[jpsimon]

... Because they say it is.

I live in the north east and drive up to Vermont every weekend during the winter. This is what happens when the flanges/bungs are made out of mild steel vs. stainless. There is so much rust it's infiltrating the AE exhaust stainless flanges.

Even if this is just "surface rust" it is very unsettling IMO.

[2008_335i_coupe]

I would junk them and buy a set of AR 3" stainless downpipes..

[jpsimon]

I tried to get my money back from UR, but that was a no go. They just said this was just "normal surface rust".

I'll definitely pick up a set of AR downpipes at some point though.

[john boxter]

they said no to giving you your money back for this?!??!?! NOBODY BUY UR DOWNPIPES HORRIBLE SERVICE AND QUALITY!!!!!

[2008_335i_coupe]

i promise that those welds will rust through.. I can't believe they wouldn't atleast swap for new ones..
make a post about it on the vendors forum section..

[Mr. 5]

Yeesh!
That's not good man.
I'm really surprised that they didn't make the bungs and flanges out of SS.
I have the UR DPs but I don't deal with the snow.

[jpsimon]

This is such a pain in the ass and a very un-needed extra cost... ugh. Had the AR downpipes been out when I needed some I would have gone that route.

[Highflyr]

I call dibs if you sell them. Let me know what you would want for them.

[jpsimon]

Do you have an XI, and do XI downpipes fit non XI's?

[scottp999]

Originally Posted by jpsimon

This is such a pain in the ass and a very un-needed extra cost... ugh. Had the AR downpipes been out when I needed some I would have gone that route.

I feel your pain. So far I've bought three different things early on, and then replaced them when something better came out (not including all the procede upgrades). I guess I'm helping the economy?

[Highflyr]

Originally Posted by jpsimon

Do you have an XI, and do XI downpipes fit non XI's?

haha good question. I imagine they might be the same

[shyestsparks]

I thought they came with a 5 year warranty; Did they offer to replace it at least?

[psu139]

not normal at all. i had the ur downpipes on my car for about a year and a half before i removed mine and they looked tarnished but they didn't have rust like that.

[jpsimon]

I'm waiting to hear back but it doesn't look good, they told me this is normal.

[XPO186]

Holy hell that looks bad... hope it doesn't do any permanent damage to the AE.

[Vudoo4u2]

get some VK dps...not too terribly pricey if UR doesnt help you out

[anonymouse20910]

BTW, they are still in my closet. The flanges don't look as bad as jpsimon's though. He must have got a bad unit or he had more salt exposure. Haven't put them on because although the flanges match with my borla midpipes, the piping sizes don't. Turbo guru friend said the air interference/restriction might cause issues.

Originally Posted by psu139

not normal at all. i had the ur downpipes on my car for about a year and a half before i removed mine and they looked tarnished but they didn't have rust like that.

[5soko]

WOW! that would not be acceptable for any reason!

OT: Are the AR DP's SS at the flanges?

[jpsimon]

Yep, AR told me:

"Flanges and O2 bungs are same material as tube - 304SS. All are cut here in the USA from high grade 304SS."

[vase330]

Jeez man! I have to say I am shocked; I ordered AR despite the higher price because they just look better quality to me. I sure hope I will never see any of this on them.

[Darth335]

Wow! UR should replace them at the least. The BMW Enthusiast market is a tight group, which are UR customers, and word of mouth, as well as reputation, is everything in this industry. Something like this can make people think twice about buying their DP's, espechilly when we have other fantastic manufactures that make the same product for the same price or less.

The OP's claim is not unreasonable at all, even more so when he has those pic's to back his claim up. UR should really think about their customer service, and thus, product marketing. Get a bad name for poor or faulty products, and even worse, poor customer service, and then you are done.

If UR knew anything about product marketing, they would look at OP's issue as a perfect chance to get some good word of mouth promotion by taking care of his issue and replacing his DP's, no questions asked. But now instead of eating the cost of replacing the DP's ($500 lets say), they have now caused 10 potential customers to look elsewhere for not only catless DP's, but ANYTHING with the "UR" name on it. What is the net revenue loss on that?

Bottom line, good companies that take care of their customers will keep on making great products, grow and thrive. Companies with bad reputations will eventually go the way of the Pontiac.

Good Luck OP.

[jpsimon]

In my original email to them I mentioned posting these pics and talking about it on the forum... if I were them I would have just replaced them without asking twice.