Ron,

Thanks for the reply and the criticism. Not going to make excuses but Friday afternoons can well be Friday afternoons and you shouldn't have to come out on the short end! My apologies1

The R56/55/57 and R53 GP will require a different ALTA PT# AMP-SUS-415 for the rear endlinks than the R53/52/50 PT# of AMP-SUS-410. As you pointed out the lower rear rod end is different and includes longer hardware to make a proper connection.

Not knowing where and how you got the endlinks, but we can certainly exchange something for you, or your ALTA dealer can as well. Just PM Jarid or I on how we can help move things along for you.

Thanks again for choosing ALTA!

 

THANKS--I mini fever Friday afternoon and want to get everything installed, so forgive me for my impatient attitude.

 

I've bought quite a few parts for my R56S from Alta. The customer service has been 100% good for me. They do try hard to please and will do the right thing to fix a problem 99% of the time. Some of the bashing I've seen here has been a result of user error, user impatience, and people reacting things they've read and not experienced which is not right or fair to Alta.

With that said I have had issues particularly with fitment. The cold side boost tube is getting torn into by something and may eventually fail. The turbo inlet hose is too short (already replaced once due to a constricting fold) and has to be refastened once a month. The downpipe droned like a prop engine plane on any kind of incline at freeway speed and caused constant CEL's. The foam replacement filter for the JCW Tuning Kit intake is just large enough to practically break the plastic mounting bracket on the intake tube it attaches to in order for the assembly to fit in the box.

I would like Alta to do a better job with Quality Control, you guys have just about everything else figured out.

By the way, if I may suggest, as a way to sell an improvement to your cat-back exhaust system without CEL's, I recently had a custom 3" center section made that starts at the bottom of the OEM downpipe, deletes the second catalyst, and mates with the Alta cat-back exhaust with flanges at both ends. It sound absolutely perfect to me: slightly louder than the cat-back at cruise but throaty and deep at WOT. My butt dyno says the improvement is not far off from a full turbo back system with almost no drone and never any CEL's.

 

I ordered a CAI and Alta exhaust ( a snazzy one with oval tip) last Friday, online. I got a pretty good price overall but got a call today (Monday) from Molly to "confirm credit card information." My bank had shown that the money had been taken from my account but Molly explained that if I just gave her my credit card information over the phone I could complete the order and begin shipment. Molly explained that a glitch of some sort with her "third party processing company" occurs "3 to 4 times a day" and requires credit-card information verification. I offered first to give her the last 4 digits of the card if need be but she insisted I could only give the entire card... I asked why this was needed as I already gave this information in the online order and Molly said that sometimes "Addresses for billing could be different according to the bank." I suggested that I call my OWN bank to verify what address was listed. I called my bank, verified what I already knew to be true
(that the address I submitted with the order was the very same address listed for my bank) and promptly called and asked for Molly.

Oh yeah, Looks like Alta had already processed the payment at this point...

explained that I was uncomfortable giving this information over the phone and asked if we could go ahead and get the shipment moving. She insisted that a verification occur and that an option might be that they email me another form to fill out.

I guess I don't understand what the purpose of this additional transaction exactly is? My reservation is that by giving this information over the phone, I negate any security involved (guaranteed) by the online transaction... Am I being paranoid in an increasingly identity-theft-prone world? My wife (with 7 years banking experience) tells me to beware...

I asked to speak to a supervisor in any capacity and was told "they are all in meetings." I told her I would like a full refund and if any of the supervisors were interested in hearing why I am requesting a refund, they could take time to listen. I asked to be contacted by email and have yet to hear anything back (or a refund.)

Is this typical?

I feel that by seeing the other experiences here that I may have acted too quickly before researching a bit more before making a purchase. I hope I dont have to contact the BBB...

 

Thanks for the genuine feedback!

On the cold side boost tube there is some variable on the cars and the pipes. we have several R56 /55 models in the shop and each one was different on that plastic firewall piece. Plus we we able to rotate, push and pull the cold side tube to add or decrease clearance to the firewall. A client had an issue then discovered an engine mount was broken allowing the motor to flop back and for more readily and worked against the firewall. So certainly something to check and we want to help you.

Inlet hose. If it was short (is short) whatever, don't keep working with it. Give me a PM with contact info and lets get you a perfect one. You shouldn't have to deal with that.

On the exhaust. WE can't produce an item that removes and doesn't replace an OEM catalyst. On JCW models we do offer a single cat DP as the car doesn't have but one. I am happy that what you have created meets all of your needs!

I look forward to a PM form you so we can help further. Again thanks!

 

First thank you for your business.

Second nothing to worry about and we are simply protecting the credit card using public.

When you input an order online an attempt is made to process the card via a third party PCI compliant credit card processor. (We see nothing but the last 4 digits of your card#.) There are certain fraud prevention filters placed on those transactions, but even with those in place on occasion a fraudulent charge can slip through. Also, a legit charge can come through but appear to need verification. This does happen a few times a day and we follow through with each and in some cases they are fraud and the charges are refused/refunded and in others we verify the info and ship the order.

Without the exact information (you can PM me your full name, online order # etc.) it is hard for me to see what the problem is. BUT, Molly was trying to confirm the identity of the person placing the order and the validity of the credit card charge. She is attempting to then contact the issuing bank and verify the charge and that the addresses match. This is done to protect the ultimate card holder as well as ALTA from losses to fraud.

I understand your reluctance to provide the necessary information to an unknown person. You can certainly contact us at 503-222-MINI to be sure you are getting an ALTA rep and work the details, vs an incoming call from Molly (whom is an unknown to you although she does work here.) No attempt is being made to double charge you etc. WE only want to make sure you get the part you want and that we have a legitimate card being charged too.

Not knowing when you called, I can't speak to the delay in getting back to you, but I will get with her this morning (it is 6:45 am here, and they come in around 9 am) and get back to you, or simply PM me your details. There is NO reason to contact BBB etc. If you ultimately want a refund, OR we are unable to proceed with the order because of the verification process we will refund you immediately.

Thanks again for choosing ALTA Performance!

 

In this day and age you're right to be concerned with online and phone transactions. I've no skin in this game, but I can certainly vouch for ALTA.

There's no reason to be worried about them, from a BBB standpoint. They are a perfectly legitimate, well run business. Having walked the sizeable facility myself, I can attest.

Fear not!

Beyond that, you'll likely be happy with whatever you buy from them. On occasion they get something goofed up, but do everything they can to make it right. For example, I once had ordered a swaybar from them for a friend's car, and it arrived with the wrong bushings packaged (snafu in the warehouse where it happened with a few boxes).

Well, with the car taken apart...up on a rack in a friend's personal shop...on a SUNDAY... I called ALTA. I lucked out and got a voice on the other end of the line.

Within an hour, I had the correct part in hand. How?

Fortunately, we were located in the same metro area as ALTA, but not exactly next door... the owner (Adam) drove it to us...

...himself .

He didn't even have to answer the phone on a Sunday, but did. He certainly didn't HAVE to drive a part over personally. But, he did what I would do. Take the opportunity, to get it right.

Oh, and I've met Molly. She's very nice.

Cheers!

 

That's cool you have good experiences with ALTA. My experience was most likely the result of me wanting straight answers up front. I also don't like how I have to initiate all the communication to get things right again. Have yet to hear back from anyone, still no refund...

 

Rawcapture check your PM. This has been taken care of.

 

Funds returned. Please check your e-mail.

Sorry you feel we were unhelpful. But your purchase hit three flags on the fraud potential scale and Molly was only looking to your best interests (and every other cardholder that pays higher interest and charges as a result of fraud losses.)

Those flags:

High dollar order (Over $500)

Expedited Shipping Method

Un-matched billing and shipping address through PCI compliant industry standard AVS matching system.

Simply put we couldn't ship that order without verifying that the card holder and the recipient matched. Reviewing the phone conversations you had with Molly and Christina to try to get the info needed to verify your purchase, you had no interest in being helpful. (Christina even offered to discount the freight even further and ship one day faster to meet the original ship time.)

I can take being bashed when we make a boo boo. This wasn't one of those cases. Again your business would have been very much appreciated, but we can't ship when funds can't be verified.

Good luck with your build on your MINI!

 

OK, time for some positive feedback. I have read a lot of the negative, but to be honest, I think some of it is unfounded.

I sent an e-mail via their WEB page asking about the insert for the OCC that I have. I figured it would take a few days for them to get back with me since I have heard all the "issues". Well, Chris Cone promptly replied to me telling me to give him a call to setup the sale. I called and was met by a "receptionist" who was extremely polite and helpful. I asked for Chris and was promptly forwarded to him. He took my information and card info and the part was shipped the next day.

Bottom line, they are a good company that has good service. I just don't see what all the fuss is about.

 

Thank you! Chris, Jarid, myself and the rest of the crew look forward to working with you again in the future! Thanks again!

 

My experience with the folks at Alta was positive. Although a piece was missing from my exhaust (2.5" V2 for a 2006 MINI Cooper S,) all in the same day I was able to email, get a response, talk on the phone and get a resolution to the problem (missing part to be sent out in a few days.) In all fairness, maybe a 3rd party is responsible for packing all the parts and they were responsible for the missing part, I don't know. Anyway, the part was sent out in a fairly reasonable amount of time.

I do have some issues with the design of the exhaust and the instructions, but as of now I have it hanging well with no rattles and I am really liking the sound of it! My last issues is with the rear most hanger, but in time I will find out if I fixed that with my workarounds.

I did a write up of the exhaust and posted the link to it here:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-write-up.html
but since no one has commented (hint, hint) I don't know if I've just written a bunch of useless drivel or not.

 

Just wanted to give a quick update:

Today my refund showed up in my bank . Thanks for taking care of this. If I seemed impatient it's only because I've had a similar transaction(non car stuff) and refund took literally MONTHS. So again, thanks

I would like to address the above...

1. I verified my address as submitted in the order and also called my bank to verify I hadnt slipped up. *I offered to do this as a means to complete the transaction. I called Molly back and explained that the address listed with my bank was correct. It was explained to me, by Molly, that there is a "glitch" with processing payments that occurs 3 to 4 times a week or so that requires "verification" to finalize orders.

2. It was explained to me that this verification included me giving Molly my credit card information over the phone. This was, in essence, a deal breaker for me. I never, ever, ever give that information over the phone if I've made a web-based order. I DID, however, offer to give the last four digits of the card. It was explained to me that I had to give my CC number in it's entirety and that was, unfortunately, something I wasn't willing to do.

3. I appreciated the offer on the shipping but that was not my issue. A few bucks for freight isn't what I had reservations about.


In short, I feel there may have been some hiccups in the ordering but I was unwilling to just "get the order done." My wife has been in banking for several years and is never at a loss for a story of someone getting their bank acct compromised. I know Alta has a great reputation as a company and that many people have great customer service experiences. This is why I chose to make my first big order with them. I suppose my issue isn't really with anyone I talked to. In fact, Molly was a trooper and I even made sure to tell her my issue wasn't with her but the system that I felt needed a little tweak to avoid future "glitches."

Did I feel that giving my CC info to ALTA would have resulted in my bank acct getting compromised? No way. Was I concerned about the process of ordering? Yes. Will this stop me from considering Alta in the future? Nope. I just need to remember to keep my shipping standard and orders under 500 bucks In fact, I might order again (if they let me, lol)

 

Mr. Adam Taft,

Thanks for taking feedback in a forum. I am one the first persons with the CEL/downpipe issue that is still unresolved.

Everyone has been nice but...

1. The problem still exists since May/June 2008.
2. I've been told multiple times I would get a solution. An the last time I was told a solution would be "discounted" for me.
3. Most persons whom I spoke to want a full explanation of the problem, fixes, order number. Provided different four times.
4. Quality of products, instructions and, fit and finish is poor. (Intake, piggyback and exhaust for an R56.)
5. I don't think your company knows what their products are correctly supposed to do. (i.e. CEL Code P0420 is okay; soot on exhaust pipe is Okay,; Cutting for a fit is Okay, etc.)

My only recourse to to warn potential customers of the issues that I have had dealing with ALTA.

Regards
djthomp

 

I LOVE ALTA!
I have and love the CAI, OCC, 15%pulley.. the only problem i've had has been with the brisk plugs. btw 03 R53. the electrode on one of the plugs basically melted after a couple weeks and triggered off a nasty misfire. I work in a shop and none of the other techs have ever seen anything like it. Obviously not altas fault but i brought it up cuz i was wondering if you have ever seen or heard of this happening with colder plugs in a mini. SPORTONE exhaust expected to arrive on friday and i cant freakin wait. It shipped the day after I ordered with all the info and tracking number. Exceptional service as always!

 

Thanks for the post and sorry you are affected by any issues. Not trying to poke at you, but wanted to make a few comments using your #'s above.

1,2) Yes some people still have a persistent issue. Lots of variances in cars, OEM ECU parameters, and in some cases the depth of the O2 sensor placement. If you haven't gotten a no-charge O2 extender please let me know so we can get you some to try. Again no-charge!
3) While it may seem repetitive we like having the details to gain any additional knowledge we can about your situation. Plus you may not be speaking to the same person twice. Understand it is an inconvenience but necessary.
4) The piggyback harness was NOT an ALTA Product. That is a UniChip Product. We had zero control over it, tried out best to work with them and clients, but in the end had to drop the UniChip from our lineup because of the issues created by UniChip.

On the intake and exhaust. The intake is a straightforward installation and requires no cutting or trimming so a bit lost there. On the Exhaust depending on tip position desired will determine if the center plate needs to be trimmed. It is NOT mandatory. Plus larger exhaust systems sometimes require additional clearance regardless of MINI, Ferrari, Honda etc. So not limited to ALTA at all.

5) The P0420 isn't "ok" but is certainly acceptable considering the HP gains. Still every effort is made to reduce the occurrence on all cars.

Cars produce soot. I might be misunderstanding your concern, but nothing ALTA can do to reduce the soot on the exhaust. (let me know if I am out in left field.)

If you want to continue a conversation about your experiences with ALTA in PM or e-mail / phone, just let me know. I never want a client to be unhappy! Thanks again for the feedback and the business!

 

Right on! Thanks for the LOVE!

On the plugs lets try to figure that one out. That is odd no matter what car or plug. PM me your details or even better PM ALTA_Chris in tech so he can get right on it!

Again thanks for the business and the love!

 

Alta seems like a heck of a company with way cool products, I however have PM'ed 3 different reps about 3 different inquieries i had about certain products, and i never got an answer back...not a big deal, but it sorta made me wonder if i was being ignored because i asked about stuff that was very low end pricewise, which is understandable, but just because i had a question about a 15.00 product it doesn't mean i won't order something more high end in the future like a cai, wheels or what not...

 

Thanks for the post. Just for my own curiosity can you post up which reps you PM'd? I know John L, Jarid, Chris and myself are generally RIGHT on top of it with PM's. In some cases I have answered within 2-3 minutes of receipt. So it bothers me that none of yours got a reply. If you can just PM me the details.

It doesn't matter the price of the part on the need for a reply. So that isn't it for sure! Again let me know so I can help further!

EDIT: I found one from you from last week. We don't carry that wax currently, so I had Jarid check on it to get back to you. Sorry if that reply didn't make it to you, but I did "process" your PM. Let Jarid know if you are still interested!

 

I had a recent small order (just cleaning products), and there was a missing sprayer in the package.
Adam had one out in the mail to me within a day

 

We are ordering the wheel wax in on our next order!

 

which wheel wax do you guys carry?

 

It is from PRIMA. It will be on our site ASAP! Thanks for asking!

 

Excellent service! I ordered some Prima products for my car. Service was fast, Great Communication, and above all great People (=

-Michael