Avoid at All Costs
Avoid at All Costs – Poor Product, Poor Service, Ongoing Refund Issues
I purchased a stainless cat-back exhaust system for my BMW E92 N52 based on the seller's claims of OEM-like fitment. Unfortunately, the product I received was nowhere near a direct fit.
During installation, it became immediately apparent that the flanges designed to mate to the OEM catalytic converter flanges had been welded at the wrong angle, directing the exhaust system into the floor of the vehicle. The rear backbox mounting hook was also positioned incorrectly and could only be installed using a makeshift cable-tie bodge. For a system advertised as a vehicle-specific fitment, this is completely unacceptable.
The fitment problems were bad enough, but the sound quality was even worse. Between 2,000 and 3,000 RPM, the resonance, drone and vibration were unbearable. The noise became so intrusive that I resorted to wearing ear defenders while driving and eventually stopped using the car altogether. I have genuinely heard vehicles with damaged or partially missing exhaust systems that sounded better than this.
Based on my experience, I do not believe this system was ever properly developed or tested on a BMW E92 with the N52 engine. It felt like a generic system manufactured from a jig with little or no real-world validation.
When I raised the issue as an "item not as described" claim and provided evidence of the fitment faults, the seller repeatedly ignored the actual problems and continued to insist that I provide videos of the exhaust sound. Rather than addressing the incorrect fitment, I was repeatedly asked for additional information that had little relevance to the primary complaint.
Communication was equally concerning. Messages were signed off by various names including Ben, Josh, Jack and Tobias, making it impossible to understand who I was actually dealing with or whether any continuity existed between responses.
It was only after I escalated the matter through my payment provider that the seller finally issued a returns label. Looking back, the process felt unnecessarily difficult and drawn out. After returning the exhaust, I am still facing resistance regarding a refund, with explanations that have been contradicted by information provided to me by both eBay and my payment provider.
I am now recovering my money through my payment provider and will be reporting my experience to Trading Standards. My experience with this transaction has been one of the worst I have encountered online.
Potential buyers should also be aware that these products appear to be sold under multiple business names, including Performance MP Co, Gravity Performance and Jap Parts.
My advice: save yourself the time, stress and expense and buy elsewhere. One star is far more generous than this experience deserves.
