Bryan Bloch vs. Remi
Autosport (Race
Marque Systems)
The following documentation will illustrate the reasons
that I am disputing all Debit and Credit card payments to Remi Autosport for the work they
performed on my 2001 BMW M5. Since Remi
Autosport operates as Race Marque Systems to the general public, I will
refer to Remi Autosport as Race
Marque Systems (RMS) throughout the rest of this document.
Before going into the reasons, it is important for you to
understand the scope of the project which is as follows: The 2001 BMW M5 is one
of the greatest performing four-door sedans in the world just as it comes from
BMW. The car’s price of $73,000 new puts it in a
special class of vehicles and the owners of these vehicles tend to be highly
knowledgeable about the various available upgrades in the market. In fact, it
is fair to say that those who own this vehicle are also very likely to be
members of M5 enthusiast web groups such as www.m5board.com.
I tell you this so that you understand that with only a couple of thousand M5s
sold in the US each year, the owner group and the potential owner group is
small and very well informed and therefore, if you make modifications on your
M5 that devalue the vehicle, you are going to have a very hard time selling it
at a later date.
In any event, my BMW M5 was sent to have over $40,000
worth of modifications to make is faster, stop better and to make it look
better. Unfortunately, that is not what happened and what follows explains the
reasons for these disputes which fall into several major areas including:
- Damages I have incurred as a
direct result of RMS’ breach
of the contract’s timetable
- The lack of quality and
integrity of the overall project design which has resulted in the permanent
devaluation of my vehicle.
- My old parts not being
returned with the vehicle.
- The finished product being
delivered with almost no horsepower increase – the biggest and most
important feature of the “Superfast M5” package (which is what I bought
from RMS.)
- The total lack of quality of
the parts installed and of the installation itself.
- The total lack of value of
the warranty promised by RMS.
The Original Contract Timeframe:
As you will see in the
signed agreement below, this project was to be completed within 6 weeks from
the date that RMS received my car. Please read through the document below:
As noted
in the agreement, the 6 weeks was an estimate, but the magazine shoot did not
effect the delivery date as the car went to the magazine twice during the time
it was with RMS and was still not completed after its return from either trip
to the magazine. As you can see in the e-mail from
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject: RE: Insurance problem solved
Sounds like a plan. I
received your M5 today:-)
Thank you for calling on Race Marque Systems
Sincerely
Director
Product Engineering
Race Marque Systems
Van Nuys Ca. 91401
tel: 818.778.6106
fax: 818-778-6109
The “finished”
product was delivered to me on
Because of this delay, I incurred financial damage in the
following ways:
- My
2001 BMW M5 depreciated an additional $3,666 over the additional 5.5
months that RMS had the car. This figure is based upon information
available through www.edmunds.com, a
well-known consumer web-based pricing guide. Of course, it actually
depreciated a lot more due to the blowing up of the original engine, but
for now, I am strictly talking about the time factor. I will cover the
other devaluation later.
- Because
I did not have my vehicle back, I was forced to purchase another vehicle
that was of similar comfort and value. I bought a 2002 BMW X5 4.6 and I
estimate (also based upon Edmunds) that the depreciation of this vehicle
is similar to the M5 and therefore I have lost another $3,666 in
depreciation over those 5.5 months, not to mention the costs I will incur
selling the vehicle, nor the additional depreciation that I will lose
during the time I have to spend now to get my M5 running in the proper
order.
- There
of course is my time which runs at approximately $145 per hour. Just in
additional emails alone (150+ sent by me after the date that I should have
received the car), I have at least 35 extra hours of my time in the
project. 35 x $145 = $5075.
On the low side, without counting all of my time or other
things such as vehicle insurance (for both cars) my satellite radio
subscription expiring, I am out approximately $12, 407 as a direct result of
the project not being completed within the promised timeframe.
Please keep in mind that the dollar figures quoted above
are based upon published results and upon expert opinion. I own a dealership
(Panaggio-Bloch Motors, LLC) and I can verify as an expert that the
depreciation figures from Edmunds are on target. As for my time of $145 per
hour – my tax return can validate that as an absolute minimum.
The lack of quality and integrity of the overall
project design and the resulting devaluation of my vehicle
Before deciding to bring my M5 to RMS, I researched their
web site where they describe the project in detail. My car was to be known as
an RMS Superfast M5. Below is a description of an RMS Superfast as taken from
RMS’ web site:
RMS Supercharged M5
Race
Marque Systems is a technology/tuner dedicated to creating high-speed, ultra
high-performance BMW automobiles. As you will see, the RMS Supercharged M5 has
been carefully thought out and executed with painstaking detail. Our standards
and approach to every supercharger system begins with the word
"Systems" in our name, because we take a total systems approach to
every high-performance BMW product we engineer. We don't simply bolt on a
supercharger or turbo, or bore and stroke the engine and hope for the best.
Instead, we reverse-engineer the product to understand its strengths and
weaknesses, and only then do we decide what can prudently be done with the
gathered information. When the product is complete, the result is a powerful,
well-balanced, highly tuned, reliable sporting machine in which all components
are equal to the application. You will see, from the information below, that
all systems have been carefully planned to work in harmony. From the RMS fuel
charger that was solely engineered to provide Formula Style fueling for our
supercharged BMWs, to proprietary RMS castings foundered to factory fit; from
the carbon composite tubing and billet aluminum sculpted to an art form, to
plumbing that is carefully routed to not infringe on the functions of existing
components. When it comes to late model BMW automobiles, we have the recipe for
speed, fit and finish.
The
M5s power plant delivers astounding levels of supercharged power. Inviting
world class performance with factory reliability Pressurized by the V2 SQ
centrifugal supercharger - a perfect match for the S62 powered M5.
RMS application
technologies assure proper fitment and tuning integration. The RMS design
air-to-liquid after-cooler neatly fits within the confines of the factory
plenum housing, constantly minimizing air temperatures. The air-flow components in side the plenum features 8 billet air-horns
with integral formula injectors.
The
twin dual injection system provides additional fuel and improves cooling at
high RPMs. On a typical race motor you will often
find the fuel injectors are place further away from the motor for maximized
horsepower. This works incredibly well at high RPMs.
On passenger cars the injectors are place close to the motor. This provides
good emissions, low RPM torque and excellent drivability. This factory injector
placement is mostly useful in lower to mid RPM operation where the emissions are most
difficult to control. We have found many benefits in integrating additional
fuel control, from better emissions to high power output. As the RPMs and boost build, the factory injectors are trimmed
back and the secondary injectors are fazed in with seamless control by the RMS FuelCharger(tm). With the development of the RMS Fuel
Charge controller, The M5s exemplifies factory-tuned drivability resulting in
the best-of-both worlds; smooth low RPM drivability and the exhilarating high
RPM power.
The
esp proprietary software
tuning system is our strong hold to superior hardware control. Additional
safeguards for fuel trim, ignition timing, and RPM limit and traction control
are engineered into the RMS esp
program. We do not take our tuning lightly.
RMS
Hardware is known to be the best in the industry. Nothing is spared when this
hardware was designed. Surface ground 22mm 6061 t6 Aluminum plate mounts the
supercharger. The main plate has an integrating RMS design self adjusting tensioner. This design safeguards proper belt tension and
damping on sudden deceleration. Hardware is 318ss stainless steel keeping the
bright-work bright.
The
air intake system is managed by the RMS carbon-fiber cold air intake system.
The tube has an integrated directional air return system that is computer
controlled to assure smooth on off throttle response.
The
system features a computer controlled air management valve. This RMS innovation
makes it possible to divert large amounts of air when not needed hence
providing incredibly gas mileage and smooth drivability. When the accelerator
is applied, high rpm power responds instantly.
If you
read through the information above, I’m sure you realize that nowhere in the
process description does it say that RMS will blow up your original M5 engine
in the process – yet that is exactly what happened. Of course, I only know this
because of the fact that a former RMS employee – Gary Karamikian – told me
about the engine being blown.
By this point in the process, I was working with William
Knobloch who was working for RMS as a consultant. Mr. Knobloch had been an RMS
customer and was now a consultant who was trying to help RMS get many of the
vehicles that had been stuck in RMS’ shop for many months back to their
rightful owners. And since by this point in the project my car was already
months overdue, any assistance that could be offered to speed up the process
was assistance I was all in favor of, so I happily began talking to Mr.
Knobloch about getting my car back to me completed.
I mentioned to Mr. Knobloch that I had heard the engine
had been blown and I told Mr. Knobloch that when the car was finally returned
to me that I would check the serial number on the engine and told Mr. Knobloch
that if in fact the engine had been replaced, the I would call the police and
report to them that my engine had been stolen by RMS. A week or so later, I was
contacted by Mr. Knobloch and he let me know that the engine had in fact been
replaced with an engine that had less mileage on it than mine did. Mr. Knobloch
did not know the exact reasoning for the replacement of the engine – only that
it had happened (Mr. Knobloch is located in
Several days later, RMS owner
Anyway, he never disclosed the fact that the pistons had
holes in them and this was verified by two former employees (Gary and the
former shop Forman, Robert and Steve the current fabricator – who all could
give statements if necessary.)
The point of all this is:
·
My
original engine blew up after being modified by RMS.
·
The
engine blew after Car and Driver tested
the car – proving that the engine can run for a while before blowing up.
·
The
engine in my car now could just as easily blow up in the near future because of
damage that may have been done to the engine during “tuning” that won’t show up
until later. This is especially likely since the same source who told me about
the engine being blown also let me know that the engine that is currently in my
car suffered detonation during tuning (detonation leads directly to failure if
serious enough.).
·
Even
though I am now sending my vehicle to be “re-tuned,” there may still be damage
to the engine that can cause a failure and the only way to ensure that is not
the case is to disassemble the engine and look at the parts within.
So how does this
devalue my car?
·
The
serial number for the chassis no longer matches with the original engine. This
is something that I will have to disclose at the time of sale and something
that will seriously devalue the car simply because the numbers do not match. I
would estimate a loss of $10K-$15K at the time of sale.
·
When
I disclose that the engine is not original, I will surely be asked why the
engine is replaced. Unlike
My old parts not being returned with the vehicle.
I asked
The finished product being delivered with almost no horsepower increase
Below is an email sent from RMS right before they shipped
the car back to me:
And on
the next page is the attachment – it is a dyno chart
showing my cars’ horsepower as 532 HP at the rear-wheels. This equates to
approximately 611 HP at the crankshaft:
When I
received my car back from RMS, I took it for a ride and was immediately
extremely disappointed. Not only didn’t it feel faster, it felt slower. RMS has
told me that I couldn’t floor the car in 1st or 2nd gear
because it would just spin the tires. In fact, they even sent me a video
showing the car burning a lot of rubber. Then I drive the car and nothing.
Needless
to say, I was livid and I called Mr. Knobloch right away. Mr. Knobloch found
out from
The next
day after calling Mr. Knobloch, he sent me some software and had me make a few
changes to the software that was loaded in my vehicle. These changes made a
noticeable difference, but still the car did not perform as it should have. So,
the next day I took the car to a local dyno shop (who
uses the same brand of dyno as RMS) and had the car
run on the dyno twice. The results are below and the
two main things to look at are:
·
Peak
horsepower (The independent tests showed 437 HP & 445 HP as the peaks of
the two dyno runs, which is almost 100 HP less than claimed or promised
and this was after I made the
software change that Mr. Knobloch had me do!)
·
Horsepower
at the lower engine speed – drastically different from the 1st dyno run to the 2nd dyno
run (Mr. Knobloch has offered a theory on this – the water injection that cools
the charge going into the engine that RMS made me add because they were afraid
of the new engine blowing up – its nozzles are too big for the pump so the
water injection is not consistent.)
If you look closely at the chart above and below, you’ll see that while the peak horsepower is very close from on run to the next, horsepower at lower engine speeds is drastically different – about 300 HP at 3000 RPMs
on the 1st run and
about 425 HP at 3000 RPMs on the 2nd dyno run. You don’t need to be an engineer to see that this
car runs erratically.
The lack of quality of the parts installed and of the installation itself
Besides
the lack of horsepower, other areas are lacking as well, including:
·
The
$3000 carbon fiber plenum/engine cover whose cracked and yellowed clear coating
make the piece look like junk.
·
The
high performance clutch that is so hard to press down that it is almost
impossible to keep it depressed at a light. There are many high performance
clutches that would be more appropriate for performance luxury sedan.
·
The
inner panel behind the twin kidney grills is completely missing.
·
The
A/C does not function -- it worked fine when you got the car.
·
They
did not install brake cooling ducts as promised and contracted for – not only that, they didn’t even return the panel under the car that
they were going to install the brake ducts into.
·
One
of the two horns no longer works – it might even be missing, it’s hard to tell
without taking things apart.
·
The
main fan belt is now rubbing against the alternator housing and has already
worn off the finish on the housing and the edge of the belt is beginning to
fray. Obviously, the alignment of the pulleys is wrong.
·
The
exhaust gas has gone over 1300 degrees according to the gauge RMS installed,
yet the warning light in the gauge never came on and
·
The
metal lower grill RMS made looks and fits like a cheap piece of junk – like something
you would see on a rusted-out old pickup truck.
·
Clips
are missing and broken, a rubber gasket is gone and other parts that are
supposed to be new look used.
Below are some pictures:
The picture is from the RMS website
You’ll
note on the original estimate below that there is a strut bar mentioned. I saw
it on the web picture (above) but never on my car. You know why, because it
doesn’t exist. The one on the RMS web site is not theirs; it was made by
another company called Dinan. I only found this out 7
months after the initial order when RMS could not get it installed in time to
ship with the car. When I finally pressed
In this picture you can see the
use of the wrong type of screw. RMS used a counter-sunk type screw here instead
of a flat-head screw as they should have – and this is one you can see – what
about those screws and bolts you can’t?
In
this picture you can see the cracking clear coat around the bolts holding down
the carbon fiber engine cover. You can also see that the clear coat is yellowed
– indicating that this is an old part. This part was an extra $3000!!
In
this picture you can see the ridiculous looking lower grille and an area next
to the fog light where there is a missing panel.
In
these pictures, you can see on the left the part that was left off in the
picture on the right.
This
picture shows the underside of the car where the bottom cover
is gone, leaving the bottom of the engine and all fan belts exposed
This
picture shows another angle and the exposed air filter and wires hanging down
And
finally, this picture shows where the main fan belt is now rubbing against the
alternator cover.
The total lack of value of the warranty promised by RMS
RMS has no ability to make good
on the 3-year/36000 mile warranty that they have contracted with me because
they have no money, period. After many conversations with Gary and Mr. Knobloch
over the last seven months, I now have a clear understanding of why my car was
not completed in a timely manner – it all has to do with the fact that the
company is so far in debt that when they get in a new client (or victim as the
case may be), they take the deposit money and use it to keep the doors open
rather than to work on the vehicle. I know now that there are at least 10
vehicles stuck at RMS (some of them for over a year!) because RMS has spent
their money and does not have the money to complete the projects.
A company that robs Peter to
pay Paul and one that can’t even deliver on the promises it is paid for surely
cannot be relied upon to be able to pay the money to live up to a warranty
claim. Plus, any company that can do such poor work as RMS has on my car in the
first place will not be allowed to work on my vehicle again – period.
Therefore, the warranty is valueless and since it is the engine that is covered
and since a remanufactured M5 engine from BMW cost $7950 for the parts alone,
it’s fair to say that the value of the warranty would have been around $10000.
The financial conclusion and what happens from here
As you can see on the invoice
below (which is actually incorrect because it doesn’t show my payments
correctly), I do have a receipt and I have made the following payments to RMS
via two different B of A Visa cards and these are the
amounts that I am disputing:
Visa Debit Card:
Visa Credit Card:
I also gave them $5,000 via
check, so the total I spent with RMS so far is: $40,500.
If you add up the damages that
I mentioned throughout this document, you will see that it already totals
approximately $45,407 – and that is before
fixing anything and before buying any new parts – here’s the breakdown:
$12,407 – time delay and
depreciation value
$5,000 – my old engine
$15,000 – that amount of value my car loses without the
original engine
$10,000 – the value of the warranty
$3,000 – the carbon fiber engine cover
From here my car will be shipped to Mr. Knobloch’s personal shop to be fixed. This is done with
RMS’ knowledge and agreement because, as I stated earlier,
Also, in case you are wondering why I would send my car
to Mr. Knobloch who has been a consultant to RMS, I do have an answer. As
stated earlier, Mr. Knobloch started out as a customer of RMS. He had his car
(a BMW Z8) converted to a Superfast Z8 by RMS. When his car was done, he took
it back to his shop in
I will send you a document from Mr. Knobloch that
supports this.
Thanks in advance for your help and if you have any
questions at all, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Sincerely,
Bryan Bloch