Does anyone have experience using Umnitza for aftermarket parts? The prices look good, but the website looks fly by night, so makes me a little nervous. Any personal experience would be appreciated, especially if you had issues that had to be addressed. Thanks!

:rofl search this forum, and any other forum.

you'll find LOTS of reasons to be wary.

http://www.rallylights.com/

Lots of people have had bad experiences with them, it seems to be about 50/50 when dealing with them. I'd use apexcone, Jim Powell has excellent service.

+1 for apexcone.

Apexcone does not sell direct. Do you have a distributor?

Apexcone does not sell direct. Do you have a distributor?
www.understeer.com

:rofl search this forum, and any other forum.

you'll find LOTS of reasons to be wary.
Nah all the anti-Umnitza threads were closed :dunno

I like them since theyre local and I hate waiting for shipments.

Nah all the anti-Umnitza threads were closed :dunno

I like them since theyre local and I hate waiting for shipments.

no they were deleted :(

Well, there is one right now in the rides and styling section giving props, read that one...

also, i think this could be another drop in the 'we need a rating system' bucket here on bf.c

Everything I've ordered from them has always shown up as described. I've read bad experiences of some here, but I've had nothing but good ones.

Apexcone does not sell direct. Do you have a distributor?
Apexcone/XTEC sells direct on Bimmerforums. Look up user JimPowell. I'm trying to find his username - it's an odd combination of letters! :D

Apexcone/XTEC sells direct on Bimmerforums. Look up user JimPowell. I'm trying to find his username - it's an odd combination of letters! :D
Ah, found it. JSP98M3 is his username (initials, followed by car :D) PM him and he can help you out. He travels frequently to meet with the manufacturers of what he sells. He's the only vendor that I know that acually goes to asia and actually sees the facilities that the products he sells are made at and talks with the manufacturers. All the rest can only give a 'he said she said' account of their own business. Jim Powelll :thumbup: :thumbup:

Yeah everything negative about umnitza gets deleted.

Understeer is where its at tho, im in New Zealand, and ive had suspension, and DDE's from chris in the last 2 years. He's like totally efficient.

Understeer.com ftw.

A lot of commentary from people who's experiences with Umnitza have been severly compromised as a direct result of certain individuals mentioned in this thread spreading rumours and inaccuracies.

Just look at the sheer volume of products, just do a search on "umnitza" and most importantly, contact us.

You'll always find 1% unhappy customers no matter what business, but a public message forum where anything goes, we are still able to satisfy a gigantic proportion of customers.

Look at the DEPO group guys, our extremely successful Predator Chromium line, our ZKW quality products, HIDs that we used to sell have never once failed to deliver on the promise of perfection, and most importantly, we're ALWAYS there. NO matter what.

Despite the immature commentary by some, we are always here to help the customer and will always be here to help while others go away and seek other pastures or hide behind pseudo "changes in business models".

We will not be bettered by anyone for like products. PERIOD.

EDIT: You can find the negative threads - 99% of which are dealing with shipping issue which we are seeking to address - but you'll notice that almost every issue has occured in the past.

Here are some recent customer accounts:
1) http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=479302&highlight=umnitza
2) http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=483088&highlight=umnitza
3) http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=469163&highlight=umnitza
4) http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=457444&highlight=umnitza
5) http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=452252&highlight=umnitza
6) http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=426265&highlight=umnitza
7) http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=407377&highlight=umnitza

That's 7 threads in 3 months. Just as unsolicited as the negative publicity we get. Look carefully, shipping is definitely our #1 concern to fix and we WILL fix it. We've hired better staff, I personaly handle all the trouble issues now, and we're much better at resolving product woes as quickly and accurately as possible.

I have both Umnitza and Apexcone products. My recommendation would be to go with Apexcone ( a supporting vendor here). You can be sure that Jim Powell is going to be 100% honest with you, and not make up things to cover any mistakes on his part. I don't recall ever reading anything negative about Jim, other than from other vendors or their lackeys.
Apexcone has excellent customer service, quick shipping, and products as good or better than anything else out there.
Although I am happy with Umnitzas products, and haven't had too many problems with them, I will never do business with them again, nor recommend them.

F*ck EVERYTHING ELSE.. UMNITZA DA BEST!!!!

lc

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=342225

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=343243

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=342545

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=341112

explain this to me.
my 330i was going to get xtec, but not after this.

The more it turns against, the more it gets deleted.

Having had a working relationship with Matt(umnitza) over an extended period of time(3 years+), I will say that there are some customers who issues with him, but to my knowledge he will always put forth a reasonable effort to resolve any issues customers may have. He is available by email something like 16 hours a day, which is awesome for a customer. If you are concerned with him taking your money and running, just use a credit card, Matt's never done anything like that ever, and i doubt he ever will.

I've only shopped from Umnitza once, but I've only had my car since January. They spoke with me over the phone about the product and I got quick/prompt shipping and good prices. No complaints.

I once order from umnitza, but it was just lense covers, they did come as described, I mean, there was no way he could've mess that up haha. But 3 of my friends have had problems with them, also there are more negative threads about him than positive, of course if you search you won't find them, because for some mysterious way, they get deleted. I think He is not at faulf, it's the members themselves that continue to order from him after reading and reading negative comments about his service, so buy at your own risk.

Same individuals who post negative comments over and over? Does the same statement apply to the individuals who post positive comments over and over? It goes both ways.

Shipping was my number one issue I had with umnitza, but Matt did resolve the issue to my satisfaction, until it happened a second time. Matt then proceeded to make things right later on, and we agreed that we were both satisfied up to our last transaction.

The feeling of satisfaction ended there however, when all the hype and how great the products that I purchased a month ago, were now being bashed by the same person who sold them to me. The greatest products sold were now revealed of their many faults publicly when Umnitza no longer sold them. There were now pictures that were COMPLETELY DIFFERENT of how they were visually represented when they did sell them. This goes for both the Xtec HID systems and DDE Enhanced I purchased from umnitza. Do you guys realize that the Blue E46 M3 in his signature has DDE Enhanced? (which look perfect unlike the horrid new pictures of how DDE enhanced is now portrayed)? Imagine BMW selling the E90 and then telling everyone how the E46 sucks.

There are plenty of satisfied people on here, but also a decent amount of negativity and something less that you come to expect provided the amount of advertising, marketing, and talk up of how good the service is. Perhaps I was disappointed by believing that umnitza offered perfection in customer satisfaction, and got less than that.

When it comes to comparing with other vendors, how come there isnt tons of bad threads, issues, or problems with other large vendors? You almost never hear "UUC SUCKS!" or "PROBLEMS WITH UNDERSTEER", and they're also big time vendors.

This thread will be deleted, as did the others. Negative comments against umnitza are apparently against the rules on this forum.

In my limited experience these guys will do whatever they can to make their customers happy. Some people however are never happy. I think the guy[s]
who answer their email must work 24/7 as they always had quick replies when I had difficulties fitting the ballast, ignitor and larger headlight into the already crowded drvers side of my M3. They even sent numerous pics of how others fit these on supercharged M's.

Same individuals who post negative comments over and over? Does the same statement apply to the individuals who post positive comments over and over? It goes both ways.

Shipping was my number one issue I had with umnitza, but Matt did resolve the issue to my satisfaction, until it happened a second time. Matt then proceeded to make things right later on, and we agreed that we were both satisfied up to our last transaction.

As mentioned above, shipping is what we need to work on.

The feeling of satisfaction ended there however, when all the hype and how great the products that I purchased a month ago, were now being bashed by the same person who sold them to me. The greatest products sold were now revealed of their many faults publicly when Umnitza no longer sold them. There were now pictures that were COMPLETELY DIFFERENT of how they were visually represented when they did sell them. This goes for both the Xtec HID systems and DDE Enhanced I purchased from umnitza. Do you guys realize that the Blue E46 M3 in his signature has DDE Enhanced? (which look perfect unlike the horrid new pictures of how DDE enhanced is now portrayed)? Imagine BMW selling the E90 and then telling everyone how the E46 sucks.

While there may be a little truth to what you are saying, there is a lot more to this.

1) Most obvious? - E46 M3 - Craig Lieberman's car - has the Predator Chromium. The new owner immediately switched them out. Thanks Rusty.

2) DDE Enhanced has never been portrayed as a bad product, just an obsolete one. Just like the E90 makes the E46 Obsolete. BMW doesn't make them anymore, doesn't promote them, and doesn't care about them except to service them and/or perform recalls. However, the MOST important thing to take away from this is DDE Enhanced was never "our" product. Predator Chromium is OUR product. We stand behind it.

3) Xtec was good for a while. And while we could support the warranty issues with it, we believed in it. But given the enormous rash of failures, especially ones that recently came to light, it's no longer considered good by us. Opinions do change over time and quite frankly, that's natural. If you can't accept that an opinion can change over time, then I'm sorry. Part of the reason they were now 'revealed' is that they became worse over time. We didn't knowingly sell you a bad product. Implications to that affect are wrong. Why do you think we switched to Prolumen?



There are plenty of satisfied people on here, but also a decent amount of negativity and something less that you come to expect provided the amount of advertising, marketing, and talk up of how good the service is.

You hit it on the head. It's very upsetting to us that we aren't able to give stellar service every time. I lie awake at night wondering how to do better. I wish people would give us the benefit of the doubt, we handle so many different purchases, most of them custom, special products, we want nothing but the best in your hands. Everytime. Many other vendors (and probably smartly so) don't handle custom orders like we do, they ship ready made product. We simply don't. You wanted your ZKWs with 8000K rings but you want 4000K HID and you want your Stongard pre-installed but you want high beam ION H1s? And you also want so much more? SURE NO PROBLEM.

Perhaps I was disappointed by believing that umnitza offered perfection in customer satisfaction, and got less than that.

We are sorry, but it wasn't from lack of effort on our part.

When it comes to comparing with other vendors, how come there isnt tons of bad threads, issues, or problems with other large vendors? You almost never hear "UUC SUCKS!" or "PROBLEMS WITH UNDERSTEER", and they're also big time vendors.

Actually, when i was a moderator, there were. But the fact remains, the difference between saying someone sucks and providing legitimate proof of something not going right are completely different. You need to discuss your opinion with the administration and their decisions. We have no authority on how the administration handles things. Please talk to them about what you perceive.

This thread will be deleted, as did the others. Negative comments against umnitza are apparently against the rules on this forum.

What I want people to take away from this is 3 very important things:

1) We do not shy away from criticism, but when you make it emotional, inflammatory, and inaccurate because you feel that you can "get it your way if you scream loud enough" even if it's unreasonable, it will not be accepted any longer. Please exhaust all means with us reasonably prior. That's all. I will bend over backwards for you, but I will not break because you want it.

2) Umnitza has a lot of customers and services them as best as we can. We handle over 70 shipments a day, many of them custom orders. We are innovating new products and new ideas all the time.

This year alone we've added over 400 new products to the database.

3) We will never ever ever let a customer accept less than our best. We will always provide our best, and we are going to grow the business to help you. Always. Please give us the benefit of the doubt as you do other vendors when things may not work exactly to your satisifaction, we will always make it right, doing anything reasonably possible to do so.

To those of you that feel like you're not 100% satisfied, tell us why, we'll make it so you are.

In my limited experience these guys will do whatever they can to make their customers happy. Some people however are never happy. I think the guy[s]who answer their email must work 24/7 as they always had quick replies when I had difficulties fitting the ballast, ignitor and larger headlight into the already crowded drvers side of my M3. They even sent numerous pics of how others fit these on supercharged M's.

As an FYI, I handle almost all the emails with an occassional assistance from a couple others. I personally want to ensure you are taken care of, so yes, I'm checking and monitoring emails almost "minutely" to make sure the customer gets the answer they need.

It's easier to handle 500 emails in a day than 500 phone calls, so if you have a concern, we can assist you faster via email. If you can't get through to our always busy phone lines, try Saturdays, we're less busy then.:buttrock

In general, people expect good service from any 'big name' vendor. So, when something goes awry (whatever the reason), that experience stands out in their mind and will likely make a post about it. No one ever makes a big deal out of a business 'just' delivering a good/service in a satisfactory fashion. Thay's why you'll hear more people complain than compliment a business, unless that business exceeds everyone's expectations. Just somethin to chew on...

I have purchased from Matt at umnitza and I have had nothing but excellence, and I except nothing less. The products I have recieved from umnita have been of the highest quality and perform above and beyond my expectations. Matt is an extremely knowledgeable in his trade, and is very determined to give the customer what they want. He often works overtime for customers, and I wont mention the HUGE stack of outgoing products he's had EVERY time i've been there (a large portion of the shop). I would HIGHLY reccomend umnitza, and I have. The volume of products umnitza sells is very impressive, and they are getting more. Thank you umnitza!!!!

I will NEVER do business with umnitza again.

I was going to start a thread about my missfortune but i didnt want to get banned or have my thread locked/deleted for expressing my fealings.

I originally ordered my chromium projector hid's with habbie. He was great and talked to me for a bout 30min explaining everything. Then they got my money and it turned for the worse.

When i recieved my package it was missing metal clips that hold the assembly together at the top. I didnt notice this at first, however what i did notice is that one of the eyes wouldnt light all the time until it just stopped lighting all the time. I first tried to call habbie since he is who i dealed with to start with. He bascially have me 30seconds of time and told me to check my grounds. After talking to him 2times i and him talking to me like im retaarded and to check my grounds i decided to call someone else.

Thats when i got to deal with matt. I told matt what was going on and he insisted on telling me to check my grounds.

WELL, I am a electronics Technician and I know when i have a friggin bad ground!!!!! There were no such bad grounds. If I had a dollar for ever vendor i have ever dealt with that told me to check grounds after selling me faulty equipment I would be a millionare.

I checked the current on both rings and I had Low to zero amps flowing through the faulty eye. well he then said that its probably the bllast. Well I swapped the ballast wire from the good working eye to the bad and still it wouldnt light all the way. So its not the ballast. well, then matt insists that its not the ring and if the ballast is working then I did something wrong.

They kept playing games with me and trying to turn my words against me. I kept telling matt that its the ring and he insisted that if the ring was faulty it wouldnt light up at all. FALSE

I then grew very upset and told hime i shouldnt have to replace parts on a 1week old set of headlights and that he should send me a new assembly to replace the bad one that I just spent over 600dollars on. He laughed at me and said "thats not gunna happen" " if we send you a new one and take back the old one what are we gunna do with it". I told him I dont care what he does with it. Its NOT MY PROBLEM. MY problem is the non working unit they sold me. Soo after about a hour of bitching back and forth he agreed to send me a new ballast and a new eye ring next day air. well I didnt recieve it for a whole week. THATS BULLSHIT!!!!!

So after doing some more trouble shooting to ensure That the ring is the problem I came across because I will be the first to admit when I am wrong. Well after installing to new ring into the headlight assembly they all worked perfectly. So I called up matt to let him know and he STILL INSISTED IT WASNT THE RING. and that I had a bad ground or something.

CLIFF NOTES:

Soldered all connections and still not working

Do to taking apart my lights several times I now have moisture problems.

Very bad customer service. (very rude and disrespectfull)

Jumped through hoops like a good little bitch and performed all tests they told me too just to waste my time.

They WILL NOT STAND BEHIND THERE PRODUCTS. Intead you will have to fight for about a hour to even recieve replacement parts.

There axcuse for everything is bad grounds.

AND REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY TELL YOU, YES A FAULTY RING CAN ONLY GLOW DIMM. MINE DID AND THEY DIDNT BELIEVE ME. they kept insisting that it either works or it doesnt. well that is very wrong and they need to stop telling people this.

Im sorry but i cannot do business with people like this, and you better believe i posted my bad experience up on numerous forumms and told numerous people of my bad missfortunes. And you better believe that they will all look elsewhere to get there products from.

Congratulations UMNITZA, you probably lost upwards of a 100 customer because you wouldnt take care of just 1 customer.

If you have to get stuff from Umnitza, I would go through Habbie (I think his name is Ouri) rather than Matt (Umnitza on the forums). It seems I've heard good things about him often, and bad things about him seldom (generally only when things get heated in an Umnitza thread).

I dunno if this is a solid observation, they could be 2 guys working in the same office... but its my observation none the less.

If you have to get stuff from Umnitza, I would go through Habbie (I think his name is Ouri) rather than Matt (Umnitza on the forums). It seems I've heard good things about him often, and bad things about him seldom (generally only when things get heated in an Umnitza thread).

I dunno if this is a solid observation, they could be 2 guys working in the same office... but its my observation none the less.
after last week's fiasco threads, i'd consider them both just as disrespectful and unprofessional.

argument here... but I really haven't seen any complaints about Habbie, so at least his service appears good.

My opinions on his ethics aren't really relevant here,

the forum was intended to be used as a tool, for members to search, read and share helpful information.
for vendors it was also meant as a tool, to sell, market, help and serve the community, we also introduce from time to time new and innovative and sometime less then, new products helping us gauge the market.

some here have made a clear choice to turn the forum into a weapon instead, spewing their hate and propaganda at every opportunity, robbing the members who do have a legitimate issue/complaint/grievance from a chance of working their issues out in a civil, respectfull and mature fashion, to some common sense and maturity is an evasive far fetched concept.

some wonder why threads get locked and deleted, some wonder why some very good and reputable vendors avoid the forum like the plague, hopefully this is will serve as an insight.
by constantly posting the same hateful massage time and again without having first, second, third (and lots more) hand knowledge of the facts and circumstances in this or any other case, they are by no means doing us as a community any favors, non of us can learn anything if its not there for us to read.

if you have an issue with a vendor, deal with them directly, i know most if not all are willing and able do to whatever it takes, within reason to address and solve your issue.
just because you can post does not mean you can bash and arbitrarily use this as a weapon, posting here is a privilege not a right and as such, it should be done accordingly.

the forum was intended to be used as a tool, for members to search, read and share helpful information.
for vendors it was also meant as a tool, to sell, market, help and serve the community, we also introduce from time to time new and innovative and sometime less then, new products helping us gauge the market.

some here have made a clear choice to turn the forum into a weapon instead, spewing their hate and propaganda at every opportunity, robbing the members who do have a legitimate issue/complaint/grievance from a chance of working their issues out in a civil, respectfull and mature fashion, to some common sense and maturity is an evasive far fetched concept.

some wonder why threads get locked and deleted, some wonder why some very good and reputable vendors avoid the forum like the plague, hopefully this is will serve as an insight.
by constantly posting the same hateful massage time and again without having first, second, third (and lots more) hand knowledge of the facts and circumstances in this or any other case, they are by no means doing us as a community any favors, non of us can learn anything if its not there for us to read.

if you have an issue with a vendor, deal with them directly, i know most if not all are willing and able do to whatever it takes, within reason to address and solve your issue.
just because you can post does not mean you can bash and arbitrarily use this as a weapon, posting here is a privilege not a right and as such, it should be done accordingly.
Well then, what do you think is the right thing for a member here to do, if they have proof that a vendor/s has posted outright lies and outrageous claims, just to try to cover up their bad business tactics? I have some proof of 2 vendors doing just that, but I'm not sure how to present it to the community.

Well then, what do you think is the right thing for a member here to do, if they have proof that a vendor/s has posted outright lies and outrageous claims, just to try to cover up their bad business tactics? I have some proof of 2 vendors doing just that, but I'm not sure how to present it to the community.
i'd say you present the truthful information in a public posting, to present to other enthusiasts as a fair warning.

i wonder where we could find a medium, or a "forum" that we could do such a thing?

:az

i'd say you present the truthful information in a public posting, to present to other enthusiasts as a fair warning.

i wonder where we could find a medium, or a "forum" that we could do such a thing?

:az
I'm not gonna post anything until I've presented it to Kevlar first. He has the original e-mail I have received, now I'm just waiting to hear back from the 2nd manufacturer, at which time I'll present the facts and let others decide.

I'm not gonna post anything until I've presented it to Kevlar first. He has the original e-mail I have received, now I'm just waiting to hear back from the 2nd manufacturer, at which time I'll present the facts and let others decide.
ahhhhhhhhhh.

good deal. as they say "the truth shall set you free"


...or in this case, it might burn someone's business to the ground.

ahhhhhhhhhh.

good deal. as they say "the truth shall set you free"


...or in this case, it might burn someone's business to the ground.
I just think it's right for Kevlar to have a chance to take care of vendors here if it is proven they are lying to his membership. It's his forum, and we have to look for him to help protect the membership from bad vendors.

I just think it's right for Kevlar to have a chance to take care of vendors here if it is proven they are lying to his membership. It's his forum, and we have to look for him to help protect the membership from bad vendors.
that would be the best way to run a forum, in my opinion. the members make the forum, protecting them would definantely be in the forum's best interest.

let me clear what i said up, if you were wronged by anyone, vendor or member i would certainly hope you would take it up with the interested party in private first, neither you, me or any one human i have met are perfect and without fault.
i am by no means telling you what to do, ultimately its your decision and you will have to deal with the consequences, if any.

some are quick to point others to the law yet they don't follow what they preach by serving as a public judge, jury, and executioner mind you without having a clue, we all lose as a community, we lose good sponsors and we lose valuable member posts to afraid to express their opinion.

im sure you will do the right thing, just make sure to follow the rules the site owner put in place, much like you i was a customer way before i became a vendor, i spent $1000's and $1000's and although i wasn't always happy i found a way to look in the mirror and realize that i was not without fault and it was much better resolved in private.

just to put in perspective how lucky we all truely are and still find shit to bitch and moan about i have a few words,
1. Iraq
2. hunger
3. natural disasters.

2 of them right here in our own back yard and the third not far behind, sure is tough driving a BMW sporting the latest technology and looks, our problems sure are a matter of life and death... if you truly believe that do something about the other 3, it will sure bring you back to reality.

any 2 bit moron can bash with the best, hell the very best, but to post in a cohesive and intelligent manner well thats what seperates the boys from the men.
Well then, what do you think is the right thing for a member here to do, if they have proof that a vendor/s has posted outright lies and outrageous claims, just to try to cover up their bad business tactics? I have some proof of 2 vendors doing just that, but I'm not sure how to present it to the community.

I would like to briefly reflect on my recent experience with Umnitza.

Now, I am seeing a lot of criticism towards Umnitza that I believe is narrow-minded and more importantly, false.

Throughout the past two weeks, I have made five trips to Umnitza. I have made an inumerable amount of phone calls. Each time, I have received exemplary customer service that I would like to go into further detail on.

When I first purchased and installed my ZKW Ellipsoids, along with the Predator Chromium DDE's, I noticed that one of my angel eyes was not working. Now, contrary to what others have said, Umnitza stands behind their products 100%. I gave Matt @ Umnitza a call and explained my situation to him. He didn't think twice about replacing my broken angel eye free of charge. I brought in my ZKW w/ the broken angel eye the next day, and he didn't hesitate to fix my problem. On top of that, he helped me re-install my headlights before my trip home--again, free of charge.

Just this afternoon, I had the opportunity to do business with Matt again. I was in desperate need of a set of clear corners after one of mine flew off on the freeway. I called Umnitza up and had the clear corners in my hands within the next 15 minutes.

Through the past two weeks, I have come to realize that Matt @ Umnitza is a trustworthy, helpful, and friendly guy. While I understand that he is a very busy man, he always does his absolute best to satisfy the customer and stay behind his products.

Thanks again for the great transactions Matt,
Will

let me clear what i said up, if you were wronged by anyone, vendor or member i would certainly hope you would take it up with the interested party in private first, neither you, me or any one human i have met are perfect and without fault.
i am by no means telling you what to do, ultimately its your decision and you will have to deal with the consequences, if any.

some are quick to point others to the law yet they don't follow what they preach by serving as a public judge, jury, and executioner mind you without having a clue, we all lose as a community, we lose good sponsors and we lose valuable member posts to afraid to express their opinion.

im sure you will do the right thing, just make sure to follow the rules the site owner put in place, much like you i was a customer way before i became a vendor, i spent $1000's and $1000's and although i wasn't always happy i found a way to look in the mirror and realize that i was not without fault and it was much better resolved in private.

just to put in perspective how lucky we all truely are and still find shit to bitch and moan about i have a few words,
1. Iraq
2. hunger
3. natural disasters.

2 of them right here in our own back yard and the third not far behind, sure is tough driving a BMW sporting the latest technology and looks, our problems sure are a matter of life and death... if you truly believe that do something about the other 3, it will sure bring you back to reality.

any 2 bit moron can bash with the best, hell the very best, but to post in a cohesive and intelligent manner well thats what seperates the boys from the men.

And you, sir, seem to have conclusively established which camp you fall in.

let me clear what i said up, if you were wronged by anyone, vendor or member i would certainly hope you would take it up with the interested party in private first, neither you, me or any one human i have met are perfect and without fault.
i am by no means telling you what to do, ultimately its your decision and you will have to deal with the consequences, if any.

some are quick to point others to the law yet they don't follow what they preach by serving as a public judge, jury, and executioner mind you without having a clue, we all lose as a community, we lose good sponsors and we lose valuable member posts to afraid to express their opinion.

im sure you will do the right thing, just make sure to follow the rules the site owner put in place, much like you i was a customer way before i became a vendor, i spent $1000's and $1000's and although i wasn't always happy i found a way to look in the mirror and realize that i was not without fault and it was much better resolved in private.

just to put in perspective how lucky we all truely are and still find shit to bitch and moan about i have a few words,
1. Iraq
2. hunger
3. natural disasters.

2 of them right here in our own back yard and the third not far behind, sure is tough driving a BMW sporting the latest technology and looks, our problems sure are a matter of life and death... if you truly believe that do something about the other 3, it will sure bring you back to reality.

any 2 bit moron can bash with the best, hell the very best, but to post in a cohesive and intelligent manner well thats what seperates the boys from the men.
Ok... I'll preface this by saying that I really have no problem with you as a vendor, and my problem with Umnitza was over a year ago, and was just a shipping issue that pissed me off.

That said, does the fact that there are natural disasters, and hunger and a war in iraq justify better service? Perhaps if the company was operating in iraq it would justify the broken parts that arrive in boxes, or orders shipped short parts, or in one case, a box that was shipped to a customer containing only packing materials? I mean, when dodging gunfire, I suppose it might be difficult to make it in the box with a set of ZKWs...

If a person comes here and asks for opinions on a vendor, isn't it the right, and perhaps duty, of the members of this board to share their experiences?

let me clear what i said up, if you were wronged by anyone, vendor or member i would certainly hope you would take it up with the interested party in private first, neither you, me or any one human i have met are perfect and without fault.
i am by no means telling you what to do, ultimately its your decision and you will have to deal with the consequences, if any.

some are quick to point others to the law yet they don't follow what they preach by serving as a public judge, jury, and executioner mind you without having a clue, we all lose as a community, we lose good sponsors and we lose valuable member posts to afraid to express their opinion.

im sure you will do the right thing, just make sure to follow the rules the site owner put in place, much like you i was a customer way before i became a vendor, i spent $1000's and $1000's and although i wasn't always happy i found a way to look in the mirror and realize that i was not without fault and it was much better resolved in private.

just to put in perspective how lucky we all truely are and still find shit to bitch and moan about i have a few words,
1. Iraq
2. hunger
3. natural disasters.

2 of them right here in our own back yard and the third not far behind, sure is tough driving a BMW sporting the latest technology and looks, our problems sure are a matter of life and death... if you truly believe that do something about the other 3, it will sure bring you back to reality.

any 2 bit moron can bash with the best, hell the very best, but to post in a cohesive and intelligent manner well thats what seperates the boys from the men.


I like to think i one up'd the whole posting issue when i contacted both you and matt by telephone.

You accused me of lieing about missing parts and then told me that i didnt install them correctly and to check my grounds.

Matt tried to help me in a matter that was most convineint for him. NOT ME. I thought i was the costumer.

I would like to briefly reflect on my recent experience with Umnitza.

Now, I am seeing a lot of criticism towards Umnitza that I believe is narrow-minded and more importantly, false.

Throughout the past two weeks, I have made five trips to Umnitza. I have made an inumerable amount of phone calls. Each time, I have received exemplary customer service that I would like to go into further detail on.

When I first purchased and installed my ZKW Ellipsoids, along with the Predator Chromium DDE's, I noticed that one of my angel eyes was not working. Now, contrary to what others have said, Umnitza stands behind their products 100%. I gave Matt @ Umnitza a call and explained my situation to him. He didn't think twice about replacing my broken angel eye free of charge. I brought in my ZKW w/ the broken angel eye the next day, and he didn't hesitate to fix my problem. On top of that, he helped me re-install my headlights before my trip home--again, free of charge.

Just this afternoon, I had the opportunity to do business with Matt again. I was in desperate need of a set of clear corners after one of mine flew off on the freeway. I called Umnitza up and had the clear corners in my hands within the next 15 minutes.

Through the past two weeks, I have come to realize that Matt @ Umnitza is a trustworthy, helpful, and friendly guy. While I understand that he is a very busy man, he always does his absolute best to satisfy the customer and stay behind his products.

Thanks again for the great transactions Matt,
Will

thats all fine and great but i live 1000miles away from both vendors. The only viable solution that woulda kept my car on the rd was for umnitza to replace the whole unit and me send back my defective one, however he said there was no way he would do that. Matt then insisted that he would fix it if i sent it back and that it would take a little over a week. well what sould i use as a headlight in the meantime. He told me it wasnt his problem, that it wasnt for him to decide what i should do in the meantime. SO in order to keep my only car on the road i had to wait over a week for a next day air chromium ring so i could sit outside in the single digit buffalo cold to uninstall my headlight. take it apart, install and solder the new ring, wait for the glue to dry, and reinstall the headlight. All on my watch. These are brand new and used for less than a week. Why should i have to do this???" I paid good money for my product and i should be satisfied with equally good costumer service.

oh if umnitza wants me to reply to his PM he needs to empty his full pm box.

Habbie, i also replyed to your pm. Thank you for your concerns all of a sudden.

I have had excellent service with Umnitza...

when i got my lights from them(depos) i must have made 20 calls/emails in a like 3 days span and had everything answered as fast as they could..

i believe Matt was who i talked to also..

thats all fine and great but i live 1000miles away from both vendors. The only viable solution that woulda kept my car on the rd was for umnitza to replace the whole unit and me send back my defective one, however he said there was no way he would do that. Matt then insisted that he would fix it if i sent it back and that it would take a little over a week. well what sould i use as a headlight in the meantime. He told me it wasnt his problem, that it wasnt for him to decide what i should do in the meantime. SO in order to keep my only car on the road i had to wait over a week for a next day air chromium ring so i could sit outside in the single digit buffalo cold to uninstall my headlight. take it apart, install and solder the new ring, wait for the glue to dry, and reinstall the headlight. All on my watch. These are brand new and used for less than a week. Why should i have to do this???" I paid good money for my product and i should be satisfied with equally good costumer service.

oh if umnitza wants me to reply to his PM he needs to empty his full pm box.

Habbie, i also replyed to your pm. Thank you for your concerns all of a sudden.


that sucks man :(

my friend ordered a Mtec bumper for his e46, ups cracked the bumper while delivering, so my friend called the company and they sent him a new bumper right away, and he got to keep the damaged bumper,

This is what I called good customer service and not only looking out for themselves

I have nothing but great things to say about Umnitza so far. Ouri was there to help me on the phone when I couldn't get my HID's to work at first, and after I had a ballast go out a couple of days ago, he called me up and told me to send the bad one in and a new one is on its way. The products I received from them have at least met, if not exceeded my expectations, and the customer service I've received has been top-notch. I can't even fathom some of these accusations as being the same company that I've had such successful interactions with....

I'd have to say I've been impressed with Umnitza and would not hesitate doing business with them again. :buttrock

I have both Umnitza and Apexcone products. My recommendation would be to go with Apexcone ( a supporting vendor here). You can be sure that Jim Powell is going to be 100% honest with you, and not make up things to cover any mistakes on his part. I don't recall ever reading anything negative about Jim, other than from other vendors or their lackeys.
Apexcone has excellent customer service, quick shipping, and products as good or better than anything else out there.
Although I am happy with Umnitzas products, and haven't had too many problems with them, I will never do business with them again, nor recommend them.
Apexcone ftw, that's who I would recommend.

Apexcone ftw, that's who I would recommend.
I think you have to go through understeer.com to get apexcone stuff... FYI

Right, Here goes:

4 months ago i purchased a set of their DEPO lights with their Predator Chronium Rings installed for around $400 shipped to UK. They arrived about a month later (despite paying an additional $50 for express shipping) and they looked good in the box..............

A month passed and the weather was finally suitable for working outside (not raining for once) so i installed them and tested the incar controls. Everything worked well apart from the right side (UK Drivers Side). On this unit the dipped beam (projector) would blow bulbs every 1-2 days.

I contacted them about these faults and they agreed to send replacement rings and said to check the wiring, i checked the wiring and checked again but it looked to be wired correctly (i do not have a multi meter and nor should i need one for new headlights i might add).

shortly after this the new rings turned up and i installed them swiftly. excellent, the angel eyes now work.

Still, I have a problem with the Unit in the fact that the Projector beam is blowing bulbs constantly. I contact umnitza again and still check the wiring is said despite telling them i have already done so TWICE!.

Finally i give up and have the garage i use take a good look. They also drew a blank and said it had to be some sort of manufacture defect.

contact Umnitza and still the same ****, check the wiring, please call us (oh yeah at about £1 an hour!!!). it's utter bull****, and if i gave one of our clients (IT Service Provider) this sort of service i would be sacked and probably taken to court by the company i work for.

I don't see how a retailer can tell its customers to do these sorts of things on brand new units. BRAND NEW. It's just unacceptable imo.

THAT'S IT!

i am now probably going to have to buy another set from an alternate source as umnitza are not living up to their warranty which they mention on their website!

I would like to have resolved this with them direct but it's fob off after fob off.

I actually feel like crying as i feel let down after paying good money for faulty products (i had to ebay a ton of stuff to pay for them!). My blood boils everytime i think about it.

your situation sounds very similar to a previous guy who lived far away (and very different from people who have the ability to visit with them directly at their shop). seems the further away, the worse customer service? i don't get it ...

I would have happily sent them back but costs would have been astronomical so have had to take the heavily bumpy route...

I don't think they understand how much this impacts their sales. 318ti.org were considering a group buy of at leat 10 sets but seeing as this is posted on there also i can see there being little chance of that now.

If they were to resolve my unhappiness with their product i'd withdraw all the bad things i am currently saying but i can't see it happening tbh.

You have to admit that's an odd problem to have. Your bulbs keep blowing out? Are you touching the bulbs with your bare hands when you install them?

I would have happily sent them back but costs would have been astronomical so have had to take the heavily bumpy route...

I don't think they understand how much this impacts their sales. 318ti.org were considering a group buy of at leat 10 sets but seeing as this is posted on there also i can see there being little chance of that now.

If they were to resolve my unhappiness with their product i'd withdraw all the bad things i am currently saying but i can't see it happening tbh.

that sucks.. one more unhappy customer to add to their list

i got my headlights from them also. when installing i had to call them a few times because i they did not send any instructions!! their telephone skills sucked. i haven't had any problems since the install, but i would agree in saying they could be a little more consumer friendly being that we spend lots of money on their products. i spent $900

yes, it is odd. i am fully aware of that and not to touch the glass part of the bulb and held it only where it should be held.

they should make it mandatory to have the units pre-wired by themselves, but i'd imagine its kept quiet as they'll have no come back if they do fail upon install as they wired them other than pointing at the cars wiring.

even the ebay sellers send instuctions ffs! now there is definetly something wrong there.

If its blowing bulbs like crazy, there is something wrong with the headlight assembly (Depo - which umnitza buys, they don't make them) or with your wiring on the car side... perhaps its allowing too high a load to the bulb. The really pointless thing, is you already had euro projectors... they came stock with your car. You could have saved a mint by just buying the rings and ballasts and installing them yourself!

wrong. UK ti's do NOT have Euro Projectors. If they did, i would have bought the rings!!!

It may be DEPO light but as its as first install it should be the retailer that liase with the supplier. NOT the customer!!

I had slight problems. But they were a huge help. I found it best to email them pictures of the problem, and theyll get back to you with an accurate description.

For every one unhappy customer they probably have 1000 happy ones.

rubbish. your not understanding this at all are you?

BRAND NEW items.... should work like.... the customer SHOULD NOT be messing with wiring, etc.

It's a ****in joke!

wrong. UK ti's do NOT have Euro Projectors. If they did, i would have bought the rings!!!

It may be DEPO light but as its as first install it should be the retailer that liase with the supplier. NOT the customer!!
Really? That sucks! I guess they aren't so "Euro" afterall...

In any case, PM habbie on here, he will probably be your best resource. Matt seems to be busy as of late...

rubbish. your not understanding this at all are you?

BRAND NEW items.... should work like.... the customer SHOULD NOT be messing with wiring, etc.

It's a ****in joke!
agreed... but lets see if we cant get your problem sorted anyways...

i am no longer prepared to spend MY time looking into products that were sent to me faulty. I have spent 10+ hours already.

The garage i had my brakes done at today are qualified bmw specialists and had a look at them and also pointed towards some sort of manufacturer defect.

I will be contacting them tomorrow for this is writing which i will also be posting.

i am no longer prepared to spend MY time looking into products that were sent to me faulty. I have spent 10+ hours already.

The garage i had my brakes done at today are qualified bmw specialists and had a look at them and also pointed towards some sort of manufacturer defect.

I will be contacting them tomorrow for this is writing which i will also be posting.
Keep us posted on how you make out... there are a couple other people having issues that no one has heard whether there has been a resolution yet...

I dont feel like repeating my issues with umnitza but you can read about what they put me threw here.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=494529

your situation sounds almost identical except i wasnt blowing bulbs.

i hear ya dude. It seems like their reputation has gone down the toilet.

I must admit i am verey limited to techincal ability. but i installed these lights correctly when they arrived (all pins correctly plugged in corresponding hole). they worked (apart from the one ring) for the best part of an hour before sh1t hit fan.

the above was just to cover myself as umnitza are threatening to post things about my technical ability to further attempt a dig out of the hole they are in.

rubbish. your not understanding this at all are you?

BRAND NEW items.... should work like.... the customer SHOULD NOT be messing with wiring, etc.

It's a ****in joke!
BRAND NEW or old still require proper install to work.
you have a short and i told you as much on sevral occasions.

if you did not want to mess with wires why buy a DO IT YOURSELF set?
why not walk in to a U.K shop and pay 3 or 4 times more?

i think we need to clear a few issues here with this situation,
1. you bought a set of depo's and that's exactly what you got.

2. I personally offered to have you send them back to us, and if it was a defect in the lights to replace or fix them for you at no charge, in case that it was not a defect with the lights shipping would have to be paid by you both ways.

3. EVERY request, question or concern you had was answered right away and without delay by 2 different people, one of them being me at all hours of day or night.

4. the angel eyes were replaced and sent to you free of charge to the u.k. well after the 30 day return/exchange policy, no?

5. you were advised that we believe that you have a short. very rarely if ever headlights fail, your low beam failure is directly tied up to a bad ground/ short in your wiring.

6. trying to claim you never received or the product being significantly not as described is masking the truth a bit no?

we offered our support and advise in a prompt and courteous manner even while you were not, i think you know what im talking about.

7. i try very hard to help and support every one of my customers, some however choose not to be for whatever reason, over 280 members bought these without a hitch some needed help some did not, we see these issues every now and then and do our best to solve them, we do require you cooperation in good faith.

8. its only after you tried to charge back and your claim was denied and proved without merit that you decided to post this, so much for trying to work this out.

headlights are simple animals, they only need 2 wires a + and - to work, since yours are whole, not burnt, not stripped yet you still blow bulbs the issue lays with you car wiring.
i am not going to drag this into an argument on the forum, i provided you with everything i promised and then some, both in service and goods.
your threats and blackmail will net you nothing, as your threats suggest you are free to post anything you want anywhere it just shows how willing you are to let us help you.

to sum this up:
1) We never send a part unless its 100% working.
2) We never let the customer hang (despite what is stated here vindictively) we bend over backwards to assist as best as the customer understanding will allow.
3) We provide nothing but the most attention to your needs - answering emails til late at night, providing documentation in multitudes of ways, working with the customer until it's perfect - sending parts for FREE ect.
4) If you choose to disrespect our efforts, then we cannot and will not assist you further. That's just a business decision we have to make, there's only so much we can reasonably do.

good luck to you.

I had an install question on a Saturday night and Habbie and Matt bent over backwards to help me.

Also, as I also partially reside in the UK it's about 2p/Min to call the US. Heck, it costs me like 5p a minute to call America from a mobile phone.

UK shop 3 or 4 times more? how ironic you should say that. europerformance do the fk ones for 200 which if i am correct LESS THAN YOU.

hella celis lights are also only £300 here. i purchased from you because up until things went wrong you seemed good guys (also i had not seen the comments on bfc!!)

once again you are the most stupid bunch of F*WITS known to man. how can it be the car wiring? old units were working perfectly until i put your shit in!

BTW, i never planned the chargeback method, it was done an hour after this thread began after a few guys suggested it on 318ti.org.

good luck to you, you will need it.
i think your true colors are now showing in public just as they did in private.
please dont bother sending me any more threatning emails, im done with you.UK shop 3 or 4 times more? how ironic you should say that. europerformance do the fk ones for 200 which if i am correct LESS THAN YOU.

hella celis lights are also only £300 here. i purchased from you because up until things went wrong you seemed good guys (also i had not seen the comments on bfc!!)

once again you are the most stupid bunch of F*WITS known to man. how can it be the car wiring? old units were working perfectly until i put your shit in!

BTW, i never planned the chargeback method, it was done an hour after this thread began after a few guys suggested it on 318ti.org.

just aswell i don't plan to contact you anyway.

People can see how poor you handle your business from the vendor thread anyways and make their own decision.

if i lived in the states i'd fly to your store tomorrow with the lights under my arm, then you can see them fail in person. And believe me, if i could and they did fail in front of your eyes you'd...... (too angry to type something here)

Wow, I'm surprised that there are so many complaints about them. I just ordered from them recently and they have been able to answer all my questions that I emailed them very fast. I dont' have much experience with ordering online but I was very pleased with their service. Just my two cents.

I had a ballast fail and when I went to Umnitza in person I got a "new" ballast which didn't work (I made Huang test it on the spot). lawl

The second that you hooked up your lights with blown rings regardless of your bulb blowing problems a new assembly should of already been on its way.

Replacing new parts with new parts is bull.

If i buy a new tv and one of the buttons doesnt work do you think circuit city is gunna say tough shit and give me a new tv button for free and say good luck???? WRONG you bet your ass circuit city will take the tv back and give you a brand new one THAT WORKS. Repairing new products is poor business practice to begin with.

Umnitza needs to learn that the customer comes first. NOT umnitza. I honestly do not think that replacing the whole unit for free is out of the question.

How is it everytime I see a Umnitza bashing tread, I always see Habbie defending Umnitza?:dunno. Need to hear from the horses mouth. If what Stormos says is true, kinda hard to believe. I think Umnitza should give him back his money (once Umnitza recieve the product).

But if what Habbie is saying is true, and that he tried to help. But Stormos still blowing his bulb. Then it could be a wiring issue.

Mybe we can help Stormos with his issue, send me a PM about your exact problem and I see if I can help. I am no high power depo's installer, but I have done a few and could possible help you out.

I purchase from Matt (Umnitza) before and had no problem (long wait, but that was a group buy, which I understand). I also purchase from Jim P (apexcone) with no issue.

Good luck and hope you resolve this issues...

When it comes to comparing with other vendors, how come there isnt tons of bad threads, issues, or problems with other large vendors? You almost never hear "UUC SUCKS!" or "PROBLEMS WITH UNDERSTEER", and they're also big time vendors.

We used to hear a fair number of problems with UUC, but it seems they have ironed out those problems and gone forward. Umnitza has had some problems, hopefully they'll do the same.


This thread will be deleted, as did the others. Negative comments against umnitza are apparently against the rules on this forum.

Not so much anymore... things don't seem to be disappearing like they used to.


On a somewhat unrelated note, Matt's knowledge of Euro ellipsoids and how his (and competitors) products work has been helpful on the forum. Whenever someone has trouble Matt is quick to help them sort their issues with tricks and clarification, whether the product was bought from him or not. Hopefully things will improve from a shipping and post sale standpoint to where he will be back on top as a top vendor... well... hopefully.

I have depos (finally got a left and right) and one of them was blowing a fuse (low beam). Turns out the plastic piece that should cover the connector on the bulb was missing. The bulbs get very hot, and burned through a ground wire, causing a short. Don't know if you're having the same problem, but it might be something to check. I feel for your situation and have had poor dealing with Umnitza too. They will not be getting my business again.

+1 for Umnitza, Nothing But Great Customer Service and Products.

I have depos (finally got a left and right) and one of them was blowing a fuse (low beam). Turns out the plastic piece that should cover the connector on the bulb was missing. The bulbs get very hot, and burned through a ground wire, causing a short. Don't know if you're having the same problem, but it might be something to check. I feel for your situation and have had poor dealing with Umnitza too. They will not be getting my business again.
I've seen this before... I had to rewire the plug on my last install.

From what i've read here and on other forums, i'd definately stay away from this company. They have far too many complaints for me to risk it and their responses to complaints is unprofessional and immature. After reading several complaints about Umnitza, i'd almost venture out and say that ebay sellers have better customer service than these guys.

Put a name/voice with the company. Call matt and speak directly with him. Unless you have the fortune of living near by to go visit them, this is the best thing you can do. Matt is the most knowledgable and helpful vendor I've worked with regarding lighting. I get responses from him in a matter of minutes via e-mail unless he's swamped with customers, at most I've only waited an hour or two. There isn't a single local guy that I know of that hasn't purchased lighting products from him and none of us have a complaint. It's nice to have a vendor that actually spends time on the forum to help people out with lighting questions regardless of who they bought them from.

Wasn't there a thread about someone from the UK blowing bulbs in his new depos? I swear I relplied to that one and not this one. Do we have more threads "magically" disappearing?

I'm a vendor on here. I have had nothing but absolutely excellent experiences with Matt (Umnitza) and Ouri (Habbie). I had an install question and got them to help me.. on a Saturday Night.

Many of our customers have their products and are very pleased. They sell great items, fairly priced and i have never had an issue whatsoever with them.

They are a total pleasure to deal with by all accounts. Habbie just sent me a bumper for an employee of ours and it came carefully packaged, on time and it's a great product.

Nobody is going to please everybody, some people can't be pleased no matter what and everyone does goof up once in a while, we're all human. But the overwhelmingly vast majority of my customers are satisfied and I see the same thing with Matt and Ouri's customers.

Heck, I just got thrown under the bus over on another board for something that I did not do and have absolutely no control over, at the moment about a dozen people on another board think I screwed them out of cheap traffic pros as someone used me as a scapegoat. It happens, and I think that much of what is said on the web needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

If you guys ever need a reference, please feel free to ask me, Motorsport Recycling's reputation on here I think speaks for itself. Umnitza is a wonderful company to do business with.