[MsportFury]

Basically, i'm still looking to order the 'Duke Dynamics D2 Hood in FRP with Carbon Fibre Vents' for my E92 LCI.

I spoke to Duke over the phone on Friday, and he claimed that the production problems are sorted now, apparently he has trained more staff and put them into the production team, he also said that the lead time for the hood i'm after, would be 3 weeks, and after that its up to the shipping company. This quote was given to me based on if i were to order the Hood that day, which i didn't, as i'm not sure whether i should believe a word he says to be honest after seeing and reading what i've seen and read!

The problem is I keep reading reviews everywhere, (this forum, DD's Facebook page, DD's Instagram and on other forums) that people have been waiting for over a year for their parts, and Duke nor his team/staff won't reply to any attempt of their contact, is there any way of me speeding Duke up? I get that he may be busy, that's fair enough, but to have customers waiting over a year or even 6 months for a product is just ridiculous, especially as he still finds the time to update his social media pages and respond to people like me (that haven't even made an order yet) with no hesitation... Whilst blatantly ignoring customers that made orders months ago and have paid him money.

It's really hard to decide on what to do, as he has such good looking parts & products and i'm so keen to get this Hood, but he has way more bad reviews than good from what i have found.

If i were to order the hood, it would have to be delivered to the UK, from their Vancouver shop, which is just another worry to add to the list.. due to possible damages whilst in air freight and the duties/taxes i have to pay when it arrives, (note, i'm not to worried about the money side of things to be honest, as long as what i receive is a good fitting, good looking & good quality product, in a timely manner). Does anyone know if this is the case with his products recently?

He did tell me that he shutdown his China based production warehouse around 6 months ago, which caused a backlog, again, fair enough. He added that now the process of production is solely based in Vancouver, Canada, the whole process including production, packaging and shipping is back up and running strong, (getting products from him should be quicker and his quality control has been improved).

Last but not least, does anyone have any advice for me based on everything i have said above? I really! really! want this hood but there is so much worry holding me back from making the order. Does anyone know him well enough to put a word in for me so that he actually makes an effort to get the product to me in, or around the time he quotes?

The thing is I don't mind waiting 3-4 months tops, but anything after that is just completely unacceptable by anyone's standards, he did put part of my mind at rest by answering a few of my questions, but I'm still not 100% sure what to do and need you guys' valued opinions, do I bite the bullet and order?

[Game]

Can't imagine anyone stocks them at all. Duke Dynamics makes them to order I believe and they have a pretty bad rep around here of taking incredibly long to fulfill their orders.

[MsportFury]

Ahh ok i see, I thought someone would mention their reputation haha, I have seen alot of bad reviews on their products/Customer Service, but there are two forum members here that have this particular hood that i'm after and they haven't had any problems with it. I've noticed that LTMW sometimes take them into stock but obviously that's nowhere close to me! but i think i'm just gonna bite the bullet and order up! have you got any recommendations on which one I should go for? I'm stuck between the FRP with carbon Fibre vents option & the Full Carbon Fibre option. I will be painting the hood to the colour of my car so i'm steering towards the FRP with Carbon Vents option, but can see your an expert Modder, so would be good to hear your opinion.

Problem is it's gonna cost a bomb on shipping, so thought it was worth asking!
Thanks for your help,
P.S. - I LOVE YOUR CAR, soooo clean.

[MsportFury]

Originally Posted by Game

Can't imagine anyone stocks them at all. Duke Dynamics makes them to order I believe and they have a pretty bad rep around here of taking incredibly long to fulfill their orders.

Please see what i have written in my previous comment above, i forgot to quote, so not sure if you got the notification, Thanks!

[Game]

Originally Posted by MsportFury

Ahh ok i see, I thought someone would mention their reputation haha, I have seen alot of bad reviews on their products/Customer Service, but there are two forum members here that have this particular hood that i'm after and they haven't had any problems with it. I've noticed that LTMW sometimes take them into stock but obviously that's nowhere close to me! but i think i'm just gonna bite the bullet and order up! have you got any recommendations on which one I should go for? I'm stuck between the FRP with carbon Fibre vents option & the Full Carbon Fibre option. I will be painting the hood to the colour of my car so i'm steering towards the FRP with Carbon Vents option, but can see your an expert Modder, so would be good to hear your opinion.

Problem is it's gonna cost a bomb on shipping, so thought it was worth asking!
Thanks for your help,
P.S. - I LOVE YOUR CAR, soooo clean.

Thank you.

If it were me, I'd buy just the FRP version since I would paint it as well.

But I'd give them a call before I were to place an order. They recently moved to Vancouver and may be backed up.

[dbworld4k]

I called LTMW. They don't even carry any of their parts anymore despite the listings on their website.

[MsportFury]

Originally Posted by Game

Thank you.

If it were me, I'd buy just the FRP version since I would paint it as well.

But I'd give them a call before I were to place an order. They recently moved to Vancouver and may be backed up.

Yeah I think I'm gonna go for the FRP with Carbon Fibre vents, i've been speaking directly with Duke as I want to get the best service possible, and I'm gonna try to get him to give me his word on when my order will be delivered if I were to order within the next few days, I don't wanna be one of the guys that waits forever, he mentioned that the production process has been slower due to the shutdown of their overseas warehouse, which is fair enough, but he sent me some pictures of testfits which were rather worrying, I think they test fit the LCI Hood on a pre LCI car, (as the hood overhangs the grilles and bumper unusually) but will speak to Duke later and ask him all of the questions I have and update the thread.

Thanks.

[MsportFury]

Originally Posted by dbworld4k

I called LTMW. They don't even carry any of their parts anymore despite the listings on their website.

Oh ok thank you! I'm going to go directly through Duke as I have been speaking to him

[dbworld4k]

I spoke to their Vancouver BC office last night. He said they expect to have them in stock sometime in December.

[MsportFury]

Originally Posted by dbworld4k

I spoke to their Vancouver BC office last night. He said they expect to have them in stock sometime in December.

LTMW OR Duke Dynamics? Thanks for the info!

[SUHleen]

When I was looking for a hood through DD I contacted them through FaceBook and they were pretty quick to respond. In the end, I ended up going with a Seibon M3 style hood for my 2011 335is. Looks to be perfect fitment and all the factory stuff attaches to it without any modifications and the CF looks great!

[MsportFury]

Originally Posted by SUHleen

When I was looking for a hood through DD I contacted them through FaceBook and they were pretty quick to respond. In the end, I ended up going with a Seibon M3 style hood for my 2011 335is. Looks to be perfect fitment and all the factory stuff attaches to it without any modifications and the CF looks great!

Thanks for the input, I really like the look of the D2 hood though so I'm leaning more towards that style!

[SUHleen]

Originally Posted by MsportFury

Thanks for the input, I really like the look of the D2 hood though so I'm leaning more towards that style!

Yea I like it also but their wait time was quite a bit for me so I opted to go a different route. I really wish they made the VIS hood for the LCI cars, that is what I really wanted. Good luck with whatever route you chose!

[MsportFury]

Originally Posted by SUHleen

Yea I like it also but their wait time was quite a bit for me so I opted to go a different route. I really wish they made the VIS hood for the LCI cars, that is what I really wanted. Good luck with whatever route you chose!

Yeah that's fair enough, I'm so ready to order but so worried of the outcome at the same time! Did your hood have to be delivered overseas? If so did you have to pay any tax or customs charges on top of your shipment price?

[SUHleen]

Originally Posted by MsportFury

Yeah that's fair enough, I'm so ready to order but so worried of the outcome at the same time! Did your hood have to be delivered overseas? If so did you have to pay any tax or customs charges on top of your shipment price?

Nope, it came via truck freight from their plant in Cali I believe. Was packaged well and is a beautiful piece. What I like the most is that it has everything needed to transfer it over, no modifications needed. There even is a spot for the factory hood strut which a lot of hoods you have to buy a bracket for or something along those lines.

[SUHleen]

[MsportFury]

oh fair enough, that's good, i need to hear it from someone that has had a hood delivered to the UK preferably, so i know if i'm gonna be paying anything on top of what i'm already splashing out. Hood looks good man, you got a new bumper on the way or something?

[MsportFury]

Bump

I have updated the OP at the top with my progress, if anyone has any further opinions based on what i've written, please let me know!

Thanks!

[MsportFury]

Originally Posted by MsportFury

Bump

I have updated the OP at the top with my progress, if anyone has any further opinions based on what i've written, please let me know!

Thanks!

If anyone is interested in the result of my search for the perfect cosmetic look, check out my complete cosmetic build thread in the link below - a lot had been done since I posted this thread haha

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1245727