Bilstein warranty ?

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We warranty the bilsteins for 2 years 50,000km, but even then its still open to discussion, as we have only ever replaced 2 that were a warranty issue, the other 6 or so were created by other issues, like fitment, driving to fast with tyres pumped up to hard for to long, while overloaded.

We still replaced some of these, and air freighted them to the customer location, and organised them to be fitted, while they were away on thier trip, as a good will gesture.

[xvprado Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close xvprado]

Gday Darren,
Whilst heasmans offered me a lesser warranty (1 year), the outcome was pretty good
My failed shock was from a significant stome impact that dented the stone guard, so not a shock failure at all, more a design flaw from Mr Tojo
Heasmans rebuilt my old one for free and sold me two newie's at much less than rrp
So i ended up with a spare, good thing to have and a new set all at about the price to re-condition
Whilst I still think a 1 year warranty is crap on a premium product, I WOULD NOT have expected warranty to cover the stone strike
All in all, i got looked after quite well and would be more than Happy to reccomend heasmans here in sydney

See ya next week in the dust :lol:

Cheers
Glen

[Grandeman Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Grandeman]

To pick up on Chippy's and Blokeman's earlier posts in this thread, why is it that we don't hear of the OEM shocks failing as much as aftermarket ones?

Are they inherently more reliable, or are the aftermarket ones just subjected to heavier use?

I must admit that talk of aftermarket shocky failures (after what seems a relatively short period to me), doesn't inspire that much confidence in their longevity.

[Brissy4me Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Brissy4me]

Perhaps its a case that everyone expects OEM shocks to die and just replace them with aftermarkets without raising a fuss about it. Its when you go to the (usually large) expense of fitting aftermarkets and then they die, then people like to vent about "Wasted" money.

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typically, the OEM shocks arent failing because they go off before failing, and people slow down because of this, and it doesnt be an issue.

Monotubes can be a little more prone to damage, and topping them out from to tall a ride height/and/or stone damage they dont like, but with proper installation, none of these things are an issue.

As for wether warranty is 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, as long as you can approach the people you got the equipment from, to discuss it, I dont see the time span as anything but a guide.

[stingsprado Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close stingsprado]

Just got myself a full ATS Premium Bilstein suspension system to go onto the old girl and I was reading the fitting instructions from Bilstein. Well on the bottom of page 3 on the strut instructions booklet is, BILSTEIN warrants its gas pressure shock absorbers against defects in workmanship and materials for as long as you,the original purchaser,own your car .
Will start the install tomorrow.

[Bill Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Bill]

Re: Bilstein warranty ?

Well looking at upgrading my suspension and the Bilstein are on the top of list but one sticking point,Warranty 12month 20k you must be joking.Rang Heasman spoke to Tony a very helpfull and knows his stuff when i asked about about Warranty he stated that very hard to give a unconditional Warranty as the the conditions products used in?? Looking at a USA suspension site who sell Bilstein which stated under warranty "for as long as purchaser owns car" This would make me warm and fuzzie..But the BIG thing was the price $90 US each . If they are so good and the margin must be good offer a real warranty..Even the OEM which if you believe some of the comments on this site will explode as you drive out the dealership,they are covered by a 100k 3 year warranty..Yes I hear the comments here about how the importer came to the party but a warranty is a true measure of a companies confidence in thier product..
Don't get wrong I want to buy the Bilstein but this wrranty issue is putting me off,but us as the consumers are letting them of the hook..WOULD YOU BUY A NEW PRADO WHICH OFFERED only A 20000km 12month warranty???? Looking at other forum sites Prado owners who change their suspension have by far the highest percentage of Bilstein users.It seem every second Prado on site have Bilstein..

[Auto-Craft Inactive Find all posts View Profile Close Auto-Craft]

Re: Bilstein warranty ?

Bill,

We treat the warranty on a case by case basis, but we do generally double manufacturers warranty making 2 years and 40,000km on materials and workmanship.

Having only ever had to get warranty on 4 shocks over the last 5 years, and only one Prado, I wouldnt be to concerned about what warranty a product comes with, as I would consider buying a product or not, because of its warranty, a galss half full, vs glass half empty outlook :wink:

[Bill Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Bill]

Re: Bilstein warranty ?

Bill,

We treat the warranty on a case by case basis, but we do generally double manufacturers warranty making 2 years and 40,000km on materials and workmanship.

Having only ever had to get warranty on 4 shocks over the last 5 years, and only one Prado, I wouldnt be to concerned about what warranty a product comes with, as I would consider buying a product or not, because of its warranty, a galss half full, vs glass half empty outlook :wink:

I hear what you are saying but why is it up to your company not the manufacture/importer to put thier money were thier mouth is..I do realize there are quite a few varables in setting up suspension on 4x4 that if not done correctly could have an affect of the life of the shocks. On your point about how full the glass is,well maybe the importer/manufacture should be more optimistic and I'm sure the product and thier clients deserve a better Warranty..As stated be previously "A true measure of a suppliers confidence in thier product is the warranty they give it".(like you have done)Hence will give you call tomorrow.
The fact of the matter is I will most likely purchase the Bilstein anyway and would have allready if there were stock in the country.. Few years back purchased a KTM motor bike it had a 3 month warranty on a new $12,000 bike could have purchased other brands which were cheaper and had 2 years.But KTM were perceived to be the best(some may beg to differ ) but in the 3 years of having the ktm never missed a beat, my knee and coller bone on the other had were not as tough as the KTM.
cheers

[Auto-Craft Inactive Find all posts View Profile Close Auto-Craft]

Re: Bilstein warranty ?

Bill,

the most important No is the % of warranty returns, rather tha the "amount" of warranty. Most products with big warranties come with small print, and arent the easiest to get. If a product has to sell on warranty alone, then it is trying to fix some image issue, in my opinion. The more "normal" the warranty, the less of an issue it is for the manufacturer, or distributor, we find.

Thats why we can safely add to manufcturers warranty, because we currently see a less than 1.5% return rate, which is our cut off for any product, rather than how long the warranty is for.

And 2 sets left in stock from air freight order today, that arrived yesterday.

[Bill Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Bill]

Re: Bilstein warranty ?

Bill,

the most important No is the % of warranty returns, rather tha the "amount" of warranty. Most products with big warranties come with small print, and arent the easiest to get. If a product has to sell on warranty alone, then it is trying to fix some image issue, in my opinion. The more "normal" the warranty, the less of an issue it is for the manufacturer, or distributor, we find.

Thats why we can safely add to manufcturers warranty, because we currently see a less than 1.5% return rate, which is our cut off for any product, rather than how long the warranty is for.

And 2 sets left in stock from air freight order today, that arrived yesterday.

I dont call having the least warranty in the industry "normal".

[Bill Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Bill]

Re: Bilstein warranty ?

I have used Bilstein for over 55,000km and going on 4 years. Covered alot of different ground, road and off road... never had an issue with my shock absorbers. Had a noise in the back of the car a few years back.. thought it may be a rear shock ? Darren was happy to send me a brand new shock, no questions asked.. Didn't need it in the end. The noise was from the main fuel tank. A baffle had failed inside it and Toyota replaced it.

That is warranty.. that is service. Well past the 'normal' one year period. It's about developing trust with the supplier.. not just a piece of paper stating a warranty period.... Darren sticks to his word and in the aftermarket auto industry, I don't call that 'normal'.....

(Mechanic of 20 years)

Regards,

You are not getting the point,if if read my prevous posts on the issue, my concern is not with Darren but with the importer of Bilstein Product into the country,Darren has stated that if he sells his kits he increases the warranty to 2 years 50k "which is quite reasonable" He does this as he has confidence in what he sells..The company who holds the master reseller of a product should be the one who take responability of there product not a reseller of thiers.
I thought this forum was about expressing concerns for the common good of all Prado users and people could handle constructive debate??
If Bilstein put a warranty on thier product that by all account the product deserves,wouldn't that be better as not everybody buys thier Bilsten Shocks from autocraft

[IRON-PAWW Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close IRON-PAWW]

Re: Bilstein warranty ?

Far be it for me to say how the world works, but something else to consider.

If you have a product that needs extra selling points, for whatever reason, then one way of attracting people's attention is to give an "above average" warranty period. For instance, I could have got 3 years on some Blue Max gear I was looking at. Does that mean Blue Max can mix it with Bilstein? Not necessarily. What it means is that marketers for Blue Max have done what they needed to get sales where they wanted them. Bilstein, it seems to me, is so widely respected that things like extra warranty periods aren't needed to sell the products, the product quality is what sells it. 12 month warranty is really the standard for a heap of gear you buy. Stereo's, BBQ's, security systems, toasters etc etc. It's like my brother who bought a crap ass TV. It had a 3 year warranty. If it died then you simply got it repaired for nothing, the trade off though, was you had a crap ass TV. So I suppose it's the package you get in the end. Cheaper product with warranty or good gear that doesn't need a warranty anyhow.

Why don't they warrant it if the product is so good? Some products do do that after all. Who can say. I guess in Bilstein's case they simply don't need to as their sales figures are good enough. 12 month warranty really doesn't mean much, the proof is in the pudding.

That said, suspension is difficult to research, make no mistake. Each suspension business you approach has their own take on things, and different packages are right for different people. In the end, all you can do is talk to the enthusiasts and people who've put the various gear through it's paces and listen to what they have to say. Then jump in.