Your experience buying & installing coilovers?
03-23-04, 10:23 AM
#1
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Your experience buying & installing coilovers?
Hey everybody,
I did a search, but really couldn't find much. Currently, I'm strongly, strongly considering installing Tein CS on my 00 GS400, but modding is new territory to me. While there are tid-bits of info here and there, I couldn't find anything dedicated to 1) purchasing experiences and 2) installation experiences. Let's face it, though, coilovers can be some of the most expensive & complex suspension mods to do. Such a cost is a major investment for many, and buyer confidence is crucial for big purchases like these.
I was wondering if y'all would share your experiences in buying and installing coilovers. Specifically, I've decided that the Tein CS is right for me (so I, for one, don't mind if you Tein guys really pitch in bigtime
), but please respond even if you don't have those particular coilovers or that particular brand; all advice is helpful to everyone, and hopefully this will be a good reference thread for new guys in the future. I do request, though, that these purchases be only in reference if you purchased the product new, unless you purchased them with some sort of factory certified reconditioning (although I'm not sure that this exists from any manufacturer).
Reply now, or take a peak at the following....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are some questions to consider that might help you get started:
Purchase Experience:
From whom/what store did you make your purchase? Was the store a certified dealer by the manufacturer of the product, and how is this a factor in deciding where to buy? Was the price good? Opinions on customer service? Shipping? Was this your first purchase from this store? Did you ever use the store before you purchased the coilovers from them? How about after the purchase? Was the store helpful with any future problems/questions/concerns that you may have had? If a problem arose during the purchasing process, did the seller handle it well? And anything else you might want to add...On a scale of 1-10 (1-worst; 10-best), how do you rate the whole purchasing experience with all these questions in consideration?
Installation Experience:
((* See also questions from 'Purchase Experience'.))
Did you have a Lex dealer install it, or a private shop, a private shop 'certified' by the coilover manufacturer, or a Lexus certified private mechanic? What were your options as far as who to have install it? What were your reasons to choose shop A over shop B or dealer A over shop B? Most importantly, what was the quality of work? Cost? Do you know of certain tools (ex. laser alignment, etc.) that others should make sure the dealer/shop use to do the install? Basically, what other factors besides cost of install influenced your decision as to who/what shop did the install? And then, are there any of you who had the cheaper shop do it because you're confident you could fix any small problems later by yourself w/o returning to the shop, or did any of you choose a more expensive place because of confidence that you could bring the car back to have small quirks worked out w/o having to worry about the shop trying to get more and more $$$ from you, or maybe you took the more expensive route because because you didn't feel as confident in area of expert-tweaking skills by yourself? And anything else you might want to add...On a scale of 1-10 (1-worst; 10-best), how do you rate the whole installation experience with some of/all these questions in consideration?
~~~~~~~~~~
The questions above are just to help guide some thoughts and maybe to help elicit some important info that you might otherwise forget to include. Certainly feel free to answer what you'd like and respond however you please. A quick caution, though: if you're sharing any negative experiences, please simply state the situation without, perhaps, ranting. That way we keep on focus, and I can avoid any feeling of guilt for providing the medium through which any libel lawsuits are filed
!
As always, thank you all very much...i'm sure many people get a lot more from this website than what we each put in, so let's keep that up.
Peace,
Hawk
I did a search, but really couldn't find much. Currently, I'm strongly, strongly considering installing Tein CS on my 00 GS400, but modding is new territory to me. While there are tid-bits of info here and there, I couldn't find anything dedicated to 1) purchasing experiences and 2) installation experiences. Let's face it, though, coilovers can be some of the most expensive & complex suspension mods to do. Such a cost is a major investment for many, and buyer confidence is crucial for big purchases like these.
I was wondering if y'all would share your experiences in buying and installing coilovers. Specifically, I've decided that the Tein CS is right for me (so I, for one, don't mind if you Tein guys really pitch in bigtime
), but please respond even if you don't have those particular coilovers or that particular brand; all advice is helpful to everyone, and hopefully this will be a good reference thread for new guys in the future. I do request, though, that these purchases be only in reference if you purchased the product new, unless you purchased them with some sort of factory certified reconditioning (although I'm not sure that this exists from any manufacturer). Reply now, or take a peak at the following....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are some questions to consider that might help you get started:
Purchase Experience:
From whom/what store did you make your purchase? Was the store a certified dealer by the manufacturer of the product, and how is this a factor in deciding where to buy? Was the price good? Opinions on customer service? Shipping? Was this your first purchase from this store? Did you ever use the store before you purchased the coilovers from them? How about after the purchase? Was the store helpful with any future problems/questions/concerns that you may have had? If a problem arose during the purchasing process, did the seller handle it well? And anything else you might want to add...On a scale of 1-10 (1-worst; 10-best), how do you rate the whole purchasing experience with all these questions in consideration?
Installation Experience:
((* See also questions from 'Purchase Experience'.))
Did you have a Lex dealer install it, or a private shop, a private shop 'certified' by the coilover manufacturer, or a Lexus certified private mechanic? What were your options as far as who to have install it? What were your reasons to choose shop A over shop B or dealer A over shop B? Most importantly, what was the quality of work? Cost? Do you know of certain tools (ex. laser alignment, etc.) that others should make sure the dealer/shop use to do the install? Basically, what other factors besides cost of install influenced your decision as to who/what shop did the install? And then, are there any of you who had the cheaper shop do it because you're confident you could fix any small problems later by yourself w/o returning to the shop, or did any of you choose a more expensive place because of confidence that you could bring the car back to have small quirks worked out w/o having to worry about the shop trying to get more and more $$$ from you, or maybe you took the more expensive route because because you didn't feel as confident in area of expert-tweaking skills by yourself? And anything else you might want to add...On a scale of 1-10 (1-worst; 10-best), how do you rate the whole installation experience with some of/all these questions in consideration?
~~~~~~~~~~
The questions above are just to help guide some thoughts and maybe to help elicit some important info that you might otherwise forget to include. Certainly feel free to answer what you'd like and respond however you please. A quick caution, though: if you're sharing any negative experiences, please simply state the situation without, perhaps, ranting. That way we keep on focus, and I can avoid any feeling of guilt for providing the medium through which any libel lawsuits are filed
!As always, thank you all very much...i'm sure many people get a lot more from this website than what we each put in, so let's keep that up.
Peace,
Hawk
Last edited by hawk; 03-23-04 at 11:22 AM.
03-23-04, 12:55 PM
#2
1) purchase
i got all my coilovers (3 sets) from tmegineering. you can email at todd@tmegineering.net and say that henry refers you, and get a shipped price. i got from them coz' of course, they are the cheapest, and they actually got my coilover very fast. i still remember, one friday at 11am, i called in and asked if they can get coilovers for my gs4 and is3, they said no problem. called again at 2pm same day to make payment, and by 4pm they called and said the coilovers are there already. sat morning 9am i was there with my two cars installing the coilovers. they were also able to give me the best price out of all the places i have asked, so that's a no brainer.
coilovers are rocket science anymore, so as long as it's a reputable shop you can trust then they can get it. experience was 10 for sure
2) install
another reason why i got from tmengineering was that they installed the coilover for me as well. todd is the man, he's good at these, never a problem, adjust to your likings, test drive to make sure everything is good, no noise, answer your questions, etc....
imho for aftermarket parts, i go to good shops out there instead of lexus dealership, unless you REALLY KNOW the guy there and know they do good work (read, see them work). otherwise i go elsewhere. it's a lot cheaper and seriously, if you get a good shop out there, they do better job than dealerships.
and after my install i had no problem taking it in for some quick adjustments, or when i had noise i brought it in and he checked out everything for me, etc... that's what i called service. experience is another 10
i got all my coilovers (3 sets) from tmegineering. you can email at todd@tmegineering.net and say that henry refers you, and get a shipped price. i got from them coz' of course, they are the cheapest, and they actually got my coilover very fast. i still remember, one friday at 11am, i called in and asked if they can get coilovers for my gs4 and is3, they said no problem. called again at 2pm same day to make payment, and by 4pm they called and said the coilovers are there already. sat morning 9am i was there with my two cars installing the coilovers. they were also able to give me the best price out of all the places i have asked, so that's a no brainer.
coilovers are rocket science anymore, so as long as it's a reputable shop you can trust then they can get it. experience was 10 for sure
2) install
another reason why i got from tmengineering was that they installed the coilover for me as well. todd is the man, he's good at these, never a problem, adjust to your likings, test drive to make sure everything is good, no noise, answer your questions, etc....
imho for aftermarket parts, i go to good shops out there instead of lexus dealership, unless you REALLY KNOW the guy there and know they do good work (read, see them work). otherwise i go elsewhere. it's a lot cheaper and seriously, if you get a good shop out there, they do better job than dealerships.
and after my install i had no problem taking it in for some quick adjustments, or when i had noise i brought it in and he checked out everything for me, etc... that's what i called service. experience is another 10
03-23-04, 03:09 PM
#3
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Wow...
Yes you certainly are "thorough"
My coilover install was a great experience! I purchased and had them installed at the same place-TM Engineering here in So. Cal. Todd has an excellent reputation for good reason and I would rate the price, quality of work (including install time) a solid 10! His reputation was the primary reason I went there; recommendations from people whose opinions I value mean a lot in my decision making process.
I actually hung around and watched most of the install and was glad I paid to have it done. I had the Teins and Daizen sways done at the same time, which I would recommend doing if possible to save on labor costs. Having the car on a lift and people doing the job who have done it before is the way to go if you can afford the labor cost. I paid $2k for the Teins, sways and labor which seemed quite fair to me.
Your labor costs seem way too high, even given the high quality of work. At some point, you no longer are getting your money's worth IMO.
To summarize:
Product rating (both CS and sways): 10
Purchase/install: 10
Handling/ride: 10
I only wish all my car mods had this kind of result over the years! Hope this helps a bit, obviously you won't be coming to So. Cal. for your mods, but I'm sure you'll find a good shop somewhere near you...
EDIT: Here's a pic just to encourage you-
My coilover install was a great experience! I purchased and had them installed at the same place-TM Engineering here in So. Cal. Todd has an excellent reputation for good reason and I would rate the price, quality of work (including install time) a solid 10! His reputation was the primary reason I went there; recommendations from people whose opinions I value mean a lot in my decision making process.
I actually hung around and watched most of the install and was glad I paid to have it done. I had the Teins and Daizen sways done at the same time, which I would recommend doing if possible to save on labor costs. Having the car on a lift and people doing the job who have done it before is the way to go if you can afford the labor cost. I paid $2k for the Teins, sways and labor which seemed quite fair to me.
Your labor costs seem way too high, even given the high quality of work. At some point, you no longer are getting your money's worth IMO.
To summarize:
Product rating (both CS and sways): 10
Purchase/install: 10
Handling/ride: 10
I only wish all my car mods had this kind of result over the years! Hope this helps a bit, obviously you won't be coming to So. Cal. for your mods, but I'm sure you'll find a good shop somewhere near you...
EDIT: Here's a pic just to encourage you-
Last edited by FutureGS400; 03-23-04 at 03:14 PM.
03-23-04, 03:20 PM
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future.....ya just had to put the picture in, didn't ya!!!! and yeah, as far as the labor costs i've been quoted, all but one are too high.....and the dealer's install quote of $950 was, well......almost funny (keyword: almost).
Even though the thread is only a few hours old, I really encourage people to post whatever they want on this topic. I'm sure it'll help a lot of new guys in the now and later on.
and yeah, as far as the labor costs i've been quoted, all but one are too high.....and the dealer's install quote of $950 was, well......almost funny (keyword: almost). Even though the thread is only a few hours old, I really encourage people to post whatever they want on this topic. I'm sure it'll help a lot of new guys in the now and later on.
03-24-04, 07:01 AM
#5
EV ftw!!!
Re: Wow...
Originally posted by FutureGS400
03-24-04, 02:23 PM
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my coilovers
not very many members have the h&r coilover setup, don't know too many off the top of my head, but on the purchase. I received these from a guy who had them on a gs300 for a few weeks and he decided to not mod his car after all so i bought them for literally nothing IMO
install wasn't too bad on these, i had to use the stock mount items with them, but that didn't bother me at all, install was about 3 hours and it cost me around 200.
ride is excellent, very smooth, the series from h&r i have are the softest one they make, yet i can lower it up to almost 4 inches, or raise it up to an inch i believe.
the ride is nice with them, would not buy the spring and shock combo, but just go this route.
very nice upgrade, and didn't know too much about a coilover before visiting this site.
good luck with your purchase
install wasn't too bad on these, i had to use the stock mount items with them, but that didn't bother me at all, install was about 3 hours and it cost me around 200.
ride is excellent, very smooth, the series from h&r i have are the softest one they make, yet i can lower it up to almost 4 inches, or raise it up to an inch i believe.
the ride is nice with them, would not buy the spring and shock combo, but just go this route.
very nice upgrade, and didn't know too much about a coilover before visiting this site.
good luck with your purchase
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03-26-04, 12:30 PM
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Originally posted by jtanoyo1
Jeez, y'all paid way too much. I paid like $50 to get my HKS LS+ installed and they throw in the install for my sways for free....
Jeez, y'all paid way too much. I paid like $50 to get my HKS LS+ installed and they throw in the install for my sways for free....
get outta here jon, you are not allowed to post in this thread 
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