anyone purchased their angel eyes through jlevi?

[blackbeauty]

i purchased mine a couple of years ago through jlevi and have had problems from day one. i keep complaining about the rings being bad and even sent pictures per their request. recently i just asked for a new set of ballasts since it's easier to get that and i was told since the e53 is no longer in production they are not making angel eyes for our x's anymore. while talking to michelle she quickly pointed out that there are other bmw's no longer in production yet owners still get their hands on ballasts, etc.
in other words: total bs.

what are you guys doing as far as getting replacement parts for your ballasts/angel eyes? should i just get a whole new angel eye kit? does anyone else need to replace their ballast every few months? i really didn't want to spend the money since mine was supposedly on 'lifetime guarantee'.


any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[Weasel]

I have a bad ballast as well, though not from jlevi. I just want to find a good set of repalcement ballasts that will not interfere with PDC and last a while... CALLING ALL VENDORS!!!

[X5Dawg]

I purchased mine from jlevi and had issues with the rings themselves becoming discolored - there are some plastic sleeves that hold the light ring to the backing ring - they turned yellow, but they said it had to be an issue with the way I installed them which was a load of crap - I even took pictures of it, but they said they really couldn't tell from the pics which were clear as day - another load of crap. I even offered to send them the old rings for them to diagnose and they weren't even interested which told me (1) they weren't going to cover them and (2) they didn't give a damn. I ended up having to pay for replacement rings from them which when I got them I noticed they were designed differently, so obviously they knew this was an issue but didn't want to admit it.

I have since warned people about ordering from them...

[blackbeauty]

x5dawg: where did you get your new rings from? i've been going back & forth with jlevi since 2006. it's pathetic actually. i've always wondered since i'm a woman am i being treated unfairly, but reading your post i realize they don't run their business on 'customer satisfaction.' i know other folks complained to jlevi & received replacement parts with no questions asked though.
thanks for your response.

[JayX5]

Jlevi angel eyes are the same exact ones they sell on ebay for $60. Just different packaging. If Jlevi is gonna make up some bs excuse, maybe contact one of the ebay sellers. Also, most ballasts are the same, so you shouldn't have a problem finding a compatible set for your angel eyes.

[JT///MC]

you guys should check out ddmtuning. They are waaay better and actually distribute to most of these vendors. Waaay cheaper!

[X5Dawg]

Originally Posted by blackbeauty

x5dawg: where did you get your new rings from? i've been going back & forth with jlevi since 2006. it's pathetic actually. i've always wondered since i'm a woman am i being treated unfairly, but reading your post i realize they don't run their business on 'customer satisfaction.' i know other folks complained to jlevi & received replacement parts with no questions asked though.
thanks for your response.

I got the replacement rings from jlevi too - since I only needed to replace the smaller lo-beam rings, I went ahead and ordered from them bc they would sell me the rings only - I didn't buy a whole new set. The point was they should have replaced them without any additional charge to me due to it being a manufacturing defect and that I had not had them installed for very long.

[NyMench]

PM me with you email and i will send your the photos of what i have.......

[Kamel Jockey]

Originally Posted by X5Dawg

I purchased mine from jlevi and had issues with the rings themselves becoming discolored - there are some plastic sleeves that hold the light ring to the backing ring - they turned yellow, but they said it had to be an issue with the way I installed them which was a load of crap - I even took pictures of it, but they said they really couldn't tell from the pics which were clear as day - another load of crap. I even offered to send them the old rings for them to diagnose and they weren't even interested which told me (1) they weren't going to cover them and (2) they didn't give a damn. I ended up having to pay for replacement rings from them which when I got them I noticed they were designed differently, so obviously they knew this was an issue but didn't want to admit it.

I have since warned people about ordering from them...

I got mine from them and had the same exact problem and got the same exact answer, that I installed them using non-high-temp glue and thats what discolored them. Total bs considering the fact that 1. it was the highest-temp resistant glue I could find and 2. the discoloration was not even in the areas where the glue was. Basically it was a design flaw on their part that they were not willing to admit. I realize that they do not actually produce the product themselves (they get it from either umnitza or one of the other manufacturers that actually sell the same crap to the ebay vendors along with everyone else) but they should still stand by something that they are selling (and making a huge profit on markup btw). I also had to replace both ballasts as they would not light up in cold weather and the new "high-powered" ballasts they sent me have they same damn problem. I wish someone made LED angel eyes for our cars which would eliminate the need for the ballasts but thusfar I have only seen them for 3 and 5-series. Well needless to say I'm staying away from Jlevi going forward, might as well buy the stuff of ebay for 1/4 the price as its all the same crap anyways and customer service is non-existant with either.

[Ldiggs910]

Originally Posted by JayX5

Jlevi angel eyes are the same exact ones they sell on ebay for $60. Just different packaging. If Jlevi is gonna make up some bs excuse, maybe contact one of the ebay sellers. Also, most ballasts are the same, so you shouldn't have a problem finding a compatible set for your angel eyes.

Jlevi sucks! I bought the Umnitza Angel eye kit. Upon installation I cracked one of the rings by flexing it too much (AAARRRGGHHH!!! pain in the ass to bake those headlights twice!!). Anyway, I called them to say I needed a replacement ring immediately. I needed the bigger of the two rings. They charged me $48 shipped for a new large ring.

They took a few weeks to send it and in my frustration I started browsing on ebay. I forget the seller, but I found an ebay ad that had pictures of an angel eye kit with the various parts shown sitting atop the packaging.

The pictures of this ebay kit were identical to my $200 Umnitza kit. And this kit was only $60 shipped!!! Well to Jlevis credit, the ebay kit didnt include the wiring harness that allows the angel eyes to illuminate upon a door opening and when the car is started but all headlights/parking lights are off. But you could still hook this kit to the parking or fog lights and turn them on that way.

I ordered the $60 ebay kit just in case which ironically arrived the same day as the $48 Jlevi replacement ring. Here's the irony:

The Umnitza replacement ring was simply a neon tube, naked and unsheathed in the plastic. I was supposed to open the old plastic ring, take out the broken neon tube and replace it with the new. Additionally, the connector on the end was not the same so I would have had to splice a connector onto the end to plug into the ballasts.

The $60 ebay kit was 100% identical to the $200 "Umnitza" kit I received. The only difference was, as I said, there was no wiring harness included, the label on the identical ballast looked a little different and the box was a little smaller. But other than that everything including the very packaging was the same.

I wound up flexing another ring and breaking it upon installation so I had two ebay rings in one headlamp assembly and two "Umnitza" in the other.
The install came out great, there is absolutely no discernible difference in quality between the two and basically Umnitza GOT US ALL THAT BOUGHT THEIR KIT!!!

Then I had to fight with them to get my $48 back for the ring that I didnt use because I was saying it wasnt the same as the one that came in the package. Eventually they conceded but it was such a friggin hassle! Dont buy anything from them!!!

UMNITZA!!!