Nine-Eleven Enterprises, Inc. was started in 1975 as a mail order parts company offering only one product for sale – IX-XI Oil Return Tubes. Based on our own experience, we knew how common engine oil leaks were in this area and prior to our innovative product, the repair of these leaks required major engine dis-assembly and a major expense. A common question we were asked was “What else do you guys sell?” You see, in the mid 70’s parts for German cars were not nearly as available as they are today. Unless you lived in a major metropolitan area, there was no dealer and the local parts stores had only recently discovered the Asian car market. The German car market was too small to generate much interest. So in 1977, we answered the question with our first catalog. We initially sold parts and accessories for BMW and Porsche. Shortly thereafter we added Mercedes and, for a short time, water-cooled VWs. The common question was changed from “What else do you guys sell? to “Where can I get this stuff installed?” Our repair shop business was born!
Our first Oil Return Tube Ad
About this same time, we introduced our second unique product, the IX-XI Tensioner Guard. It seems that 911s were prone to have timing chain tensioner failure and its resultant catastrophic engine damage. For $29.95, our Tensioner Guard prevented this damage and gave thousands of 911 owners peace of mind, knowing that their motors would not self-destruct due to tensioner failure.
Although we no longer make Oil Return Tubes and Tensioner Guards, there are still 1000’s in use worldwide. Porsche finally admitted that there was a problem in these areas and, in the mid-80’s, design changes were made to the 911 motor to eliminate these problems. We knew that our Oil Return Tubes were better than the factory tubes and, apparently, a lot of owners and shops agreed with us!
In 2014 we changed our name to Nine Eleven Automotive and we expanded our services to include the MINI brand.