Wtf Is The Deal With Suspension Specalists ?

[Wacky Dee]

This is the 2nd highly recommended suspension specialist I've been to that has left me fuming ... I'm not gonna namy any names, but first one quoted $600 for shock install and alignment and billed me $1000. Did a very half assed job on alignment and didnt install dust covers that I paid for and also the bump stops as it turns out were just some old one they found in the scrap bin..

This 2nd one quoted $440 and billed $530 .. and the best f**king thing of all, I asked for 355mm front and 345mm rear (new springs with existing bilsteins .. new swaybars) and was told while at the shop when it was done fronts were 350 and rears 340 ..I thought f**k it, that's close enough. I get home take out a measuring tape and the rears are 330. FFS. Now I have to go back (80min travel each way) and they will probably want to bill me some more to fix their own f**king mistake.

Speaking of which .. when they at first didnt get the front height correctly instead of taking the shocks out and pressing the springs onto the correct circlip groove, they just used crowbars with the shocks/springs fully installed and somehow managed to push em up. But it looked so dodgey and I'm not sure wtf if anything they could have damaged doing that.

Anyway ..these are 2 of the most highly regarded/recommended suspension places in Sydney. Both are f**king f**ktards. </rant>

[nisskid]

id say a big part of the problem is ur paying someone to put shocks in ur car.

[Roy]

Did they explain why the extra $400?

Its frustrating, but if you ask a workshop to give you a price that they wont exceed then you are always going to get hit hard. The dollars you are talking about is an extra 1-2 hours work. If you have ever worked on a car you realise it only takes a bolt not wanting to come off, or your non height adjustable shocks and springs not giving them the height they want so have to change the paltform base and hope find the happy medium which still may not be right.

Not defending them, but if bills going over what they quote frustrates you i seriously suggst you go throuh 12-18months of learning how to do things yourself or you give up modding cars

[Projectile]

i gotta agree with you wacky, if they are 'highly recommended' and all that wank and they do a shit job simply because they think they are tip top suspension shop and that their job is the right job, not what YOU want and what YOU pay for then they're a bunch of dickheads, if i was you i'd be pissed too. what's with places these days? Still there are some small businesses who do a better job because it's their passion, not their job, were these places big businesses?

[nisskid]

Did they explain why the extra $400?

Its frustrating, but if you ask a workshop to give you a price that they wont exceed then you are always going to get hit hard. The dollars you are talking about is an extra 1-2 hours work. If you have ever worked on a car you realise it only takes a bolt not wanting to come off, or your non height adjustable shocks and springs not giving them the height they want so have to change the paltform base and hope find the happy medium which still may not be right.

Not defending them, but if bills going over what they quote frustrates you i seriously suggst you go throuh 12-18months of learning how to do things yourself or you give up modding cars

$400 for 1-2 hours? more like 5 hours.

there's not a lot to go wrong when installing shocks, if they take longer than 2 hoursr they shouldnt be a mechanic. a good mechanic wouldnt take more than an hour.

[Wacky Dee]

that 1st place claimed it took them 8 hours to change the shocks..lower the car 2cm (on stock) springs + $130 or so for alignment that I witnessed and it took literally 30 seconds with no machines used just those manual devices that measure camber.

I just called this 2nd place about the 330mm rear and he goes "oh I measured it ..it was 340, must have settled then". How the hell do the springs settle 1cm in under 50kms or is it actually possible ??? I was expecting to get .5cm sag in maybe a month or close to 500-600Kms driving BUT NOT 1cm in my return trip home. I reckon he's just full of shit and wants to use that as an excuse to charge me to up the springs to 345 as originally requested.

[08r3308]

should go there and demand him to have it lifted to what specs you want.

they overcharged you on shocks install

any pics of how it looks now?

[nisskid]

ur suspension does settle from fresh off the hoist, so u have to drive it around the block, then measure it.

sounds like the shop straight up rorted u. 8 hours to change shocks is a joke, so is $130 for a wheel alignment done properly on a aligner, most place over here charge around $80 for a 4 wheel alignment.

[Wacky Dee]

the rears wheels are just slightly under the wheel arches ..not what I wanted. 345 (340 with sag) woulda given me perfect rim fit without that dumped look .. I know it's 1cm but it makes a big difference to looks and more importantly the rest of the geometry and ride quality. They could only get rear camber to -1.75 when I asked for -0.5 to -0.75 .. hopefully when they jack it back up to 345 I'll get -1.0 camber at the rear.

[Wacky Dee]

ur suspension does settle from fresh off the hoist, so u have to drive it around the block, then measure it.

sounds like the shop straight up rorted u. 8 hours to change shocks is a joke, so is $130 for a wheel alignment done properly on a aligner, most place over here charge around $80 for a 4 wheel alignment.

I'm pretty sure he measured it after driving it around the block and he said it was 340 which is bs .. it's 330 spot on, both sides.

Yeah the first place did rip me off ..but that was a year ago and my Bilsteins were MIA for 5 months and this was the only opportunity to get my hands on them so I just wanted to be done with it.

The 2nd shop that I referred to was doing springs/swaybars last week..

[bigmikespec]

If you want a job done........ (can someone please finish the sentence).

[FineLine]

Jebuz you sure copped a rheaming there mate. My workshop just fitted new bilsteins to my 33 and it took him all of about 2 hours from go to whoa. At 85 dollars an hour that sure beats what those pricks took you for.

The car settled about 5/10 mil so I reset it myself. Took about an hour with a pair of spring compressors. a pair of circlip pliers and a jack.

On face value what you have been charged for the service provided is ludicrous.

[Roy]

ur suspension does settle from fresh off the hoist, so u have to drive it around the block, then measure it.

sounds like the shop straight up rorted u. 8 hours to change shocks is a joke, so is $130 for a wheel alignment done properly on a aligner, most place over here charge around $80 for a 4 wheel alignment.

I am not saying they are right or wrong. I am just saying its not always as clear cut.

I agree it seems expensive, but there may be more to the story. Check your invoice and see where all the hours go. By the sounds of it your Bilstein shocks wont give you the height you are after so will ahve to either get different springs, machine new seat or live with a compromise. Maybe they removed the shocks, tried different rate/length springs to acheive what you asked for and you got what they thought was the best compromise?!?!?!?!?

And i think you are lucky if you can get an $80 alignment that includes camber adjustment, castor adjustment and toe. Most wheel alignment places for $80 say "yep, castor and camber fine, i just tweaked the toe". Well that has been my experience.

Best to do all thsi stuff yourself. It pains me when you buy all these parts only to find it costs more to install the part then it was to buy it Do it yourself, its not that steep a learning curve

[08r3308]

hey dee could you pm the names of places that did install

cheers

[GTR-32U]

Yeah a PM for me also if you dont mind...

[nisskid]

I am not saying they are right or wrong. I am just saying its not always as clear cut.

I agree it seems expensive, but there may be more to the story. Check your invoice and see where all the hours go. By the sounds of it your Bilstein shocks wont give you the height you are after so will ahve to either get different springs, machine new seat or live with a compromise. Maybe they removed the shocks, tried different rate/length springs to acheive what you asked for and you got what they thought was the best compromise?!?!?!?!?

And i think you are lucky if you can get an $80 alignment that includes camber adjustment, castor adjustment and toe. Most wheel alignment places for $80 say "yep, castor and camber fine, i just tweaked the toe". Well that has been my experience.

Best to do all thsi stuff yourself. It pains me when you buy all these parts only to find it costs more to install the part then it was to buy it Do it yourself, its not that steep a learning curve

back when i used to pay for my alignments i cant think of one place that charged me more than $90 for a full alignment including F&R toe, caster and rear camber. but that's why u call up first or go there and get a quote, u dont just go somewhere blind and hope they will be cheap. if u just give someone ur business without getting them to sell u on it first they will rip u off as they havent needed to give u a good quote to get u there. u have to let them know they are a genuine option so they will take u seriously, but at the same time make them let them know that they have to give u a decent price to get u there.

[nisskid]

If you want a job done........ (can someone please finish the sentence).

doesnt suprise me ur from adelaide. i wish these guys were in adelaide as id be making a killing off them damn adelaidians are too in-tune with their cars and do too much shit themselves haha

[badhairdave]

doesnt suprise me ur from adelaide. i wish these guys were in adelaide as id be making a killing off them damn adelaidians are too in-tune with their cars and do too much shit themselves haha

I thought that was because wages in Adelaide are so poor?

Yeah, seems like you got a bit ripped though. I'd be interested to know what the difference in price was for, particularly on the first one.

I'd accept 10mm as settling, though i'd think that the specialist would know that it will settle and take it for a reasonable length drive

[Birds]

I agree with Roy here, as you will only see the mechanic's side of the story after working in the trade or doing these things for yourself. It would have served you better to question them when you got the invoice and find out exactly what took so long. They might have thought the strut tops were located in the boot instead of underneath the parcel shelf...a mistake I made when estimating the install time of my own suspension. The interior removal and the fact you have to have two people working on the car or do some ladder/hoist tricks by yourself adds a good amount of time to the rear. There might have been some buggered bolts too. In the end, the mechanic has to charge the customer for his f*** ups because mechanics f*** up ALOT, even the best of them. Cars are very hit and miss and no two cars are exactly the same. A mechanic who is not charging their customers for their f*** ups is not going to break even.

As a very slow DIYer, I did the coilovers in my car in the space of a day and that was by myself, taking my time with everything and cleaning up alot of stuff. It does sound a bit exhorbitant what they charged you, but that's why I say you should have questioned what all their time went into. Something must have gone very wrong (or they were using apprentices) to charge you that much.

[bigmikespec]

I thought that was because wages in Adelaide are so poor?

Yeah, seems like you got a bit ripped though. I'd be interested to know what the difference in price was for, particularly on the first one.

I'd accept 10mm as settling, though i'd think that the specialist would know that it will settle and take it for a reasonable length drive

I would rather be a poor Adelaidian than a gay Sydneysider...

In all seriousness, the reason is I would rather do all the work myself because I trust myself and only a few others when it comes to putting their hands on my car. I would rather f**k something up, there is no fun it letting others do it...