fred_ 166 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) I'm not one to publicly rave about customer service but I must make an exception. Having recently acquired an E46 M3, I made a trip up to Silverdale this afternoon to visit Ray at Hell BM. I have never experienced such welcoming, warm and honest people in the motor industry. Upon arrival I was given a tour of current projects and was free to jump in any of Ray's prized possessions. Ray then took me up to the main factory where I saw his rather famous '8M3'. Being an E46 owner he generously took for a drive around the block. On our way back to the workshop he pulled over and told me to hop into the drivers seat - I was stunned and had a pretty big grin on my face as you can imagine. That thing is an animal!!!!!! You forget you are driving an E46 within 30 seconds. I had a great chat with Josh (hybrid) about various projects and admired his gorgeous E30 sitting among many other special BMW's. To anyone who is out of warranty/servicing and want an honest and highly knowledgable bunch of individuals looking after their German motor, look nowhere else but Hell BM. I already have my E46 booked in for next week! As Ray put it, it's a family of cars and not just a money making exercise. I'm very happy to add mine to the Hell BM collection! Applause over Edited March 2, 2014 by leebske 6 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MISS BM 712 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) I'm not one to publicly rave about customer service but I must make an exception. Having recently acquired an E46 M3, I made a trip up to Silverdale this afternoon to visit Ray at Hell BM. I have never experienced such welcoming, warm and honest people in the motor industry. Upon arrival I was given a tour of current projects and was free to jump in any of Ray's prized possessions. Ray then took me up to the main factory where I saw his rather famous '8M3'. Being an E46 owner he generously took for a drive around the block. On our way back to the workshop he pulled over and told me to hop into the drivers seat - I was stunned and had a pretty big grin on my face as you can imagine. That thing is an animal!!!!!! You forget you are driving an E46 within 30 seconds. I had a great chat with Josh (hybrid) about various projects and admired his gorgeous E30 sitting among many other special BMW's. To anyone who is out of warranty/servicing and want an honest and highly knowledgable bunch of individuals looking after their German motor, look nowhere else but Hell BM. I already have my E46 booked in for next week! As Ray put it, it's a family of cars and not just a money making exercise. I'm very happy to add mine to the Hell BM collection! Applause over Ray is awesome. Wouldn't bother taking my bmw anywhere else without consulting him first. Always does a top job and with great customer service. Congrats on the new car too - very jealous.. it's still on my 'to buy' list Edit: Hellbm is more like bmw 'Heaven'... Edited March 2, 2014 by Amber-Leigh 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 +1 He & his team offer an invaluable service. I'm still wrapped about half the parts I've scored from his yard, though I forget most of them there's been that many! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M5V8 337 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 nice 1 ray. i look forward to bringing my M5 around to Hell BM HQ when I move to auckland. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeffbebe 1559 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Hear hear. Top blokes and highly knowledgeable. Edited March 2, 2014 by jeffbebe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3_Power 636 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Most say you shouldn't mix passion and hobby with business as you will soon get tired of the hobby and lose the passion - Ray is a true exception to this rule. Very rare to find true enthusiasts in the business who are out to look after other enthusiasts. I only wished he wasn't based so far away from where I am!!! Edited March 2, 2014 by M3_Power 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeffbebe 1559 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 Couldn't have said it better myself... Ray, can you open a place in the city?! haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3_Power 636 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 Couldn't have said it better myself... Ray, can you open a place in the city?! haha And one out East Auckland thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted March 3, 2014 But driving up that way makes it an event as such Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
far4ngn 14 Report post Posted March 3, 2014 Open a place in Welly first.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted March 3, 2014 Open a place in Welly first.... Or at least south of the harbour! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tidy30 38 Report post Posted March 3, 2014 But driving up that way makes it an event as such Lol not if your car is broken! Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sonny5cy 2 Report post Posted March 3, 2014 Lol not if your car is broken! Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk My e30 325i had a suspected cracked head (couldn't be driven) so Ray organised a tow truck to transport my car to his place for repairs. It went in last Monday and got a call on Friday to say the car is ready for me to pick up. A complete overhaul of the cooling system, a manual conversion and a whole lot of other work done in less than 4 days! I even received a follow up call on Sunday from Ray to make sure everything in my car is running ok. Absolutely top service and like leebske said, following my experience with Ray I would recommend Hell BM to anyone 10 times over. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
central3 31 Report post Posted March 3, 2014 Most say you shouldn't mix passion and hobby with business as you will soon get tired of the hobby and lose the passion - Ray is a true exception to this rule. Very rare to find true enthusiasts in the business who are out to look after other enthusiasts. I only wished he wasn't based so far away from where I am!!! Ray is a long way from where I live (400K) not from where you live Tom (a stones throw), +1 for Ray though, he could have sold me a steering rack not so long ago but cautioned me to look elsewhere (my problem ended up being the strut top hat so another rack would have been a painfull mistake) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rusteee 52 Report post Posted March 3, 2014 Not that I had been in ages, but HELLBM always seemed to go the extra mile to sort things out and make BMW's perfect. Cheap (but good) parts with excellent service Helped out with after hours service etc and done a wicked job on the VANOS of my old E39 amongst other parts, depsite those jobs being a grey area back then =) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DarinD 8 Report post Posted March 3, 2014 Glad you decided to head up Alex! Looking forward to see progress on the M. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fred_ 166 Report post Posted March 3, 2014 Glad you decided to head up Alex! Looking forward to see progress on the M. Cheers mate. Yes I have no intention to part ways with this E46 so will be a very nice build process Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smiddy 76 Report post Posted March 15, 2014 Hi guys, Just purchased 2004 325 touring. Private purchase with a few minor noises, rattles etc. Small weep/dripping onto manifold rocker cover oil leak. Had the car a week and also owning E46 328 with vanos seals replaced the differance to drive these two cars is amazing! Its one of those issues that are just there. Low torque, fuel burn, bogging etc. Called Ray at HellBM. Booked in for next day with a small list of checks and vanos seals. Ready that day and a different drive now!! Thanks Ray for great job and report. To the many twin vanos owners out there, this is a must and Ray has Besian seals in stock at a very fair price. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
