engine would likely seize within a hour or two of running, so i am now forced to send off the TR 28. to cen. cen simply told me to put it in a box so i followed their instructions and sent it off. Now i sent off the engine twelve days ago, on a friday, and cen received it last thursday. I phoned them on friday to confirm this and they said that the engine would be sent off as soon as they get the SH: 28 in stock which the customer service represenative said would be a couple of days. So here I am just off the phone with cen mad as hell, because I found out that it will likely be a week or so until they receive an SH 28 for me. And also, the one way bearing they said would be sent to me, I never received. So in total I have spent over 500 dollars on cen products, only to get a tank of run time through it. Now I understand that because I live in Canada shipping will take a little longer, but this is ubeleiveable on cens part. I can say that unless they give me something to make up for all this time they have failed to go by their word, I will never purchase a cen Product again. In total ive waited
7 days for a bearing that never came,
11 days for the engine
and then supposably another week for the engine to come in
and then another six days for them to ship the engine back.

Ive tried to deal with this as maturely as I can, but I am simply i disbeleif that they cannot find one SH 28 to ship to me. They should not have promised me a SH 28 in the first place if they will have to wait this long to get one in. Now cen could make it up to me by either shipping me an old TR 28 or Nx 26 now and I will glady pay the shipping on the engine, and then send me a Sh 28 when they get them in stock. I am not buying another cen product again, unless they give me some reason to beleive that they indeed care about their customer
For those who feel like calling me immature, feel free but I have told you my story truthfully.

dustin7837

My Feedback: (1)

Thats one of the worst things about living in canada. The slow mail service, well, that and the cold winters

If there was some foreign object or piece of metal in the engine, it is definately a warranty issue, and it doesnt sound like CEN is disputing that at all. It is surprising that you never recieved a one way, BUT being an avid ebayer, I know a bit about the international mail service, and I know that I have had very small parcels from the US take over a month to arrive. Especially VIA UPS, they are the worst.

It is strange that they have no record of shipping you out a bearing though, and them not having an engine in stock is a surprise too...

What part of Ontario are you from? CEN does list a few retailers in ON, it might be quicker for you to talk to a retailer if there is one close to you.

http://www.cenracing.com/dealer/worl...or.html#canada

newbie232

thanks for the help dustin i really appreciate it. the sting of the wait is not going to be as bad as tonite I am getting a Savage X RTR. It will be something durable which is what I need as the cen (well atleast the engine) is lacking in that department.

SOILWORK

I would call CEN and see if they can send you the nx26 instead. Its a better engine and your truggy will be faster with the nx26.

The Real Dogman

See now that seems to be the most honest compliant about CEN, although unusual. 1 thing to remember when dealing with ANY customer service dept. get the name of the person you spoke with, just in case you need it to reference who told you what. CEN usually does a pretty good job at following thru with what they say, but they do have acouple people who do not follow thru, like any company with many employees. I would call CEN again every couple days to see if they got the new engines in yet. Its ok to pester them if you are out your engine, besides the more they know you are anxious to get back on the road the sooner they will want to get you taken care of. I have said it many times that I'm sure CEN does not delibrately let these things fall thru the cracks, but as you know sometimes it does happen.

I would say call them tomorrow to get an update, but remember to get a name of who you spoke to. Names are a powerful tool when you are working with customer service. And ask questions...

I know this does not help much but....

EDIT: Hang in there CEN will take care of you, they are very busy with units all over globe, so lots of work for them. I'm sure CEN is doing the best they can to get to everybody..

JeffyB

Sorry to hear your having a bad experience newbie. I recieved 2 owb's from cen after i emailed them, took around 7 days to get to me in England which i thought was pretty good, i hope your engine gets sorted soon.

CrazyMento

calm down... it only has been 4 "working" days since they receive the engine. Anyways, whats a one way bearing will do for you if you engine has metal shaving in it? ntohing. besdies, they are sending you a new , better Sh engien anyways.

Just call them and stay calm, they are usually very good with service and do take the extra mile to make customer happy. at least to me.

Since they alreayd promise you they will take care of it, just call them ( dont email, that will just extend the wait time) and find out on the phone instead of Venting on a message board. It does not do you any good. Its unnecessary

ArizonaRevo

Just stay cool Cen has one of the best service departments I have dealt with. I have had Novarossi Engines go bad before I even started them up stuff happens.

newbie232

well you see, I am staying calm, but would you not be frusturated? I do not want the one way bearing as I do not own that engine anymore, but the thing is, cen did not bother to contact me when the one way bearing was not shipped, or when they were not going to be able to ship me an engine for a while. Now i understand not phoning me about the one way, as the sales person likely forgot. The point is I picked up a savage x 2 days ago and finished breaking it in today, so I have forgot all about how long it will take me to get the engine. I still do not retract my comments about cen, as they have not treated me necessarily well.