FCUK BavAuto! rant

[SDKmann]

Good thing I saw this thread, I would have considered Bav Auto springs before this.

[weezer]

Originally Posted by Philly

Marko will get you yet bavauto!


on a side note, Hey Fariz (weezer) - Long time no see dude.

Thanks!
Between last July and now..........a whole lot o crap happened.
Got laid off from RD, separated and divorced, went to Indonesia for 3 months, found new job last Feb...........phew.......but thanks. Never lost interest in Bimmers though. Just started AutoX again.

On topic.....thinking of replacing current set up to coilovers and replacing larger rear Stabilizer only. The Ti's factory set-up is understeer.....seeing a lot of that during AutoX-ing....slowing down my times.

[318tifan]

anyone else with similar complaints?
looking to order aftermarket parts this week...
was going to place an order for the bavauto kit....
where else would y'all recommend to shop for parts??

[marko]

dont get their springs - ride is not too good - try H&R.
but billstein shocks are just fine.

Originally Posted by 318tifan

anyone else with similar complaints?
looking to order aftermarket parts this week...
was going to place an order for the bavauto kit....
where else would y'all recommend to shop for parts??

[thesk8nmidget]

bimmerbum.com has a good affordable suspension setup

[ATF]

My H&R Sports & Bilstein Sports are nice. I experienced some knocking noise that stills comes back every once in a while, but only when the car gets loaded down..

[aceyx]

Originally Posted by thesk8nmidget

bimmerbum.com has a good affordable suspension setup

Always had great service from Ed as well.

[Moose]

glad this came up. I hadn't ordered from them in 6 years...just ordered a set of control arms and they sent me 1 instead of 2. Bastards!!! I'm on the west coast and it was another week to get it. I'm going to intercept the UPS driver today to save time since that's what I'm doing. F**kheads!. They used to send me like 17 catalogs a month and it would stuff my PO Box and leave no room for the real mail. I tried several times to have them stop the madness. No luck!! I just about had to change my name, email and move just to shake em'.
I'll never order another part from them EVER...and those cheezy cheep springs are teh suck. I knew that 10 years ago when one collaped at a track dayon my boss' 323. F' them....

sorry got worked up. I feel better now sigh..

[thesk8nmidget]

hahaha wow! yeah i dont get a lot of catalogs but i do get about one a month

[jtbeemer]

Originally Posted by tiFreak

holy crap! it's a real site! oooh... Natalia, I like her

Wow, that site is ... making me wonder. There is a nest of Russians that live around here, that accent drives me nuts. Plus I'm fascinated by Russian history.

/got to get a better job

[318tifan]

that setup looks identical to the bavauto one??

[elchicano]

So does anyone have the BavAuto coilovers? Hows does it feel. Thinking of getting some for a killer price. Do you guys really think they are worth it if its lower than half the price of what they cost new?

[thesk8nmidget]

the coil over kits they sell are just inserts arent they? seems like a cheap way to stifen the suspension but in return lose the amount of travel the shocks will have.

i say save for a good reputable brand!

[elchicano]

yeah thats what i was thinking. damn you josh for telling me what i didn't want to hear. So yea i guess i'll bail on the BavAuto coilovers and look for something else.

[NHskibm]

This thread has popped up on almost every BMW board I have visited - and the list is LONG.

I live about 15 min. from Bav. I usually deal with Mike or Ian, but know the rest of the guys from management to shipping (not the owners however).

I'll tell you that I don't shop there because of their parts, but because of their service - although some of the guys I don't know see a bit 'interesting' with their customer service.

My chief complaint about Bav is the unpredictability. Over the 7 cars I've had in the last 5 years (all modded) I have found that depending on the part you really have a shot at getting 3 different 'levels'.

Level 1 - OE - this is BMW stamped factory replacement
Level 2 - OEM - non BMW stamped manufacturer replacement
Level 3 - Aftermarket - china.

When I order parts for rebuilding a car I always ask to see the parts or ask Ian or Mike to look at them to make sure I'm getting the right part. Now for OE or OEM their prices are hands down the BEST one can get without "contacts" in the industry.

Per their 'performance' parts. It is something they don't really focus on. Sure you can get Bilstein PSS9's (and they cost me $1300 for an E46 saving $300 over the next guy) but for the most part their selection differes from Turner and the other more race friendly parts suppliers.

As far as their springs go - they are NOT a sport spring. They are a 'lowering performance spring'. Translater they will only LOWER your car not STIFFEN it. If you want a stiffer ride you need to buy a different spring. If you read the literature they have on their site it explicitly says - better handling through lowering.

Bav does a great job of marketing their cheap lowering springs and people don't read closely what they are buying.

I own one set of bav springs - for an E30. I haven't put them in yet. I'm not 100% sure I'm going to either. But we'll see. ALL of my cars usually have Bilstein/H+R combos and although I don't get along with them I get the parts from Turner (also 15 min. from my house).

For those that have had bad experiences with Bav I must say that sucks. You must just get the wrong guys on the phone. Just call and ask for Ian, tell him Howard recommended him and I think you'll be happy. Oh! And make sure you go in loaded with the right questions to ask!

For the record I have been sold the WRONG springs from Turner as well for my E30 iX. Blew the struts. Can prove they were wrong and Turner won't admit to it and give a simple "sorry". I wasn't even looking for money. Just an apology.