Hello everyone,
I just wanna share my experience as a second hand customer with ESS. I bought my E92 M3 with an ESS VT1-550 kit already installed.
I quickly decided I wanted to go with a vt2 kit.
I contacted ESS about the upgrade (For either 625 or 650 kit). They've been very friendly with me at the beginning (Of course). I started discussing a bit with them, I had some power missing from my VT1 at that time. I had one of the older kits with the red injectors, I was not sure if the tune was from them as well.
After some discussion, I decided to upgrade to the newest blue injectors and buy a flashing cable to re-flash a proper tune with the newest injectors as a temporary solution before I upgrade to my vt2 kit. They affirmed this was part of the upgrade kit and the price would be deduced from my upgrade (I have this on e-mail if anyone is doubting it.)
Now a few months passes, and I decide to order my a vt2-625 upgrade. And now of course, the injectors and cable are not a part of the upgrade and the price is not gonna be dedcued from my order.
I started arguing about it for a bit, even quoted them about it. No way to even get them to apologize for a miscomunication, let alone giving a discount to honor their word.
I still find their hardware great and it's not like I have a choice to source it from somewhere else anyway so I'm going for it and order my upgrade.
I receive my order, it's missing a hose and every single clamp. I had to find a local shop and buy the missing parts. Hopefully they reimbursed me for the price paid at my local shop for those parts.
After installing the kit, I remember about the core charge and the return of old parts. We haven't discussed this, but I recall a few posts (probably here somewhere ?) saying the total upgrade cost was around 2600$ once the core charge is deduced. I payed 3000$ for mine, so I e-mailed AJ about it and he told me they didn't made me pay a core charge.
I answer exactly what I said above, that I recall people saying the upgrade totaled about 400$ less than what I payed when returning old parts, and I tell him that I don't want to push for money once again (After the injectors/cable thing) and that I have a project for E85. I basically offer him to return my old manifold + pulley + red injectors in exchange for a smaller pulley and putting fuel tables from my upcoming big injectors into the tune they provided for my 625 kit (Because I like their tune, didn't want one from another provider, just the exact same tune with my new fule tables inside). I even explicitely tell him I know they do not support or endorse it, and that I will not ask for support and I can sign a waiver or anything to not hold them responsible in case of engine failure.
Apparently this really offended him, I'm just gonna quote the answer directly :
Quote:
It has never been $2600 + core.
And I am very sorry, but I have reached the end of the road with arguing over price with you. It severely annoys me and luckily we have the option to chose with whom we do business.
If you do not like your upgrade kit and the cost you agreed to with me, then just send it back for a refund. We are done here, and I will not entertain a lot of custom build questions that does not else but completely waste my time.
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Note that I didn't even asked any custom build question at any point. I'm a grown man, I think I just could have taken a "no" as an answer, or maybe an alternative option or even a proper quote if the deal didn't seem fair to him. I struggle to understand how you can run such a successful business for so long but be that childish when dealing with customers.
Anyway it's been quite a long rant, I'll add I'm not criticizing their product which I still think is great, but if I had to redo everything as of today I would clearly have bought a car with an SC from another brand. It's a shame to receive that kind of answers from a business you've been giving thousands to in the span of a few months.