Best suspension rebuild package pricing?

[Ron Ward]

I'm gearing up for a complete front end overhaul on my 1968 Sport Satellite. The car is going to be driven as a cruiser, not a canyon carver or dragstrip terror, so I am looking at a stock replacement quality rebuild. Moog is my brand of choice based on a good history with their product.

That being said, I checked my local O'Reilly Auto Parts chain store and got a price on everything I need, including upper and lower ball joints, upper and lower control arm bushings, inner and outer tie rod ends with sleeves, idler arm and strut rod bushings and new shock absorbers (Monroe). I nearly fell over from sticker shock....

So, off to the interweb in search of the best deal. My first virtual auto parts stop was Rock Auto. They beat O'Reilly's by nearly 50% on their price. In addition to that, I can get another 5% off using their discount code. The problem, however, is the shipping. Conveniently, (?) their Moog products don't all ship from the same location, thus, THREE separate freight charges would be incurred by ordering from them.

I printed off the quote from Rock Auto and took it in to the same O'Reilly's store to offer them the opportunity to match the price. I was told,"No way!" The store manager went on to tell me that O'Reilly's advantage was they could offer much better service after the sale via warranty replacment. I looked him straight in the eye and asked him, "How often do you warranty Moog parts?" His response? "Well, it COULD happen." Yeah.... exactly.... It's worth over $200 in savings for me to buy online....

The search continued...

Next stop, Amazon.com. I had my list of part numbers from Rock Auto. Using Amazon Prime, the parts prices were the same as Rock Auto's prior to discount with free shipping. Hmm.... we're getting warmer.

Stingy me decided to try one last suppler. Summit Racing sells a complete line of stock replacement parts as well as their full selection of aftermarket go-fast goodies and deer whistles. Wow! I was impressed. Summit's price on a couple of the parts was higher than Amazon, but the overall parts total was $20 cheaper. Plus, orders through Summit over $100 qualify for free shipping. So... I have a shopping cart filled on Summit's website and am nearly ready to hit the ORDER button....

I prefer quality parts. Sure, Rock Auto offers bargain basement, economy-minded, low-buck Chinese replacement parts that would blow away the price of the Moog stuff I have selected, but I don't want that crap on my car. As far as I know TRW no longer makes suspension components for passenger cars (sigh) and I really don't want to "upgrade" to polyurethane suspension components as I have ridden in cars equipped with them and wasn't thrilled with the ride quality. So, my question is, do any of you have good experiences with quality vs. price through other brands or suppliers? Who's got the best bang for the buck?

Thanks in advance,

Ron

 

[MT_Mopar]

Hi Ron,

Allot of us here including myself have rebuild kits from PST: http://www.p-s-t.com/

Good luck on your Satellite front end rebuild, it will make a huge difference.

 

[YY1]

I got the "small" package in polygraphite from PST, and pieced the rest in Moog from rockauto.

Saved about $100 doing it that way.

 

[Dennis H]

You don't mention the $ amounts. Be sure to get a Firm Feel steering box - Stage 2. Bilsteins from Hotchkis. Subframe connectors from USCartool. These three items alone will produce magic. Triple digit miles of smiles.

 

[Cranky]

Seems like even Moog uses questionable parts sometimes. It's been years since buying front end parts but the dust boots on the ball joints rotted away in a year sitting on a shelf still in the box! Got them replaced (no replacement boots) and so far, they are good otherwise. Glad I didn't put them on the car right away....I would have been super pissed.

 

[kb67mopar]

I bought all of my parts from PST. Just look at the kit before you buy, mine didn't come with the outer tie rod ends and adjusting sleeves. But rock auto took care of that pretty quick.

Summit also does a very good job and I have nothing but good things to say there.

I think best bang for the buck is PST through this site with our member discount...just pm him from the vendors forum.

 

[Coronet 14]

I got my suspension parts from Summit Racing and the upper control arms from Mancini Racing.

 

[Budnicks]

just do the order you started on Summit Racing, IIRC they price match too, "call them"
& if any of the stuff you ordered, you don't like or that you ordered wrong or got the wrong parts,
you can return them, free return shipping, with no hassle, some stuff has a restocking fee, like most all companies do
Summit Racing is the best customer service hands down,
short of going to a locally owned NAPA store & hand picking your parts for 30% more...

IMHFO
Quality parts are far more important than getting a good/cheap price, spend a little more now,
don't be a cheapskate it will bite you in the a$$, every damn time
it's no fun to have to replace crappy/inferior parts, after you just did the rebuild
or have to tare the car apart "again" & spend more than you saved, because your too cheap/stingy...


Good luck

 

[aldal]

I bought from Summit, PST, Firm Feel, QA1 and in my case I give them all a very good rating....good luck with your build.

 

[Ron Ward]

KB67, thanks for the advice about PST. They have a stock replacement quality kit that has a great price and appears to be very good quality stuff.

I have never used PST products. Anyone here care to share their experience with them?

Thanks again!

 

[Budnicks]

PST has a rep. James {IIRC, great, friendly & knowledgeable Mopar guy}on here he goes by PST
& we get a member discount too...

there's a 10% discount deal in the sponsors forum section right now...

PM him he will help you out... probably answer all you questions too

 

[kb67mopar]

Yep I ordered through him. Thats the only way to get our discount. Good guy to deal with.

 

[Dennis H]

Dealt with PST. Good product, good experience.