Dodgy Euro car parts?

I have had sooo much trouble now with Euro car parts that it amazes me. To give you a list, within the last two years I have gone through the following parts that were bought from Euro (e30);
rear shock mounts in 1.5 years (boxed as Febi/Bilstein)
1 x rear diff mount in 1.5 years (no label)
4 x Bilstein gas shocks

The real shock were the Bilsteins - surely gas versions should last longer than 2 years? I have now replaced with Koni, and have changed all the other bits to genuine BMW. Also, I seem to get through Euro car parts Bosch wiper blades every 6 months?

Anybody else had similar problems? Did anybody see the program about a year ago where German and Swedish were caught having fake parts manufactured in Turkey?

Any replies welcome - good for all to know.

I was going to order a new set of Sachs/Boge shocks from German & Swedish Car parts this week. Are you saying even branded stuff like this could be fake?

My main problem was with the shocks. They were black Bilstein gas models and I just could not believe that under 2 years saw the end of them. No shocks would die that quickly, and the car was only 35mm lower. To make it worse, Bilstein also sell those particular shocks in a budget lowering kit!!

My brother bought Lemforder (original equipment) balljoints for the wishbones on his E36. They were pressed in by a professional outfit yet, after 6 months, the balljoints failed the MOT!!! How can that be? Euro car parts again.

I have also purchased an idle control valve (Bosch) which has a different part number to the one I took off and tends to drop idle speed to around 500rpm and then stabilise after. This is worse with electrical load on.

I cannot believe that I am running a Lemforder cambelt and Febi Tensioner. I have booked in with my local specialist to change to BMW components.

I'm not saying that the parts are counterfeit, but that maybe its wiser to buy genuine BMW in the long run.

P.s- My specialist says he wouldn't use anything from Euro.

I bought new rear brake drums and shoes from ECP (the OEM ones, not the so-called "quality alternatives") and they seemed prety high quality. Having said that, they're not exactly very complex parts!

kevin_1990_316i wrote: I was going to order a new set of Sachs/Boge shocks from German & Swedish Car parts this week. Are you saying even branded stuff like this could be fake?

I have never bought from Euro Parts, so can't comment on them.

BUT I have bought loads of stuff for my E30 325i from GS&F - brake discs, drums, pads, exhaust, starter motor, etc, etc, and have NEVER had a complaint.

Perhaps it's because I know a guy that works there that lives near me so I get personal service but I don't think so.

I'd recommend them.

To top it off, I forgot that I recently bought a fuel pump for my E30 320 from Euro. It was genuine BMW, in the box and made in Czech Republic? I fitted the pump and noticed a whining sound from it - I had it checked from my BMW specialist friend and he said the pump was dodgy, so I returned it and got a full refund. Surely all these instances cant be circumstantial?

Nice people though, and I know a guy who works in one so I get a great discount.

P.S - Oh, and he said dont try their recon airflow meters because they are rubbish and are always given back!!!!

Bilstein's should have a lifetime warrenty. Suspension sag is a generally a spring problem.

I've never had any probs either, been going to ECP for years. As long as you avoid the cheap sh*t you'll be okay. Textar brake pads are EXACTLY the same as what comes in BMW boxes.
Black Bilstein shocks are okay, but they don't like the 35 mm lowering springs and shouldn't be sold with the kit = that's ECP's fault. The springs are too stiff for the black ones (they are oil, not gas) so you need either the blue ones or best of all, the proper yellow ones.
The recon air flow meters are junk, and so are their lowering springs. For cam belts, oil filters etc I'd use BMW. For brakes, air filters, spark plugs, I use ECP (Ate discs and Textar pads).