Re: <All> BL/SS **Rob

["Rob Levinson" <always_coca-cola@xxxxxxx>]

        It was only a matter of time before a post like this popped up.
Actually, I kind of expected it.  I'll address all of the issues that
Anthony has brought up:

"Anthony Dusovic" <adusovic@domain.elided> wrote:

>Subject: <All> BL/SS
>

>Don't want to cause any flame wars but BL/SS which started as a cheap (what
>ever happened to the true meaning of UUC?) upgrade has become an overblown
>purely commercial entity.


    I'd like to point out that "UUC" stands for "Underground Upgrade Club"
and the sole criteria for a UUC upgrade is (humorously) hiding it from one's
spouse to maintain marital bliss.  "UUC" does *not* mean "cheap", in fact
the $900 ACS Schnitzer was one of the first "UUC Approved" upgrades as are
expensive Fikse wheels and Schroth harnesses.  I would not call selling
properly-engineered complete shifter kits at reasonable prices
"overblown"... besides, as active motorsports enthusiasts who develop and
use the products we sell (and the more to come), the commercial aspect is an
outgrowth of our enthusiasm.


>We all know the part numbers and what they cost.  The bent shifter parts
>could have been had for approx. $80 (that's what I paid), now that's a UUC
>upgrade!  Come on now, $20 for the plastic ball cup, It only lists for $15
>from BMW.

        Actually, you're wrong - not everyone knows the part numbers and
some "knowledgeable" digesters have been posting *wrong* numbers entirely.
How many posts a month are there asking "hey, what are the BL/SS part
numbers for my car?"  A relatively small number of BMW enthusiasts subscribe
to the BMW Digest - the UUC Motorwerks venture is a valuable service to
those people who don't have access to the Digest nor want to comb through
the past 6 months' worth to find the various part numbers.  Also, your
"bent" shifter is unavailable *anywhere* else, and the contraption I have
seen produced by another Digester is absurdly complicated and puts the
*wrong* bends in the shifter - not properly engineered at all and certainly
not tested on the variety of models that Ben has personally installed them
in for *free*.

    Let's take a look at parts and installation costs to the average person:

$52     straight shifter from BMW (if you knew which one was appropriate for
your car)
$100   cup removal tool from BMW (ours is a better grade and costs only $60)
$15+   new cup (many dealers charge $20 and UUC Motorwerks offers them as a
convenience)
$30     bending service (only offered by Ben Liaw, but not anymore)
$3       washers
- --------
$185 total parts if you don't buy the cup, $100 if you buy the cup but not
the tool.  (It's practically impossible to remove the cup without breaking
it if you don't have the tool.)

Don't forget - installation charges from various BMW dealers have been
quoted from one to two hours of labor.  At $75/hour, this is up to $150 for
installation.

Keep in mind a few things:
1) Ben no longer offers shifter-bending as a service.
2) Most people have no idea which shifter fits their car or which one
produces how much shift reduction.
3) Most people would have no idea how easy it is to install and would
automatically go to the dealer.

Now apply those things to the packaged UUC Motorwerks BL/SS kits:
1) The shifter is bent by Ben.
2) Each kit is tested for the particular application and there is the choice
of exactly how much shift reduction.
3) The kit includes the most complete directions with step-by-step
pictures... anyone can do the install, it's almost easier (and certainly
cleaner) than changing the oil in the car.

So, with a dealer-installed non-specific unknown shifter, the person who
runs around and chases down the parts will spend $275... and the shifter
will still be straight (causing a non-centered shifter that may interfere
with the console).

Hmmm... $275 for the *wrong* shifter installed by the dealer compared
$175-$200 for the correct BL/SS one with all the parts and directions
needed.  The BL/SS kit doesn't sound like a bad deal to me at all.



>I was very disappointed or should I say it was exactly as I anticipated on
>August 1.


    What were you expecting - "Ben's Big Page of Charity"?  I think that Ben
has contributed more than enough to the Digest (and still does all the time)
by doing all the research, answering hundreds of e-mails and phone calls,
and spending countless hours doing *free* ShifterFests.


>I have no problem with some one making money or being entrepenurial.  We
are
>all in business to do the same, but I think that it is a slap in the face
of
>knowledgeable BMW enthusiasts to put these prices in our face and expect us
>to bite.


    I wouldn't call a significant savings in total parts costs (and the
included bending, directions, and research) a "slap in the face".  Would you
prefer that the $900 ACS shifter were the only upgrade available?



>OK, you're fabricating parts and so on, you need to re coup your expenses
>and make some profit, but we all know that 99% of the parts in the kit are
>easily obtained from you favorite supplier.


    Only about 10% of the parts are available from your favorite supplier -
the cup and washers.  Nobody sells a bent shifter lever, nobody provides
step-by-step installation instructions, and the cup removal tool is sold by
BMW dealers for 66% more.



>The moral of the story is I feel that is is possible to make money and
>maintain a good name if you don't make them feel as if they are being
>screwed or taken for fools.  Some suppliers pull that off very well and we
>continue to go back to them because it is important to support them and
keep
>them in business.


        UUC Motorwerks hopes that you will apply that same moral here.  By
doing all the research, fabricating and modifying top-quality parts for sale
at reasonable prices, and supplying the best support and installation guide
available, it is hoped that the "good name" part will naturally follow.


Best regards,
- - Rob Levinson
Chiba Technologies, Inc. - UUC Motorwerks
www.shortshifter.com

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