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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ NPC: getting warranty service from Bilstein

Posted by: anthony Aug 15 2004, 09:04 AM

Hasn't anyone ever sent in Bilsteins for warranty? How easy was Bilstein to deal with?

For starters they sure do make it difficult to take advantage of their "lifetime warranty" - original purchaser, original receipt, original car, etc. On their web site they also seem to indicate that they will only be replacing units that are obviously dead or leaking. I guess you're supposed to leave your car on blocks while they evaluate what you have?

This is on my 94 Jetta. I upgraded the suspension when the car was new so the Bilsteins now have 125K miles and 9 years on them. Lately the car has felt bouncy and unsettled in bumpy sweepers.

I did the bounce test and the right front is definitely bouncy and needs to be replaced. The rest passed the bounce test but I fear that all the shocks are worn. Will Bilstein do me right or will I just end up buying new ones?

Posted by: Brad Roberts Aug 15 2004, 11:41 AM

Do you meet all their requirements ?? Any warranty work is like pulling teeth. They lose money. They "gave" you the lifetime warranty on the gamble that you wouldnt meet one of the requirements later on.

B

Posted by: anthony Aug 15 2004, 12:08 PM

I'm not sure if I can find the receipt but I was thinking that it wouldn't be too hard to fab one up. I also bought them from RD Enterprises who became shox.com so maybe I'm still in their computer and they could print me another one.

Posted by: Jeff Bowlsby Aug 15 2004, 12:13 PM

I had a pair of shocks rebuilt by them recently...very professional...very quick turnaround. But I paid them to do it...

Posted by: anthony Aug 15 2004, 12:18 PM

Just got off the phone with shox.com. I was still in their computer from 1995! I've got a new set of Sports coming next week. (No problem upgrading from the HDs to the Sports).

He said that at 125K miles Bilstein should warranty these without question. I will send the shocks to them, they will take care of dealing with Bilstein, Bilstein will give Shox.com a credit, which they will give back to me. He said it will take 4-5 weeks. I hope it works out!

I love when stuff works out like it's supposed to.