DDM Tuning Side Skirts

[thesixerkid]

From what turned up in the search, the fitting of DDM Tuning's Side Skirts are slightly sketchy. I am looking for pictures and experiences of anyone who has installed these and what they think.

[WTFGERMAN]

look in my sig theyre a bit long in the back but with the rubber seal and some creativity its hardly noticable

[thesixerkid]

That looks pretty good. What exactly did you mean by "creative"? What did you have to alter?

[WTFGERMAN]

not soo much creative instead of using the mounting clips for the wheel wells i used self tapping metal screws that tightened them down a bit

[Bris328is]

yep--I have heard they run long-- if you can deal with that go for it-- otherwise spend the rest of the money and get M-tech.

[thesixerkid]

I spoke with them today and they acknowledged that they are too long. The rep I spoke with, said to wait a few weeks while they source a new order with the correct length.

[Bris328is]

I spoke with them today and they acknowledged that they are too long. The rep I spoke with, said to wait a few weeks while they source a new order with the correct length.
Cool

[GardenBeast]

woah.... when they source that shit, i'm in. i want!

[downeaster1]

My OEM's dont look any different than the ones on WTFgerman's car

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd164/fsbmw/HPIM2402.jpg

[GardenBeast]

wow. i've never seen your car. that thing is sick.

[eLegg]

My OEM's dont look any different than the ones on WTFgerman's car

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd164/fsbmw/HPIM2402.jpg
Are those center caps painted on there? :shifty




















LOL Nah I'm jking man... I like how everyone asks you that on here.
OEM is expensive :(

[damone6969]

I got like 34 BMW center caps sittin in my back yard.. They're probably worth more than the 34 BMW rims they are attached too

[itciai]

Alright. Just tried to install these skirts from DDM.

Couldn't do it because DDM's product was cheap.:shifty
I'm gonna have to go buy the freakin' $380 skirts from BavAuto.:rolleyes

My father is so angry he's going to write a nasty letter to the Better Business Bureau complaining that DDM doesn't back their products up or provide any assistance (seeing how I called about asking for help with installation (they gave me two right side mounting templates instead of a Driver and a Passenger side), and they couldn't help because they, "Don't even open them before they send them out [to you].")

I just drilled 12 holes on one side and 10 holes on the other side of my fckin' car thinking that these skirts would work. But do they? No. The cheap glue on the weather strip didn't stick worth a damn. The clips they provided were cheap and broke when I tried to move them to fit the holes that I drilled. The only reason I drilled 22 holes instead of 24 was because they didn't give me enough of the barrel clips to go into the holes I drilled, and I didn't realize it until AFTER I drilled the first side. They only gave me 20 clips that clip onto the skirt and hold it to the body, when they were supposed to include 24.

I'm not happy. Writing a nasty letter right now to the BBB. I advise everyone to STAY AWAY FROM THE DDM M3 SIDE SKIRTS. They're cheap, they're not worth the money. Save yourself the trouble, and go buy the M-Tech skirts from Bavarian AutoSport.
My father's furious that I just f'cked the body up on my car. And now that I've had a go-round with two products from DDM, I don't feel they're even worth one more shot. The headlights I bought had to be boogered up to fit and work correctly... The skirts I bought from them didn't fit, were flimsy, and didn't include all the pieces they said they would include...

If someone from DDM would be so kind as to PM me, I'll gladly talk it over with you... Or if you want me to call, I will. Because, as of right now, I would just like a refund because your product sucked balls, and if you don't want someone smearing your name in a nasty way all over the internet, I suggest you straighten this out.
Aren't customers always right??

I'd like to hope that this gets enough attention to catch the eye of someone from DDM... I'd also like to hope that I'm not the only one who's had this problem.
(Honestly, though, seeing how my luck has been around here lately, I wouldn't doubt it if I were the only one who's had this problem. BTW- Thinking of selling these pieces of crap and whatever else I have from their kit that isn't already broken on eBay. Starting bid will probably be $1 because that's really all they're worth. If someone would like to suggest a way for me to booger this into working, I'd gladly be up for it... But I really don't think they'll work at all based on the parts missing from the kit, and the parts that I broke while trying to install them.)


Mods- Please warn me if you're going to remove this, because I'd like to save this and just e-mail it to them if this is deemed 'too offensive'.

[Gene1219]

Wow... welcome to the world of aftermarket parts. If ddm opened and inspected each product before they left, I'm sure that the prices will go way up. There is no need for a public bashing and a "nasty" letter is not needed. DId you ever hear the sayings buyer beware, you get what you paid for.. blah blah blah
Where do these side skirts come from? China?- I bet. Chinese products have come a long way, but not far enough YET.
I'm sure with a little work (and knowledge) the skirts can be saved and used.
So, put down the tools, and step away from the car. Do a google search for a good bodyshop in your area, call them up. Not everything can be a DIY job if your over your head

[boomer5347]

Attitudes such as that by consumers just letting garbage like that get by is EXACTLY WHY IT IS SO CRAPPY. The forum needs to stop enabling companies such as this to even post in the chat. And members need to stop BUYING from them.:mad

[Gene1219]

Attitudes such as that by consumers just letting garbage like that get by is EXACTLY WHY IT IS SO CRAPPY. The forum needs to stop enabling companies such as this to even post in the chat. And members need to stop BUYING from them.:mad

Its unfortunate, but a lot of items are being manufactured in China and they are sub par, however there is no escaping this. .

[itciai]

Its unfortunate, but a lot of items are being manufactured in China and they are sub par, however there is no escaping this. .

Have you got stock in a Chinese Plastic Company or something!?!
Seriously?

The only reason that they're getting away with selling this crap is because people keep buying it!
If people started to complain about how bad their products are, we might be in better shape... They may begin to change things...
But knowing the Chinese, we're screwed...
If people stopped buying their cheap products, then we might roll around to having some other country import the product we want, and it might be better quality. The only fault I put on DDM is not opening the product before they send it. How are they supposed to provide "support" if they don't even know what they're selling? What if the manufacturer changed something and didn't inform DDM? Then when the customer received it, they'd be pissed because they [DDM] couldn't give assistance because the product had changed in some way.
If it raised the price by $50 for DDM to open it and inspect it, I'd still buy it, but at least I'd know that I'm getting what I pay for. Money doesn't grow on trees, our economy is crappy, and we don't need to spend money on plastics from China. If we produced our on plastic products that we needed here in the USA, things might be different.



BTW- It (and my cheap headlights) were made in Taiwan.

[Kaiv]

It's a risk with buying aftermarket body parts. Some fit not so well, some are just like OEM.

I had DDM skirts but gave up using them because the overall package was junk. Bought some used OEM ones and they fit like a glove.

It's a little disapointing DDM didn't test fit them before starting to sell them though, would have saved me some time and money finding out by myself.

On the other hand their front bumpers are documented to be fitting perfectly. I guess they just need to find a better supplier for the skirts.

[Gene1219]

Have you got stock in a Chinese Plastic Company or something!?!
Seriously?

.

No I don't..Dick. Just think about it for a moment (not too long I don't want you to fry your brain) There's like 6 billion Chinese people. The odds are in there favor that they will rise up and eventually surpass most if all countries. At one time all the brightest and smartest people came here to AMERICA. Now the only people coming here are jumping the border. Oh yeah, I'm not chinese either.

[boomer5347]

well now guys like you are the problem thinking that burying your head in the sand might make the problem go away. and stooping to personal insults is childish of you gene 1219 .

[itciai]

No I don't..Dick. Just think about it for a moment (not too long I don't want you to fry your brain) There's like 6 billion Chinese people. The odds are in there favor that they will rise up and eventually surpass most if all countries. At one time all the brightest and smartest people came here to AMERICA. Now the only people coming here are jumping the border. Oh yeah, I'm not chinese either.

Grow up.
You're missing the point of my posts.
I'm not bashing you, I'm not bashing anyone here other than DDM. I'm hoping that people will read this and think, "Wow, DDM's product must not be very well put together or it must not be very good quality because this guy wouldn't be ranting on and on and on about it... He really wouldn't have kept posting to the people on here trying to prove his point if he didn't mean it."
What do the 6 billion people in China have to do with this? They're good people, no doubt there. They can make good products... Look at flat-screen TVs, most of them come from China or the 'far East.'
The point here is- how are they going to know when they're making crappy products and not including everything they say they're going to include? The only way that they'll know (because obviously the Chinese/far Eastern countries aren't going to care what someone in America has to say) is for the companies that buy the products from China to tell them. If DDM were to inform their supplier of those M3 Side Skirts that they're shorting them for clips and not giving all the pieces and whatnot- and that DDM is taking crap from customers because the customer isn't getting what they pay for- then things might change... But until people stop buying the product, or until enough people complain about it, DDM is going to sit on their butts and assume that everything's working out well with every one of their customers.:shifty

DDM is basically stealing from customers... They're selling a product, and they're blatantly unaware of the fact that it's missing pieces and that it's cheap. I'm hoping to catch their attention.

[roarf]

Always call them if you have questions/concerns. Don't count on them just randomly running across your rant post. If the person on the phone doesn't seem to be helpful (which is highly unlikely), ask to speak to Jim. He is the man. :buttrock Also, if you knew there were issues with their sideskirts (too long, etc.), why did you buy them?

[itciai]

Always call them if you have questions/concerns. Don't count on them just randomly running across your rant post. If the person on the phone doesn't seem to be helpful (which is highly unlikely), ask to speak to Jim. He is the man. :buttrock Also, if you knew there were issues with their sideskirts (too long, etc.), why did you buy them?

Thanks for the constructive comment, Roarf.;)
Planning to call them on Monday.

[tiddlydee1289]

Have you got stock in a Chinese Plastic Company or something!?!
Seriously?

The only reason that they're getting away with selling this crap is because people keep buying it!
If people started to complain about how bad their products are, we might be in better shape... They may begin to change things...
But knowing the Chinese, we're screwed...
If people stopped buying their cheap products, then we might roll around to having some other country import the product we want, and it might be better quality. The only fault I put on DDM is not opening the product before they send it. How are they supposed to provide "support" if they don't even know what they're selling? What if the manufacturer changed something and didn't inform DDM? Then when the customer received it, they'd be pissed because they [DDM] couldn't give assistance because the product had changed in some way.
If it raised the price by $50 for DDM to open it and inspect it, I'd still buy it, but at least I'd know that I'm getting what I pay for. Money doesn't grow on trees, our economy is crappy, and we don't need to spend money on plastics from China. If we produced our on plastic products that we needed here in the USA, things might be different.



BTW- It (and my cheap headlights) were made in Taiwan.

People keep buying these things though because they are cheap ass products, as in price wise. Some of them aren't quite up to par quality wise, some things are wonderful, and some things are in the middle. I would say its the consumers responsibility before buying the product to investigate what they are getting themselves into, at least with cheap ($ wise) products. There are going to be more bad apples when you aren't dealing with a company that has huge profit margins.

I'm not saying you got a good product here or blatantly defending DDM, but I honestly think some of the fault from this falls on you.

My apexcone headlights from DDM weren't perfect, but they were cheap as hell and look and light the road up 50X better than stock headlights.. I dont see the problem there.

[itciai]

People keep buying these things though because they are cheap ass products, as in price wise. Some of them aren't quite up to par quality wise, some things are wonderful, and some things are in the middle. I would say its the consumers responsibility before buying the product to investigate what they are getting themselves into, at least with cheap ($ wise) products. There are going to be more bad apples when you aren't dealing with a company that has huge profit margins.

I'm not saying you got a good product here or blatantly defending DDM, but I honestly think some of the fault from this falls on you.

My apexcone headlights from DDM weren't perfect, but they were cheap as hell and look and light the road up 50X better than stock headlights.. I dont see the problem there.

By what method does this fall on me?! How the hell am I supposed to know if they're selling a good product or a bad product? I'm not a mind-reader, I can't see other parts of the world when I close my eyes, I can't see what I'm buying, so I base it off of what people have said, and what DDM says on their website. I had heard mixed reviews about the product and decided that it was worth it... If anything, I would get some pieces that were a little too long and I'd have to get creative with a saw and cut them off or something... No big deal.
I never knew that I would be paying that much money to get screwed by some company in China. Not my fault.

As far as I'm concerned, DDM is subject to piss-poor Quality Control.

I'm not saying it's all DDM's fault. I'm saying it's mostly their fault for selling a product without all of the pieces included.

I will admit that my headlights work great- as you can see in the sig- and they light up the road loads better than those damned stock headlights. And I would also admit that these side skirts would look excellent on the car if DDM had taken some time to open the product and make sure that all of the pieces were there for me to install it correctly.

[The Ripe Punani]

Aren't customers always right??

No, not always.

http://positivesharing.com/2006/07/why-the-customer-is-always-right-results-in-bad-customer-service/

If you contacted DDM themselves, I'm sure they would've rectified the situation for you. Just ranting in a random thread like this won't bring much attention unless Jim or some DDM rep comes across this.

[itciai]

No, not always.

http://positivesharing.com/2006/07/why-the-customer-is-always-right-results-in-bad-customer-service/

If you contacted DDM themselves, I'm sure they would've rectified the situation for you. Just ranting in a random thread like this won't bring much attention unless Jim or some DDM rep comes across this.

It's after-hours right now, obviously, so I was hoping that one of them may browse the forums late-night-ninja-style.
I'm calling on Monday in hopes of fixing this.

I ranted because I wanted people who searched for DDM M3 Side Skirts to see exactly what I'm saying and hear what my problem is so that they may think twice about purchasing them, seeing as DDM's QC isn't worth a tinker's damn.

[itciai]

Alright.
The same clips that DDM sells with their side skirts are the ones that BMW initially used on M3s... So... I'm thinking that I'll just go by the local Stealership and get some instead of dealing with DDM, or getting angrier at them.
It's not their fault that they don't check their products, but they either need to place a disclaimer on their page saying that they do not inspect the products before they leave their hands and they cannot be held responsible for what is or is not included; or, they need to start inspecting to make sure that ALL of what they're saying they're selling is actually in the box.

[firefirefire90]

If this is really the case, and you do not get any assistance, I will personally refund you and buy the sideskirts myself and put them on my car out of my pocket to make sure fitment is great. If the case is that they do not fit, I will personally show Jim and make sure this is taken care of. The headlights seem to be great quality and I appologize for the poor fitment on your part. If you do not mind me asking, which did you buy? Depo or Apexcone?

Please let me know what happens... the customer is always right and even though I am not a biggest part of DDM, i'll do what I can to fix any problem, great or small. We are not open on the weekends so just call up on Monday. We will do all we can to help.

Nick(aka Caveman)



EDIT: I believe this is also in the wrong forum. Jim and a few others might be able to see this better in the vendors forum.

[marineifra]

i got the apexcone lights and was pleased w/ them. any issue i have had w/ anything that i purchased...ANY ISSUE, and there were a few...has been resolved w/ not the first blip of anything but holy shit, we sent you the wrong bulbs? let me get you the right ones out...they should be there in 3 days. i would buy anything that they had for sale for the e36 b/c MY EXPERIENCES tell me that they WILL stand behind their product. there is a rant section for vendors...this isn't it. if you want to be heard by ddm, go there. its in the classified section.

[SS Ball3r]

yeah, im sure if you call they will help. Iv called before and iv always dealt with a nice person. i deffinatly plan to keep buying from ddm...

[itciai]

Meh... It's not that big of a deal anymore, I was really just angry and needed a place to vent. I made a mistake by posting it here on these forums:embarrasm

Anyway. It's not DDM's fault if the product that they buy from somewhere else is crappy to begin with. They can't change it. What I wish they would do is just provide a disclaimer stating that they do not open their products before they ship out, and that they cannot be held responsible for parts missing from the overall product. OR- They need to step up and start inspecting the parts before they go out (I really think this is the better option simply because their sales would go through the roof -considering that their QC would be amazing (and ultimately, you'd be getting a part that FIT and included ALL of the pieces every time that you ordered from them)- and their support would be better, and their reliability would be incredible.).

No refund necessary, no mo's.
Talked it over with my old man and he decided that we're just going to try to use OEM clips with it before we go back to DDM. It's really not their fault. I was looking for someone to blame and blah blah blah, I was childish. I know. My bad.
The clips are cheap and broke as soon as I tried to press them onto the skirt... Then when I tried to press the skirt over the top of my rocker panel, the clips didn't hold it in place, and it bowed out on each end. I didn't even get a chance (before I lost my cool) to try drilling holes on the side (in the wheel well) or underneath.
I'm going to give it another shot and see how it goes before I call DDM. :devillook
The price was too low for it to be perfect, anyway. So... Just gonna have to do like everyone else and deal with it and get creative.
I'll go by the local BMW Dealer, pick up clips, grommets, and many many extras, and I'll try this all again and then take pictures of it if it works, or take pictures of my old man burning the skirts and then burning my car down.:eyecrazy:(:(

BTW- I got the Apexcone lights. They're nice.

[marineifra]

i got some oem skirts w/ shaved jackholes...no mounting hardware. im going to superglue them or something. idk yet...silicone? self tapping screws? a prayer?

[itciai]

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/x/g/7.png

01 PRIMED LEFT OUTER KICK PANELM TECHNIC 1 51712234187 $207.58
ALSO FOR M
TECH.SPORTS COUPE INDIVIDUAL SERIES 93

01 PRIMED RIGHT DOOR SILL TRIM PANELM TECHNIC 1 51712234188 $207.58
ALSO FOR M
TECH.SPORTS COUPE INDIVIDUAL SERIES 93

02 PRIMED JACK FIXTURE FLAP 4 51712234084 $5.80

03 PIN 4 51718108229 $0.28

04 GASKET M TECHNIC 2 51712234044 $33.76

05 CLAMP M TECHNIC ? 51712234032 $0.61

06 EXPANDING RIVET ? 51111908077 $0.22

07 GROMMET D=9,1 ? 51711932996 $0.22

08 EXPANDING RIVET 4 51161881149 $0.27

09 DRILLING JIG LEFTM TECHNIC 1 51712250003 $16.96

09 DRILLING JIG RIGHTM TECHNIC 1 51712250004 $16.96


This shows all the pieces necessary for proper installation... It also indicates the quantity necessary of each item... So I'm just going to go to the dealer and get what I need.
DDM's kit didn't include enough of any of the pins, clamps, rivets, or grommets... So I'll just suck it up and go to the dealer and get what I need, and hope and pray that they'll work. I can't stand to see those holes drilled in my car for much longer.

:shifty

[Bris328is]

This shows all the pieces necessary for proper installation... It also indicates the quantity necessary of each item... So I'm just going to go to the dealer and get what I need.
DDM's kit didn't include enough of any of the pins, clamps, rivets, or grommets... So I'll just suck it up and go to the dealer and get what I need, and hope and pray that they'll work. I can't stand to see those holes drilled in my car for much longer.

:shifty
this is the philosophical argument we have been having for years--

do you but an aftermarket part to save a few bucks and then end up having to rig it to make it fit. Spend extra time ordering additional parts to get it closer to the OEM fitment--


OR

buy the OEM part--pay more--but it works perfectly--normally comes in a complete kit from the factory..

I perfer option 2

[marineifra]

iirc i was told the mounting hardware will run abt 100 from the dealership. jigs, clips, the works...

[itciai]

Well, I've already got the holes drilled, so I don't need the jigs. And I've already got my skirts painted, so I don't need another set of those...

Just gotta get the random clips and pieces to mount them up, and I'm good, I think... Also considering a better glue on that weather strip because the strips included in the kit have like... Zero glue on them... And they won't stick to the skirts long enough for me to even try to mount the skirts on the car.

[Pswirley]

wait, wait, wait. RealOEM.com says you need 9 grommets per side, DDM sent you 20 and you have drilled 22 holes (10 on one side and 12 on the other).


I am not sure what you were told on the phone by the sales reps but I do know that I am currently backordered on sideskirts. The day yours were shipped, 4 other pairs were shipped. I havent heard any feedback from any of them and I am sorry that you arent pleased with your skirts. I could pull a box and check exact contents if these werent a backorder item. I dont have any to pull and look at.

If this is an issue where you chose to have to skirts painted before test fitting them on your vehicle, I would be glad to have you give me a call tomorrow and I can try to help you get them installed.

I will say again as I always have back to when I worked at the body shop. Professional installation is recommended.


-casey


****For everyone else: Posting a rant in the E36 section is a very bad way to get any resolution to your problem. I was the only DDM employee who ever visited this section and I rarely do anymore at all. In fact, posting an internet rant is not very effective in general as there are thousands of you and only 5 of us. Its very easy for something like this to go overlooked and not get resolved. Please call if you have an issue that you would like resolved right away.

[itciai]

First off- nice ride. +1 on the hood! (It honestly looks better every time I see it)

Next, the mounting templates that were included want me to drill 12 holes on each side... And I only have 20 grommets, so I'm just planning to go ahead and drill two more holes on the other side to make for a total of 24 holes, and I'm going to go buy 4 more grommets to fill in every hole. I'm going to use the DDM template because the DDM template would hopefully be mounted more securely due to it's two extra clips on each side.
The clips/ "clamp" (the $0.61 number 5 on that image from realoem) broke when I tried to attatch them to the skirt. The skirt isn't the problem, it's the hardware that was supposed to be included.
I put the skirts up against the body when I first got them to make sure that they were the right length and size and whatnot... And I didn't drill the holes until after I got them back from being painted because I didn't want to leave the holes in my original rocker panels and expose them to moisture.:shifty

As for ranting here- it was either rant here, or seriously leave a nasty message with the BBB. I haven't done it, probably won't, because there's no reason to... You don't inspect every single thing that you sell, and I guess that it's just up to the buyer to beware. I was under the assumption that everything would be included and it would a painless install; but it wasn't, and that's where creativity comes in.;)

'Sall good in da hood.

[firefirefire90]

wait, wait, wait. RealOEM.com says you need 9 grommets per side, DDM sent you 20 and you have drilled 22 holes (10 on one side and 12 on the other).


I am not sure what you were told on the phone by the sales reps but I do know that I am currently backordered on sideskirts. The day yours were shipped, 4 other pairs were shipped. I havent heard any feedback from any of them and I am sorry that you arent pleased with your skirts. I could pull a box and check exact contents if these werent a backorder item. I dont have any to pull and look at.

If this is an issue where you chose to have to skirts painted before test fitting them on your vehicle, I would be glad to have you give me a call tomorrow and I can try to help you get them installed.

I will say again as I always have back to when I worked at the body shop. Professional installation is recommended.


-casey


****For everyone else: Posting a rant in the E36 section is a very bad way to get any resolution to your problem. I was the only DDM employee who ever visited this section and I rarely do anymore at all. In fact, posting an internet rant is not very effective in general as there are thousands of you and only 5 of us. Its very easy for something like this to go overlooked and not get resolved. Please call if you have an issue that you would like resolved right away.

have we tried mounting some of them at work?

[Pswirley]

The templates are a general template for 3 different types of cars. Sedan, Coupe, and Ti. There are 12 holes because its recommended that drill spots are different for each car. There is a good chance that nothing is wrong and I can send you some more clips to fill the holes you have already drilled. The weather stripping sucks. I would recommend 3M tape instead of even OEM weatherstripping. If you can call tomorrow and ask specifically for me. I can get you through this. There are much better ways this could have been handled, especially when you are dealing with a company that has driven its stake in the market on taking care of its customers and providing good parts at great prices. That being said, its no secret that a lot of people have had issues with these side skirts. The ones that havent had issues have typically had theirs installed by a body shop. Professional installation is always recommended. Itciai, call me tomorrow and I can give you some hints since I used to do this kind of work.

Casey


If its any consolation, the tire shop which shall remain un named dropped my car off of their lift the other day and shattered my sideskirts.

[itciai]

The templates are a general template for 3 different types of cars. Sedan, Coupe, and Ti. There are 12 holes because its recommended that drill spots are different for each car. There is a good chance that nothing is wrong and I can send you some more clips to fill the holes you have already drilled. The weather stripping sucks. I would recommend 3M tape instead of even OEM weatherstripping. If you can call tomorrow and ask specifically for me. I can get you through this. There are much better ways this could have been handled, especially when you are dealing with a company that has driven its stake in the market on taking care of its customers and providing good parts at great prices. That being said, its no secret that a lot of people have had issues with these side skirts. The ones that havent had issues have typically had theirs installed by a body shop. Professional installation is always recommended. Itciai, call me tomorrow and I can give you some hints since I used to do this kind of work.

Casey


If its any consolation, the tire shop which shall remain un named dropped my car off of their lift the other day and shattered my sideskirts.

About your skirts- I think that qualifies for a lawsuit, am I wrong?? :shifty:shifty I would want free lifetime service after that.

About my skirts- No one ever told me that I wasn't supposed to drill all of the holes. I assumed that because they're there- that that's what they're there for.
Instructions should be included next time on which holes should be drilled for each body style.:shifty

My dad worked in a body shop for 10 years and has taught me enough to know what's what. The skirts are fine, but the clips and hardware included are crap. I can mount them once I get better quality/more clips, and I'll use some stronger glue to stick the weather strip down. I'll post pics once they're finally on the damned car. :rolleyes

[Pswirley]

As long as everythings good for you is all I am concerned about. If you need any help let me know and give me a call. If you want me to reimburse you for the clips that werent with the package or you would like me to get them and send them out I can. Just let me know. As far as the weather stripping, seriously use 3M 2 sided to weather strip them. Its good you have some experience available to help out and you can drill all 12 holes and be fine as long as they arent too close together. If you need anything give us a call and ask specifically for me. I will help you out.

Casey

As far as my car goes, no lawsuit. It was a mistake and I dont really get that worked up as its only a car. They are paying to fix it and it goes to the body shop for skirt painting and installation tomorrow.

[KFeez]

Everyone wants something for nothing...don't get me wrong, i low ball and talk people down on prices(often) but at the end of the day if you get a smoking good deal(DDM) don't be shocked and start crying when it needs a little modification.

[marineifra]

like i mentioned above...
"i got the apexcone lights and was pleased w/ them. any issue i have had w/ anything that i purchased...ANY ISSUE, and there were a few...has been resolved w/ not the first blip of anything but holy shit, we sent you the wrong bulbs? let me get you the right ones out...they should be there in 3 days. i would buy anything that they had for sale for the e36 b/c MY EXPERIENCES tell me that they WILL stand behind their product. there is a rant section for vendors...this isn't it. if you want to be heard by ddm, go there. its in the classified section."
they WILL stand behind their product.

[atlantisvip]

Meh... It's not that big of a deal anymore, I was really just angry and needed a place to vent. I made a mistake by posting it here on these forums:embarrasm

Anyway. It's not DDM's fault if the product that they buy from somewhere else is crappy to begin with. They can't change it. What I wish they would do is just provide a disclaimer stating that they do not open their products before they ship out, and that they cannot be held responsible for parts missing from the overall product. OR- They need to step up and start inspecting the parts before they go out (I really think this is the better option simply because their sales would go through the roof -considering that their QC would be amazing (and ultimately, you'd be getting a part that FIT and included ALL of the pieces every time that you ordered from them)- and their support would be better, and their reliability would be incredible.).

No refund necessary, no mo's.
Talked it over with my old man and he decided that we're just going to try to use OEM clips with it before we go back to DDM. It's really not their fault. I was looking for someone to blame and blah blah blah, I was childish. I know. My bad.
The clips are cheap and broke as soon as I tried to press them onto the skirt... Then when I tried to press the skirt over the top of my rocker panel, the clips didn't hold it in place, and it bowed out on each end. I didn't even get a chance (before I lost my cool) to try drilling holes on the side (in the wheel well) or underneath.
I'm going to give it another shot and see how it goes before I call DDM. :devillook
The price was too low for it to be perfect, anyway. So... Just gonna have to do like everyone else and deal with it and get creative.
I'll go by the local BMW Dealer, pick up clips, grommets, and many many extras, and I'll try this all again and then take pictures of it if it works, or take pictures of my old man burning the skirts and then burning my car down.:eyecrazy:(:(

BTW- I got the Apexcone lights. They're nice.

Meh.. ?? You have the nerve to say that and "i just needed to vent" ?? You are a true bonafide douchebag. DIY is for people with half a brain.. Something you obviously don't have if you managed to screw up a skirt install that bad, bashed a supplier, then said its not their fault.. Grow up! If I were a DDM employee I'd probably go install those skirts up your A** ... Whatever..:shifty

[itciai]

Really?
Wow, I didn't know I was that much of a douchebag.


I'll repeat this- for about the fourth time, now- for you, Mr. Ar-Tard.

Seriously, I didn't screw anything up. DDM's supplier sucks balls and I was explaining how much their supplier sucked by writing it in here. The clips are cheap Taiwan-ese plastic which broke when I tried to clip them to the skirts before mounting. The skirts themselves are fine. All I need are clips and grommets and basic hardware that was said it would be included, but it wasn't... And the hardware that was included, BROKE when I tried to install it.
READ WHAT I WRITE BEFORE BASHING.


Geez, you're telling me to grow up when you don't even know how to read. Go back to first grade.


As for DDM- Where they shine is their customer support (so I've been told, and now proven). I'm sure they're just imagining this as a test of it. Nothing more. I know I'm not the only one to come on here and blow off smoke. But I'd be willing to imagine that I'm the first in a while.

[pussiwillow]

during shipping and recieving products, things happen, mistakes take place, before installing, you should have made sure everything was there that was needed, and in your case they werent, thats when you call ddm, instead you got bent out of shape because you didnt count the parts before installing, regardless if they say everything should be in there, things like this happen, regardless of what buisness, ive done shipping and receiving, 1 or more times a day problems would occur, which wasnt the businesses fault, but the suppliers fault, the customer would contact us and they would get the things that were missing, never once was there a problem. it happens man. next time count the parts before installing. anything bad said shouldnt have been towards ddm.

[itciai]

Dude.

Again.

The real problem wasn't that there weren't enough of them... Because I could've just filled in the extra holes, and limped along using however many clips they gave me. No big deal. I could live with that, but it was just another point that made me uneasy about the whole deal.

The real problem was that the clips were made of such cheap plastic, that as soon as I tried to use them, they BROKE.

[thedude60126]

The templates are a general template for 3 different types of cars. Sedan, Coupe, and Ti. There are 12 holes because its recommended that drill spots are different for each car. There is a good chance that nothing is wrong and I can send you some more clips to fill the holes you have already drilled. The weather stripping sucks. I would recommend 3M tape instead of even OEM weatherstripping. If you can call tomorrow and ask specifically for me. I can get you through this. There are much better ways this could have been handled, especially when you are dealing with a company that has driven its stake in the market on taking care of its customers and providing good parts at great prices. That being said, its no secret that a lot of people have had issues with these side skirts. The ones that havent had issues have typically had theirs installed by a body shop. Professional installation is always recommended. Itciai, call me tomorrow and I can give you some hints since I used to do this kind of work.

Casey


If its any consolation, the tire shop which shall remain un named dropped my car off of their lift the other day and shattered my sideskirts.

Hey just wanted to say car is looking sick. Love the wheels and the hood

[cooljess76]

If its any consolation, the tire shop which shall remain un named dropped my car off of their lift the other day and shattered my sideskirts.
I heard DDM sells good sideskirts for super cheap.








:rofl :rofl :roflI kid, I kid. Sorry to hear about your ride Casey, hope they take care of it. I'll be swingin down there in a couple of weeks to say whats up and spenz some moneyzzz;)

[ryanng2]

Dude.

Again.

The real problem wasn't that there weren't enough of them... Because I could've just filled in the extra holes, and limped along using however many clips they gave me. No big deal. I could live with that, but it was just another point that made me uneasy about the whole deal.

The real problem was that the clips were made of such cheap plastic, that as soon as I tried to use them, they BROKE.

Did buying the clips from Dealer make it work? I'm having the same problem with the clips. The clips that comes with the side skirt are very cheap, and wont hold up my side skirt. Please let me knwo.

Ryan

[Kaiv]

Yes the clips are 1)insufficient in numbers 2)very weak 3) half will break when you try to install them 4) won't hold the skirt on the rocker.

Get OEM clips.

[E36 325is]

To add to what Casey said earlier, I work at a body shop in San Francisco, and we've done two E36's. One, we installed DDM's sideskirts, and the other, we installed non-M3 sideskirts. Yes, the OEM weatherstriping is garbage, so we used high quality 3M instead. Both cars came out perfect, both structually and visually. Please, just leave it to the professionals, and you won't have a problem.

[itciai]

Did buying the clips from Dealer make it work? I'm having the same problem with the clips. The clips that comes with the side skirt are very cheap, and wont hold up my side skirt. Please let me knwo.

Ryan

Yes, the WHITE clips and GREEN grommets are much higher quality and didn't break when I put them onto the skirt.
I still haven't had a chance to put them onto the car because of the damned rain:shifty

Buuut just to give you a heads up... for 20 of the clips and 20 of the grommets, it cost me about $80... But then with a BMWCCA discount, the guy dropped it down to about $53. Pretty expensive, I'd say... But it's worth it!:redspot

Here's the installation DIY that I've been following.
http://www.geocities.com/e36rulz/M3SideSkirtInstall.html

[subspd]

Above link isn't working anyone have a good fit with pics of this?

[WV Jim]

http://www.reocities.com/e36rulz/m3sideskirtinstall.html

[subspd]

Thanks!