Febi Bilstein parts longevity

[Frog1]

Just a short post on my experience with Febi parts on a 2012 208 1.4d.

Two and a half years ago, when replacing the clutch, I did some 'while you're in there' jobs and purchased the following parts from Febi Bilstein.

Track rod ends x2
Lower arms X2
Drive shaft seals x2

The car has covered 20k miles since and I've just noticed one of the lower arm ball joints is shot. Video below. This is on top of one of the track rod ends failing already and being replaced (at my cost) as well as one of the drive shaft seals weeping after about a month.

Now, I could be the unluckiest man alive, or their parts might be made from cheese, you can decide that one yourself but lots of other manufacturers exist.
Having to redo the job of replacing these parts is my biggest bugbear, not the cost of the parts. Febi customer services wanted invoices with names and addresses as proof for a warranty claim, fair enough, but all I had was the ebay history of the purchase and I would have to wait 3-4 weeks for 1 replacement arm anyway. I guess I'm supposed to walk in the meantime. Or just buy genuine Peugeot parts.

https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/90d0fa3692e3.mp4

[mickthemaverick]

I can understand your frustration there. I have been using Febi Bilstein suspension parts since the year dot and I have never had that type of problem. However I do get the parts from a spares shop, Midnight Motors in Watford who has also been there since before I started driving, and I wonder if you may have been a victim of the many fake parts that abound the internet. Ebay is notorious unless you buy from one of the reputable suppliers who also run an ebay shop. Anyway just an alternative view.

[penners11]

I have started removing the boots carefully recently when changing any ball joints and packing them with grease, I found there's very little original grease in the joints apart from a smearing. A pain I know, but they seam to last longer now.

[ozfrog]

Just a short post on my experience with Febi parts on a 2012 208 1.4d.

Two and a half years ago, when replacing the clutch, I did some 'while you're in there' jobs and purchased the following parts from Febi Bilstein.

Track rod ends x2
Lower arms X2
Drive shaft seals x2

Snip

Now, I could be the unluckiest man alive, or their parts might be made from cheese, you can decide that one yourself but lots of other manufacturers exist.

Having to redo the job of replacing these parts is my biggest bugbear, not the cost of the parts. Febi customer services wanted invoices with names and addresses as proof for a warranty claim, fair enough, but all I had was the ebay history of the purchase and I would have to wait 3-4 weeks for 1 replacement arm anyway. I guess I'm supposed to walk in the meantime. Or just buy genuine Peugeot parts.

I’m not sure from reading your post whether you replaced the parts yourself or if you took the car to a mechanic to get the work done.

In Australia, my main supplier of parts is selling genuine Peugeot parts but not at dealership prices; they’re significantly cheaper. But he is putting on his sales invoices that there is no warranty on parts unless they have been fitted by a professional mechanic in his workshop. In other words, I’m not even allowed to replace the broken windscreen washer bottle cap if there’s any possibility that it might break and that I would want to claim warranty on it!

It’s really madness but I don’t know what to do but accept the fact and get the mechanic to replace every single part.

I thought I had a faulty top suspension mount, less than 500 kilometres after both sides were replaced. I don’t remember what brand of mount I had purchased from him, but it wasn’t the genuine one; he didn’t have any in stock, and I needed them urgently. But I had purchased a good brand, possibly the same as you did, Febi Bilstein.

When it apparently failed, my mechanic was shocked, I was shocked, and when I contacted the supplier, he was shocked, too. He emailed the warranty form and I began completing it at the same time as my mechanic was dismantling the side of the suspension that had failed. Then I got a phone call from him, telling me to stop the warranty claim. He had found the problem. He had not seen the mark on a particular component that said “top”, and he had installed it the wrong way up. Thankfully, nothing got damaged, except for his ego! He reinstalled the part the correct way up and reassembled the suspension and then taken the car for a test drive. Everything was good. Phew! I didn’t complete the warranty form, and nothing else was said.

In case you’re interested, I’ll include the main part of his email to me below, and attach the warranty form. But this is what we have to endure when we want to make a warranty claim. It makes you think twice about it and you have to decide whether it’s worth the time and effort.


His email to me included:
I am sorry to hear what has happened. I have attached a warranty form for you. Please get your mechanic to fill it up and email it back to us together with all listed below:
1. Warranty Form(Filled by workshop)
2. Detailed fault description
3. Diagnostic report
4. Installation invoice
5. Photos or videos of the issue
6. Any fault codes record

Once we receive all of the above, we will advise you on the next step.

[xantia_v6]

What the parts suppliers are looking for is a chain of evidence that tracks ownership of the part back to the factory or a stockist that they trust. They are being burnt all the time by warranty claims on fake parts.

[Tr7v8]

I’m not sure from reading your post whether you replaced the parts yourself or if you took the car to a mechanic to get the work done.

In Australia, my main supplier of parts is selling genuine Peugeot parts but not at dealership prices; they’re significantly cheaper. But he is putting on his sales invoices that there is no warranty on parts unless they have been fitted by a professional mechanic in his workshop. In other words, I’m not even allowed to replace the broken windscreen washer bottle cap if there’s any possibility that it might break and that I would want to claim warranty on it!

Interesting, a few years ago I had a Porsche Cayenne. This needed a new thermostat. Now this is major surgery on a V8, all the inlet manifold has to come off and it was (5 years ago around £250 in gaskets and O rings for starters, my mechanic suggested a water pump replacement at the same time. When he stripped it the water pump pulley which is some weird bakelite material was cracked. So I ordered another. All Genuine Porsche bits. 300 miles later the brand new water pump pulley exploded, shredded the £100+ aux belt and left us stranded in the middle of a torrential rain storm. The pulley was around £35. When I spoke to Porsche they would do nothing about it as "It wasn't fitted by one of our techs." Now my tech is 30+ years as a mechanic, Chrysler trained and I trust him implicitly. So its not just after market stuff that has no post sales support.

[PaulC5]

If a garage/dealer is doing work on a car I always think it is better if they provide the parts. That way they are responsible for the parts as well as the labour so if the parts fail it is up to them to sort it.

[Rp0thejester]

I'd like to flag the post before PaulC5 reply. A Porsche Cayenne is not a car, it's a monstrous tractor with a Porsche badge.

[ozfrog]

If a garage/dealer is doing work on a car, I always think it is better if they provide the parts. That way they are responsible for the parts as well as the labour, so if the parts fail it is up to them to sort it.

I tend to agree with you. Unfortunately, sometimes mechanics don't want to use suppliers that they 'haven't used before', or 'don't have an account with'.

If it is a dealership, does the car owner have any choice about who supplies the parts? Not in Australia, that I'm aware of. If it's a dealership, they use genuine parts, and you pay for it, in more ways than one.