FCS struts?
- Thread starter marine65
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They are very cheap...
This can be seen as an asset or a liability...
This can be seen as an asset or a liability...
Not bad if you need sell it immediately. If your going to use it get better. Too much work the change them out.
Originally Posted by danez_yoda
Not bad if you need sell it immediately. If your going to use it get better. Too much work the change them out.
I acknowledge what you're alluding to here and I get it.
But does anyone say to themselves "man, I just can't get rid of this Sentra with 200k on it. Maybe a new set of struts will convince them...."
I don't think anyone with their wallet in mind would buy any new set of struts just to unload this car....
Not bad if you need sell it immediately. If your going to use it get better. Too much work the change them out.
I acknowledge what you're alluding to here and I get it.
But does anyone say to themselves "man, I just can't get rid of this Sentra with 200k on it. Maybe a new set of struts will convince them...."
I don't think anyone with their wallet in mind would buy any new set of struts just to unload this car....
I'd only use them if they were the only option and no premium name-brand quick struts were available, such as for the first-gen Prius.
But there are plenty of good choices for your Sentra. If you're willing to spend the money, Sachs makes awesome shocks and struts, and they are also an OE supplier to Nissan, being OEM for many US/Mexican-made Nissans. They may have even made the original shocks on your Sentra.
However, the Sachs quick struts are fairly expensive. Part numbers 033-064 and 033-065 for the front, 033-066 for the rear
If they are too expensive, or if you can't find them at all, Monroe and Gabriel are also pretty good. KYB makes quick struts for the front, but not the rear, for your car.
But there are plenty of good choices for your Sentra. If you're willing to spend the money, Sachs makes awesome shocks and struts, and they are also an OE supplier to Nissan, being OEM for many US/Mexican-made Nissans. They may have even made the original shocks on your Sentra.
However, the Sachs quick struts are fairly expensive. Part numbers 033-064 and 033-065 for the front, 033-066 for the rear
If they are too expensive, or if you can't find them at all, Monroe and Gabriel are also pretty good. KYB makes quick struts for the front, but not the rear, for your car.
Originally Posted by Imp4
I don't think anyone with their wallet in mind would buy any new set of struts just to unload this car....
Well a couple of things make this feasible. Car body and paint in good condition but shocks are wrecked. Bouncing obviously and feeling like something is broken.
Cheap shocks and good diy skills are a small $$$ to make the sale easy.
200k on a Japanese car is not too bad nowadays. Good for a first car for a us kid or beater. Won't sell it bouncing or bottoming out on every dip though.
I don't think anyone with their wallet in mind would buy any new set of struts just to unload this car....
Well a couple of things make this feasible. Car body and paint in good condition but shocks are wrecked. Bouncing obviously and feeling like something is broken.
Cheap shocks and good diy skills are a small $$$ to make the sale easy.
200k on a Japanese car is not too bad nowadays. Good for a first car for a us kid or beater. Won't sell it bouncing or bottoming out on every dip though.
If you're going to keep the Xterra than go with KYB or Monroe.
The kicker with selling a "200K" car is that the number of people who'll even consider it is WAY LOWER than usual (usual for that car).
Ex.1) My sisters '99 XJ was a well maintained gem with 171K. Very little phone traffic....for what I thought was a popular vehicle.
Ex.2) My '02 Volvo V70 had 198K and was well maintained too. There was a bit more phone traffic
Ex.1) My sisters '99 XJ was a well maintained gem with 171K. Very little phone traffic....for what I thought was a popular vehicle.
Ex.2) My '02 Volvo V70 had 198K and was well maintained too. There was a bit more phone traffic
Finally someone is discussing this!
But unfortunately I think we all know what the conclusion of this will be and it is not very interesting:
Cheap struts: not as good
Mid price: better
Expensive struts: best
Just a classic get-what-you-pay-for situation. The cheaper strut will probably fail earlier but every situation is different. If you're about to get rid of the car...cheap strut it is!
I put cheap assembled struts on my cars and all family's cars because we live in Detroit where the roads are very hard on suspension. Usually replacing strut assemblies with quality KYB or OEM units is just not in the budget, so we just get it done and if it fails early...at least a new one is cheap too! (None of them have failed yet btw).
Side note, I am also of the opinion now that is is better to replace the whole strut assembly with a cheap unit than it is to replace just the strut with a quality unit. Don't forget there's bumpers and boots and bearings in there that can also fail and it just makes more sense to replace it all together.
To marine65's original question, I have been disappointed at how little information there is on the FCS struts so I have avoided them. I am hoping someone can pipe in here and let us know who's really manufacturing them because I have found no reviews. Instead I usually head over to 1AAuto and get one of their kits. Literally just ordered a pair today and found they were competitively priced with Rockauto. The internet has told me so far that the 1AAuto struts are made my respectable manufacturers, but they still try hard to hide who those manufacturers are...
But unfortunately I think we all know what the conclusion of this will be and it is not very interesting:
Cheap struts: not as good
Mid price: better
Expensive struts: best
Just a classic get-what-you-pay-for situation. The cheaper strut will probably fail earlier but every situation is different. If you're about to get rid of the car...cheap strut it is!
I put cheap assembled struts on my cars and all family's cars because we live in Detroit where the roads are very hard on suspension. Usually replacing strut assemblies with quality KYB or OEM units is just not in the budget, so we just get it done and if it fails early...at least a new one is cheap too! (None of them have failed yet btw).
Side note, I am also of the opinion now that is is better to replace the whole strut assembly with a cheap unit than it is to replace just the strut with a quality unit. Don't forget there's bumpers and boots and bearings in there that can also fail and it just makes more sense to replace it all together.
To marine65's original question, I have been disappointed at how little information there is on the FCS struts so I have avoided them. I am hoping someone can pipe in here and let us know who's really manufacturing them because I have found no reviews. Instead I usually head over to 1AAuto and get one of their kits. Literally just ordered a pair today and found they were competitively priced with Rockauto. The internet has told me so far that the 1AAuto struts are made my respectable manufacturers, but they still try hard to hide who those manufacturers are...
Originally Posted by willistheguy
Finally someone is discussing this!
But unfortunately I think we all know what the conclusion of this will be and it is not very interesting:
Cheap struts: not as good
Mid price: better
Expensive struts: best
Just a classic get-what-you-pay-for situation. The cheaper strut will probably fail earlier but every situation is different. If you're about to get rid of the car...cheap strut it is!
I put cheap assembled struts on my cars and all family's cars because we live in Detroit where the roads are very hard on suspension. Usually replacing strut assemblies with quality KYB or OEM units is just not in the budget, so we just get it done and if it fails early...at least a new one is cheap too! (None of them have failed yet btw).
Side note, I am also of the opinion now that is is better to replace the whole strut assembly with a cheap unit than it is to replace just the strut with a quality unit. Don't forget there's bumpers and boots and bearings in there that can also fail and it just makes more sense to replace it all together.
To marine65's original question, I have been disappointed at how little information there is on the FCS struts so I have avoided them. I am hoping someone can pipe in here and let us know who's really manufacturing them because I have found no reviews. Instead I usually head over to 1AAuto and get one of their kits. Literally just ordered a pair today and found they were competitively priced with Rockauto. The internet has told me so far that the 1AAuto struts are made my respectable manufacturers, but they still try hard to hide who those manufacturers are...
It seems that with shocks/struts, they are sold at full price by the companies that make them for the OEM. The mark ups on OEM shocks/struts are not as extreme as on other parts that they rebrand.
If you get quick struts there's probably a 50% chance you will have mount issues at low mileage. That seems to be where they are weakest.
Finally someone is discussing this!
But unfortunately I think we all know what the conclusion of this will be and it is not very interesting:
Cheap struts: not as good
Mid price: better
Expensive struts: best
Just a classic get-what-you-pay-for situation. The cheaper strut will probably fail earlier but every situation is different. If you're about to get rid of the car...cheap strut it is!
I put cheap assembled struts on my cars and all family's cars because we live in Detroit where the roads are very hard on suspension. Usually replacing strut assemblies with quality KYB or OEM units is just not in the budget, so we just get it done and if it fails early...at least a new one is cheap too! (None of them have failed yet btw).
Side note, I am also of the opinion now that is is better to replace the whole strut assembly with a cheap unit than it is to replace just the strut with a quality unit. Don't forget there's bumpers and boots and bearings in there that can also fail and it just makes more sense to replace it all together.
To marine65's original question, I have been disappointed at how little information there is on the FCS struts so I have avoided them. I am hoping someone can pipe in here and let us know who's really manufacturing them because I have found no reviews. Instead I usually head over to 1AAuto and get one of their kits. Literally just ordered a pair today and found they were competitively priced with Rockauto. The internet has told me so far that the 1AAuto struts are made my respectable manufacturers, but they still try hard to hide who those manufacturers are...
It seems that with shocks/struts, they are sold at full price by the companies that make them for the OEM. The mark ups on OEM shocks/struts are not as extreme as on other parts that they rebrand.
If you get quick struts there's probably a 50% chance you will have mount issues at low mileage. That seems to be where they are weakest.
I appreciate all the replies.
At this point I intend to keep the car for a while unless something breaks that makes no sense to fix.
I'm still on the fence with cheap struts.
At this point ride quality is of no concern other then the jarring over expansion joints and other road bumps.
At this point I intend to keep the car for a while unless something breaks that makes no sense to fix.
I'm still on the fence with cheap struts.
At this point ride quality is of no concern other then the jarring over expansion joints and other road bumps.
Originally Posted by danez_yoda
Originally Posted by Imp4
I don't think anyone with their wallet in mind would buy any new set of struts just to unload this car....
Well a couple of things make this feasible. Car body and paint in good condition but shocks are wrecked. Bouncing obviously and feeling like something is broken.
Cheap shocks and good diy skills are a small $$$ to make the sale easy.
200k on a Japanese car is not too bad nowadays. Good for a first car for a us kid or beater. Won't sell it bouncing or bottoming out on every dip though.
Yeah I put new cheap ebay struts on my old camry right before I sold it. (Maxorber brand) Buyer didn't test drive it but I guess she's happy with it.
For $40 for the pair, they really transformed the car.
If you have a car with one dumb thing wrong with it, it can turn buyers off since they think there may be more issues they haven't uncovered yet. Many want to turn the key and go.
Originally Posted by Imp4
I don't think anyone with their wallet in mind would buy any new set of struts just to unload this car....
Well a couple of things make this feasible. Car body and paint in good condition but shocks are wrecked. Bouncing obviously and feeling like something is broken.
Cheap shocks and good diy skills are a small $$$ to make the sale easy.
200k on a Japanese car is not too bad nowadays. Good for a first car for a us kid or beater. Won't sell it bouncing or bottoming out on every dip though.
Yeah I put new cheap ebay struts on my old camry right before I sold it. (Maxorber brand) Buyer didn't test drive it but I guess she's happy with it.
For $40 for the pair, they really transformed the car.
If you have a car with one dumb thing wrong with it, it can turn buyers off since they think there may be more issues they haven't uncovered yet. Many want to turn the key and go.
Originally Posted by marine65
I appreciate all the replies.
At this point I intend to keep the car for a while unless something breaks that makes no sense to fix.
I'm still on the fence with cheap struts.
At this point ride quality is of no concern other then the jarring over expansion joints and other road bumps.
Wait until Monroe has their rebate sale again. They run a good promo a few times a year. It usually makes the price on par with the cheap Chinese junk.
I appreciate all the replies.
At this point I intend to keep the car for a while unless something breaks that makes no sense to fix.
I'm still on the fence with cheap struts.
At this point ride quality is of no concern other then the jarring over expansion joints and other road bumps.
Wait until Monroe has their rebate sale again. They run a good promo a few times a year. It usually makes the price on par with the cheap Chinese junk.
Yes, that seems high to install 4 quick struts.
Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
Yes, that seems high to install 4 quick struts.
What do you think is the fair price?
I want to be fair paying for his labor.
Keep in mind I am in the Denver Colorado area,cost of living is high here.
Yes, that seems high to install 4 quick struts.
What do you think is the fair price?
I want to be fair paying for his labor.
Keep in mind I am in the Denver Colorado area,cost of living is high here.
I used to find mechanics on Craigslist. I'd just do a search for ASE mechanic in the automotive section of services. Their price ranges were typically in the $40-$60/hour range. Usually those guys would charge anywhere from $80-$100 to do a front/rear set so that $425 is about double. Maybe you can find someone in the $250-$300 range. They would usually only take an hour to an hour and a half to do each set. Like Scotty said, it only takes him 45 minutes to do a set.
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