For the V8 shocks, Nagengast is 250 a shock, then you add shipping. That performanceshock place looks to be 350 a shock (starts at price though, might be more since they mention specialty Ferrari and Lamborghini are possibly more and I would imagine it would apply to Aston too), plus 75 diagnostic fee per shock, then 25 bucks to remove the springs per shock (and put them back on). Still, if you can get four rebuilt shocks for the price of one new shock 1500-2500, I'd say that is pretty reasonable.

 

There's a massive price difference between the V8 shocks and the Rapide shocks. Performance Shock does not rebuild the Rapide shocks.

I am thinking of replacing the OEM shocks with something from Ohlins. Once the OEM's are out, I will have them rebuilt and then sell them or keep for the next owner down the road wants 100% OEM.

 

You are right. At least just looking at Scuderia car parts, it seems the Rapide ones are roughly around 300-500 bucks more per shock, so quite substantial for all four.
Sorry to hijack the thread with V8 shocks, but still, I know shock rebuild for VH era Astons isn't something that I can find that's been solved. I'll still keep everyone posted on Nagengast with my V8 ones, if all goes well, at least it might provide someone with aid down the line since shocks will always leak again and it seems they could probably do the Rapide ones as well but would require someone reaching out to them to verify.

 

I reached out to Ohilns and they do not have a product for the Rapide and said only a custom solution could be proposed. They also said they have no experience on the Rapide in a curt response.

 

Ddi you get confirmation from Performance Shock that they don't rebuild the Rapide shocks? They're right next door to me in Sonoma and wanted to stop by and inquire...

 

I thought I did. It's becoming a blur. Please let me know what they say.

Looks like there's plenty of used Rapide shocks on eBay. If they do rebuild, I'll buy a set of used ones and have those rebuilt.

 

Stopped by Performance Shock in Sonoma today, they confirmed they can rebuild shocks IF the rod is not damaged. They're charging $500 per unit.

 

Want to bump this up and give an update on my situation with my V8 sport Bilstein shocks I sent to Nagengast. Good news, I just got my shocks back today! In total, it took about 4 weeks or so to ship them out, get them refreshed, and get them back. The best part, all four Bilstein shocks rebuilt with the shipping (both ways) was $1600 total, less than buying one new shock. Very happy with their work and communication through the entire process, and the shocks look great! Now I need to get some time to put them back on the car. For anyone needing to refresh your shocks (for the Rapide ones that are adjustable, you'd have to check with them first), I would highly recommend them.

 

Am I the only one here that thinks the longevity of these Aston shocks is horrendous? Cars needing them at under 20,000m! I have installed Bilsteins on cars for 20 years and have NEVER had a failure irrespective of mileage and use, and that is on the pothole infested roads in the UK.
I even give a personal 50,000m 10 year warranty on every Bilstein install we do. Did AM push Bilstein to a price when specifying for the cars or is there a fundamental fault in the suspension design causing the failures? The other suggestion, is that garages/dealers/testing (MOT) stations see an Aston Martin pull in and immediately report a "misting" shock absorber, knowing the cost and profit margin on the work, and the most likely ability of the owner to cough-up?
The other gripe is broken springs, quite common here in the UK, but not at such low mileages.

 

One shock was leaking at 12K miles