What are my rights? Whiteline/pedders warranty issue.

[VZMY06SS]

G'day there all. So here is my query: About 6 months ago (aprox) I purchased a set of whiteline swaybar link pins. https://www.whiteline.com.au/store/d...sp?part=KLC003
They are a heavy duty set recommended by whiteline for race/heavy duty race applications. I initially purchased them from the local Fulcrum Suspension dealer, and installed them myself. I installed them as specified, but around a week after I had installed them, I started getting a slight knocking noise from the front end. I took the car into Fulcrum and asked them to see what was causing the problem and they immediately put the car up on the hoist and found that the bolts holding the pins in place had came loose. This was strange, as the kit came with nylock nuts. The guys at Fulcrum refitted them as instructed by whiteline (with new nylock nuts). A week later I started hearing the same noise again. I took the car back again, and once again they performed the same operation (new nylock nuts and refit).
Since then I have been back around 4 times total, with the final idea being to fit the links with loctite on all bolts. This worked fine, and initially the car was great, no noise and it handled really well. Then all of a sudden the front end became very unstable, with lots of body roll in corners.
I stuck my head under the car, and found that one of the swaybar links had snapped.
At this stage I decided that I would try a different workshop, as I felt bad for taking up so much of the guys at Fulcrums time, especially when they had been doing the work free of charge. I went to pedders to order some of their extra heavy duty links, which I was going to fit to the car so I could send the whiteline links back to see what went wrong.
Since then I have been told (by pedders) that my chances of getting whiteline to replace the links is low, as I fitted them myself. I told them that they were refitted by Fulcrum, and they said that Fulcrum is no longer a whiteline dealer and can't get warranty either. They said that I will probably end up having to pay to have the broken link pin welded back together.

This annoys me, as I paid good money (~$200) for these links and the way I see it, they are not fit for the purpose that they were intended, therefore they should be replaced, or I should be refunded.

If anyone could give me any advice etc, that would be great. I am not blaming anyone, and would recommend Fulcrum to anyone, as they are great guys who haven't charged me a cent for the hours that they have spent working on my car.
Sorry for the long post, I'm just trying to get everything across..

Steve

[Gee]

Not clear what is currently on the car - did you get the Pedders replacement parts put on the car?

Don't get annoyed nor be overly concerned by what Pedders tell you about another company.

Sounds like you had a good relationship with the Fulcrum outfit, going and discussing it with them would be my first step. Then at least you know where you stand with the people who sold you the goods.

[Pedders Bendigo]

:)Hi Steve

My Name is Grant from Pedders Bendigo You have been dealing with Paul @ my store. From what I know Paul has got a replacement part for you under warranty that we will be fitting @ no charge. We are a Whiteline Performance Centre & have found out that Fulcrum have to get the parts through others. We deal direct with Whiteline themselves & pionted out the problems you have had to get the warranty part replaced.

This has taken time from my staff on your behalf & at no charge to you so I feel we have done everything we can to be of help & not do the wrong thing by anyone on this. I hope the outcome you are looking for is met with this & if any problems in the future we are only to happy to be of help.

If Paul has not wrang you as of yet he will next week to get you & your car back to fix & sort the problem out with the new replacement part.

[Wonky]

:)Hi Steve

My Name is Grant from Pedders Bendigo..........

Great stuff Grant! :goodjob:

[god084]

Now thats customer service!

[heavyduty1340]

Cant ask for more than the, well done:goodjob::goodjob:

[VZMY06SS]

WOW. Just got a change to have a look at this thread now, and I can't believe the level of customer service that Pedders Bendigo has gone to! Whats more amazing is the fact that they have gone out of their way to warranty a product that wasn't even sold or fitted by them!

Just to clarify, I ordered a set of Pedders extra heavy duty links to use on the car while I got the Whiteline ones sent away for warranty. Pedders ordered the parts, then asked me if I minded them getting the car up on a hoist and having a look at the links. After talking to Whiteline and looking at the link, they decided against fitting the heavy duty links that I had ordered and fitted a standard link to the broken side to ensure that the car was roadworthy until we heard from Whiteline. :goodjob:

Thanks a lot for taking the time to let me know what has been done Grant! :bow::bow:
I missed a call from Paul on the weekend and will give you guys a call asap so that we can work out a time to get it all sorted.
Can't wait to have my car handling like it should!!

I literally cannot say enough about how good Pedders Bendigo is for customer service!!!!!

Steve

[taztassio]

those link pins are not for road use, as they make noise.

[VZMY06SS]

I'm not worried about the noise. It's the fact that one snapped that is the issue. Before they snapped they were quiet enough for my liking. I can see that they would make more noise than the stock ones as the ball joints are a solid item as opposed to the rubber bushings on the stock ones.

Steve

[Pedders Bendigo]

WOW. Just got a change to have a look at this thread now, and I can't believe the level of customer service that Pedders Bendigo has gone to! Whats more amazing is the fact that they have gone out of their way to warranty a product that wasn't even sold or fitted by them!

Just to clarify, I ordered a set of Pedders extra heavy duty links to use on the car while I got the Whiteline ones sent away for warranty. Pedders ordered the parts, then asked me if I minded them getting the car up on a hoist and having a look at the links. After talking to Whiteline and looking at the link, they decided against fitting the heavy duty links that I had ordered and fitted a standard link to the broken side to ensure that the car was roadworthy until we heard from Whiteline. :goodjob:

Thanks a lot for taking the time to let me know what has been done Grant! :bow::bow:
I missed a call from Paul on the weekend and will give you guys a call asap so that we can work out a time to get it all sorted.
Can't wait to have my car handling like it should!!

I literally cannot say enough about how good Pedders Bendigo is for customer service!!!!!

Steve

G'day Steve

Glad to hear you are happy as I was @ Phillip Island on the weekend for Pedders to help at the Pedders stand for the weekend & like to watch the forums when I can. Also glad to see Paul tried to call Saturday as I was going to tell him today to ring. All is good great to hear. We care a lot about our customers whether the parts are bought from us or not.

[adzmoore]

nice work grant, glad to see there are people like you still around
:goodjob:

[Pedders Bendigo]

Gotta say thanks to the people with the great replys. :goodjob:guys nice to know some people have good things to say about how some businesses have customer service.

[CalaisRider]

Gotta say thanks to the people with the great replys. :goodjob:guys nice to know some people have good things to say about how some businesses have customer service.

:)

Nice work, good customer service carries a lot of weight in repeat and new business.

Well done.

[VZMY06SS]

Just to conclude my link pin story... Pedders have replaced the broken piece of the link, and reinstalled it. While under the car they also spotted a loose/worn tie rod end and some rooted lower control arm bushes. They have replaced these, and I must say that I am amazed by the way the car feels now. The steering is the most responsive and tightest it has ever been. The link pins are still holding tight too! :goodjob:
While the work was being done on my car I was also given the opportunity to go for a ride with Grant in the pedders company ute that is running a set of their coilovers. After having a set of TEINS in my car, and playing with the different settings quite a bit I felt I knew what to expect from the Pedders. I was quite pleasantly surprised though. The level of adjustment on the Pedders coilovers is quite significant, particularly with the softer settings, which provide a ride that makes most bumpy roads bearable. Their stiffest setting is probably on par with the TEINs, which is quite firm enough for track use, or spirited road use. If you are in the market for a set of coilovers I would definitely try the Extreme XA's before making a decision.
Once again, thanks to Pedders for their outstanding customer service, and suspension know how. I have spent a fair bit of time and money trying to get my car handling like I want it to and thanks to Pedders it finally feels like it should.
:goodjob: Pedders

Steve

[JT]

well it's great to see stories like this,excellent customer service Grant.

[white lie]

I must say all the Pedders guys on the forum and my local store have also been great in regards to customer service. I had a couple of issues/concerns when I fitted up my XA's and the level of service was second to none. Keep up the good work guys!

[Pedders Bendigo]

:):):)Hi Steve

Very much appreciate your kind comments on the team @ my Pedders store THANKS VERY MUCH will pass this on to the guys.

Also thanks to the people on this forum for their comments also we always hear about the bad & makes it great to see the good as the good don't get heard as much.

So in all thanks to all of you on this forum that feel we have done the right thing @ my store here in Bendigo.

[OZ38]

This thread has made me think about looking at the Pedders XA's, now that my King ProSport front passenger side coilover seem to have seen better days.

Any chance you would have the part number for the Whiteline link you have had fitted ?

Cheers

Deek

[VZMY06SS]

Hey OZ38, I've gotta kinda eat my words here and admit that the links are a little noisy. Now that there is no banging due to them being loose, I have noticed that on a reasonably undulating surface they car rattle a bit. Not to say that they don't do the job, but if you want your suspension dead quiet, you might be better off with something else.
The heavy duty Pedders ones might be a better option I think..
If you still want the part no. though, the link in the original post in this thread should get you it. Bear in mind the VZ links do differ from previous models.

Steve

[OZ38]

Hey OZ38, I've gotta kinda eat my words here and admit that the links are a little noisy. Now that there is no banging due to them being loose, I have noticed that on a reasonably undulating surface they car rattle a bit. Not to say that they don't do the job, but if you want your suspension dead quiet, you might be better off with something else.
The heavy duty Pedders ones might be a better option I think..
If you still want the part no. though, the link in the original post in this thread should get you it. Bear in mind the VZ links do differ from previous models.

Steve

Thanks for that info Steve.
I did not know the VY & VZ were different in that area (good save ta :) )

What changed your mind (at the time they were offered), from using the Pedders Heavy Duty links ?

Anyone got the part number for the Pedders to suit the VY thanks ?

Cheers

Deek

[Pedders Bendigo]

Thanks for that info Steve.
I did not know the VY & VZ were different in that area (good save ta :) )

What changed your mind (at the time they were offered), from using the Pedders Heavy Duty links ?

Anyone got the part number for the Pedders to suit the VY thanks ?

Cheers

Deek

Hi Deek

Part numbers 424210 & 424211.

[OZ38]

Hi Deek

Part numbers 424210 & 424211.

Cheers for that

Deek

[Ausmartin1]

those link pins are not for road use, as they make noise.

What ? No Noise here with them ....
I heard with lots of wear down the road this can occur but after 15,000km still sweet here.

I use them on my VXII and they work a treat.
Yes I was careful when installing them.
1) Use Loctite (Pipe retainer - not super nut strenght) coat bores and threads of eyelets full thread and install at CORRECT ALIGNMENT.
RE-check clearance / movement carefully!
Tignten Locknuts Fully - remember some have left hand threads!

2) Loctited lower threaded parts of bolts.

3) Fitted optional sway bar clamps to prevent sway bar traveling to one side.

Result:
Ultimate sway bar / body roll responce when cornering.
NO Noise
However for the first few months the steering wheel lacked it's usual springy return.
Why ? The spherical bearings are dam tight when new and when the bed in
handling is SWEET.:smilesandbanana:

[Ausmartin1]

Well ...... just under 20K and I'm going to dump my whiteline links.

RHS Lower started knocking (Spherical bearing itself developed play)
Now I now what they mean about the knocking noise ....eek!

I'm going to now eat humble pie and install Nolathane's 42708X Commodore VX2 VY VVZ Sway Bar Link Conversion that has double ball joints instead of just one lower one per VXII.

I give that a go, I've just ordered it - so fingeres crossed.

PS
I couldn't go back to just stock ones after experiecing the benifits of no slop sway links! The handling is just awesome on quick alternating corners.

Cheers All.:)