First and foremost, Bilstein imho isnt a reputable company and I will NEVER do business with them ever again. As some may know from a previous thread I started, I bought a new damptronics kit from a vendor/member on 6 speed because he lead me to believe he would help me in anyway if there were probs. He even said that if there were any probs(and this is a direct quote), "if there are any problems with the dampers I will have another set out to you within a few days as Bilstein's customer service is excellent".

Well, I received the kit a few wks ago. The box was new. I opened it up and looked at 1 damper but then took it directly to the installer. Next day after having 3 of the dampers installed, the installer let me know one of the rears had a PASM wire that was cut. I will post a link to the other thread I started regarding this issue if you want to see pics.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...nic-issue.html


So I PM the guy who I bought it from originally. He said he was an authorized dealer. He said he would take care of it. After a few days it became apparent he was dealing with someone else. This person turned out to be an actual authorized dealer(I believe this company is called SFF autoarts, Ive never heard of them), so the guy who I originally bought from Im assuming is a re-seller(and no I wont mention his name because I dont think this issue really is his fault).

Well a few days later it became clear I wasnt getting a replacement damper within a few days so I ask the original seller to give me the authorized dealers name/number which I did received. This guy tells me he is pulling favors from Bilstein by getting them to cover my damaged damper under warranty. I think to myself, why does anyone need a favor to get a damaged part covered by warranty. But approx. 3-4 days after telling the original seller about the damper, I finally get word from the SFF that Bilstein ok'd the claim. But something struck me as being abit odd, no where in this conversation did anyone ask me for the damaged damper. Then I asked him for a tracking number as my car had been at the installers for almost a week by then. He couldnt give me one and told me Bilstein works at their own pace. He stated because Bilstein had to inventory or re-label a set given that they would have to break up a set it would take time. Come on, youre trying to tell me it takes a week to do the paperwork to break apart a set of damp's??? Do you want to deal with a company that evidently cant send out a new damper covered by warranty within a week due to paperwork?. Given that I am suspicious person, I already told everyone involved that I felt that Bilstein would ultimately blame me for the damage even after I already heard they would cover it under warranty.

Ok, well today(my car has been in shop for 1.5 wks now) I called the SFF contact and ask where we are in the process and he gives me the "youre not going to like this" routine...he says Bilstein will not cover the damaged damper under warranty now(they claim they know it wasnt sent out of from factory damaged)...oh really, so it couldnt have gotten damaged from shipping???...then this guys says they can sell me a new one for 1/4 of the price and you guys are going to love this one, he then tells me he had to pull favors to get Bilstein to break apart a set to sell to me...unreal.. I gave him a piece of my mind at this point...I asked him "why would I wait for the paperwork to be filled out and have Bilstein send me a new damper after 1-2 wks if I had any intention of paying for this myself"???...if I felt it wouldnt be covered under warranty, wouldnt I have bought from another source a wk ago??.

BTW, I did call Bilstein west coast a few times early on in this process but they didnt know about me or my situation...I stopped calling Bilstein when this authorized seller(SFF) told me it was covered last week.

OK, at this point Im done with Bilstein. I wont talk to them or the authorized dealer(SFF) anymore. This will be handled by my credit card company from now on and if they cant resolve it then lawyers WILL be getting involved(and yes I fully realize the lawyers will cost alot more than the price of 1 damper but at this point its about the principal).

I ordered a single damper from a connection my installer had because if I wait any longer trying to get resolution via my vendor or Bilstein my car will prob be at installers for another 2-3 wks and this isnt acceptable to me.

Through this whole process, both my installer Matrix Integrated in Portland and the guy who I originally bought the kit from have shown good communication and have been pleasant...they are victims too...I'm not going to say who the original vendor is as he is known on 6 speed and I feel the blame is on Bilstein and the authorized dealer(SFF) whom my original vendor bought from.

And yes I fully realize that many vendors and other happy customers will come on this thread to prob say "Bilstein is great and I have had a great experience with them"...well, Im not saying that you didnt, as I'm only speaking for myself. I have nothing to gain by starting this thread. I do it as a warning that this "may" happen to you too if you buy a kit that is damaged. Perhaps bad luck perhaps not. In the end(for my line of work also), what defines a persons/companies true character is not how they behave during good times or situations running smoothly, but rather how they behave when things go wrong....for me, this question has been answered quite clearly.

This thread isnt about a damper gone bad by either faulty metal or a bad install, this thread is about a part damaged out of the box and Bilstein saying they would cover it as they should and then going back on their word...all I know is this, either the guy at SFF made the entire story up which I cant believe he did, or Bilstein changed their mind regarding them covering this damper under warranty for illegitimate reasons.

 

sound like a bad situation, hope everything works out well for you, it seems as of late there have been a lot of issues with Damptronics

 

hope it all works out. I had damptronics in my 997s with no problems, however when I sold the original shocks to someone - one of the wires broke during shipping...

 

<P>mact</P>
<P>I'm right beside you on this one.&nbsp; I'm not going to rehash all my details here, but Bilstein refused to warranty a defect shock for reasons I suppose I can understand (second owner, originally&nbsp;purchased in Canada).&nbsp; Soooo, I decided to suck it up, spend more money and get a new replacement to get my car back to full functionality and put this behind me.&nbsp; </P>
<P>Similar to you, I was told they had to break up a new set and then send the shock to me thereafter. THIS WAS THREE WEEKS AGO!!! Are you kidding me!?!?&nbsp; So, my car has been sitting at&nbsp;the shop&nbsp;since then waiting for&nbsp;the new part.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>If I wasn't going to be in the hole even more $$$, I'd go with KW&nbsp;Variant 3's&nbsp;right now, dump the Bilsteins, and lose PASM functionality just to get this ordeal over with and never deal with Bilstein NA ever again.&nbsp; Good job Bilstein. You just lost 2 potentially loyal customers.</P>

 

Ok, I can't bite my tongue any longer.

So you are upset at Bilstein North America because they would not warranty a shock for you that you bought second hand that was originally purchased in Canada? I have to admit that I agree with them.

Can everyone take a moment to read Bilstein's warranty page on their U.S. web site?

http://www.bilsteinus.com/warranty.php

Many years ago we spent a considerable amount of money to become a Bilstein Warehouse Distributor. We are not buying from anyone but them directly.

Doing so has it perks. For example, with dkbrent's issue, I was not speaking with a middle man, I was in touch with the East Coast Regional V.P. I was also speaking directly with their Engineering department.

Also, I too have had a few PASM coilovers show up with broken wires. To date I have NEVER had them deny me a replacement free of charge. The caveat is they have to be purchased new to us and that they are for the original owner. Is that too much to ask?

So the bottom line is, choose the brand of coilovers wisely, but also do your homework on the company that you are buying them from. It can make a HUGE difference.

Are we the cheapest? No, but you are paying for more then just coilovers when buying from us. You are buying after sale support as well. So keep that in mind.

Ok, I am done my rant.

 

Mike, did you even bother reading my post? Clearly not. My issue is not with their warranty but with their response (or lack thereof) to a paying customer.

As a vendor of these products, I hardly think you're an unbiased judge of the facts.

I'm a PAYING customer. I'm not asking for anything for free or 'under warranty'. Apparantly, mact and I get the same horrible customer service either way.

 

totally understand the warranty issue, cant understand the time frame for replacing broken parts not covered or out of warranty. Essentially a simple thing to correct one would assume to keep good PR?

 

No, I read it.

"for reasons I suppose I can understand"

You suppose?

To me that should have read, "for reasons I can understand."

You got horrible customer service? Odd considering that same company has made dkbrent whole in a very big way.

I won't speak for him, but it might be worth you time to shoot him a PM and find out what they are doing.

I'm done. Best of luck.

 

Yes, I did. Where was I not clear? I'm very glad dkbrent was FINALLY treated fairly by Bilstein.

Fact of the matter is mact and I have had a terrible experience. Is that so difficult for you believe/understand? Take a step back from your sponsor/Bilstein distributor status for a second and tell me how you would feel as a CUSTOMER with your car in the shop for three weeks waiting for a part (that will be PAID FOR, NOT UNDER 'WARRANTY') that should only take a few days to ship out.

 

obviously sff is screwing you over(directly or indirectly, semantics don't matter), as they should have stepped up by now as it's not bilsteins fault as you had stated yourself..they have no idea who you are

 

bro thanks for sharing these info with the forum im sure more of the members will take attention to every single point u mention im very sorry for what happened with u ..

 

dkbrent was a special case. Only after great public outcry on this forum by both dkbrent and sympathetic 6speeders did Bilstein get the message and do the right thing. I understand warranty rules are rules but using dkbrent as an example of exemplary customer service is not a fair comparison.

 

i must agree , Bilstein blows !!! i will never deal with them again..

 

While it may true that the person you bought them from is not at fault, it may help to know who it is. Some may want to know if there is someone else "in the mix" that is really the reseller.

 

Mike,

I was told from this seller he was an authorized dealer. We the customers shouldnt need to hire a PI to verify this. I paid 100.00 less than what you were going to sell to me for. If you knew me, you would know I couldnt care less about a lousy 100.00. I bought from this vendor after multiple PM's assuring me great customer service if anything went wrong with coils itself or the install, that is what I paid for.

And to use Dkbrent as an example is ludicrous as it took him 2 snapped shocks and 3-4 months to get "taken care of"...perhaps if I rip off one of my good PASM wires and wait another 3 months Ill get taken care of too(sarcasm intended).

I fully understand why you must defend Bilstein this is kinda obvious. And in that warranty document that you linked to Bonehead, did it say anywhere where a new part bought firsthand by someone in the US shouldnt be covered if it came with severed PASM wire?...I thought this thread was about my damper not boneheads.

Another friend of mine also ordered Damptronics from another source at same time, his came with a missing PASM wire...it was a pain for him to get this wire replaced...hey Bilstein, who is manning the fort over there in Germany????

Bottomline, characters are defined when things go wrong.