[SleepyM5C]

This is a first for me but my poor experience with Keller Performance has led me to pursue litigation and I hope this will prevent others from having a similar experience.

At the end of 2023 I ordered an M8 Competition Coupe and began acquiring parts including Eventuri intake and Keller Downpipes (catted). Although expensive, the Keller reviews were fantastic and the quality from the pictures appeared second to none. I immediately reached out to John who accepted my order and began fabricating the catted downpipes. After a few weeks my new downpipes arrived and I just had to wait for my new Daytona Beach Blue M8 to arrive.

Fast forward to February when my car arrived and my local BMW dealership attempted to fit the new downpipes. After an entire day of trying to make them fit I received a call and the master tech indicated that the downpipes would not fit correctly. I immediately e-mailed and called Keller performance and passed along the concerns as well as the total install time required to try and fit the downpipes, remove them after the failed attempt, and reinstall the factory downpipes so that I could still drive the car. The first response from Steve at Keller Performance was to question why the failed install took so long and cost so much...not an apology or reassurance that this would be resolved. After some back and forth via e-mail (never a call back to me throughout this entire process) and my pleading that they call my master technician, John from Keller responded, apologized for the issues, and planned to make another set. I inquired about splitting the install costs and was told to wait until the second set was made and fit before resolving those expenses.

After another week the new set arrived and fit properly. Unfortunately, and in spite of assurances to the contrary, the new set did trip the CEL. Throughout this process I inquired about the initial install cost and even offered to split all install with them only to receive a response that we will figure everything out once the first set was returned. Unfortunately, this was the last response I received from Keller performance.

Since the first, defective set was sent back Keller Performance has gone silent and, as a result, I have hired an attorney to recoup the initial install costs. As someone who understands that mistakes do happen I'm not upset in the least the first set of downpipes were manufactured incorrectly. Customer service, on the other hand, is essential in this competitive business and as someone who is purchasing $3,000 downpipes I would have expected more from this company.

For what it's worth this story serves as a warning to anyone who may use Keller Performance in the future. Perhaps others have had better experiences but I am profoundly disappointed and will never purchase products from them in the future.

[Tenac]

Let us know if you end up getting the initial install cost back.

[TupperBMW]

You got a second one for free that actually fits (obviously, you shouldn’t expect less), and I would say that in life, be happy with that and move on.

Downpipes often trigger CEL’s in modern cars. No matter what anyone says, it’s a crapshoot if you’ll get one or not.

I agree that the business could have handled things better, but I’m not sure I’d waste resources taking them to court over the extra installation cost

[AmooManiak]

Originally Posted by TupperBMW

You got a second one for free that actually fits (obviously, you shouldn’t expect less), and I would say that in life, be happy with that and move on.

I disagree. He didn't receive them for "free". It was a replacement for something he alerady paid for and didn't fit. Getting a replacement is expected and he shouldn't have to pay un-install/re-install cost for hardware that is not working properly.

A good company would take care of their customers and the only thing he should be paying for is the initial install of the downpipes.

I can only imagine what a nightmare this was to be to be stuck between an incapable company and the dealership trying to fix it, despite asks to call the dealrship directly to torubleshoot.

Also, if there was assurance that these catted downpipes would not trigger a CEL, then that would be the expectation. Often we pay more for a product for this type of assurance instead of going with a cheaper company.

[SleepyM5C]

That was my thought on these. The CEL was just icing on the cake for this. I do believe that their craftsmanship is top notch now that the corrected downpipes are on the car but just a complete fail when it comes to responsibility and accountability regarding the first, defective set.

[TupperBMW]

I’m not saying that the OP is wrong, not at all. They should compensate you for your install/reinstall costs for SURE. And they owed you a new downpipe which they did furnish you.

My point is that for me, I don’t think that that fight would be worth hiring a lawyer, going to court, and that whole headache. Just my perspective

[shawntech]

Originally Posted by TupperBMW

I’m not saying that the OP is wrong, not at all. They should compensate you for your install/reinstall costs for SURE. And they owed you a new downpipe which they did furnish you.

My point is that for me, I don’t think that that fight would be worth hiring a lawyer, going to court, and that whole headache. Just my perspective

It's always worth it. Thinking like this is what lets them get away with it. It took over 10mos just recently in litigation to make our local BMW dealer accountable for damaging wheels during tire change and they did not expect the perseverance. All of these companies have learned to bleed people out because they won't do what's necessary to hold them accountable.

[Powerwhee]

Sometimes court isn’t worth it and that’s why the company will do things like this. If you have to pay 20k in fees to recover 2k in install costs, most people would think the juice is not worth the squeeze.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by Powerwhee

Sometimes court isn’t worth it and that’s why the company will do things like this. If you have to pay 20k in fees to recover 2k in install costs, most people would think the juice is not worth the squeeze.

Playing a contract lawyer on TV (a joke as do it in my professional life although not an attorney) value realization rules. We'll pass on a breach of contract worth $500K to a $1M as the effort to win is "not worth the squeeze". Dealing with one now but it's $40M plus and hence we're all in to win including retainers for an outside council.

It may have hit your news feeds on your phones or just news on the TV but the CHC/UHG debacle has us all in and hence we spend our time plus $ to the outside council. We're going to win that absolute shit show and I'm knee deep into to ensure we do. 👍

[SleepyM5C]

I must admit the time and energy is beyond frustrating. I'm just glad I didn't send my ECU to the company since they now send to Europe to crack them. Imagine that fiasco if something happened in transit and those were lost, etc. I do think Keller could have easily made this right with a simple phone call (still no calls to resolve the matter) but they would prefer to ignore and hope this just goes away. More than anything my story will either help them to change their ways or prevent someone else from losing install costs like I did. The litigation aspect is pending so we'll see how that goes.

As consumers we have lots of options for nearly every part at this point. IND has been a fantastic resource for most of my parts and in retrospect I would have just purchased those supersprint downpipes on their site. Their customer service is top notch and I would trust them with any large order.

[TupperBMW]

^ If this could be done without lawyers (small claims court) it would be worth the effort. Would this qualify for small claims?

[SleepyM5C]

Originally Posted by TupperBMW

^ If this could be done without lawyers (small claims court) it would be worth the effort. Would this qualify for small claims?

I'm sure it's possible. I'll update when I have something to report.