Problem 2, bad strut mounts

Every car Sears checks has bad strut mounts. The way they are designed is when the car is up in the air on service rack the strut falls down about 1/2 inch which is normal. Remember, Sears sells tires, batteries, shocks, struts, springs. Just to be certain there are no problems let you VW check things out. And it should be covered by your VW cert if needed.

Like Woodchuck said, they wanted to sell you upper strut mounts and used that as an excuse not to do your alignment until you were taken in by their scam. Besides, you don't want them to do the alignment anyway. A good VW tech alignment is the way to go unless you can get the Firestone alignment lifetime warranty. :-)

Never ever take you car to Sears for service. My father in law once worked there and quite due to the pressure to sell products and services that were not needed. Many other people report the same thing.

If you have the extended warantee, this should be covered. Struts should last you about 100k. At 62k that is rediculous. I find it strange that they didn't say your struts were bad but your strut mounts were. Maybe you live off of bad roads. At any rate, replace all. It's going to be about $600 for all 4.

Talk about ripping you off. VW service is the best place to go if you want to pay for what you don't need. Find a good mechanic, ask friends and co-workers about who they trust. It may take some time but a VW dealer is the last place to go.

Most VW techs are little kids with no experience and VW pushes the issue not to inform customers of any problems they may have to cover. Avoid VW as much as possible.

Wanted more $$$$$ from your pockets!

That may have been true for the vintage 80's VW but starting with the A4/B5 it's not uncommon for struts to go well over 100,000 miles before needing replacement.

Don't forget the A3. They also have a good strut IMO. Mine last quite a long time. After 130K miles I replaced them with HR OE Sports and Bilstein HDs. I still kept the originals since they didn't look bad or leaked.

Jim B.

Huh...some of the oldest little kids I've met. Try harder. 2/10 on the Richman scale.

If you live in NYC your struts will be gone at 45,000 miles as mine are.The roads in this city are the worst in the nation,extremely bad roads.

Don't EVER avoid the dealer if the problem is covered under your warranty! If you get a covered problem fixed elsewhere, YOU pay for it. Get the same problem fixed at the dealer, THEY pay for it.

If the problem is not covered by your warranty, then I would go elsewhere if the dealer is too expensive. Ask friends and co-workers/co-horts who they trust their vehicles with. You may be able to find a great and reasonable mechanic to use for those uncovered problems or after your warranty runs out.

Steve

"Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night"-- Bette Davis in "All About Eve"

If you properly set up the strut bearings in an A1, they will last a long time. I did this myself many years ago then found the same procedure documented with my Bilstein HD A1 strut inserts:

time. I did this myself many years ago then found the same procedure documented with my Bilstein HD A1 strut inserts:

;)