1996 Jetta ( Question about new Struts)

> nope they just said that it would be better for me to goto sears cause he
> don't stock the unit and it would cost me more. I dunno.. maybe i'll call
> another dealer in the seattle area.. one i was talking bout was university
> vw in seattle.

Well, that's actually more honest that one might expect. Rather than make
you wait and inevitably have it cost you MORE in the process they're giving
it to you straight. I mean, what's worse for them, having a customer whine
to others about how long it took to get it fixed and how expensive it was
(checking after the fact with sears or pep boys) or suggesting another
solution. Sounds uncharacteristically smart for a dealer...

In article >,
Lee > wrote:
>Les Schwab wants $543.81 with Tax for all 4 installed with the 4 way
>alinement.
>They said they would be using Gabriel Gas Struts (gs2), i've call else where
>and they were plus or minus $50 of that. So I guess this is the soluton.
>As far as Woodchucks comment, VW told me to go else where. they said goto
>Sears so much for your no brainer.

Sounds too French for me. I wouldn't go to a place that says you need a
4 way alignment. I think your model only needs a front-end alignment. The rears
would need to be shimmed if they were way out.


>
>-Lee
>
>"naaaah" > wrote in message
...
>> Lee > wrote:
>>> My 96 Jetta has 123K on it now. And Im thinking to time to have the
>>> shocks/Struts replaced, Where is a good place to have them done? I've
>>> called
>>> around and seems like Les Schwab a big Tire Center in my area ( Seattle )
>>> said they use their own brand which is rebrand Gabriel , Sears said they
>>> use
>>> there own brand which is rebranded Monroe Sensatrack. I Also wonder about
>>> the possibility of buying OEM Spec Bilstiens and having those put in but
>>> i'm
>>> not sure if it would be much better of a ride. I don't race my car and
>>> I'm
>>> not a teenager. I want the stock ride of the car is not possble more
>>> soft.
>>
>> I assume you meant "if not possibly more soft".
>>
>>> Any ideas who of the big chains? Sears? Les Schwab? Midas? any of those?
>>> Local VW Dealer told me to goto Sears.
>>
>> Both Gabriel and Monroe are relatively "brand names" and will probably
>> give a
>> soft ride. The OEM for your car is probably Boge/Sachs. Bilstein is not
>> OEM
>> although they make excellent dampers, most of which will be at least
>> slightly
>> stiffer than when the car was new, and significantly stiffer than now.
>> It's
>> hard to find a better quality damper than Bilstein though. I personally
>> would
>> get Bilstein HDs over Gabriel or Monroe, but then I prefer them to be a
>> little
>> a stiffer and I'm willing to pay for the quality. I believe Bilstein also
>> makes something called "Touring" shocks which are supposed to resemble OEM
>> and
>> probably wouldn't be a bad choice for you. KYB GR-2 and Boge Progas are
>> also
>> reasonable options if you are trying to conserve money, although they are
>> slightly stiffer than stock, they are far from unreasonable for most
>> people.
>> I'd trust either over Gabriel or Monroe.
>>
>> That said, I'd also prefer to do the work myself. The struts are held in
>> by one nut at the top and two bolts at the bottom. The rear shocks are
>> held in by one nut at the top and one bolt at the bottom. The nut on the
>> rear is a bit hard to get at (I used a socket and pair of vise grips), and
>> the nut in front requires either an impact wrench or an O2 sensor socket.
>> Other than that, its pretty straightforward. You'll also need a spring
>> compressor for the fronts which you can get from Autozone or Harbor
>> Freight.
>> The thing is, you should probably also be replacing the strut/shock mounts
>> at this point. It'll take a lot of the play out of it. It'll also give
>> you
>> the opportunity to more carefully examine your tie-rod ends and balljoints
>> which are cheap and easy to replace and might not be a bad idea with that
>> much mileage. With something like suspension or brakes, considering how
>> easy it is to work on, its nice to know it was done right rather than by
>> some high school kid who was just trying to get your car through as quick
>> as possible (and don't kid yourself about who works for Sears/Les Schwab/
>> Midas/Quick-Lube chain/etc). I don't think that any of the "big chains"
>> are really any better than any other one. I wouldn't trust any of them
>> although their quality will probably vary significantly from one store to
>> the next.
>>
>> dan
>
>


--
Jeeps and dubs and everything's nice...

In article >,
Woodchuck > wrote:
>Find another dealer to service your car. We get VW parts from VW in 2 days
>max. Not to mention it's a easy job for us old fart technicians.

Woodchuck, here is a question for you. Does your dealership allow you to bring
in customer parts or is this just a political thing? If the parts are not
VW, they suck? It is so easy to sign a waiver so the dealer does not have
to warranty the job if the job was proven well done and correct. There
we go again on how the dealer makes overhead profit on the VW parts to
compensate the labor rate. I still think this is bogus. There was a VW
Porsche dealer in NJ that had the same labor rate for both. The Porsche
rate. The other nicer family owned ex racer VW Porsche dealer had a $30 or
so difference and they are in PA. I guess you have to live in NJ to afford
that VW labor rate.



>
>"Lee" > wrote in message
. ..
>> nope they just said that it would be better for me to goto sears cause he
>> don't stock the unit and it would cost me more. I dunno.. maybe i'll call
>> another dealer in the seattle area.. one i was talking bout was university
>> vw in seattle.
>>
>> -LEe
>>
>> "Tom's VR6" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> In rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled, Woodchuck wrote:
>>>
>>>>Doesn't sound like your VW dealer likes to work on VW's. I'm sure if
>>>>their
>>>>GM would tell the person who said "go elsewhere" to pack up and go
>>>>elsewhere
>>>>too!
>>>
>>> I suspect there was more to that story.
>>>
>>
>>
>
>


--
Jeeps and dubs and everything's nice...

Our dealer has no problems installing customer supplied parts 99% of the
time unless the part looks wierd. We call them generic parts which is no
different from buying Ford, Chevy, etc parts from the local auto parts
store.


"Peter Parker" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> Woodchuck > wrote:
>>Find another dealer to service your car. We get VW parts from VW in 2 days
>>max. Not to mention it's a easy job for us old fart technicians.
>
> Woodchuck, here is a question for you. Does your dealership allow you to
> bring
> in customer parts or is this just a political thing? If the parts are not
> VW, they suck? It is so easy to sign a waiver so the dealer does not have
> to warranty the job if the job was proven well done and correct. There
> we go again on how the dealer makes overhead profit on the VW parts to
> compensate the labor rate. I still think this is bogus. There was a VW
> Porsche dealer in NJ that had the same labor rate for both. The Porsche
> rate. The other nicer family owned ex racer VW Porsche dealer had a $30 or
> so difference and they are in PA. I guess you have to live in NJ to afford
> that VW labor rate.
>
>
>
>>
>>"Lee" > wrote in message
.. .
>>> nope they just said that it would be better for me to goto sears cause
>>> he
>>> don't stock the unit and it would cost me more. I dunno.. maybe i'll
>>> call
>>> another dealer in the seattle area.. one i was talking bout was
>>> university
>>> vw in seattle.
>>>
>>> -LEe
>>>
>>> "Tom's VR6" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> In rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled, Woodchuck wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>Doesn't sound like your VW dealer likes to work on VW's. I'm sure if
>>>>>their
>>>>>GM would tell the person who said "go elsewhere" to pack up and go
>>>>>elsewhere
>>>>>too!
>>>>
>>>> I suspect there was more to that story.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Jeeps and dubs and everything's nice...