Bob Makela

Update; I'm glad to say there is light at the end of the tunnel and I don't think it's an oncoming train.

I e-mailed and spoke to Bilstein. First it was a surprise to me that Amazon.com wasn't getting the kit directly from Bilstein. Biltstein is a bit pissed about this too and working on finding out who supplied Amazon.com with these damaged goods (they gave me a name but innocent until proven guilty so I won't mention it here other than to say it appears to be another online auto parts supplier). About the zap straps being intact suggesting the box came directly from the factory; the Bilstein rep went and checked, those straps can be slipped off the end of the box so cutting them isn't necessary to gain access to what's in the box. In short the damage need not have occured prior to packaging or during shipping.

Rather than get a refund from Amazon (and then the hassle of trying to get my import taxes returned if that's even possible) or exchange the kit (and chance another shipment of damaged goods) I've accepted their offer of a 10% refund of the purchase price and I'll resolve the matter myself directly with Bilstein.

I've talked to Bilstein; I'll use that refund to ship the front shocks (maybe the entire kit but the rear shocks appear to be OK) to Bilstein, have them replace the ***** and inspect the shocks for any internal damage. I figure odds are good that I'll come out ahead but worst case scenario is that I break even. At the end of the day I still end up with a set of PSS10s for $2K....yea I know, my time is valuable too but I'm figuring this approach will require the least amount of additional effort on my part to resolve the matter plus I feel I'm in much greater control of the final outcome.

CalvinC4S

What about alignment Bob? Thats a $300 hit twice.

Mike J

We did not take Bob's car apart yet, we found the problem on the initial inspection of the parts, so its only one alignment....

Cheers,

Mike

ABCar

At least their QC is still intact at customer service! When your car is all dialed in with the new parts and a good alignment you will forget all of this trouble. I had mine aligned using the ROW sport alignment settings and its planted!

Zuffenhausen :O)

That's interesting larpy, hopefully it should be a simple task for Amazon and Bilstein to get to the bottom of it all.

larpy

Bilsteins response today was the following;

Bilstein of North America will honor warranty claims to the original purchaser for qualified aftermarket purchases of Bilstein product from an Authorized North American Distributor. Valid warranty claims include defects in workmanship and materials. Exclusions include original equipment dampers, damage incurred during a shipping/handling process, improper application, installation errors, competition and/or off-road use.

Your purchase of Bilstein product via Amazon.com does not have an indication of a link to a specific Authorized North American distributor of Bilstein product. If Amazon.com is able to provide information confirming their purchase of the product from a specified dealer, you would be able to contact the dealer directly for warranty consideration. We can provide specific distributor contact information if not available

The bottom line is, Do not buy sh-t from Amazon.

Nurburger

Well that sucks.... What does Amazon say?

Reddy Kilowatt

I thought Amazon already offered the opportunity to return the items? They have a solid 30-day guarantee that I have used successfully before. This doesn't seem like an Amazon issue.

larpy

This is an Amazon issue. Prior to purchasing these I called Amazon and asked specifically about the warranty on these and if they were new. Many will recall previous posts about these because the price was so much less then other retailers. I called to find out if they were indeed Bilstein PSS10s and if they were new and unopened. Amazon stated they were new and were overed by Bilsteins lifetime warranty. Amazon has offered to send another kit but there have know been 4 others people in the last 9 days with the same issue so I would prefer a replacement from Bilstein directly. By getting them from Bilstein they could check the itoems prior to shipping to make sure there is no issues. This will all get resolved. I have learned my lesson and will be from Fister D and other retailers that are on this forum.

Reddy Kilowatt

Shame on Amazon if they misstated the warranty coverage. The result is certainly a time-consuming hassle for you. Nonetheless, I've bought quite a bit of sh-t from them with positive outcomes. They probably aren't my first call for automotive parts, though.

Kika

Don't know if it is related, but I showed the broken bolt from my Bilstein HD to a friend who is a metullurgist, he took one look and said, "of course it broke, it has been over-tempered" thereby making it brittle, any slight tap would have snapped it.

1pcarnut

I wonder if this is a limited batch or endemic?

larpy

Bilstein claims the only way the damage to the ***** would occur is if they were dropped during shipping. Like others, my box was undamaged and in perfect shape. Perhaps they were dropped in Bilsteins factory

martyp

Just curious Larpy - when you ordered from Amazon do you remember if it said something like "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com" or "Ships from and sold by <some other vendor name>"? Currently it shows Vivid Racing (http://www.vividracing.com) as the source, maybe that's where your set came from?

larpy

It was shipped and sold from Amazon. The item was actually shipped from their warehouse.