Shout out to Bilstein and Tire Rack for exceptional customer service

[MarinBlaine]

I know there’s lots of “what shocks should I get?” threads on this site.

I went through the process when I got my van 4.5 years ago. Ultimately I opted for the Bilstein 4600 series for my 2WD EB E250. I’ll leave the “why” to other threads. Oh yes, they were the non-C-class shocks, sometimes called the “comfort” version

I’ve been extremely happy with these shocks. And yes, they give me comfort.

We’ve probably put 27k miles on the shocks.

Over the summer, on an extended trip to Telluride and the San Juans, the driver-side rear shock broke…the top part where it connects to the van snapped off. We had some rough going with some rather extreme off-roading in the San Juans and the Henry mountains in Utah. Not sure exactly where it happened, but it began as a light rattle and morphed into a consistent rattle. Note that the van was perfectly drivable the whole time.

When we got back, I finally last month got around to exercising the lifetime warranty from Bilstein. The Bilstein site directed me to go to the vendor I purchased from.

I sent an email to Tire Rack customer service. They immediately asked for a few pix of the broken shock, which was still in the van. I did my best to take a few pix with my phone…not great pix.

I was dealt with immediately and compassionately by tire rack. The process was to buy a new shock and send the carcass back in the box they shipped the new shock in.

Had my mechanic do the R&R, shipped the old one back, and within like 2 days of the shock arriving back at tire rack I had a credit on my credit card.

After some recent blood sport warranty experiences with my refrigerator and a certain cooking pan manufacturer (who shall remain nameless), my experience with tire rack and Bilstein was absolutely seamless…gratifying almost.

Now, the shock is now $120 per vs ~$80 on the original shock…and they only made me whole on the original purchase, I’m still delighted. I mean, what do I have to complain about?

So buy your Bilsteins with great confidence! And confidently purchase them at Tire Rack.

No affiliation, btw

[JWA]

I echo your endorsement or appreciation for the Bilstein brand, have used them exclusively since at least 2008. That comprises 5 different sets of 4, have opted for a short wheelbase motor home front & rear package as my van weighs just at 8,400 # as a daily driver. Those I use are quite firm which is to my liking.

I buy mine through Amazon but for fortunately I've simply worn them out or sold the other vans they were installed so had no real issues with broken stems etc. I'm glad you had good luck with Tire Rack---did you arrange to have them installed by one of their "suggested installers" by chance?

And yes over the past few years prices have jumped to about $104 each, first set I bought were close to $80 IIRC.

[JoeH]

I can't say I have great confidence in the reliability of the bilsteins on my rig having sent 4 back for repair in the last 50,000 miles but their CS is pretty good.

[MarinBlaine]

Originally Posted by JWA

---did you arrange to have them installed by one of their "suggested installers" by chance?

Hi JWA, I had my regular mechanic do the removal and replacement.