Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

[Update] We ended up with a refund for the wheels that didn't work and got ahold of customer service who sent new wheels. They broke down within a few weeks. We were so disappointed and it is so difficult to get in contact with customer service, we didn't try to fix it for months. We finally were able to call and get someone - apparently early in the week is best. They sent more wheels and comped us a service visit. The service team couldn't figure it out and both support and service said they'd never seen this before. 6 30 minute workouts later and the wheels are broken again. Based on the photos on Amazon reviews that look just like my problem, I'm calling BS on that. I want a refund. It's probably way too late, but I'll see what happens. [Original] Why didn't I trust reviews? We waited on delivery of this elliptical (model 411) for 3-4 weeks. The overall weight of the unit made it not too bad to get the package to our second floor loft. The assembly went quickly and fairly easily. Once assembled, a quick spin on the unit seem to show that everything was working. We were very excited about our purchase. The next morning I went to work out on the unit and within 10 minutes it became very difficult to move and I thought I'd just accidentally ramped up the resistance. So I reviewed the resistance and it didn't seem to be up. So I started examining the unit and noticed that the left pedal was very hard to move, but not the right. After some examination I noticed that the wheel was warped and was dropping material quickly. We're very bummed out, and tried calling customer support. After an hour on the line we gave up. Life's too short to wait for hours on a customer support line. So I submitted a technical issue via their online contact us form. A week later and I have still received no response. Just to accelerate it since customer support didn't seem to be responsive, I ordered what I thought was the correct replacement part from their website. There was only one replacement wheel available and it wasn't too expensive. Needless to say when it arrived today it was not the right part. So I'm trying to get in touch with customer service again this time via email. I really have zero time to wait on a phone call. I hope that they will respond and will be able to replace the part and resolve our issues. But why is a brand new $500 piece of equipment faulty from the very get-go. It's not like it's shotty electronics or anything. It's purely a defect and workmanship or material. This is pretty sad from established brand. Hopefully I'll at least be able to raise it to a two three or four star response if they ever fix the problem, but for now it's one star all the way.