For the first time ever my Mk 2.5 failed itās MOT,Ā on 2 front broken springs. These are meisters, have not done 4K miles, one snapped near the top, one near the bottom. I emailed the company on Sat, hoping to get some help from them for replacements.
How unlucky was that?
From such a respected outfit (?).
Iād expect Meister to step in without too much botherā¦but then thereās labour (is there a warranty still?) etc.
Ā
I believe there is a 1 year warranty, I have had them nearer 2 . AK automotive told me they are good with customer service but I get no answer on the phone and no reply to my email so far.
New springs are on their site for Ā£64 a pair.
Another vote for Koni. I fitted a set of Koni sports on 5 June 2004. Since then the car has done about 100k kilometres. I sold the car back in 2013 but am in regular contact with the owner and about 6 months ago he told me that heĀ had the shocks refurbished by a local rebuilder at a cost of $75 per corner. Canāt beat that I donāt think. I drove the car all over Europe in 2005 with standard Mazda springs fitted [ I wanted some extra height over the standard springs for several ferry crossings] Great shocksā¦
I finally got in contact with Meisterr, they emailed me the site to buy new springs. With only 4K miles on them, with replacement springs cost plus fitting and setup, I wish I had Konis.
Thatās disappointing, did you suggest a pair of springs would hardly kill them as a goodwill gesture whilst mentioning this thread, perhaps discussing via their twitter/ facebook etc? Must admit has put doubt in my mind as to which set Iād consider going forwards.
I thought there might have been a little good will , but, when I think about it, I canāt remember the last time goodwill came my way.
Bearing in mind that a lot of owners (myself inlcuded) have fitted these or recommended these, then if Meister refuse to replace the springs then they have to say why. Under consumer law they cannot hide behind the 1 year warrantee. The law is simple, there is no way they can say that they are fit for purpose if they have failed in less than 2 years unless you have either incorrectly fitted them or else broken them in a pothole or accident. I believe that they should last 3 years and that if you went to the fastrack of the county court (called small claims) then you would get a finding that they should have to pay for replacement. Ok it the whole thing would cost about Ā£200 to supply and replace, but that is not the point. I recommend that you ask them to supply replacement ones tas they are clearly ānot fit forĀ purposeā. You could always point that out in their FP pageā¦ Of course try the stroppy but polite email first to see if they will play ball
Good luck
Ā
As a Meister dealer I will try and helpā¦give me a call tomorrow and let me know spring length and strength and I will see what I have in stock FOCĀ
Ā
paulĀ
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I am 75, just had a new hip fitted. I can not get under the car to measure anything. I have asked a local specialist to source replacements. Thanks for your offer.
I have fitted custom made, ally bodied Protech coil-overs to my trials car. To protect(!) the springs and damper rod from mud and corrosion I fitted simple covers, made from rip stop nylon, over the springs. They donāt affect the function of the shocks at all. Any dirt just falls off as the covers flex.
As I am now in the USA, I generally donāt see everything.
Edwin normally takes cares of logistics / customer service, and he is very good at it.
But saw this post so I decide to take a little look.
Springs do wear, paint may peel as it is a moving exposed metal part; but generally they do not fail within a few years.
So for springs to actually fail in a few years is actually quite out of the ordinary.
Warranty period for the MeisterR coilovers is 1-year, but as most who know us will tell you generally we donāt draw a hard line.
If something is out of the ordinary, a good will gesture from us is pretty common.
Looking into this, we got a message on the 9/2 informing us the car have fail MOT with 2 broken springs, and donāt think it has been over 2 years since fitted.
Looking at the order history, the last thing I had from you was from 2014ā¦ so quite a few years back.
Now, I think we can say if the suspension was from 2014, it is pretty fair to say MeisterR shouldnāt be responsible for a broken spring.
However, if the springs broke within 24 months, then I would say there is a fair case that a good will gesture should be issue to replace the broken springs as it is out of the ordinary.
With that said, for us to provide warranty we do need a little more info.Ā
Original purchase invoice, pictures, etcā¦ Ā Something that we can use to date the point of purchase.
As with most product warranty, the agreement is with us and the original purchaserā¦ so you donāt get a warranty when you buy used item.
This do bring up a good point that we may need a little more clarity on warranty.
It is something I will have a chat with Edwin about as maybe we need a better procedure when customer report issue to us.
He point you to purchase replacement parts as the coilovers are out of warranty, which is the reasonable thing to do.
However, we should have procedure in place so we can request more info from customer to determine if the customer should purchase replacement parts or if warrant Ā help even if product is out of warranty.
As far as what springs are needed, it is easy to find out the long as we know what was sold originally.
Jerrick
In terms of corrosion, the MeisterR is a steel body unit.
So it does not provide the same corrosion resistance as Ally / Stainless Steel unit.
But here was my 3-years old setup on my car that I posted a back in 2013.
This is how the rear coilovers looked after being exposed to the elements for 3 years.
As you can see in the picture, there is some corrosion on the steel damper body (as anyone would expect after 3 years of use).
The top mount, collars and the brackets are in great condition as they are made from T6061 aluminium.
3 years old damper: Before Cleaning.
We did not use any fancy tools or chemicals: all we used were, a can of WD40, a can of brake cleaner, and a few bits of cotton rags.
We decided to take all the aluminium collars off to show that they are not seized up, and wipe everything over with some WD40.
3 years old damper: After Cleaning
One of the best protection is a coilover sock, keeping the debris hitting the surfaces make a huge difference in durability; it is something we are looking into producing.
The ARC we sell also provide great protection against corrosion, especially in colder climate where road salt are commonly used.
Jerrick
Well said Jerrick!
Saz, as ever, you opened up your little bag of āIām so cleverā early on in this post to tell everyone how much you knew and what was wrong with everything Meister and made itĀ public only to then criticiseĀ the very organisation you are talking about for not keeping quiet and only using āprivate messages.āĀ
Generally a componentĀ of clever would be the ability to learn from your mistakes. It is not the first time you have been shot down for being a know all. You berated someone the other day for usingĀ anecdotal knowledge. Maybe you should take your own advice.Ā Ā
For a bit of clarity in this thread from an owner who has tried and used Meisters.
Here are my Zetapro Meisters purchased in 2014 used for two winters on my Black Mk1 before being fitted onto my recent imported Mk1 in 2016 and sold in March 2018 with the only noticeable defects a slight paint chipping from the springs which were starting to rust the only reason for selling and replacing with a new set.
My new set as Jerrick at MeisterR suggests have socks fitted when in non show use.
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Thread corrected for you.
Hi Ian,
I notice on your āNew setā the springs have some sleeves over the top and bottom section, I assume to help prevent the coating being damaged if/when the coils touch each other, they are not on the old set.
I am just fitting a set of Crdās I received early January to my NC and they do not have this sleeving on the springs. Do you know if this is a recent addition by Meister, or did you fit it yourself?
I also note the Eibach springs currently on the original dampers have some sleeving top and bottom also.
cheers
Stewart
The āNew setā came with the sleeves fitted, perhaps Jerrick may pop in and advise as to why.
Cheers
Ian