Shock rebuild: Delta Vee vs Bilstein? - Mounts - OEM vs Ployurethane?

I think it could depend on how busy they are at any particular time mate. I bet California has a greater work load than the UK.
I was expecting a two week turn around, however I got them back 9 days after sending.
But hey, at least both we have as new shockers

 

They now want $450 for this service!!! You paid $124?

 

Delta Vee does a better job.

Getting them done by Bilstein just assures you get the same junk you already have.

 

Bilstein will do it for $145 though. I just spoke with them and they seem to know exactly the issue that needs fixing. That's a huge price difference, especially if you do the pair.

 

450$ gets you a lifetime guarantee rebuild at deltaVee, 124$ gets you a rebuild but it's not guaranteed for more than 3 months or so.

I went with the cheaper option but the choice is up to you.

 

I wish that were still available. I'd have them in the mail tomorrow if $124 was still an option. They only have the lifetime warranty option available now and it's $450!!!

Lifetime warranty means nothing to me and probably adds $20 of value when negotiating a sale. I typically keep cars 2-3 years before getting bored and trying something else.

 

So question for everyone. Wife's car. No track use or stuff like that. 20,100 miles. Do you send both rears off for refurbish or just the leaker? The fronts look perfect. I'd rather not spend more money than I need to.

 

Always in sets

 

The whole set.

Still very happy with my rebuild.

Kai

 

Just read this thread.....What a bummer ending.

For $124 I was getting ready to send mine in. I went to the website, and I guess they cant even decide how much to increase the service. At the top it says $450 then in the description it says $400.

It seems like every vendor I find has a high price on 355 stuff. On ebay they want 899 for a used tool kit or car cover! I guess they heard I bought a 355!

 

Might as well swing for the fences if you're going to raise the price. I can't grasp an extra $325 just for a warranty.

I just dropped mine off at FedEx to send to Bilstein. Juan in CA seemed very knowledgable on the issue with the 355. I would hope they know a little about what they're doing. 4 week turnaround though so plan ahead.

 

So how do you know if you if your shocks are in need of rebuilding?

 

One of mine was wet and dirty.
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Other side
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I must say, this is pretty disappointing and smells of Ferrari Tax.

I suspect that the process is exactly the same between the 124 and the 400 option so they decided to only offer the 400 option.

I had a great experience and I'm happy to have had mine done just before they changed their policy.

I tought it was great to offer the customer a choice and to now force a lifetime warranty makes the repair very expensive. The service, however, I must say is top notch and so is the workmanship so I still reccommend DeltaVee's rebuild service.

And not all is lost, for those who do not want to pay such a high price, you can always send them to Bilstein in California (turnaround is much longer, communication not as good as with Rob) but you'll pay 145$ a piece.

If making money is the issue (and there is nothing wrong with that if you have a business) then perhaps increase the price from 124$ to 200$ a piece? I would still go for it even if Bilstein charges 145$ just because of the quick turnaround.

 

Yeah, I wanted to support the little guy and if there was an in-between I would have done it. Someone else needs to jump in this game and fill the gap that just got created.

 

For anyone considering the Bilstein factory service, can you explain the difference between the rebuild vs revalve options? I also used Delta Vee recently and very disappointed that the price increased some 400%. $2k per set seems on the high-side.

I think they are a victim of their own success - and good on them. Everyone speaks highly of Rob and my experience with them was no different.
Ken

 

Thats a huge jump in price, maybe a misprint. Has anyone phoned them?
No need for a lifetime warranty, I always self insure never buy insurance or a warranty.

 

Yeah, I did today and pretty much begged for the no-warranty option and he said no. His overall attitude, in a pleasant way, was sort of you bought a limited production car what do you expect.

 

For the limited use these cars go through the lifetime warranty cost is just too much.
Go with Bilstein in California.

 

It's the Bilstein service times 3. So with my math, and the car being 16 years old, I'd break even with the lifetime warranty 48 years from now assuming you don't factor in the time value of money.

 

interesting, I thought the ride in my car was quite smooth and comfortable.
but I just lifted the lid to compare/check my rear shocks based on those pics.

and the plate under the actuator was oily like yours on the right shock.
left shock exact same as yours no signs of oil?

so is this a sign the right rear will go bad?

but I did not notice any issue with rough ride quality at all?

 

And you would be 100% wrong.

 

That is exactly the problem that Delta Vee fixes and Bilstien does not. It is a leak in the adjuster shaft seal.

If you read post 21 he addresses that.

 

That's out of context, I'm not flippant regarding my customers.

I'm happy to explain (as I did to you) on the phone to anyone. I try to be generous with my time on the phone...

Best,
Rob

Ps, sorry for the website typos, put through some changes recently and clearly didn't catch some details.