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      07-25-2018, 03:28 PM   #1
IanMan
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Why ECS Tuning Sucks

Kind of surprised that this hasn't been posted yet, but I'll start. A few days ago, I discovered the Facebook group: "Why I hate ECS Tuning." I was one of the first 1000 members. Within just a few weeks, this Facebook group has amassed over 5,000 members. Just a few weeks. Maybe even just a month. Also, and FYI: If you buy from Turner, ECS has bought out Turner and Pelican Parts. I will no longer consider buying from those two any more.

Facebook . Groups . /1969390720044815/

My story. Last year, I placed an order with ECS tuning for some brake parts. I ordered all new pads, and sensors. I placed my order with my billing address still being in Hawaii and my shipping address to my apartment in the Midwest. A little while after ordering, I monitored the tracking and realized my parts were getting shipped to Hawaii! I called multiple times and was dropped by the customer service reps. After finally getting ahold of someone I was eventually told that they wouldn't change the address back to where I specified with the shipper and they wouldn't cover the shipping costs. My parts arrived in Hawaii and I had to pay $75 out of pocket to get them back to where they were supposed to be shipped in the first place. Even though they made the mistake, they still forced me to correct the issue by paying out of pocket.

So I'm $75 short. Okay. What happens next is upsetting. AFTER I finally get my box. The box is not packed properly at all (See photo). Not only did they not properly package it. The packaging on the brakes had come apart from being thrown around inside this big empty box. The sensors had tears in their bags, and everything was fucking covered in brake dust. So not only did you screw me over, you screwed me over twice.

So I join this group on Facebook. Turns out I'm not the only one. Tons and tons of people are getting this type of treatment from ECS. If you join you'll see improperly packaged boxes, read horror stories from other people, hear about how ECS places a hold on your credit card and fake bills it once a year (YES, they actually admitted to doing this). There are many worse stories in the group, and whenever people seem to call about the issues, they always get their calls dropped.

Never again am I giving a dime to ECS. From now on I will be paying FCP Euro & getbmwparts.com. I've seen FCP's packaging. I've been reading excellent reviews from many people in the group about them, including what they did to fix situations and issues. I'm spending $8000 on brand new parts in January and don't want a penny of it to go to ECS.

Make your own conclusions, but if you TOO have a horror story, please tell.
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      07-25-2018, 03:41 PM   #2
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I haven't had any horror stories with ECS (having ordered from them dozens of times and for thousands of dollars over the years), but nothing exceptional either. They've been a very ho-hum seller. Their prices are okay but not great, and going up. However, their website is 10x better than any other and is the primary reason I buy from them. I will buy more from FCP going forward.

*Ha, just this week I ordered a key fob case from ECS that was listed to fit the E90. It arrived and was too large, 1.5x bigger than the key itself. Guess who gets to pay for the return shipping?

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      07-25-2018, 03:43 PM   #3
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Wonder if it was the last day on the job for the packer at ECS..
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      07-25-2018, 03:47 PM   #4
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That photo - Yikes. I'd be pissed too.
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      07-25-2018, 03:50 PM   #5
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Wonder if it was the last day on the job for the packer at ECS..
Nope. Just saw a guy on the Facebook page post this. $2500 worth of parts....
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      07-25-2018, 04:00 PM   #6
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The shipping company should be the one blamed for the damage to the KW box. I bought KWs from a different vendor and that's how they're packaged from factory; granted there should be some foam inside the box to hold the coils in place I'm just gonna assume whoever took the pictures removed the foam. I'm not here to defend ECS, I used to shop exclusively with them years ago but haven't dealt with him in a couple years so I have nothing to offer when it comes to their service.
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      07-25-2018, 04:16 PM   #7
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I've bought countless items from ECS with zero issues. Each time it has been packed professionally and in many cases better than other vendors on here (I won't name them).

I've even changed my order with them a few times and they still delivered without issues. Most of this stuff is automated so I'm not sure how they shipped to HI when you put your Midwest location.

sucks things didn't work out for you though.
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      07-25-2018, 04:17 PM   #8
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I've ordered a lot of stuff from ECS (read: too much) and only ever had 1 issue. I ordered a bunch of parts to repair a damaged front end (18 wheeler tire tread had it's way with me) and one of the items (Euro bumper) was "drop shipped" instead of being shipped directly from ECS. I'm guessing it was the fault of the warehouse responsible for drop shipping, but when I got my package, it looked like they opened up the original ECS box(es) and literally just dumped them in the large box used to ship the bumper. And the craziest part was that instead of filling up the remaining empty void in the box with packing peanuts, they used the most random stuff I've ever seen. There was a handful of packing peanuts, some of that orange mattress foam kinda stuff, egg crates, that multi colored pad stuff that goes under carpet, paper bags, other random pieces of foam, and a few pieces of bubble wrap. Please note that all of the above items were not strategically added, the foam bits look like they were torn off the whole piece in anger (jagged, poorly cut, random shapes) and all of it was just thrown in at random, and still only filled about 25% of the box. Luckily the bumper itself was properly wrapped and the only casualty was a spark plug that fell out of its box that got wedged under one of the cardboard flaps and took forever to find. I probably should have reported it, but at that point was mainly concerned about getting my car repaired as it had been delayed several times already. Honestly I was almost more impressed than upset. Like somebody had to have expended extra effort to go out of their way to find all of these miscellaneous items
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      07-25-2018, 04:24 PM   #9
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There will always be screw-ups and mistakes -- it's still a company run by human beings. ECS is huge, as you mentioned, so even if 0.5% of their orders have some sort of issue, that's still a sizable number. Sorry to hear it happened to you.

I would really suggest you reach out to a supervisor or someone with authority there and calmly explain the issue, and provide the photos. It's not good business for them to tick off customers and make you turn to the competition. If they don't know about problems like this, they can't fix them. Why not give them the benefit of the doubt?
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      07-25-2018, 04:27 PM   #10
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I’ve tried everything. Also, 5,000 people don’t join a group in five weeks because ECS tuning is doing a good job. I want my $75 back.
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      07-25-2018, 04:33 PM   #11
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ECS are a bunch of shitheads. Their prices are mediocre. But what takes the cake is their attitude. They have their premade “ecs kits” that cost more than the individual items themselves to screw people. Even their spin the wheel during black friday has a 0.00001% chance of winning or something close to zero. An ECS rep on another forum was making fun of people spinning it and being a shithead to people who complained. Their shipping costs were bullshit for a while too until they realized they were losing too much business.
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      07-25-2018, 04:41 PM   #12
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I’ve tried everything. Also, 5,000 people don’t join a group in five weeks because ECS tuning is doing a good job. I want my $75 back.
Sorry to hear, in that case. It's a good thing we have a free market with multiple competitors!

I wonder if you could've used your credit card benefits for protection/coverage against something like this. It would have basically been a chargeback for the $75.
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      07-25-2018, 04:44 PM   #13
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Terrible company. Avoid them at all costs. Which I understand is hard due to their vast inventory and how google almost always pulls them as the top result.
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      07-25-2018, 04:58 PM   #14
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I needed my Idle Air Control Valve overnighted for Friday delivery so I specifically called early on Thursday to verify they can actually overnight it still that day. I placed the order with the rep during the same phone call. Well, they shipped it the following afternoon for Monday delivery. At least, if you miss the promised ship date, add Saturday delivery to make up for your error/false promise. I called and complained but they said there is nothing they can do. I asked if I can order a second valve during the same call for Saturday delivery and return the original one that was probably still in their warehouse. They agreed to it and didn't charge for the overnight shipping with Saturday delivery on the second order (and the return was free). It all worked out, but I had to come up with the solution myself...
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      07-25-2018, 05:00 PM   #15
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I've ordered multiple thousands of dollars from them over the years and have yet to run into an issue.
Their website is absolutely top notch. Truly the standard everyone else should be measured by.

I also buy a lot from FCP but FCP is significantly more expensive and only works out if you will eventually return the item for a new one.

Nothing will ever to compare with the creamy goodness from thebmwpartstore back when Mike managed it. What bliss. Best experience ever.

I buy all my racy stuff from Bimmerworld and their service is very close to thebmwpartstore. It is simply excellent.
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      07-25-2018, 05:07 PM   #16
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ECS has been ok. Occasionally they'll send the wrong parts, but have always made it right. I always cross shop when looking for oem parts for the m3 or my wife's diesel. FCP has been slightly cheaper when shipping costs are included.
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      07-25-2018, 05:42 PM   #17
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You guys need to check bmw Morristown. They always have the lowest prices and so far shipping has been free and excellent
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      07-25-2018, 07:39 PM   #18
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Im going to copy and paste the post sent to me by a friend from a former employee that further solidifies any doubts that this place is garbage. It's long but worth the read..

Link to actual post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1969...0020475315172/


The title of this group is appropriate to how I'm feeling: "Why I hate ECS Tuning."

This is my "messed up" ECS story. told through my singular lens. The opinions expressed here are just that, but are true to how ECS came into my life and made me hate their company. Settle in. This ain't short.

3 years ago today, July 1, 2015, ECS "acquired" Turner Motorsport incorporated, the company I had toiled to help Will Turner build up for 8.5 years. They promised the former owner, a guy I shared a small office with for over 5 years, all sorts of amazing synergies and upsides. We'd share the best of both companies to form a super-knowledgeable, cutting edge source of auto parts with unmatched experience and customer service.

Those were all lies.

When I arrived at Turner in 2007, they were a small niche / boutique operation that sold a couple million in parts per year, fueled by a handful of true enthusiasts. I had left a solid job at another respected BMW parts outfit for the chance to work for an exciting up-and-coming BMW Tuner that already had a reputation for racing and no-BS parts.

When the ECS management team landed at Turner for the first time after the buyout, I was of course guarded. My optimism quickly turned to disgust. My impression of them was smarmy. Ruthless. Greedy. And in some cases, completely inept. Most notably the the two former owners, who's opinion I held as low as one could imagine. They had sold controlling rights to their company only a year before, and were now "Co-CEOs" of the private equity owned entity, an asset of Betram Capital Investments.

Many of our numbers were better than theirs. Our customer satisfaction higher, returns lower, vendor relationships deeper, and our employee retention and advancement out of this world. We managed a better profit margin, taboot. (Who knew: When you have happy customers and employees, you can run a good business!) Seeing behind the scenes of Turner Motorsport and ECS Tuning, it was clear -- One was a company that earned its reputation, the other a Wild-West movie scene, pretending to know what they were doing, luring customers in with prices slightly lower than their peers, and growth that stemmed from mostly dumb luck, and past smart employees who had quit along the years. They had no clear vision besides growth-at-any-cost, to inflate their private equity owned LLC so they could dump it to another larger company in a few years and (hopefully) some key players would walk away millionaires.

It was official: Will Turner sold his company to the devil. A soulless machine that didn't care about the car community or its employees. It cared about one thing only: Profit.

They were insufferable, right out of the gate. I played along for a few months, as they made one foolish or unimaginable decision after another. As the Director of Operations, I had a bird's eye view of the deconstruction and dismemberment of a once great company.

I made several trips to ECS headquarters in Wadsworth, OH. What I saw was what I would describe as borderline inhumane treatment of employees. Unnecessary control tactics to ensure NO ONE at ECS had any "tribal knowledge" of their business. Because of this their employees had a demeanor like abused animals. Cameras over every desk. Unbelievably low pay. Tiny tiny cubicles. Unnecessary dress code from the 1940's. Isolated and key-code locked rooms for every department. I was one .of a select few who could freely walk through all of the departments, and see the inner workings of ECS and the people that worked hard behind locked doors.

And I really felt bad for them. I felt almost as bad for their customers. Their warehouse was a disorganized hive of slave-like labor, governed by fear and intimidation. Their shipments were POORLY packaged, their process riddled with opportunities for mistakes and human error, and the morale of their employees those the lowest I've ever seen.

As an IT and Ecommerce Manager, their system was one of the most poorly cobbled together hackjobs I'd ever seen as well. Their security and disaster recover was a joke. it's no wonder they had troubles with data breaches and massive credit card data hacking. (Google it!) This was 100% the worst working environment I'd ever seen. Run by delusional and inept management who truly believed they'd built the perfect machine. And now fueled by outside PE money and reckless abandon.

The Turner buy-out happened in July, and in December of 2015 they unveiled their new "plan" in a small conference room of ECS. It was the former owner, Mr. Turner, myself, the two "co-CEOs", and 3 or 4 members of senior management. I sat in the board room and watched Will Turner's jaw drop as they explained their master plan -- to consolidate the 50 employee Massachusetts based Turner Motorsport with Ohio. Their reasoning after months of research: "It would save $11k in shipping expense and 0.2 days of package transit time. "That's it???" I asked. At the time, Turner Motorsport alone (not including ECS) was spending some $30k a week in shipping. No one researched the advantages of combining the capabilities of both companies. I argued they needed to re-run their numbers for contrast before impulsively vaporizing Turner Motorsport. They had made up their mind and that was that.

So on December 15, I became aware that ECS wanted me to lay off the majority of my workforce. The best of the best, in a hot bed of Boston-area talent were about to be out a job around Christmas. A good portion of whom I had hired and trained, and all of which I worked along-side for years. Several employees pre-dated my years of service, including a few with 18-20 years of experience each. No offers of relocation. No concern or compassion. All business. Just to save a few bucks, and (as time would tell) to the chagrin of its customers.

The would also dissolve the in-house R&D and production, boasting their plans to send manufacturing to the same Chinese and Mexican companies ECS was already outsourcing to.

They'd keep the domain name and 800 number, and 4 sales reps to continue the perception that Turner Motorsport was an independent parts house. They also kept two customer service reps to handle all the shipping errors, damaged parts, wrong parts, and nightmare orders ECS had become so good at creating. They quietly dumpstered thousands of parts and sent millions of dollars worth of inventory (much of which they had no way of selling) to their Ohio warehouse. A once-great all-BMW parts house went from 50 employees to 6, remains to this very today.

Strangely they didn't want me to go, though. They wanted my experience (Ecommerce, IT, SEO, Management, etc) however they could keep me. They tried cutting me in on their private equity parachute "pie in the sky" incentive plan that other ECS managers were on. I turned it down. The incentive plan's legal paperwork was a joke. A labyrinth with only 1 outcome that might pay out a modest bonus, mired with a hundred of ways ECS could cut me out and $0 at their discretion.

Pass.

Instead I made sure the laid off Turner employees got the best severances and treatment I could, and informed WIll Turner his ride with me as his right hand man was over. I quit on the 9th anniversary of my hire date, which was also the 5th year anniversary of launching a revamped Ecommerce platform that increased sales +40% overnight.

I still look back on that as an amazing job, with the most amazing people on the planet, that all came to a screeching halt because someone couldn't turn down a 7 figure payout (yes, 7 figure and decidedly not 8.) I often think how different my life and so many others would be had ECS not picked Turner as the first target of acquisition.

But they aren't done! ECS very quietly purchased Pelican Parts last fall. Good luck finding any press and PE newswire hoopla, like the Turner acquisition. They have kept this buy-out VERY quiet, as Bertram knows how bad ECS did with Turner "transition." Who will ECS buy next?

Do yourself a favor and get VERY picky about where you buy your German/Euro car parts. Starting asking: "Are you owned by ECS Tuning or Bertram Capital Investments?"

Read the ECS Glass Door, and know all the bad reports are 100% truth, while the glowing reviews are almost certainly planted by management to combat a dumpster fire that is their HR department.

I hope this clearly illustrates why I genuinely hate ECS Tuning.

-Dan Curtis
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      07-25-2018, 08:10 PM   #19
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Ordered the OEM transmission service package. What arrived was the wrong fluid and not the OEM Pentison. They emailed me a label and back it went. I got the correct fluid at my local dealer. I used my credit from the fluid later. I would venture to say the shipping department is the problem as it usually is at most places.
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      07-25-2018, 08:12 PM   #20
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I order all my oil change kits from ECS, they all have been shipped with the bare minimum to be protected during shipping. I cannot really complain, if I was selling stuff on eBay I would ship them the same quality level they ship to me.

There was only one time when I got my oil change kit the box was demolished, but luckily everything inside was okay.

But that really isn't their fault. Shipping carrier does the damage, they just do not do a great level of preventing damage I suppose.

Regarding paying for returns. I had a cracked carbon fiber spoiler during shipping. I sent pics and they gave me a RMA and label and I shipped it back in the same box, no charge to me.

Maybe they make you pay if they feel like the burden of proof of a sale was your fault.

Like the keyfob being too big in something I read above, maybe its your fault. Or at least your fault in their eyes.
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      07-25-2018, 08:51 PM   #21
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On a side note if anyone in NYC needs oem parts I can assist.
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      07-25-2018, 09:08 PM   #22
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Quote:
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I order all my oil change kits from ECS, they all have been shipped with the bare minimum to be protected during shipping. I cannot really complain, if I was selling stuff on eBay I would ship them the same quality level they ship to me.

There was only one time when I got my oil change kit the box was demolished, but luckily everything inside was okay.

But that really isn't their fault. Shipping carrier does the damage, they just do not do a great level of preventing damage I suppose.

Regarding paying for returns. I had a cracked carbon fiber spoiler during shipping. I sent pics and they gave me a RMA and label and I shipped it back in the same box, no charge to me.

Maybe they make you pay if they feel like the burden of proof of a sale was your fault.

Like the keyfob being too big in something I read above, maybe its your fault. Or at least your fault in their eyes.

Take a gander at the Facebook page. You'll see that most people who were promised return labels never got them.

Also, you'll see a lot of people who were not given the right part or told that a part fit and it did not.
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