++1 u're absolutely right And thanks again for sharing i'll never deal with them my self !!

 

+1. I have to agree here. It took a VERY LONG time for dkbrent to get his problem resolved. I don't think you can use his experience as an example of good customer service. Just seems to be a lot of issues with Bilstein products lately. Probably a good time for them to take a hard look at their quality control and customer service processes.

 

Todd speaking here (not Mike).

Please try to distinguish between legitimate warranty claims and illegitimate ones. In dkbrent's case there was no failure due to Bilstein's fault, yet they took care of him as a PR move. There is really no time mandate on that.

In the case of the person who posted this thread, there seems to be serious questions regarding the status of who sold him the kit? If there were several "layers" between the retailer selling him the kit and Bilstein, it can easily take a while for the process to conclude, and it is highly dependent on the efficiency and responsiveness of the entities between the client and Bilstein. If one of them takes a while simply to forward the claim to Bilstein, that is not Bilstein's fault, is it?

The best bet for speedy resolution of legitimate warranty claims is for the client to deal with established sellers with established ties to the manufacturer. In the case of most manufacturers, they have vetted their direct resellers, which means you should expect a certain level of service when dealing with them directly. That is the most a manufacturer can be expected to do when it comes to brand image, isn't it?

 

I here ya Todd. However, if Bilstein was going to do it out of good will anyways, they probably could have done it quicker as a good customer service move. It really is a small price for them to pay to make a customer happy without having the customer go to the forums for a resolution. I totally understand that there is no time mandate for something like this but they could of gotten a lot more mileage out of doing what they eventually did in a quicker time frame. Just my opinion. I understand your position as a dealer for them and you need to defend their products. I have absolutely nothing against their products. I just think they could have used dkbrent's inicident as a really good PR case. That's all. There is a huge difference between having to complain and go to extraordinary lengths to get a situation resolved versus having a company just step up from the get go and say we will take care of it. Even if the company was not necessarily at fault, it does make a huge statement to their current and potential customer base. Just my humble opinion.

 

Well, as an authorized Warehouse Dealer for them, I do have a vested interest in not seeing their brand tarnished, but I can also sympathize with them as a manufacturer ourselves.

Ultimately, dkbrent's situation was not at all related to a Bilstein manufacturing or design defect. That being said, they had every right to invoke their written warranty and end the transaction right there. And if they had done that, the end user *really* does not have the right to bash them, no matter how emotionally unsettled the whole experience may have been to them. Written warranties are there to set expectations, and Bilstein followed it the letter of the law.

Yet, they went beyond what they had to do, and decided after some discussions to do a good will gesture for the client.

No matter how upset the client may have been, it is only fair for the client to place blame where blame was due, and not to throw everyone involved under the bus, don't you agree?

When a company does something wrong, they deserve to take the heat. But what did Bilstein really do "wrong" here?

 

i think that we are getting slightly off topic when we are going back and forth with drkbrent.

Personally, I think that SFF should resolve the issue, and if they can't or won't, then Bilstein should resolve it. Afterall, it is a new damper that was damaged prior to installation. And it would not take much time money or effort by Bilstein to repair or replace it. It would however, save a lot of embarrassment.

When I purchased my damptronics, I was missing a wire. Fortunately, the reseller was able to resolve this problem quickly. I am not sure if it was a problem with Bilstein not sending the wire or if it was a problem with the reseller. Regardless, there have been so many issues with this product and installation, I probably WOULD NOT purchase them again. GMG springs and sways OR a different set of coilovers would likely be my choice, simply because it does not appear that Bilstein will stand behind their product.

 

There was not "several " layers...there was only 1 authorized seller between me and the 6 speed vendor who sold me this kit...he clearly told me yesterday that Bilstein wasnt going to cover the damaged damper for me!...what more can a reasonable customer do at this point?..now the authorized seller SFF calls me this am asking for more time to deal with this situation and I flat out told him you have had 1.5 wks to deal with this situation and I am further away from resolution that I was last week when he told me it was going to be covered by Bilstein under warranty...either this guy made the whole story up or Bilstein either lied or changed their mind.

Either way, my car has been at installers for more than 1.5 wks and I ordered another damper yesterday(after being told damper wasnt covered anymore)to be shipped overnight as I dont have to time or energy to deal with this anymore.

In my line of business, the customer is always right even if I know they are wrong...it seems like AWE is the vendor that always comes on to defend Bilstein on these types of threads...well that tells me something too...please take this friendly advice, I dont think it does you any favors when you do this...Not only have i crossed off a certain suspension company from my buylist, I have now crossed off a certain vendor too.

 

I would not be so quick to write off AWE, someone has to play devils advocate and we need to be understanding for all angles you can look at this from. Either way its not good for Bilstein no matter who comes to their rescue the harder they make it to buy parts after the fact and the longer they take to resolve things.

 

Agreed. Hope you get quick resolution. At this point, I have a feeling my situation will never get resolved....

 

I guess that's kind of the point here.

Bilstein keeps taking all the blame for being "hard to deal with", when the fact is Bilstein does not sell direct to the public.

And as mact3333 already stated:

"there was only 1 authorized seller between me and the 6 speed vendor who sold me this kit"

That points to 4 entities in the transaction: Mact-> "mystery reseller" -> "SFF"-> Bilstein

To me, that is many layers, and no matter what manufacturer we are talking about, there is plenty of opportunity for miscommunication and delays that are out of Bilstein's control.

I am just stating that in a case like this, it is not fair to put all the blame on the manufacturer. It's their name on the product, but they can only take care of things they are aware of, and even then they can only be expected to honor their stated warranty.

 

it's a new damper, therefore, it should be replaced or repaired by Bilstein. Can it be more clear? Why does Bilstein drag their feet????

 

How do you really know that Bilstein IS dragging their feet? Like I said, there are a bunch of entities involved here and no one knows for a fact that Bilstein even knows about this.

For the record (and I am sure I will be seen as biased), Bilstein has always handled warranty claims with us FAST (and there have been few over the years, a testament to their quality). When I read here that they are "dragging their feet" and then I also read that there are multiple other resellers involved in this single transaction, it is reasonable to conclude that there is more to the story that the customer is not aware of.

I am not here to make enemies, I am here just to play Devil's Advocate. I hate to see unwarranted bad press for any company.

 

The only reason people buy PSS10 is cause it works with PASM. So many better options. Bilstein customer support sucks, SSF support sucks, prices always are "going up". We sell more Bilstein then many "stocking" dealers yet we still get the bone. I have had the same encounter as the OP about trying to get a customers shock warranty that failed. They said it was not damaged blah blah.

 

There are quite a few slick guys who buy this part from that guy and then sell it to the next one --- then it's YOU who gets nada !!!

This is why when I order mods I deal with one person who does the entire process from orderibg it to placing it on my car. It's his job to deal with the vendors and site sponsors -- and he does pick winners because I have been very happy with my car. If it means that he eats an expense to keep me on the road he will do it because that is IMO --PROFESSIONALISM . BUT --if the vendor disappoints him or his shop they can lose a big account rather than just one cistomer.

Sometimes modding can face a hiccup . I had a wire defective connction in my Bilsrtein and it took all of three days to get it fixed. It was a non issue and I was even placed in a loaner car.

The guy you ordered it from is the one who needs to gt you the part. There's no reason for you to do his homework for him --calling the third parties. .

 

because I know the OP and he is a very honest individual and not a liar. furthermore, he is a very patient and reasonable person to a fault. He will go out of his way to try to seek a "fair" resolution to an issue. he has told me the story and IMO, there is no reason for Bilstein to not send a new damper while they investigate this further. I'm pretty sure Mact just wants his car back instead of having it linger in the shop.