chrisridebike8

Oh boy...this about to become a pissing match

w204nyc

Oh youre absolutely right. Thats why I waited until Jeremy from OE Tuning came to NYC to tune cars. I was not going to ship my ECU to anyone.

the_indian_kid

I bought headers through MHP 2 years ago; I wasn't sure if I would want to trust them or not, but I went with the order, and they told me it'd be from ARH anyways. Got them in within few weeks and I am a happy brownie.

Give it few days.

CarHopper

After all of this time, and this comment in particular, the gears starting turning for me.

It seems as though those who buy tunes are the ones who run into all kinds of problems. While there have been some people who have had successful tuning dealings with MHP, it appears that this is where the wheels come off. Either a shipping issue, damaged ecu, stolen ecu? Etc.

But then once you move over to people who buy headers... ARH can actually come through with orders. I have seen far far fewer complaints when it comes to MHP and headers than MHP and tunes.

Again, I know some of you have had great dealings with them and that is great. But I learned to stay away from MHP way back in 2012 when I first entered the AMG game. I contacted a tuner / shop who built my STi and whom I had become good friends with and told them I sold the STi for a c63. Literally the first words out of his mouth was "Stay away from MHP."

Not even sweet! Congrats! Bring it over! Nope -- Straight to stay away. After some small searches, figuring out the difference between MBH and MHP, I realized that the tuner wasn't blowing smoke.

chrisridebike8

Agreed. Anyone that sends an ECU is gonna get bent over. I bought MPH headers a couple months ago (review coming soon). I figured paypal and my credit card would keep me relatively safe. They sent me a paypal invoice. I paid. No product after about 2 weeks. They e-mailed me to say that they were having trouble transferring from their paypal to their bank account. They refunded me and asked me for a wire transfer or said I could wait 2 weeks for their credit card system to be up and running. My response was basically "nah. I'm not stupid. I'll wait." The next day they gave me the number to ARH directly and the rest of the transaction went quickly and smoothly. MHP might have been being honest, but with all the horror stories it just felt fishy to me.

CarHopper

I think people that mail ECU's are crazy, but if they are comfortable doing it so be it. My ECU will remain nice and cozy in the car and I'll either handheld tune my cars or bring them for dyno tunes.

So you ended up buying your headers direct from ARH? This day in age -- two weeks to get a CC system working again and not being able to transfer funds from paypal is laughable. Good for you for waiting and not being impatient ending up out thousands of dollars, or even $10k+ like some other folks .

I am Jeff

Based on my dealings with ARH and MHP, they have an agreement in place. You have to complete the transaction (payment) with MHP, they have an exclusivity agreement. The headers are manufactured and shipped out from ARH. I have personally met with the owner of ARH and visited the shop, this is they are definitely not building the headers out of their garage. The MB scene is just a little side work for them, the bulk of their business is from OE business.

chrisridebike8

Yeah. I was super excited to get headers. But the car was running and a couple weeks of less power was definitely worth not losing thousands. Once I said I would wait, MHP emailed or called ARH and said to expect my call. They gave ARH my quoted price and whatnot. I paid ARH and let the 2 companies sort out who got what money.

Rock

I'm not sure if people are aware but ARH is now an official sponsor on MBworld. PM Nick if you have questions about their products: https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...g-headers.html

I am Jeff

That's awesome! I've been trying to get him to come onto this board for a while.

chrisridebike8

Sick! I dealt with Alex. If anyone wants to order from ARH, I would tell you that you shouldn't worry. Do it. My installer said the headers slipped right up there and fit nicely.

CarHopper

Thanks Rock. It seems as though if you guys want ARH headers you can (and should) now just go through them directly. Or at least do anything and everything you can to avoid MHP.

As for tuning, just stick with known tuners who offer handheld tunes. Otherwise you may end up without an ECU like the OP.

w204nyc

You still have to go through MHP.

CarHopper

So strange. But I guess it is what it is.

Savage-wp

Why do ARH still sell through MHP if MHP have such a poor reputation. After reading this, I would never do business with MHP, which means I would never buy ARH headers.
Why don't ARH just sell direct to the consumer.

1REDC63

Agreed
I want a set of ARH but not willing to deal with MHP

w204nyc

I never asked but I would imagine MHP has the right to sell that design header. Not really sure

Roswell

+63

Phil Chow

Pretty sure ARH can't sell because of some sort of agreement they have with MHP.

I think it was stated somewhere on the forums before too.

Lol @ the "self-made millionaire" coming onto forums trying to tell people who's smarter and who's not. If you're so rich...you wouldn't be complaining about this.

Rock

I pm'd Nick from ARH and asked him to chime in. Maybe he can clear things up and clarify if MHP can be bypassed when purchasing their products.

w204nyc

I just purchased a set of mhp headers for my brothers car last week. Had to go through someone named Aaron at MHP but the headers are at ARH and will be getting installed on the 31st

CarHopper

Eh, I'd still like to see the OP come back here and let us know what ended up happening and whether or not he eventually got his ECU back, tuned, and in the car on the road problem free.

mr747

the forums are hectic at the moment

604 C63

Summer crazy. Noticed it before. Unfortunately, my job is the same. Only people calling are nuts.

chrisridebike8

I knew this thread was going to get more interesting! Haha.