i wouldnt say this is off the topic because it deals with suspension so i didnt put it in the pits.
my question is how is the prices for ball joints, all tie rod parts, lowering springs so cheap on ebay? i can get two ball joints for the price of one and the tie rods are cheap as hell too. is it because they dont spend money on add dollors like autozone?

Originally posted by scorpo86
i wouldnt say this is off the topic because it deals with suspension so i didnt put it in the pits. my question is how is the prices for ball joints, all tie rod parts, lowering springs so cheap on ebay? i can get two ball joints for the price of one and the tie rods are cheap as hell too. is it because they dont spend money on add dollors like autozone?

Generally, eBay parts are going to be lower quality. Your ride quality is going to be really bad if your suspension consists of all eBay parts. You get what you pay for.

If you buy name brand parts on eBay, that is different. Name brand parts can be had for a little cheaper on eBay sometimes.

ebay parts are usually cheap chinese parts made with inferior quality materials by workers in sweatshop conditions. you will pay less but they will wear out or fail much quicker than name brand stuff that has a warranty

If you're wanting to spend less for simple suspension stuff check parts dinosaur or rock parts online

there are some things you can be a cheap dick on. intakes, some exhaust bits, etc. Things that don't have the potential to kill your ass by causing a wreck. suspension components are one area where you can't afford to be a cheap dick.

+1 for what Erik said.

When I shop ebay I ALWAYS ask the vendor where the parts were manufactured. Even if the Chinese stuff is CNC machined I stay clear of it because I know they have little or no quality control and usually use a cheap, inferior metal. Just a heads up.

agreed with everyone else, alot of stuff on ebay is made in foreign countrys that are less supereior in quality, but if it works it works, now those cheap coil springs setups, i would never use, from what ive seen there spring rate are crap and unequal on every corner ect

If you think your life is worth risking to save $300 on cheap suspension components, by all means go with the knock off crap. Please just stay away from me while you are flying down the highway.

no, i was just wondering. i wouldnt buy stuff like that. i was just looking at them and pondering. I would look into what i buy first becuase my suspension is spent bad and im going to rock out a whole new set up. i want to feel safe diving in the rain again.

Originally posted by freelancefool
If you think your life is worth risking to save $300 on cheap suspension components, by all means go with the knock off crap. Please just stay away from me while you are flying down the highway.

Haha, yea I have the same philosiphy. Suspension is one thing I do not skimp on. Intake or exhaust or something, maybe, but not something like tie rods or ball joints or anything that can give out when you are cruisin around a corner at 70...

I agree with everyone I got new lower and upper controls arms, inner and outter tie rod ends in a kit off ebay for like $350 shipped and it was a bad mistake the parts have rusted and I have 8000 miles on these and now im hearing pops from the ball joints and have a new vibration on the highway so im guessing ill be replacing these parts soon.

Also I bought wheel bearings both side brand new they were like $60 shipped and I was thinking man I only need one but for that price im going to go for it well I put 2000 miles on them and went to a shop to check my alignment and the alignment was good but the wheel bearings were shot they had a ton of play in them.

So I have learned my lesson and as a person who has used a ton of parts off ebay I will say most of the parts have been great but suspension isnt a good idea unless they are from a known manufacturer.


Just my 2 cents.

Moog makes good suspension parts for our cars but be prepared to pay the price. Dorman is also good for replacement compression arms.

Timken, National, Skf... for wheel bearings. I have National myself and have held up well.

You also have to watch for the fake Ebay items, there the ones that say name brand but are actually the cheap stuff with a name brand plate welded onto them. Seen that too many times on there.

Some people on Ebay buy the parts in bulk quantity and sell them cheaper.

Some are also selling the same quality parts at resale cost or 10% above cost to make thier sales quota with a particular vendor.

I recall from when I was in the shop that some parts have a 200% markup on them. I remember one Alternator I did where our cost on the unit was 80.00 and the MSRP was just under 400.00.

Its not always that the parts are lower quality.

Terry

Originally posted by Star Turbo Talon
Some people on Ebay buy the parts in bulk quantity and sell them cheaper. Some are also selling the same quality parts at resale cost or 10% above cost to make thier sales quota with a particular vendor. I recall from when I was in the shop that some parts have a 200% markup on them. I remember one Alternator I did where our cost on the unit was 80.00 and the MSRP was just under 400.00. Its not always that the parts are lower quality. Terry

Very true, that's why you have to look for name brand parts on ebay. Usually they are very close to cost and the seller is just trying to keep up their quotas (or hoping for high volume of sales to even things out) I've purchased many sets of KYB struts on ebay for around HALF of what average retail is before shipping costs. However, I have yet to see any of the balljoints and control arms carrying a name brand that I recognize or trust

It is necessary to be wary of certain parts that are known to be common counterfit items on ebay. I would NEVER purchase any spring set on ebay. Ever.

I am a firm believer in doing it right the first time with quality parts. The bushings in my right side upper control arm started wearing. When I removed the control arm I discovered one of the pivot shafts broke through the body of the car in the engine bay. The replacement part was from $150-$200. Didnt have much money at the time I found a deal on ebay to replace all the control arms for under $200 which was "OEM Brand" parts which I will never purchase again. I bought a case of beer for one of my friends that was a welder and he welded everything up for me. I replaced all of the control arms and 8 months down the line the boots on the balljoints were cracked and the balljoints themselves started to wear again. All i can say is folks is that you cant go wrong with napa. It's been 4 years and no problems with my front control arms.:thumbsup

Napa is no better or wrse than advance or Vatozone. They are no longer the parts store they once were.

Originally posted by Star Turbo Talon
Napa is no better or wrse than advance or Vatozone. They are no longer the parts store they once were.

Napa doesn't make their own parts anymore, they just buy the same brands that advance, vato, and oreilly do and rebox them in napa boxes and upcharge for the reboxing.

Originally posted by RoninEclipse2G

Originally posted by Star Turbo Talon Napa is no better or wrse than advance or Vatozone. They are no longer the parts store they once were.

Napa doesn't make their own parts anymore, they just buy the same brands that advance, vato, and oreilly do and rebox them in napa boxes and upcharge for the reboxing.

I dont know exactly the details in terms of where napa get their parts, but one thing I do know is that their parts are good quality. I've tried autozone tie rod ends and less than a year later the rubber boot is cracking. I can say that I have had oreilly's control arms with no problems but I didnt keep them on a whole year. What I liked about the napa control arms are the balljoint rubber boots. The boot itself is not as thick but is more flexible and durable at the joint. Therefore it is not subject to cracking and wearing out easily.

I went shopping around and found a lot of good prices on everything. http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=213764 cheap mopar ball joints and auto zone lifetime tie rods. using the search button and shopping around got me good deals. tein for 170 as well. im still looking for shocks that can handle the lowering tho

How low is the drop on the Tein springs? I've had KYB GR2s that lasted 100k+ on less than a 2 inch drop

Originally posted by scorpo86
I went shopping around and found a lot of good prices on everything. http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=213764 cheap mopar ball joints and auto zone lifetime tie rods. using the search button and shopping around got me good deals. tein for 170 as well. im still looking for shocks that can handle the lowering tho

Where did you find tein's for 170 at?

the tein is -1.3 and eBay is the place to look for them and they are legit. i got them in two days and free shipping. the kyb gr2 is the way to go then over stock. i heard that oem shocks goes out faster on lowered springs?



http://motors.shop.ebay.com/__?_from=R40&_trksid=p3841.m39.l1313&_nkw=eclipse+tein++&_sacat=

Originally posted by scorpo86
the tein is -1.3 and eBay is the place to look for them and they are legit. i got them in two days and free shipping. the kyb gr2 is the way to go then over stock. i heard that oem shocks goes out faster on lowered springs? http://motors.shop.ebay.com/__?_from=R40&_trksid=p3841.m39.l1313&_nkw=eclipse+tein++&_sacat=

It looks like you have tein s.tech springs.

Interesting,prices but how are they compared to the eibach springs with adjustable struts for street-some track use.

well eibach springs that adjust would be the best bet because you can have that option to go street or track. im looking on getting coilovers from tein but i dont have to cash to get it at the moment. my whole front end is shot so i have to replace everything so i just went with springs for now.

When my front end (as well as the rear) was going, I bit the bullet and went to the dealership for everything. It might cost an arm and a leg ( I keep all my reciepts), but quality isn`t something that should be compromised. I`ve already put over 90k miles on my replaced suspension components with no problems. I`ve even had a spinout on the highway in a bad rainstorm that sent me off the road backwards, tearing up the grass on the embankment for a good distance. I restarted my car and went right to a shop to make sure my car was ok and everything was good. Never choose `cheaper` over `better.`

Originally posted by electrohead
When my front end (as well as the rear) was going, I bit the bullet and went to the dealership for everything. It might cost an arm and a leg ( I keep all my reciepts), but quality isn`t something that should be compromised. I`ve already put over 90k miles on my replaced suspension components with no problems. I`ve even had a spinout on the highway in a bad rainstorm that sent me off the road backwards, tearing up the grass on the embankment for a good distance. I restarted my car and went right to a shop to make sure my car was ok and everything was good. Never choose `cheaper` over `better.`

I agree with electro. Never choose cheaper over better. I wish I had the funds to replace my whole suspension with dealer parts. I have 2 degrees negative camber in the rear with stock suspension. I could get a rear camber kit to temporarily fix the problem, but in the future I want to lower it which is gonna give me more problems. The dealer is the only place I've found that sells oem replacement parts for the rear so I dont have much choice. As for the front suspension if you are replacing your control arms from the dealer pay close attention to the locking nuts after 50k miles or so. Unfortunately they are known to break. One of mine broke off causing the control arm to fall and snapping my axle. Luckily I was accelerating from a stop when it happened. A friend of mine had a gst and the same thing happened to him.

Was it the small lower control arm that broke? If it was, it`s that recalled part. And you`re right, be careful, because I got mine replaced and the one they put on the first time had absolutely no grease and started binding. Luckily, I didn`t have any complications and the new one they put on is fine.

Actually, it wasnt the balljoint itself that broke. It was the nut that threads onto the balljoint. The small lateral control arm is the one that the nut broke off of. I called the dealer and gave them my vin # and there were no recalls for my car. I have heard of these balljoints breaking because of boot damage in assembly, but since the nut broke and not the balljoint they didnt give me squat. I wonder how many other people have had this problem.