Xenon 8400 Fender Flares- TERRIBLE QUALITY and Customer Service

[BlazerBill]

So, I’m coming to the end of my ‘83 K5 Blazer multi-year restoration/build. I had been interested in Xenon 8400 squarebody fender flares for a year and was ready to purchase them since they look great (online), made to order, are unique looking and made in America (Round Rock, TX). Prior to purchasing, I attempted to gather additional product details from Xenon for potential direct purchase. I called them no less than 20 times, left multiple voicemails and submitted inquiries through their website with NO responses returned. Therefore, I found a company in CA that also listed these flares on their website so I risked it and ordered them for almost $700 through them and specified customer pick up at Xenon since I also live in TX and would save $150 shipping costs. After about 4 weeks they were ready for me to pick up. After driving 2.5 hours to Xenon, I inspected them to have damage, casting defects and warpage and voiced my complaint to the Xenon rep. He stated that the defects were due to 35 year old tooling and that they were not going to invest capital to upgrade the tooling that would provide a higher quality product and was un-apologetic about it. I exclaimed that they needed to quit advertising and selling these if they are manufactured with known defects. I would expect this type of quality from cheap Chinese made products. I reluctantly decided to take the flares home to decide if I can repair, paint and make them fit although I notified the very responsive company with excellent customer service in CA that I bought/ordered them through of the issues and recommended that they not represent Xenon in their sales anymore. I also submitted photos of the defects and requested a discount otherwise I may return them for a full refund. Nevertheless, these are very poor quality defective fender flares. The photos only represent a small percentage of the defects.

 

[MarineOne]

Yeah been there before

 

[squaredeal91]

Holy $#!T Batman!

 

[bucket]

That warp is terrible.

I believe Bushwacker still makes the mild version of their flares (not the cut-out ones with screw holes, but the smaller ones with a smooth finish) and all of them I've seen have appeared to fit well.

 

[SquareRoot]

It's a sign.

 

[TotalyHucked]

Working in the aftermarket parts industry, I completely understand where he's coming from. We have to pick and choose what to dump money in and I can't remember the last time I've seen a newer build square with flares on it, I can only imagine how little demand there is for those. However, the notes on the parts should definitely be changed to reflect the final product. Something along the lines of "These are flares made on the original, vintage tooling so there may be defects/warps/etc". Though, I'd definitely expect better for nearly a grand

 

[bucket]

Working in the aftermarket parts industry, I completely understand where he's coming from. We have to pick and choose what to dump money in and I can't remember the last time I've seen a newer build square with flares on it, I can only imagine how little demand there is for those. However, the notes on the parts should definitely be changed to reflect the final product. Something along the lines of "These are flares made on the original, vintage tooling so there may be defects/warps/etc". Though, I'd definitely expect better for nearly a grand

I remember back when many resto parts companies would have a quality rating of the parts in the catalog listing. Some of them were downright honest. I remember listings for some quarter skins that were described as "quality is poor at best, but they are the only stampings available". They should go back to that, lol.

 

[TotalyHucked]

I remember back when many resto parts companies would have a quality rating of the parts in the catalog listing. Some of them were downright honest. I remember listings for some quarter skins that were described as "quality is poor at best, but they are the only stampings available". They should go back to that, lol.

Agreed!