sportzfan76

UMICHRIS - Republic Wraps - TOTAL PROPS ! ! !
A few months back I contacted forum member UMICHCHRIS about his Blacked Out Tail Light Mod. He advised me of the cost and time envolved to provide this service and I was onboard. I was interested in this mod because it is much more than just a "tinting process" but a custom method for "smoking" the lights and the finished result really makes the light bars POP.

I removed my tail lights from the vehicle, packed them in their original BMW cartons and shipped them cross country via UPS from here on the east coast to Republic Wraps in CA. I also purchased the optional insurance from UPS for the shipping both ways.

Chris had emailed me photos of my lights with the mod completed and prior to shipping them back to me, and I was excited for the finished product to arrive and be reinstalled on my vehicle. Now the fun begins.

When Chris had shipped my lights back to me, they were actually packaged better than when I originally sent them out. Upon opening the package(s), I discovered that the left tail light had sustained damage during shipping - one of the light bars was loose and another had become completely detached on both ends and was just floating around. I tried in vain to repair it myself, but it just wasn't happening. This light was going to have to be reopened if any attempt to repair it would be successful.

I contacted UPS - because hey, they damaged it during shipping and I had bought the insurance. What a joke. UPS claims Dept was not helpful at all and blamed me/Chris for improper packaging prior to shipping. Just to clarify I was very professional on the phone with UPS, never getting irate or crazy, but they had their own agenda. UPS came and picked up the box and tail light for their inspection process - but determined that the shipping box was substandard - yes it was substandard because they had punted it and dropped it what looked like a few dozen times - I guess FRAGILE does not mean anything to these monkeys. So despite buying the shipping insurance UPS was not going to rectify their mistake, and they just wanted me to go away.

I had kept in contact with Chris and kept him updated on my progress or lack there of. Bear in mind that Chris doesn't know me, he had his payment and had completed his mod as requested - not his fault about the shipping - so I thought.

Here's the good part. Chris offered to reopen and attempt to repair the tail light. It took a little time, but he was successful. He not only spent his time repairing the light - he reshipped it (using Fed Ex this time) back accross the country to me ON HIS DIME. He did not charge me for the repair nor for shipping from coast to coast !!!

Okay, this post a got a little more wordy than I orignally intended...but in summary -
Umichchris at Republic Wraps is a totally stand up guy ! His workmanship is topshelf and he went out of his way to accomodate a customer in a way that was above and beyond anything he was obliged to. Personally, I can not say enough nice things about Chris and how he communicated with me over the last few months in an effort to make sure I was happy and satisfied. Chris is CA and I am 3000 miles away and he treated me like I was his best friend. i now have some really bad ass looking tail lights on my 5 series. Alls well that ends well. TOTAL PROPS TO UMICHCHRIS @ Republic Wraps.

umichchris

Thank you for the kind words, i really appreciate it! Now go and enjoy those new taillights!

deansimpson

Great story and a +1 for Chris as well.
He has always taken very good care of me!

vkhong

umichchris is an outstanding buyer. I sold a pair of LCI E60 rear light housings to him.