maximillian importing feedback?

[westaussie323i]

I ordered some parts for my Baur and their site said it was all in stock and I paid in full and many several weeks later the box arrived with one item discontinued...sent emails to 2 addresses which bounced back and then finally rang the USA and got a guy named Saul who gave me another email address.....not a word....sent another email last week and still no answer
and I am starting to get really pissed off!!

If I dont get an answer in next day or two will lodge a paypal complaint

Anyone had the same experience?

[jjgbmw323]

I got both my ZF sport steering rack and my roof skin with the sunroof in it from them. I would call back and ask to speak to the owner...

[dspulv1]

Most, if not all, of the parts that they offer are a mix of parts on hand at their company AND parts they are getting from BMW NA. If they do not have an item in stock then they will see if the part is NLA at BMW. if BMW NA is showing availability, they will order from them. Sometimes, a part status will not be updated by BMW and only until someone at a dealership checks the stock levels in Germany will a correct answer be known. Even then, I have ordered a part where one or two is showing at BMW AG and it never shows up.

I would try Walloth & Nesch in Germany as I have made a number of purchases from them. They are utterly efficient, always with a quick response. All items they say are in stock are.

Also, try your local dealer. Call them with the part number and have them check Germany for stock. Takes them all of one to two minutes to do.

Good luck.

[jayhawk49er]

Here's my experience with Maximillian: you roll the dice. They are sometimes great, other times you never hear from them, then weeks later the part shows up unannounced. I agree with dspulv1, try your dealer first- because if they have the part, or can get it from BMW, it won't be any more expensive than Maximillian, and they won't charge you shipping, even if it has to come from Germany. Plus I made a friend of the Parts boss, he loves my car, was the model of first ones he worked on when he started as a BMW mechanic. You'll never get that kind of relationship with the guys at Maximillian, though I've tried.

[tomscat1]

Last summer Maximillian got some brake parts to me in 48 hours for my Euro Baur that enabled me to make the trip to Bimmerfest East.

I originally ordered them from Bav Auto after they had told me they had the same parts in stock. After a week or two of waiting they informed me (when I called wondering wth the parts were) that they were in fact backordered, and they couldn't tell me WHEN they could get them from Germany. !!! Very upsetting news, especially since Bimmerfest East was fast approaching!
I then contacted Maximillian, and the parts were on my front porch 48 hours later.

FWIW.

[pommeree]

My experience (and it's been awhile since I've worked with them) is business is best done on the phone with them. I used to print out my shopping list with the BMW part numbers on it, fax it to them for a pricing quote and then put in my order by phone with "Paul" (the E21 guy there at the time. Dunno if he's still there.)

[fullswing]

Plus I made a friend of the Parts boss, he loves my car, was the model of first ones he worked on when he started as a BMW mechanic.

Which dealer, Mike?

Btw, same overall experience from me. Some good, some perplexing.

They do have a facebook profile and the owner, Max, responds to messages and wall posts there. Try that too.

Good luck!

[FranzE21]

I ordered some parts for my Baur and their site said it was all in stock and I paid in full and many several weeks later the box arrived with one item discontinued...sent emails to 2 addresses which bounced back and then finally rang the USA and got a guy named Saul who gave me another email address.....not a word....sent another email last week and still no answer
and I am starting to get really pissed off!!

If I dont get an answer in next day or two will lodge a paypal complaint

Anyone had the same experience?

Walloth u Nesche is dirt cheap currently. If you can get bits from Albrecht, I certainly would. Plus DHL is awesome.

[jayhawk49er]

Which dealer, Mike?

The one in TO. Parts guy is Jeff (or Geoff).

[westaussie323i]

a mixed bag of replies and thanks for the feedback. The parts were rubber seals for the cabrio roof. I am compiling a list of bits and pieces from W&N who I have found (communication wise) to be very sharp and professional
and Maximillian could learn a thing two from Albrecht!

[Jackstones]

Max Conover will usually step up if there is an issue he is made aware of. As was said, they are one of the companies that it is better to deal over the phone. At least that way you know if you have reached someone and can take names.

Nearly all of the issues I have read about with Max (on the 2002 and E30M3 groups) have been with parts being ordered, not being in stock, and then long delays in resolving the issue. A good parts guy/customer service person should get any info regarding delays back to the customer. Doesn't always happen. Things will only be as good as the people manning the phones. In Max's defense, most of the problem items I hear about are with special order parts coming from Germany, however, communication could resolve the issues.

Build your relationship with your parts supplier, stay loyal. It will pay off down the road.

[westaussie323i]

sent another email and Saul called me straight away...lucky I get out of bed at 5am and they are doing the credit straight away (just been lodged)
so I guess it all worked out OK albeit over a few weeks

[tomscat1]

One of our Baur owners here in the forum ordered a full set of Baur seals from his local BMW dealer in Texas.

It may be worth a shot.

[dspulv1]

As jawhawk49er mentioned above, if you can forge a relationship with someone in the parts department at your local dealer, the benefits can be astounding. I have been dealing with one dealer in particular for almost 15 years. Over that time I was able to build a relationship with one of the parts personnel who I now call, email or fax a part number list (always, always call with the part number/s which are readily available from realoem.com so as not to waste their time by asking them to look up a random bolt that holds on the "thing" that mounts to the "clamp"...) to and he will get back to me with pricing and availability. It has been my experience that if you order a part coming from Germany through the dealer there is no extra shipping assessed as long as it is shipped with the regular stock order. If you need it quicker, they can VOR it and pass along the extra shipping charges, usually 5-10% of the part price.

My advice is always check with the dealer first on any and all parts. I just purchased a NOS full Euro bumper set complete with all trim and mounting from the dealer for a good deal less then what a used set is going for on Ebay. New, from BMW, delivered to the dealer in about two weeks time. With the advent of factory restorations on older models through Mobile Tradition at BMW AG, parts are, albeit slowly, starting to show up again.

One other crucial item to remember. When asking the dealer to search for parts, you might have them say that the part number does not exist. Many times this simply means that that specific dealer has never carried the part and it is not in their system. Ask, though do it nicely, if they can still run it through the BMW AG parts database in Germany to check stock. If it is around, they can still order it and add it to their parts list. I ran into this problem with my E21 323i. There were a number of Euro specific parts I needed which had never actually come into the country. BMW has loosened up a bit in dealing with old grey market cars. Most, but not all of the time they will let the non US items come in, especially if they have a boatload still left in Germany.

Anyway, glad Maximillian made things right. Could be the forum thread that got them going. Nobody likes bad press, especially a niche market company...

[jjgbmw323]

Dont know about any of the other guys. If you talk to Max or Paul - they are top notch and will get it done. Thats who got me my remade ZF sport steering rack and my roof skin.

Call and ask for them - or if there is a problem email Max he will get it sorted out.

[mxl556]

I have ordered a lot of parts from them in the last few months. You have to talk to them on the phone, especially if it is something rare or euro! Or email will work too if you are dealing with someone in particular. Website is good to compile the list but ordering online may delay things -- I believe it has something to do how online store works.
My experience with Saul was (and is since I am about to order more parts) is good. Very professional and much better than my dealer. Since you are getting genuine parts and not third-world-made crap it is worth the extra money (not much more in fact) and a bit of a hassle with calling, etc.
If you talk to them they can tell you the status of the part accurately. I needed a driveshaft and my dealer told me it was on backorder. It turned out to be that all the parts my dealer told me were backordered were available in Germany.
Also, there is no sales tax (I'm in CA) and shipping is reasonable as well.

Overall- definitely worth giving them business and keeping them in business. Otherwise we'll end up with crappy online parts and dealer who does not know what e21 is...

My .02
Max
PS I am not affiliated. Just been buying parts like crazy recently. And since I said no to OEM parts because of their quality and only get OE parts, Maximillian or a dealer are my only options.

[Monitor]

OEM = original equipment manufacturer
OE = Original Equipment

I don't see much of a difference here. What am I missing? If a manufacturer was crap as OE, they'd be crap later making OEM, but if the OEM made good OE then wouldn't it still be good now?

[AlaskaBimmer]

I too hit the dealer first. I've actually got an account at my dealer. I can call and order parts over the phone now and pay for them later. I found out I'm set up like a shop which apparently there are two of us in anchorage set up like that. Me and the guy that hauled off my 633.... A relationship with the dealer is defiantly good. For me ordering aftermarket is usually more expensive than the dealer once you factor in shipping to the end of the world which is usually 2nd day air. The dealer may charge more but free shipping makes up the difference.

I have used W&N for taillights the dealer couldn't get. I had the taillights on my doorstep in 36 hours from when I ordered and it was about $30.00 more than the dealer would have been so not bad really.

[hakhawk]

ive found so far in australia, that the bmw dealers tend to be lazy when it comes to chasing down parts, and prices are generally higher than what they can be sourced internationally for.

the only thing ive bought from the dealer, was a steering rack tool (the 8 sided socket), it took about 3 months to get it in, and i had to chase it constantly. by the time id received it the steering rack was already in the car.

[westaussie323i]

I agree with hakhawk....we have one main dealer of BMW in WA and many times the parts dept doesnt even answer the phone prices arent too bad though. I have tried a couple of online parts suppliers over here and they F$%&*useless and dont even return emails...if I wanted to use use the phone I would not have emailed them....when will these companies get serious?