86-89 accord koni (reds) struts warranty no longer honored

I just got off the phone with Koni customer service. She informed me that even though i have the proper documentation for the warranty, which is a joke, because the parts have been discontinued and not superceeded by a new part the warranty is not valid as the only replacement is to rebuild. I also tracked our conversation via email:

Michael,
If the shock are discontinued part numbers, they may have been replaced with newer part numbers, if so you will receive those. If the parts are discontinued all together and we no longer offer shocks for the application the only option would be to rebuild the dampers, which is not covered under the warranty.

This email prompted the phone call. It quite pains me to know that these great parts are all but worthless as they wear. i did ask for a quote to purchase individual rebuild parts. Since they have no warranty there is no worry in damaging a part Id have to pay to fix anyways.

They don't sell parts either. Sorry. Ill have to pull one apart, bring the parts to a local race shop and see if they can reference comparable materials. The $250 per strut to rebuild is a bit steep and unfortunately they aren't getting old to find new on the shelf in someones garage these days.

At those prices it would be worth it to just get full body coilovers instead, you can even get custom rates on the springs.

I love the 100% satisfaction guaranteed (unless we decide otherwise) warranties. What a drag.

yeah I was actually nervous about getting warranty support. The fine print is that you provide the receipt of purchase, Ok that's doable. They also wanted proof that the car they were installed on was in my name so they asked for a registration trail on the same car from the date of purchase to present. First I don't usually save every registration for my cars just the last couple years. Second, the car i had owned back then was totaled 5 years ago and hadn't been registered since. It turns out not to matter in the least anyways.

It bothers me greatly though that lifetime warranty to the original purchaser really means until at which time we feel the market no longer supports that model and we without notification void all terms

I know it is most likely not gonna make a difference, but you should try emailing a koni higher up. Plead your case, and explain how much this community still reps the quality of the product they sell. I would explain fully that you still have the receipt and everything. You never know what might appeal to somebody with a little push in a company.

If they offer a warranty, and they are still in the warranty period, then you have certain rights that must be honored by the offerer of the warranty. I think, at the very least, if they cannot give you replacement parts, you should probably be entitled to the original purchase price of the parts. Try what Legend_master said and talk to someone above Joe Blow CSR's paygrade.

Well that stinks....

I decided to pursue the bilstein route as well. Although it took a few extra emails to locate the proper person and to have my questions asked it was well worth it. [email protected] is who I finally reached. He was so thorough in the time we spent on the phone. He gave me a much warmed feeling and was very helpful. We never exchanged more then further contact information and best time via email. He insisted on talking with me direct (I'm a bit phobic and get very nervous). He talked me through checks, asked the proper questions and since he had been in this industry for over a decade was very knowledgeable of the accord setup and what he found through other practices to work best. He had also once owned a CB7 as well so that helps some.

The cost to rebuild and re-valve a bilstein is $100 each which much nicer then the Koni route for sure. He also talked me through my setup. The previous owner that built the grey hatch also assembled the bilsteins and weapon R coil overs. It turns out the tender springs (the softer shorter springs) should also be assembled to be on the lower of the 2 springs if applicable. These springs will give and react the most compared to the stiffer. Since these tender springs are on top in my situation, they are free to flex further then what should otherwise be hampered if it had the strut to stabilize it better and hold it more readily in place then the smaller rod. He was thinking that this arrangement could be whats limiting my suspension abilities. the spring rates are drastically differed as they are brought away from center and allowed to flex more then designed.

It looks to those years ago that argues a heavy debate over which of the few manufactures that had produced struts for us was best. It appears in the long run, the bilsteins are standing behind their product better and also providing a cheaper service. The only advantage I see that the konis still have is they are adjustable to a set of parameters. Hope this helps some as time progresses

Call 859-586-4100 #316 and ask for Lee. I believe he's still there. I've also heard you can find him on Roadraceautox.com. "CRX Lee"
We ran all our stuff thru Gordon years ago, don't know if he's still there though. Lee might be of more help than some slappy on the phone so its worth a shot. Last I remember strut rebuilds were 100 bucks each plus parts, usually 30 bucks or so. Shortening, custom Revalving and external adjustments and what not were extra.

You know, Konis are one of the easier shocks to rebuild. You don't have to replace everything every time, either. You can do it on a budget. I'd love to come across someone with a blown set of Konis for $100 shipped, because I'd snatch them up and rebuild them for one of my cars. Shocks aren't magic.

What parts do you use to rebuild them? If they dont sell parts and id assume napa doesnt carry random strut parts