[v8venom]

greetings fellow board members...

i recently purchased an active autowerke signature exhaust after querying experiences from other M5board members.
unfortunately though, i found that after installation, the setup is very uneven.... and yes it was professionally installed.

consequently i contacted active autowerke to help rectify this issue... and after several emails and phone calls i was told in writing that active autowerke would offer partial refund to help cover additional labor needed to remedy the asymmetry. i felt that was a good gesture to show their quality of customer service. however, after several subsquent communication efforts, active autowerke has RETRACTED their initial offer and would only consider any refund or exchange after they had their engineers "inspect" the exhaust.

as a customer located in southern california, you can imagine how impractical and inconvenient this would be. think about the additional labor to remove the exhaust... the down time the car would have... the shipping of the system back to florida... then to only to be at the mercy of active autowerke's judgement to whether they would offer any refund or exchange?

i feel that the M5board has been a good filter and a fairly reliable forum that weeds out inappropriate vendors. furthermore, many M5board members have helped provide vendors like active autowerke with good business and i anticipated the active autowerke would reciprocate this goodwill to the M5board.

based on this belief, i trusted active autowerke and had confidence that they would deliver a first rate product along first rate customer service.
to my dismay, active autowerke has mishandled my purchase and left an M5board member hanging.

i think there are other competitive exhaust setups available, including evosport, the up coming race precision, eisenmann, supersprint, dinan, etc....

to be honest i like the exhaust but i believe it is defective. i feel that i have made a mistake with the purchase mostly due to customer treatment and unwillingness to pair good product with good service.

i don't know how many others out there on the M5board have purchased the AA signature exhaust are having the same problem. please share your experience with me so that perhaps active autowerke will know how much the M5board means to their sales.

and if competitor vendors are listening... feel free to chime in. i would like to hear how you would handle a situation like this.

i've attached several photos to demonstrate the defect.

the LEFT exhaust/muffler points DOWN and MEDIALLY (in). the RIGHT exhaust/muffler points straight (on a vertical axis) but points LATERALLY (out).

on IMG_1633, you can see that the tips of the LEFT side have a downward slant.
on IMG_1634copy, if you compare the two sides, you will see that the downward projection of the tips. and although more subtle you can discern the gap between each outside tip and the plastic bumper cover surrounding the exhaust tips is different. the photo is taken from a pretty well centered position to show the asymmetry.
on IMG_1635, you can see the LEFT tips protrude more and point MEDIALLY (inward) than those on the RIGHT (IMG_1636).
images IMG_1637/1638 will be more obvious of LEFT tips' MEDIAL tilt.

 

[onesixeight]

I definitely see what you're talking about. That would make me pretty upset too.

I am considering the purchase of this system, but will hold off until I hear how this situation plays out.

 

[Rab Dog]

Viet thanks for sharing your experience with AA and I’m sorry this happened to you since I also told u my experience before u purchased the exhaust thinking AA got exhaust alignment fixed! I as well have a very similar experience with AA when this system was first released last year to the market.
<O</O
· Received system with two left mufflers <O</O
· Had to take pictures and took about two weeks to solve because another buyer in <ST1</ST1got two right mufflers<O</O
· Finally installed the system to find out its no aligned correctly<O</O
· Advised AA about this problem they told me its user or installer error<O</O
· Went back to installer to try to find and the told me they have to but and re-weld both mufflers to align correctly.<O</O
· Took pictures for AA of exhaust exactly as u see In the previous post pictures and also included pics from car on lift<O</O
· AA again told me all there exhaust are put on a Jig before they ship to double check went back and forth finally no result<O</O
· I finally took it to a shop and cut both mufflers off re-aligned adjust the mounts on muffler as well and fix the problem with a few hundred dollars out of my pocket<O</O
· Again I contacted AA send them pictures of what took place to fix the problem and ask them if they can give me a discount or some money off AA software with no response <O</O
· Resent email 3-times finally gave up!!!!!<O</O
<O</O

Omar and Kirk were involved in this whole issue and are fully aware of what happened and to this day still have not fixed there M5 exhaust alignment problems… Last week I got a PM from Kirk after I posted some info on a previous post that the exhaust is not aligned correctly. They asked me what wrong and what they can do I sent them all the previous email from 4-months with all the pics and again did not get a response. <O</O
<O</O

I have lost all confidence and trust in Active Autoworkes unethical business practices and customer service.<O</O
<O</O

Personally I’m a business owner of a global distribution company and my company has grown to the size today because of the service and mission to please it customers no matter how big or small the business! <O</O
<O</O

AA obviously doesn’t believe in that Motto!<O</O
<O</O
<O</O

P.S. I still love the exhaust after I fixed it but should not have had to go though this experience to get where I am today!!

 

[andrewsherman]

That is outrageous! I certainly have no beef with a compmnay wanting to inspect the product to ensure that it is their issue and not an install issue, but given the situation here, I would think that they should be willing to do that based off of photos. They have basically offerred you something that is no offer at all b/c of the impracticallity of it. What makes it worse is that this should not be surprising to them since others have experienced the same issues with their exhaust.oohhh:

I was considering thier software, but I wouldn't buy anything from them at this point. Maybe that will change when I hear their side of the story (doubtful) or based on how they end up handling this.

You would think that sponsors would be following the threads on this board and realize the commercial suicide (at least with respect to business from this board) they are committing when they screw a board member.:dunno:

 

[6speed]

I'm usaully not one to jump on these threads just because of the repetitive responses but damn, that looks like sh*t. I'm sure AA will step up to the plate and resolve this issue as it certainly looks like a defective product.


Cheers ///

 

[Michael_s]

Sorry to hear about your experience. As a south florida dweller and member of this board that owns an M5 and M3 I will support you and publicly state that AA needs to do the right thing here or lose my business. In fact my M3 is my track car and I was going to add an AA supercharger in the next couple of months. Unless there is a satifactory response posted in the near future, I will not get it done at AA. Please keep this thread updated. Business practices like this will not be tolerated by the members of this board.

On a side note, did you pay by credit card? I assume so as you live in CA. Give them a call, explain the situation.

 

[[email protected]]

Active Autowerke is honoring the exhaust warranty and is asking that the exhaust be sent to AA for inspection (as per AA Warranty Instructions). We have installed a good number of these units in house without any issues at all and we have also shipped out a good amount worlwide without any fitment issues. All of our exhaust units/systems are test fitted on jigs inhouse before being shipped to prevent these situations from happening.Unfortunately since this is a Full/Complete Exhaust system you cannot make a decision based on pictures alone. Once we recieve the system we will inspect immediately and rectify the situation or advise if there was an install error. Our # 1 goal is to ensure that our customers are happy and satisfied with our products. We appreciate you cooperation in this manner and look forward to getting the situation solved. Thanks.

 

[v8venom]

thanks kirk for reinforcing my post... Now you've heard it from the horse's mouth.

How are you looking forward to getting this issue resolved?
deter nonlocal customers from pursuing this further by asking them to send the parts back?

I think andrewsherman said it best ... Commercial suicide!

I can't wait to hear from other board members and other board sponsors.

But I guess active autowerke is too good or too deaf for the M5board community to do the honorable deed that the told me in writing before they went back on their word.

 

[kees]

consequently i contacted active autowerke to help rectify this issue... and after several emails and phone calls i was told in writing that active autowerke would offer partial refund to help cover additional labor needed to remedy the asymmetry. i felt that was a good gesture to show their quality of customer service. however, after several subsquent communication efforts, active autowerke has RETRACTED their initial offer and would only consider any refund or exchange after they had their engineers "inspect" the exhaust.

as a customer located in southern california, you can imagine how impractical and inconvenient this would be. think about the additional labor to remove the exhaust... the down time the car would have... the shipping of the system back to florida... then to only to be at the mercy of active autowerke's judgement to whether they would offer any refund or exchange?

This seems quite fair as it is very much possible to install a perfectly symmetrical exhaust asymmetrically.

 

[[email protected]]

thanks kirk for reinforcing my post... Now you've heard it from the horse's mouth.

How are you looking forward to getting this issue resolved?
deter nonlocal customers from pursuing this further by asking them to send the parts back?

I think andrewsherman said it best ... Commercial suicide!

I can't wait to hear from other board members and other board sponsors.

But I guess active autowerke is too good or too deaf for the M5board community to do the honorable deed that the told me in writing before they went back on their word.

Viet,

Any retailer in this country will require you to present any product claimed defective in an effort to correct or replace the product. If your only objective is to bash the company then so be it, but we are simply asking that you let us rectify this situation by adhering to our warranty policy.

You can also reach me directly at 305.233.9300. ext 232

Omar M.
Director of Sales

 

[Rab Dog]

Omar I went through with this with you guys 4-months ago with no result!! I spent money out of my pocket fixed the exhaust and asked u guys if you can give me a discount on your software for this issue..(Saved all the emails FYI) I was willing to do business with AA again!! I was ignored again!!!

Obvioulsy every one on this board can see your customer service and exhaust has some faults and you should seriously have a corrective action plan to fix it!!

Im willing to come and re-organize train your staff on customer service and how to deal with defective product issues free of charge next time im in my place in Florida...

 

[Rab Dog]

Exhaust Pics

Dear All,

So my claim are also warented here are the pics of my car exhaust with the identical problems I sent to AA 4-months ago. The last picture shows the exhaust aligned correctly after we cut and re-welded the mufflers and mounts!

Thanks AA for your support!!

 

[CBarton]

Hmmm, I am watching this thread with interest.....

 

[CrazyOnBoard]

I was going to giving them a call today to have their software installed, thanks for that answer AA.

 

[Elyas]

Crap, I was really looking forward to getting this exhaust. I think this is like the 4rth or 5th time I have heard of fitment issues now from people.

Where are these exhausts made Kirk/Omar? You say you guys test them in-house on jigs but I heard a rumor that these exhausts are made in Taiwan??

 

[M CRISIS]

Good luck, I hope this gets resolved.

...i found that after installation, the setup is very uneven.... and yes it was professionally installed.

I assume you went back to the installer and had them tweek as much as possible. There is a lot of adjustment available in the muffler section.

...you can imagine how impractical and inconvenient this would be. think about the additional labor to remove the exhaust... the down time the car would have... the shipping of the system back to florida...

Yeah that would be a pain to uninstall and ship back but here is something to consider: the whole system wouldn't necessarily have to be taken off. The muffler section only is probably the culprit and that takes all of 5 minutes to yank off. Seems like something should be able to be worked out between you (your installer) and AA so the whole system doesnt' have to be shipped back.
Again good luck.

 

[m5envy]

I like others are watching this with interest. AA was on my short list for an exhaust purchase. I hesistate to purchase now but will wait to hear of the outcome before passing final judgement.

 

[landon305]

I also have an AA exhaust and immediately saw an alignment issue after it was professionally installed. The left muffler was, and still is, "crooked". It appears that the right one is straight and the left has a different angle than the right. I went back to my installer who put it back on the lift and the only thing they could do was push the exhaust up so that it didn't appear as crooked as it was when sitting behind the car. I will post pictures when I can to show my problem also. I bought the exhaust very slightly used from CJM6 who in earlier posts if I am not mistaken had an alignment issue as well so it definitely is the exhaust and not the installation. I am used to it now but that is not a solution and wish there was a better option besides getting a new exhaust (I like the AA way to much..... minus the alignment of course).

I live in miami so going to the shop is not a problem for me but it is sad the other members with it have to go through this also and dont have the convenience of being so close to the AA shop. I'm not even sure if they will do anything since i bought it used which if they wouldn't i would definitely be extremely dissatisfied. I hope this isn't an issue and hope they still honor the warranty and at least try to fix it.

 

[princealidds]

Its funny, but when companies put profits ahead of customer service, eventually word spreads, and they end up losing more money in the long run. Just for principle I wont buy anything else from AA, and will gladly spread their "great customer service" to others who are considering buying from them. Bravo AA you managed to save some cash.

 

[P97]

What a shame. What ever happened to "The customer is always right"...As with all retail revenue model, customers are the ones that put food on your table.

For me, it would be a no brainer to loose the cost of one system to keep a customer happy than to skimp out and loose future revenues from hundreds of potential customers due to bad press...even if it's not the fault of the vendor. From the number of complaints from customers above, a red flag should be raised w/in the company to recognize that there maybe in fact manufacturing problem vs. insulting an individual for incorrect installation?

Hopefully both parties can come to an agreement.