Need to vent! Suspension and shop frustrations!

[WanaGTO]

When I bought my '05 Vert, I did some searching for a legitimate performance suspension shop to look it over and check the alignment. The goal was to make sure everything was in working order.

I ended up finding a great shop with experience and they notified me that two struts (PS Front, DS rear) were blown so the search for coilovers began.

The tech was a friendly and knowledgable guy and recommended some coilover options while explicitly telling me to avoid BC. I wrote down what he said but when actually searching, most of the brands he recommended had no Viper products, and the ones that did ranged from 5.5 - 9.5K.

BC for the Vipers were common with good reviews and a good price. I will never track the car and I was not keen on paying 10-20% of what I paid for the car to use it lightly on the street (KW, MCS, etc...). I just needed replacements and the factory suspension cost did not make sense for all four either.

Long story short, I called to schedule an appointment for installation and the shop will not put the BCs on. They are willing to help me align it afterward, but I am a little disappointed and feel judged.

I am not a cheapa** but cannot justify that kind of price for suspension on a weekend street car. Definitely feeling butthurt. The gentleman on the phone even made a comment that why would I do this if I'm not willing to spend any money on it?

Why would the shop refuse to install them? Should I take this as a polite sign that they don't want to touch it?

 

[BoondocSaint]

You could be correct about them not wanting to touch it. Some shops don't want to be on the hook for certain cars. My local shop wants nothing to do with my car.

Sounds like he doesn't fully understand shock options on our cars. Most come with a heavy dose of sticker shock, and like you stated, overkill for mostly street use. I've never personally dealt with BC, but had considered them at one time. There really isn't a good in-between option besides possibly used, but most everything I have read about BC for our cars has been favorable.

 

[MoparMap]

I wonder if he won't work on them because he doesn't want to be held responsible if something goes wrong and he feels like BCs are more prone to failure? A little odd either way I'd agree, you'd think he could just say "no warranty".

As for prices, you should be able to get a set of MCS single adjustable shocks pretty reasonable, unless they have gone through the roof on pricing lately. Pretty sure I got my set for my 04 for something like $3k all in by the time I bought springs to go with it as well, but that was also probably 5+ years ago. I think they sell single, double, and triple adjustable if I remember correctly.

 

[Old School]

Long story short, I called to schedule an appointment for installation and the shop will not put the BCs on. They are willing to help me align it afterward, but I am a little disappointed and feel judged.

Classic Seinfeld "No soup for You" mentality.

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[WanaGTO]

You could be correct about them not wanting to touch it. Some shops don't want to be on the hook for certain cars. My local shop wants nothing to do with my car.

Sounds like he doesn't fully understand shock options on our cars. Most come with a heavy dose of sticker shock, and like you stated, overkill for mostly street use. I've never personally dealt with BC, but had considered them at one time. There really isn't a good in-between option besides possibly used, but most everything I have read about BC for our cars has been favorable.

That was exactly my discovery. There is no middle-ground as far as new coilover options. It's either premium price for overkill performance, premium price for stock components, or good price for what I need.

I wonder if he won't work on them because he doesn't want to be held responsible if something goes wrong and he feels like BCs are more prone to failure? A little odd either way I'd agree, you'd think he could just say "no warranty".

As for prices, you should be able to get a set of MCS single adjustable shocks pretty reasonable, unless they have gone through the roof on pricing lately. Pretty sure I got my set for my 04 for something like $3k all in by the time I bought springs to go with it as well, but that was also probably 5+ years ago. I think they sell single, double, and triple adjustable if I remember correctly.

My search yeilded something in the neighborhood of 5K for MCS bottom-tier options. Prices are insane!

 

[GTS Dean]

I've never heard of BC problems. Aldans? Yes - in the early years. Now Aldans are solid products. They have an identity crisis they have long tried to climb out of.

 

[Viper Specialty]

Cross-Post from VA:

I see this from both sides, but the fact is, that a business is in business to make money. Bringing your own parts means they are doing the same work and taking the same risks for far less than half the profit as if they supplied everything. To add insult to injury, BC is a relatively low-end product in the world of Viper suspension... and while they are generally perfectly fine, that increases the likelihood of quality and performance related issues. They may have had an issue with BC and now dont want to touch them. I am the same way with Aldans... they cost me so much money I couldnt care less if they dominated the world, they are garbage now and forever in my eyes.

All in all, I can understand why you want to save money, and also why they dont want your saving money to be done at their expense. As a general rule, shops do not like installing customer supplied components... and in all but rare circumstances, I operate the same way. I have better things to do than deal with headaches from components I didnt even sell.

[The irony is painful as I typed that, as I field calls every day from people asking for tech support on shit I had nothing to do with, as I hold out hope that someday they will actually buy something from me. ROLL EYES.]

 

[WanaGTO]

This is all good feedback and gives me some insight into why the shop may make the decisions they do. I will say though, with us heading into the economic times ahead of us, I find it hard to believe that people will be purchasing 5-figure suspension setups for their street cars. But, I digress.

Any advice on how to locate someone who can do a quality street alignment on the car after install?

 

[MoparMap]

Wow, I'm surprised the MCS prices have gone up so much. I debated upgrading mine to the two way setup so I could try to get a little better street manners by splitting the compression and rebound into separate adjustments. They actually suggested just selling them and buying new as the cost to rebuild mine and upgrade them wasn't really all that different than just buying new.

 

[jeffjohnston819]

When I bought my '05 Vert, I did some searching for a legitimate performance suspension shop to look it over and check the alignment. The goal was to make sure everything was in working order.

I ended up finding a great shop with experience and they notified me that two struts (PS Front, DS rear) were blown so the search for coilovers began.

The tech was a friendly and knowledgable guy and recommended some coilover options while explicitly telling me to avoid BC. I wrote down what he said but when actually searching, most of the brands he recommended had no Viper products, and the ones that did ranged from 5.5 - 9.5K.

BC for the Vipers were common with good reviews and a good price. I will never track the car and I was not keen on paying 10-20% of what I paid for the car to use it lightly on the street (KW, MCS, etc...). I just needed replacements and the factory suspension cost did not make sense for all four either.

Long story short, I called to schedule an appointment for installation and the shop will not put the BCs on. They are willing to help me align it afterward, but I am a little disappointed and feel judged.

I am not a cheapa** but cannot justify that kind of price for suspension on a weekend street car. Definitely feeling butthurt. The gentleman on the phone even made a comment that why would I do this if I'm not willing to spend any money on it?

Why would the shop refuse to install them? Should I take this as a polite sign that they don't want to touch it?

Not sure what their problem is with the BC Coilovers. Ive had mine for 6 months and have not had an issue. I drive my car ******* the roads in the mountains in East Tennessee and i have had the car on the track twice. They have made a world of difference. I do ALL of my own work. That's probably the difference. I wish the BC's were easier to make adjustments like Penske, but for the price, you cannot beat them. I even changed weight distribution with mine using a set of scales with me in the car. Sounds like the shop was pushing their product.