Smooth CE 3.2

It has been 3 months since I purchsed my CE3.2 elliptical, and I have yet to use it once. I have spent more than 5 hours on the phone trying to get Smooth Fitness to repair the unit (which arrived badly… damaged), but so far they have managed to send the wrong parts four different times. The same service technician has been out each time, and even he is getting frustrated with Smooth. We have both sent in multiple pictures of the damage, as well as detailed descriptions, and still the wrong parts continue to show up. I don't know who is running the service department, but whoever they are, they are seriously overpaid. Avoid this company at all costs.

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The Smooth Fitness elliptical machine is an affordable and flexible exerciser every bit as good as any I have used in commercial clubs. It was easy to put together--a little heavy, but that makes it… stable--two people can move it nicely and I got it going by myself. It has a solid feel, good variety of computer-generated workout options with timing and wireless heart rate monitor. I like the 18" stride, the handles for upper body work while "walking", the computer that remembers both users (wife & me) and easily changes between exercise options. A good-looking piece of equipment that works as advertised, smoothly and solidly. I can certainly recommend this for the "indoor runner/walker."

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I ordered a $1500 exercise machine from Smooth Fitness and regret ever doing so! Before I even received the machine, I spent countless hours coordinating the delivery of my machine. I paid $199 for the… service to deliver and set up my machine. For this additional fee, I would expect much better customer service than what I experienced. When I got frustrated with Smooth Fitness, I cancelled my order and they have made me jump through hoops! First of all, I never received the exercise machine but they are making me pay a 20% restocking fee and shipping charges! This is on top of the $1500 that they already charged to my credit card and refuse to remove the charge. I never even seen or touched the exercise machine. The Customer Service management team is very unresponsive and rude. I am still trying to get my money back but they are putting up a fight. My advice is to NEVER purchase from Smooth Fitness! They provide very poor service and are not customer friendly. Beware!

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Those interested in working out in the comfort of their own home would be well advised to steer clear of Smooth Fitness and their CE 3.2 machine. When I purchased the machine in early September, I paid… $1700 for it and was able to use it a mere five times. That equates to $340 per actual use of the machine--not quite the great value I thought I was purchasing. The plastic pieces that shield various joints on the machine are terrible quality and don't even mate together properly. Worse, the screws used to attach them are overly large, and the act of tightening the screws actually rubs away plastic, creating fine plastic dust that has no problem getting into the rotating parts of the machine and making a very awful squeaking sound. Granted its not something that a little cleaning and lubricant can't fix, but the problem will quickly recur and you will spend considerable time partially disassembling the machine. The ride is fairly smooth and quiet, that is, unless your bearings fail after less than a week of ownership, as mine did. In that case, you will be working out to the roar of a jet engine, and could likely find yourself in a place you definitely do not want to be: in the hands of Smooth's service department. After nearly a month of dealing with them, my machine is still in no better condition than when I originally contacted them, and my dealing with them have been marred by their incompetence and disinterest in resolving the issue. Beware the red-herring 30 day "satisfaction guarantee" as the ability to return the item has nothing whatsoever to do with satisfaction. Instead the ability to return the product within 30 days is 100% contingent on retaining the original packaging. If you choose to assemble the machine yourself (which hopefully you are listening and avoid this company altogether!) you may very well find that the packaging is in no salvagable condition after unpacking, as is it a confusing mess of styrofoam, cardboard, wooden framing, and half-inch wide zip ties. Granted, even if you retain the box, you are responsible for shipping the roughly 200 lb mass of metal back to Smooth, which can't possibly be cheap. Additionally, don't be fooled by the the all-too-perfect reviews that trumpet Smooth's great quality machines and excellent customer service as I was. My experience, has been a downright nightmarish waste of time and money. I would recommend you steer clear of this machine and the entire line of Smooth Fitness products.

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