Questioning a garage or not?
Discussion
Just had both sides of our front suspension replaced by a local specialist independent, the car is a Passat sport so has slightly lower suspension as standard.
The car has come back sitting perhaps a couple of cm higher at the front than expected, do springs settle this much or is it possible they've just fitted std Passat springs, not the sport variants? I can't see any part numbers or markers to check however.
My main concern though is the shocks, whilst looking for part numbers to help work out the above, I found that the struts used are not listed for our car but for A3s and Leons. To my mind, the shock has to damp the sprung load, being that corner weight of the vehicle, so if our car comes in at over 1800kg and with a difference of anything up to 600kg when compared with an A3 or Leon, this is not what that shock was designed to cope with, right?
Does this sound acceptable or am I right to be concerned?
There have been some issues with this job so I'm a bit suspicious of them already but don't want to escalate anything unless I need to.
Thanks.
The car has come back sitting perhaps a couple of cm higher at the front than expected, do springs settle this much or is it possible they've just fitted std Passat springs, not the sport variants? I can't see any part numbers or markers to check however.
My main concern though is the shocks, whilst looking for part numbers to help work out the above, I found that the struts used are not listed for our car but for A3s and Leons. To my mind, the shock has to damp the sprung load, being that corner weight of the vehicle, so if our car comes in at over 1800kg and with a difference of anything up to 600kg when compared with an A3 or Leon, this is not what that shock was designed to cope with, right?
Does this sound acceptable or am I right to be concerned?
There have been some issues with this job so I'm a bit suspicious of them already but don't want to escalate anything unless I need to.
Thanks.
If you haven't got the part numbers of the items they've used then how are you going to know whether they've used the right parts or not?
Were these parts sourced from a franchised dealer - ie genuine parts - or aftermarket from elsewhere? Personal experience has taught me that there can be a lot of difference between genuine & pattern, an example being thermostats where the pattern one lacks the air bleed hole so air in the system can't pass through which prevents the coolant heating & opening the stat & I've seen cars boil at tickover as a result (Ford V6 & Rover V8).
You say that you have found part numbers that lead you to believe that the parts for yours are not used on other vehicles of the Audi/VW group. Where did you get these numbers from?
Were these parts sourced from a franchised dealer - ie genuine parts - or aftermarket from elsewhere? Personal experience has taught me that there can be a lot of difference between genuine & pattern, an example being thermostats where the pattern one lacks the air bleed hole so air in the system can't pass through which prevents the coolant heating & opening the stat & I've seen cars boil at tickover as a result (Ford V6 & Rover V8).
You say that you have found part numbers that lead you to believe that the parts for yours are not used on other vehicles of the Audi/VW group. Where did you get these numbers from?
I can't see any markings on the springs, but from when I was looking at the options for the job I could only find the sport springs available from VW and they have colored dot markings, the springs fitted on the job appear not to have them. Granted that this is far from proof.
For the shocks, the parts fitted are Sachs Super Touring 311-852 (label on the shocks themselves), from their online cat, these are only for A3s and Leon's. The listed part for our car is 311-344.
When the job was agreed and booked in I asked if the parts would be from VW / TPS, they said yes.
I know what you mean about pattern part variability, lower rear suspension arms were also fitted, these are pattern and it's been impossible for the garage to get the alignment adjusted to spec. The rear wheels sit 3mm further in than they should do.
For the shocks, the parts fitted are Sachs Super Touring 311-852 (label on the shocks themselves), from their online cat, these are only for A3s and Leon's. The listed part for our car is 311-344.
When the job was agreed and booked in I asked if the parts would be from VW / TPS, they said yes.
I know what you mean about pattern part variability, lower rear suspension arms were also fitted, these are pattern and it's been impossible for the garage to get the alignment adjusted to spec. The rear wheels sit 3mm further in than they should do.
Edited by RDBx on Sunday 22 September 09:57
Does sound as though some parts are wrong but you need to check that there have been no changes. Lack of dots on the springs suggests thay may be pattern - or from another model - but as you say that isn't necessarily proof. On an unfitted spring you may be able to check by measuring length if you have the spec.
I think your best course is to ask the garage to see the original documentation from the suppliers of the parts & then speak to the parts dept of a franchised dealer to check what they have listed.
Can't see any argument on the rear items, they don't fit & they're not right!
I think your best course is to ask the garage to see the original documentation from the suppliers of the parts & then speak to the parts dept of a franchised dealer to check what they have listed.
Can't see any argument on the rear items, they don't fit & they're not right!
paintman said:
Does sound as though some parts are wrong but you need to check that there have been no changes. Lack of dots on the springs suggests thay may be pattern - or from another model - but as you say that isn't necessarily proof. On an unfitted spring you may be able to check by measuring length if you have the spec.
I think your best course is to ask the garage to see the original documentation from the suppliers of the parts & then speak to the parts dept of a franchised dealer to check what they have listed.
Can't see any argument on the rear items, they don't fit & they're not right!
Thanks Paintman.I think your best course is to ask the garage to see the original documentation from the suppliers of the parts & then speak to the parts dept of a franchised dealer to check what they have listed.
Can't see any argument on the rear items, they don't fit & they're not right!
Will call Sachs UK first thing tomorrow to double check, then approach the garage for details of the exact components used. My BIL is an ex VAG tech and has a TPS account, so I've got access to all the technical info I need on that front.
Faxo said:
You say when the job was agreed, genuine parts were to be fitted - there will be a VAG part number on the shocks, not a Sachs part number? In which case, they're not genuine and the job isn't as expected?
When discussing the job with them I mooted the option of using Bilstein B4 shocks as they are regarded as a better replacement to OEM, the garage said they wouldn't fit them as they could only guarantee the job if VW parts were used. Ergo I expected OEM kit to be used, the price seemed right in this regard also.Sound like they have gone aftermarket on the parts not tps,
They may not know the shocks are wrong as if the shocks were supplied to them for you car & look the same they would have trusted the supplier had for it right.
As for the rear arms I've recently had a very similar problem with euro car parts on some arms they supplied
They may not know the shocks are wrong as if the shocks were supplied to them for you car & look the same they would have trusted the supplier had for it right.
As for the rear arms I've recently had a very similar problem with euro car parts on some arms they supplied
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