FSD group buy

Apparently not, but I've never experienced something like this before, it's very poor on Koni's behalf if true. We must be able to sort soemthing out though, I was very excited by the Group Buy price.
 
I've seen "national" warranties before (it's one of the main reasons I have a Pentax and not a Nikon or Canon...) but I was surprised that a) it's like this and b) it's that important to the guys. Apparently it is.

The next problem is that if you don't have a bill in your name, then you're not necessarily the initial owner, which is for example where Bilstein will stop the guarantee. Both of these issues are showstoppers as far as the group in Germany is concerned.

Bret
 
:confused: Mmmmm....

In November 2001 I purchased my first MCC Smart (a LHD version) in the Netherlands and then had it brought to the UK as a personal import. Over the next two years I had to make a number of warranty claims, all of which were honoured with no problems by Smart, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler/Chrysler.

I agreed to proceed with the purchase after it being confirmed that the manufacturer's warranty on the vehicle had to be honoured throughout the EU. I bought the vehicle before MCC Smart had set up its distributor network in the UK and have never had any problems with warranty claims on MCC Smart accessory upgrades I subsequently purchased on holidays in Germany.
 
vielen Dank für Ihre E-Mail. Auf unsere Dämpfer und Fahrwerke (außer STR.T-Fahrwerke Art.Nr. 1110-....) gewähren wir die KONI-Deutschland Lebenslang-Garantie auf Produktions- und Materialfehler.
Voraussetzung für die Inanspruchnahme ist nach Ablauf der 2-jährigen gesetzlichen Gewährleistung die Vorlage von Original-Kaufnachweis und Garantieaufkleber. Diese dienen dem Nachweis, dass die Dämpfer/das Fahrwerk über einen KONI-Deutschland-Händler bezogen wurden.
Die Garantie gilt nur für den Ersteinbau! Das heißt, bei einem Weiterverkauf erlischt die Garantie.
Die Garantieabwicklung sollte während der gesetzlichen Gewährleistung über Ihren Händler, danach kann sie direkt über uns erfolgen.
Konnten wir Ihnen mit diesen Angaben helfen?

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Click to expand...
Thank you for your email. On our dampers and suspension kits we have a koni Germany lifelong guaranatee for production or material errors. Our requirement for this it that after the two year legal warranty period you must be able to produce an original bill and guarantee sticker. These are to confirm that the dampers / suspension were purchased through a Koni Germany dealer. The Guarantee is only valid for the first installation! This also means that should the vehicle be sold, the guarantee is no longer valid.
During the legal warranty periodm, any claims should be pursued through your dealer, after this directly with ourselves.
Have we assisted you with this information?

kind regards

the original is here: http://www.a2-freun.de/forum/showpost.php?p=741908&postcount=87

Bret
 
Being in Northern Ireland, I just decided to pay the extra and get a set from the UK, for the sake of convenience of delivery. I bit the bullet and ordered a set off Larkspeed on Monday and they arrived today. I have to say though, the box is quite large, so would have been tricky for GrimReaper's brother to fit in 5 or six sets unless he has a lot of space in his van/truck. The box was about 300mm X 600mm X 900mm (approx, I didn't measure it), and fairly weighty (I didn't weigh it either!).

Cost me a bit more but with my location and situation I don't think the group buy was an option for me. I just wanted to get sorted before the price went up again!

Hope it all works out for you guys.

Jon
 
Probably a bad decision on Koni's part to rescind the usual warranty terms on this sale but that appears to be their prerogative. The current economic climate has been described as a 'global recession' and if this is the type of business decision that they think is best suited to such conditions then so be it.

I don't understand why there is not a 'second best' recommended suspension setup for ride comfort on the A2. I know that the Koni's possess some sort of patented technology but surely there is an alternative setup that will increase comfort and work well with some nice new non-audi springs that will hopefully be less prone to snapping.

I understand the benefit of improving the suspension setup but I am not prepared to pay whatever price is to be commanded by Koni. I shall look into other suspension setups that provide a better balance between cost, comfort, performance and reliability.
 
Hi everyone,

Looks like this opportunity is going to fall thru the crack. The German A2colleague are falling like leaves in autumn due to the warranty and the separate billing that's not feasable. Other concern as well, is the warranty if you install yourself versus a professional.
So, unless there is a massive change for monday 02 march, this offer/project will be dead. No return to the future!!!!
At least I tried. I will not be checking this forum till next monday! So no panic, I'll be back. Just leaving for the WE.

Ltr, Didier
 
Surely in a group buy like this, you're actually acting as a distributor, you're not the actual end user, so therefore I don't understand the problem. Koni are just being thick. The extremis of this approach from Koni means that actually no one is entitled to a warranty as at some point someone has bought and re-sold the product before it is installed?
Oh well. Thanks for your time and effort on this Didier!

@Alan - thanks for that link, that's a good price, does it include delivery in the UK too?
 
thespringfield said:
I don't understand why there is not a 'second best' recommended suspension setup for ride comfort on the A2. I know that the Koni's possess some sort of patented technology but surely there is an alternative setup that will increase comfort and work well with some nice new non-audi springs that will hopefully be less prone to snapping.

I understand the benefit of improving the suspension setup but I am not prepared to pay whatever price is to be commanded by Koni. I shall look into other suspension setups that provide a better balance between cost, comfort, performance and reliability.
Click to expand...

Sure there is a "second best" comfort-accentuated suspension solution for the A2, namely the combination of
  • Bilstein B6 shocks (please do a forum search for Bilstein UK suppliers, I made a list some time earlier)
  • plus stock height springs (non-breaking, preferably made by SPIDAN, please do a forum search)

However, that Bilstein combo will provide a little firmer ride than the FSDs with stock heigt springs - but still much better balanced than any A2 stock suspension especially over deep potholes etc...


As far as I know the Koni warranty is always connected to national purchase and usage (that does "protect" the individual national Koni distributors from too hard international competition). I believe Bilstein's warranty regulations are similar to Koni's.
 
Schnelletrecker said:
Sure there is a "second best" comfort-accentuated suspension solution for the A2, namely the combination of
  • Bilstein B6 shocks (please do a forum search for Bilstein UK suppliers, I made a list some time earlier)
  • plus stock height springs (non-breaking, preferably made by SPIDAN, please do a forum search)

However, that Bilstein combo will provide a little firmer ride than the FSDs with stock heigt springs - but still much better balanced than any A2 stock suspension especially over deep potholes etc...


As far as I know the Koni warranty is always connected to national purchase and usage (that does "protect" the individual national Koni distributors from too hard international competition). I believe Bilstein's warranty regulations are similar to Koni's.
Click to expand...


Thanks but I am looking to save money on the KONI price and the Bilstein B6 setup, according to what I have read, is either no cheaper or in fact more expensive than KONI FSD.

Having read some of your other posts I can recall you stating that there is a positive correlation between price and quality and I have read from other sources that some of the cheaper alternatives such as Jamex and TA Tecnnix can prove unreliable.

However, surely their is some moderation between the two. You seem to promote the most expensive options much of the time. What about the Weitec Ultra GT setup? I note that they are selling at between £300 and £350. This kit includes the springs so represents significant savings on purchasing the kits that I see you promoting most of the time.

I appreciate that it is a 'sport' setup but my main reasons for wanting to change the suspension are:

-Unreliable springs,
-General hardness of the Audi dampers,
-General feeling that the suspension is one of the very few weaknesses of the A2,
-Would like to enhance the look of the car with the lowering springs.

What type of difference, if any, could one achieve with this setup when compared to the standard Audi dampers and springs with regard to comfort level?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top