Rather than write an individual review for each respective vendor, I thought I would do a mash up.
The car has been in and out of the shop for the last 2 months getting various bits put on. This morning was almost the final step...for now.
First, Active Autowerke. I purchased the exhuast, x-pipe/HFC's and tune from Active. I contacted AA prior to placing my order through the shop, checking to see if they had all of the products in inventory. The salesperson assured me they did. I placed the order with the shop and the product was ordered. There was about a 3 day delay, prior to everything being shipped, no biggie. When the bits arrived at the shop, one of the exhaust sections was missing. The other exhaust section showed up a couple days later. All of the OEM bits were removed and the AA exhaust/HFC's/xpipe were put into place, fit was spot on; except AA didn't send the brackets for the exhaust. A quick call to AA and a little reassuring that "no, the brackets weren't with any of the packaging"...this is where the true metal of a vendor is displayed. I live approximately 1.5 hours from the shop doing the work. Getting to and from takes a little bit of effort. Either way, the delay with the exhaust and missing brackets did waste 2 of my days, heading up and coming back home. AA promptly apologized and overnighted the brackets. They didn't have to, but it's the small things that matter to many customers and that mattered to me. Either way, everything got cinched up and it sounds amazing. Very, very slight drone, but it's just an impetus to stomp it. I wouldn't even qualify it as noticeable, again, it's just an indicator to give it more gas. The car is much zippier and is additional polishing to an already great machine. I didn't do a pre-post dyno. I live at 7,000 ft., which really begins to nullify stated @ sea level gains, all I can say is there's a noticeable difference in sound and pull.
I had ordered the original painted reflectors from Bimmian. Once installed, I noticed a vast variance in their color. Annoyed by this, I ordered another set, thinking 1 out of 2 will surely be correct. Nope. I then contacted IND and spoke with Nate. I explained to him the issue with the front reflectors from Bimmian and he assured me IND's color was spot on. I placed an order for the painted front reflectors, CRT themed performance spoiler and the OEM M5 painted mirror covers. Everything was spot on. There was no variance in the A52 color and everything arrived packaged by what seemed to be a professional...thanks for the extra microfiber cloths IND!!!
I opted to do the KW sleeve over kit. Steering was improved and there have been no issues with the EDC.
I sent my headlights out to OSS for the V4 retrofit, full black out, A52 painted projectors, amber LED turn signal and a German themed ///M logo on the projectors. Understandably, Luis is a busy, busy guy. The best way to get in touch with him or get him to respond, tell him what you want, ask for a quote and ask for his paypal account...then pay the man. Once I sent him payment, he reached back out and confirmed exactly what it is that I wanted. The lights were with Luis for about 4 or 5 business days. Total round trip was 2 weeks, which is hard to stomach, but well worth it. All I can say is WOW. The lights turned out spectacular and Luis was a consummate professional regarding the process. Even teasing me with random tid-bit photos of the progress. Today was the first day I was able to drive the car in 2 weeks. I had 2 people pull up next to me while at a stop and ask when did BMW start doing the custom logo on the projector and what custom feature is that. I said, "Luis, OSS Designs" and then blasted into the horizon, while the AA setup screamed. As mentioned previously, I did the V4 angels, so I don't have a V3 vs. V4 comparison. Note, I'm not a shutter/photo/scaling pro, in some of the headlamp photos you'll notice that it seems the LED's are out, it's not the case, it's just something beyond me when taking a photo of them in the sun.
I ordered custom BMW badging from Mfest on March 11th. I ordered the roundels and the M3 side marker badges. I've received "product shipped" emails, I've received emails from Chris telling me they were shipping out in the next few days; which the delays were do to waiting on the clear for the side marker badges...that was 3 weeks ago. Good, bad or indifferent, it's a lack of customer service. If the website said something to the effect that orders may take up to 3 months, due to x-y or z, that's an upfront expectation and easily manageable for a consumer. Heck, if it said for an extra $100, they can be rushed and done in 2 weeks, I would've taken that. My assumption is that they don't do a single roundel when ordered, but wait for x amount of orders to be placed and then do a batch; which is fine. I suppose the point is, my expectations weren't managed from the ordering process. Thus, taking beyond 3 months seems excessive. Either way, I still need my badges and am waiting. Not a thumbs up, but not a thumbs down as I haven't seen the quality. Hopefully it's tip-top.
I have been dealing with Phil from Detailers Domain for about 3 or 4 years. The thing about Phil is that I don't think he sleeps. I've emailed him at 11 PM Mountain Time and he has replied rather promptly, he's on the East Coast. Every time I have a question about the process of polishes, pads waxes, it doesn't matter. He replies within hours. This last order I purchased the Rupes Bigfoot, some new polishes and microfiber cutting pads. I was having some difficulty getting minor surface scratches out of the clear with my PC. Phil recommended the Rupes, Meg's 101, Menz FG400, used in conjunction with the MF pads. I would venture to say that 95% of the scratches were buffed out. Now, I have to spend an extra 2 minutes attempting to find various clear scratches. Versus previously, I could just glance at the car from 4 or 5 feet and see them. I used the Meg's MF pads with a Meg's 101/Menz FG400 mixture, speed setting 5. Followed up by Menz SI 1500 & FG400 mixture with a white pad, speed setting 5. Followed by 2 coats of Menz PL-88 on blue pad, speed setting 3. Finished off with 2 coats of Wolfgang Fuzion Caranuba on a yellow jeweling pad, speed setting 3. On the wheels, I use the Sonax Wheel Cleaner, this stuff rips the brake dust right off of the wheels, without affecting the paint. It takes about 2-3 minutes for it to break down the dust, then you just hose it off...brilliant. What I will say about the Rupes, it's super balanced and breaks the polishes down much faster than the Porter Cable. With the PC on speed setting 5, it would take approximately 4-6 passes to break the polish down. The Rupes breaks the wax down, literally, in 3 passes, every time.
I had been looking at the ADVAN RS wheels when I owned my Audi RS4. I liked the look, but was hesitant due to them being of Japanese origin. Someone was in dire need of cash and had a set of ADVAN RS 19's. Being an opportunist, I picked up the set for $2k, I just couldn't beat the price. I immediately had them sent out for a matte-black powder coating. The wheels are light and I could tell a difference while driving that the car just felt more responsive.
Overall, I've had a very positive experience with the above vendors and would recommend them based upon their products and their customer service.