BMW M3 Forum (E90 E92)

BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Go Back   M3Post - BMW M3 Forum > M3 Marketplace > Vendor Comments/Review/Feedback Forum
 
European Auto Source (EAS)
Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      01-05-2010, 01:11 AM   #1
swamp2
Lieutenant General
swamp2's Avatar
United_States
609
Rep
10,407
Posts

Drives: E92 M3
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Diego, CA USA

iTrader: (3)

Performance Plus (Long Beach) mounting horror story

Performance Plus mounting horror story.

I weighed the option of delaying this post until giving the owner of PP in Long Beach the opportunity to make things right. However, I want to save anyone from my dreadful experience whether or not he makes things right with me.

I bought my Vreds there and finally got my new RAC RG63 wheels (on hold at FedEx while I was on vacation). I opened by very politely letting them know that the wheels are expensive, (effectively) unreplaceable and that I am a perfectionist about NO scratches from mounting. Things started bad right out of the gate with them lifting the car on a ramp style lift without any jack blocks/adapters. Doing so the hollow plastic jack points flex and the car appeared to be sitting with partial load bearing on the side skirts. Obviously I was upset about that. Fortunately, there was no visible damage to my skirts and I did keep my cool. I did of course let them know that ALL BMWs with this style hollow shaped plastic jacking points needs a jack adapter. From there it all went even more downhill. I had some stuck spacers...

The fronts came off with beating them with a nice soft lead mallet and no damage to rotors nor spacers The rears however were another story. Stuck but definitiely not so stuck that they could not be removed and still be in good enough condition to sell and reuse. They used a screw driver (instead of a torch followed by a narrow wood chisel) and really gouged up the aluminum mounting surface of one wheel (the brake rotor hat itself). It had numerous large and deep gouges and scratches that would definitely damage the wheel and prevent proper wheel alignment if an attempt was made to mount the wheel. Not too long after noticing this I decided to check my wheels themselves for scratches. F^&*ing scratches on 3 out of 4. Quite small almost pebble style impact dings on the inner lip of 2 wheels and a "nice" 2"-3" fairly narrow scratch on the 3rd, again on the inner lip. I had a very hard time keeping my cool at this point. The guy from the front office helping me kept checking in, scolding the guys doing the work then disappearing inside to do his "real work". I tried to explain to him and the guys the proper technique of dealing with a stuck spacer which is of course: penetrating lube, torch heat, lead mallet and a wide sharp chisel as a last resort, not a f&^%ing SCREWDRIVER. To top it all off they intended to use an air power tool with a flexible sanding disc to grind off the horrid high spots of the gouges on the rotor hat. After I instructed them to use a block and carbide sand paper they began that job with a 2x4 "block" that appeared to have been beaten on with a hammer and cut up with a chainsaw. They had to scrounge around their "shop" for about 15 minutes to find any semblance of a flat metal block that could be used to get the hats into any sort of flat and acceptable mounting condition.

The guys at this place simply do not have the training nor experience to be dealing with high end cars, high end wheels and any normal surprises that will happen in some significant number of mounting cases. Get your Vreds there, get a great price and then run like hell to another shop for any mounting.

I left (under protest) with my bill unpaid since the damage to my wheels and brake rotor is clearly significantly greater than my total bill. The owner is supposed to call me tomorrow. Obviously I felt forced to take pictures of everything so no problems there on the evidence side. I am also posting this thread in the vendor feedback area even thought they are not a forum sponsoring vendor.

What a way to top off months of participation and anxious waiting for some really great wheels. After I better block out my hats (or get one replaced) and swap to black lugs I will post some pictures of semi-gloss black on Space Grey in the RAC thread...
__________________
E92 M3 | Space Gray on Fox Red | M-DCT | CF Roof | RAC RG63 Wheels | Brembo 380mm BBK |
| Vorsteiner Ti Exhaust | Matte Black Grilles/Side Gills/Rear Emblem/Mirrors |
| Alekshop Back up Camera | GP Thunders | BMW Aluminum Pedals | Elite Angels |
| XPEL Full Front Wrap | Hardwired V1 | Interior Xenon Light Kit |
Appreciate 0
      01-05-2010, 08:07 AM   #2
lucid
Major General
lucid's Avatar
United_States
374
Rep
8,033
Posts

Drives: E30 M3; Expedition
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: USA

iTrader: (0)

I have some horror stories about my OEM wheels and winter tires. Too bad this happened with your RACs. I hope the damage is not too visible. Sounds like they should at least pay for the replacement costs of the rotors on that axle.
__________________
Appreciate 0
      01-05-2010, 04:13 PM   #3
aus
Major General
United_States
890
Rep
9,031
Posts

Drives: Odysse
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Seal Beach, CA

iTrader: (10)

Did they ever get back to you?
__________________
Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
Appreciate 0
      01-05-2010, 07:48 PM   #4
hogwild
Private First Class
10
Rep
138
Posts

Drives: 2011 m3 coupe
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: So.Cal.

iTrader: (0)

losers!!

Try Tom's Tires! They are used to working on high end cars likes ours!! Been going to them for over 10yrs! Ask for Rob and tell him Tim B. sent you!!!
Appreciate 0
      01-06-2010, 10:24 PM   #5
Ca$hOnly
Major
Ca$hOnly's Avatar
United_States
47
Rep
1,077
Posts

Drives: E92 M3
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: In ur fridge, eatin ur foodz

iTrader: (5)

Sorry to hear about your ordeal Swamp. Being a perfectionist and going to any car related type establishment (whether it's mods, tires, wheels, car wash, dealer) is tough. People just seem to not give a shit.

I'm glad you posted this review. The bad seeds need to be weeded out.
__________________
Appreciate 0
      01-27-2010, 02:35 PM   #6
SPEEDYBMWE92
Banned
SPEEDYBMWE92's Avatar
0
Rep
13
Posts

Drives: E92
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: NY

iTrader: (0)

Sorry to hear.
Appreciate 0
      02-02-2010, 04:17 AM   #7
MrHarris
yodog
MrHarris's Avatar
United_States
196
Rep
5,026
Posts

Drives: '86 Corolla
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Diamond Bar, Ca

iTrader: (5)

Garage List
2009 BMW  [10.00]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ca$hOnly View Post
Sorry to hear about your ordeal Swamp. Being a perfectionist and going to any car related type establishment (whether it's mods, tires, wheels, car wash, dealer) is tough. People just seem to not give a shit.

I'm glad you posted this review. The bad seeds need to be weeded out.
Very true. The bad seeds do need to be weeded out. There are a lot of bad seeds in the car industry.
__________________

2009 E92 M3 | Alpine White | Black Extended | Advan RS | Turner Test Pipes | Dinan Axle-Back | OETuning | Eibach Springs | UUC SSK | VRS Front Lip | VRS Type I Diffuser | Matte Black | RPi Scoops | MS Filter | Yokohama AD08 | F1 Pinnacle
Special Thanks: Gintani | OETuning | eAs
Appreciate 0
      02-22-2010, 07:45 PM   #8
swamp2
Lieutenant General
swamp2's Avatar
United_States
609
Rep
10,407
Posts

Drives: E92 M3
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Diego, CA USA

iTrader: (3)

Funny, one of the co-owners of Performance Plus tried to post a thread today in his defense. It was in the wrong section and was mostly a sales line. He also did not have the courtesy to note that vendors must follow some rules and procedures before posting. What a noob.

He was correct in mentioning that there are two sides to every story. What he did not mention was that I already told his side of the story in my honest lengthy original post above. The spacers contributed to this problem but their inability to use good standard operating procedures and tools was the only thing that led to the damage. There simply was not a second side to the story on the scratched wheels.

Again, buyer beware.

See you in court Ricky.
__________________
E92 M3 | Space Gray on Fox Red | M-DCT | CF Roof | RAC RG63 Wheels | Brembo 380mm BBK |
| Vorsteiner Ti Exhaust | Matte Black Grilles/Side Gills/Rear Emblem/Mirrors |
| Alekshop Back up Camera | GP Thunders | BMW Aluminum Pedals | Elite Angels |
| XPEL Full Front Wrap | Hardwired V1 | Interior Xenon Light Kit |

Last edited by swamp2; 02-25-2010 at 12:21 AM.. Reason: typo
Appreciate 0
      02-22-2010, 11:06 PM   #9
chungdae
The Asian Sensation
chungdae's Avatar
United_States
56
Rep
708
Posts

Drives: 2009 Alpine White M3, S1000RR
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Miami, FL

iTrader: (2)

Get everything you deserve.
Appreciate 0
      03-01-2010, 05:49 PM   #10
swamp2
Lieutenant General
swamp2's Avatar
United_States
609
Rep
10,407
Posts

Drives: E92 M3
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Diego, CA USA

iTrader: (3)

Just got a PM from an e90post.com member. The guys seems totally legit and is a long term member. He let me know that most of his wheels were damaged in his recent install at Performance Plus. The evidence is accumulating...

I have filed my small claims court case against them.
__________________
E92 M3 | Space Gray on Fox Red | M-DCT | CF Roof | RAC RG63 Wheels | Brembo 380mm BBK |
| Vorsteiner Ti Exhaust | Matte Black Grilles/Side Gills/Rear Emblem/Mirrors |
| Alekshop Back up Camera | GP Thunders | BMW Aluminum Pedals | Elite Angels |
| XPEL Full Front Wrap | Hardwired V1 | Interior Xenon Light Kit |
Appreciate 0
      03-01-2010, 09:58 PM   #11
BMW_03
Lieutenant
BMW_03's Avatar
United_States
25
Rep
450
Posts

Drives: G01 X3 xDrive30i On Order
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Tennessee

iTrader: (4)

So the problem you had there was during the removal of the other wheels right?
Appreciate 0
      03-01-2010, 10:03 PM   #12
OMID INC
Lieutenant Colonel
OMID INC's Avatar
92
Rep
1,562
Posts

Drives: E70 X5
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Chicago

iTrader: (6)

thats terrible to hear sorry about that.
Appreciate 0
      03-02-2010, 02:11 AM   #13
swamp2
Lieutenant General
swamp2's Avatar
United_States
609
Rep
10,407
Posts

Drives: E92 M3
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Diego, CA USA

iTrader: (3)

Quote:
Originally Posted by ElBolo View Post
So the problem you had there was during the removal of the other wheels right?
No, if you read my entire post the problems were three fold.

1. Poor jacking of the car - very close to but did not appear to be damage from this.
2. Damage to my brake rotors during spacer removal
3. Damage to my brand new wheels (out of the box) during mounting of the new tires.
__________________
E92 M3 | Space Gray on Fox Red | M-DCT | CF Roof | RAC RG63 Wheels | Brembo 380mm BBK |
| Vorsteiner Ti Exhaust | Matte Black Grilles/Side Gills/Rear Emblem/Mirrors |
| Alekshop Back up Camera | GP Thunders | BMW Aluminum Pedals | Elite Angels |
| XPEL Full Front Wrap | Hardwired V1 | Interior Xenon Light Kit |
Appreciate 0
      03-02-2010, 01:04 PM   #14
achenator
Lieutenant
26
Rep
549
Posts

Drives: 2017 LBB M2, 2017 R8+
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Louisiana

iTrader: (0)

Do they use the hunter no touch mounting system?
Appreciate 0
      03-21-2010, 06:04 AM   #15
AW335iCoupe
Banned
AW335iCoupe's Avatar
2
Rep
266
Posts

Drives: AW 335i
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: North & South

iTrader: (0)

Did you hear anything back yet?
Appreciate 0
      03-22-2010, 11:34 AM   #16
FastBimmer335
Banned
FastBimmer335's Avatar
1
Rep
194
Posts

Drives: 335i
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: NY (Currently)

iTrader: (0)

You just cant trust some shops these days. I always like to go to ones I have been for a long time now, I wont try out some new ones, as stuff like this could happen.
Appreciate 0
      07-22-2010, 03:49 AM   #17
swamp2
Lieutenant General
swamp2's Avatar
United_States
609
Rep
10,407
Posts

Drives: E92 M3
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Diego, CA USA

iTrader: (3)

I finally had my day in small claims court with them and just got the decision back by mail. The Commisioner (not Judge unfortunately) seemed good on prior cases of the day but got lost really quickly with mine. She had absolutely no idea about cars, maintenance, service, aftermarket parts, etc. Zero, zip, zlich. I had to explain the simplest of things over and over again (per her requests actually). She also seemed to be confused on the fact that cosmetic damage on a nice wheel is very real and serious to the owner.

Anyway I did win my case, however her "cop out" was awarding me a small fraction of the total amount I was seeking and entitled to (about 25% or so). I can't stand these half-baked/cop out type of decisions. Her ruling clearly shows fault and since they were at fault they should pay for all of the damage they caused. Plain and simple.

Anyway, in short, steer very clear of this place.
__________________
E92 M3 | Space Gray on Fox Red | M-DCT | CF Roof | RAC RG63 Wheels | Brembo 380mm BBK |
| Vorsteiner Ti Exhaust | Matte Black Grilles/Side Gills/Rear Emblem/Mirrors |
| Alekshop Back up Camera | GP Thunders | BMW Aluminum Pedals | Elite Angels |
| XPEL Full Front Wrap | Hardwired V1 | Interior Xenon Light Kit |
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:33 PM.




m3post
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST