Buying Suspension Online - USA

[Manaz]

KW, H&R, Bilstein all have great reputations, and are all developed in Europe I believe.

Some people like Koni, some do not. I've heard bad stories about Koni coilover springs binding on themselves.

In general, good quality coilovers aren't cheap. That said, the HotTuning coilovers that are available locally seem to have a decent reputation, and are quite affordable when compared to good quality shocks/springs (and cheap compared to other quality coilover setups).

[oracle1]

I noticed the hot tuning in ebay, are they available locally they seemed to be the best of the cheaper models, any info on local supplier?

Of late I have noticed the better the quality of the website the poorer the quality of the product


thanks for the help guys

[gareth_oau]

withthe strong aussie dollar, and if youre buying a quality product, then overseas would have to be relatively low risk, and if something was to go wrong, you could put your huge savings towards the warranty related shipping costs, or just get them rebuilt locally.

you are saving so much that you could almost afford to buy 2 sets overseas!!

[Dub_Star_V6]

I think one thing to note here is that to my knowledge the local distributors of Koni and Bilstein and KW and all these brands are just distributors. They are not Koni or Bilstein or KW owned companies. This being the case why should they support a product that they have not imported? Its a bit harsh to crucify them for not offering warranty on something they didnt sell.

In which case, let's look at another example: I bought a Nikon DSLR in Rome and ended up having battery issues it. Contacted Nikon Australia who advised me where to send it to investigate and resolve the problem without any issues or discussions whatsoever, as it's covered under their international warranty, just like the suspension I assume? Four days later and it's been perfect ever since.

Nikon Australia don't even import the particular model in the spec I purchased into Australia, so therefore had no right to offer local warranty support for something they didn't sell me, nor offer for sale here. But they did. Which is why I keep buying them.

Bilstein and KONI (and their suppliers and distributors, for that matter) actually sell the items I was looking to buy from Orange Tuning, but told me (and Manaz, and others) they weren't interested in looking after me unless I bought the components locally. So this is hardly an isolated case.

They could learn a thing or two from Nikon in this case, because it seems to me they're not here to support either their brand or their customers. In addition to price, this lack of service and customer support are obviously among the reasons many people choose to source parts from OS.

It's just bad service, there's no other name for it.

[Tim]

In which case, let's look at another example: I bought a Nikon DSLR in Rome and ended up having battery issues it. Contacted Nikon Australia who advised me where to send it to investigate and resolve the problem without any issues or discussions whatsoever, as it's covered under their international warranty, just like the suspension I assume? Four days later and it's been perfect ever since.

Nikon Australia don't even import the particular model in the spec I purchased into Australia, so therefore had no right to offer local warranty support for something they didn't sell me, nor offer for sale here. But they did. Which is why I keep buying them.

Bilstein and KONI (and their suppliers and distributors, for that matter) actually sell the items I was looking to buy from Orange Tuning, but told me (and Manaz, and others) they weren't interested in looking after me unless I bought the components locally. So this is hardly an isolated case.

They could learn a thing or two from Nikon in this case, because it seems to me they're not here to support either their brand or their customers. In addition to price, this lack of service and customer support are obviously among the reasons many people choose to source parts from OS.

It's just bad service, there's no other name for it.

There is a BIG difference there.
Nikon Australia are actually a local arm of Nikon.
There is no Bilstein Australia or Koni Australia. Yes there is bilstein.com.au but I think you will find that thats owned by sydney shock absorbers who are just a company that happens to import Bilstein stuff.

Another scenario to consider. It may make my point a little more clear. I import product from the US. In some cases im the sole distributor of a few lines. If someone was to order direct from the US from say ECS tuning or MJM Autohaus or one of those big online stores and then try and claim warranty through me I dont think id be too helpful. Why should i bear the cost of processing that warranty when I have had nothing to do with the selling of that product?

So yeah in your case you have a global warranty. If you buy anything from a company that has a local corporate presence then so you should!

[Dub_Star_V6]

Hmmm I guess so Tim. I guess it's a bit like bicycle shops resenting having to repair or install parts people didn't buy from them? Although as you say, I think that has more to do with distribution and business models rather than anything else.

So does that mean neither Bilstein nor Koni Australia have any direct local representation? If so, doesn't that therefore mean warranty claims and repairs are at the discretion of the same importers / distributors etc.

If the local supplier therefore refuses to play nicely in the event of a claim, it's like not having a warranty at all. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200

[gavs]

I just purchased some shocks and struts from the US and am eagerly awaiting their arrival!

I went off shore because the shear price difference between buying locally and overseas is ridiculously stupid. I was originally looking at bilsteins but unless you are going with their ultimat high-end products, a lot of their product is coming out of china these days. I know the chinese can do stuff really well, but only if they have someone constantly on their back and you have increadibly strict quality control systems. (Speaking from past experience!)

I used a company called priceusa.com.au to order mine through as it worked out cheaper through them to send it to me and they also offer safeguards against the known issues with importing directly, i.e getting the wrong products!

[Gravey]

Thanks for the replies guys. With Coilovers there seems to be a huge difference in price. I have noticed that part numbers appear to be different for the Bora V5 and the Jetta for some of the items I'm looking at on the US sites, which is a bit confusing.

With the Bilstein B8's I'm only saving about $350 so I'm not sure if it's really worth it. However, some of the prices on the Bilstein & Koni Coilovers are amazing - they are only $500US more than the B8's with Eibach Springs. Not sure if I really want coilovers though so I may end up buying locally. I'm waiting for confirmation of prices from Car Torque, we'll see how we go, hopefully I'll have something sorted in the next fortnight.

Does anyone have a copy of the T&Cs of the Koni or Bilstein gear? All I can find is this on the Bilstein website:

"We generally give two years' warranty on all products."

[Bug_racer]

This topic seems to pop up from time to time and I'll keep saying the same things over and over .

Your main concern seems to be about warranty . Well , things are gonna break eventually and you need to look at what international warranty they give . Some places dont give any warranty at all on products sold outside of their respective homeland , so your gonna be stuck with a dud product regardless of if its been a week or a year since fitting .

Probably the most important thing would be liability insurance . You imported the product and your liable for its use . You also better check with your insurance company cause your policy may be void by fitting the car with products purchased outside of Australia . So when you do purchase products here think of it as buying insurance for them as well . And product liability starts from around $4k a year so even before a company pays rents , office supplies , electricity , marketing etc etc they need to fork out $4k a year minimum just to bring a product in !

In regards to there not being many products available for purchase for our cars , well , your doing it to yourselves . Too many of you are buying products on ebay and overseas which are of inferior quality and you dont support the local scene . I can only name 1 company that soley relies on product sales for VW/Audi , all the rest are either working from home or do it attached to another business (including myself) .

Lastly , if you guys dont support your local parts sellers they wont generate enough income to build race cars and support the local motorsport events . The aircooled guys dominate at almost everything they do , people seem to support the local re-sellers more so than going overseas for product purchases , and they have been playing with cars a lot longer than all of us , so its something to consider as to why they do .

[gareth_oau]

Bug Racer, you pose a bit of a chicken/egg argument there.

I agree that buying locally supports our industry, but at local prices, its seems they want just me to do all the supporting!!

Aussie cars used to be over-priced rubbish, all down to government protection, and it wasnt until John Button came along and effectively removed local protection that we now have "relatively" better priced and quality local gear.

Now that consumers are savvy to internet buying and importing, then perhaps some local suppliers need to sharpen their pencils and improve their service to convince consumers to stay local.