I've had a very unpleasent experience tonight, which im suprised hasn't wrote my car off!

I've just returned from purchasing various medications for this God Damn cold/flu virus thats going around!

Whilst taking a upward sweeping right bend, i experienced a slight lightness of the steering, followed by a pop and a crunch! I continued on home at a slow pace as the car didn't feel as though anything was wrong. Until i come to stopping that is!

Whilst stopping i experienced a popping noise, i got home and found the front bumper pulled away with obvious rub marks on the tyre and the wheel sat well futher forward than it should be. Funny thing is, i'd just seen a friend and mentioned to him that the wheel was sat a bit too close to the front of the arch. I thought it was just down to the angle the wheels were placed at....obviously not!

Looking under the car thinking the bushes had collapsed on the 3rd party wishbones i put on the car in february/march. I then realised the wishbone had snapped!

Now could the 3rd party parts be of a weaker design?

Obviously the 18" wheels and 30mm Eibachs wont have helped the situation. But i wouldn't think they'd have contributed to a full on failure of the wishbone!

Here are some pictures of the damage!

EDIT: I've attatched another photo, i think i've spotted another crack running along the toe of the weld. Which i've circled in red.

Edited 4 October, 200916 yr by Browny_37

oh my god you have been so lucky that didnt cause a big accident..

can i ask why you changed a part like this??? was it meant to be a uprated part?? as that is a really bad failure and something you will only see on these ebay specials you can buy cheap crap( hope it wasnt one of these as thats what will happen)

atleast you didnt crash...

Bloody hell. You were lucky that happened at low speed.

Looking at the last two pictures I'd suggest it was metal fatigue.

Looking at the rust pattern it looks like its been cracked for some time and was simply an accident waiting to happen when it finally let go. Lucky it didn't fail whilst doing 80 on the motorway.

Where did the wishbones come from? It might be prudent to get in contact with the seller/manufacturer as there could be a whole batch that are weak and the next person might not be so lucky.

oh my god you have been so lucky that didnt cause a big accident..

can i ask why you changed a part like this??? was it meant to be a uprated part?? as that is a really bad failure and something you will only see on these ebay specials you can buy cheap crap( hope it wasnt one of these as thats what will happen)

atleast you didnt crash...

I didn't realise it was that bad until my dad said the wheel was rocking back and forth whilst trying to start the car with the hot start problem most TDI's struggle with at some point in there life.

I actually bought them from Eurocar Parts earlier on in the year, costing me around £45-£50 iirc.

After going for a 4 wheel geo doing after i put the eibach's on, and mentioning i was getting a knocking noise whilst setting off. A quick inspection by the garage said the bushes were on there way out (which they were cracked, but not split).

Which did turn out to be the gearbox slapping the dogbone as the bolt had dropped out.

I only replaced the arms because i thought they were causing the knocking.

Looking at the rust pattern it looks like its been cracked for some time and was simply an accident waiting to happen when it finally let go. Lucky it didn't fail whilst doing 80 on the motorway.

Where did the wishbones come from? It might be prudent to get in contact with the seller/manufacturer as there could be a whole batch that are weak and the next person might not be so lucky.

I think there the ATG brand?

If that happened on an OEM part there would be an immediate VOSA recall on that. Yours might be a one off but then again.................

What tyres?

Edit just seen the metal failure - pics didnt load at reply

Yours might be a one off but then again.................

Now this is what concerns me, i've got the exact same part on the drivers side.

Obviously a right handed one though. Im a little concerned about the other one failing now.

Most of the time its just me in the car, but on occasions i have the gf in the car with me and sometimes i have a few friends in one of them being around 6ft 5 and 19 stone!

Where would i stand legally? If i was to say "stuff this you can have them back and i'll pay the extra for genuine parts!"

What tyres?

Edit just seen the metal failure - pics didnt load at reply

Did you not get the 3 pictures load at first?

Ultrac Sessanta surely gives it away

Now this is what concerns me, i've got the exact same part on the drivers side.

Obviously a right handed one though. Im a little concerned about the other one failing now.

Most of the time its just me in the car, but on occasions i have the gf in the car with me and sometimes i have a few friends in one of them being around 6ft 5 and 19 stone!

Where would i stand legally? If i was to say "stuff this you can have them back and i'll pay the extra for genuine parts!"

I certainly wouldn't be driving on them and I'd be sending the supplier the bill for all the repair work.

Get on the phone first thing on monday and give them the chance to do the right thing , and then if they don't get it fixed elsewhere and submit a small claims court claim.

Something like that shouldn't fail after less than a year!

Did you not get the 3 pictures load at first?

Ultrac Sessanta surely gives it away

Nope. They wouldnt load. Same issue several have reported with the forum of late.

Nice tyres BTW

I certainly wouldn't be driving on them and I'd be sending the supplier the bill for all the repair work.

Get on the phone first thing on monday and give them the chance to do the right thing , and then if they don't get it fixed elsewhere and submit a small claims court claim.

Something like that shouldn't fail after less than a year!

Report to VOSA as well?

I certainly wouldn't be driving on them and I'd be sending the supplier the bill for all the repair work.

Get on the phone first thing on monday and give them the chance to do the right thing , and then if they don't get it fixed elsewhere and submit a small claims court claim.

Something like that shouldn't fail after less than a year!

Tbh the bumper doesn't look too bad, i think its just pulled the clips out (no damage to the bumper what i can see, well in the dark that is).

I'd be happy if they could supply me with two genuine parts at no extra cost or very little extra cost to myself. But then again, i think that would be asking too much from them.

As in my experience, most companys try and wingle there way out of warrenty claims.

Nice tyres BTW

They certainly are, but im starting to think that there a waste on this car!

i would never put cheap crap suspension parts on my car in the first place.. they will never be up to the standard of the oem part... take this as a lesson for the future...

get both swapped for oem parts.

i hate to sound harsh but you get what you pay for simple as that.

Sore this problem about 10 years ago on vauxhall pattern part lower arms the rivets and welds would let go ,they were made in turkey or china ,it even made the BBC WATCH DOG program ,

Glad to se your ok could have been very nasty, I'd get my money back and put it towards some OE parts.

To be honest I'd be sitting down with a very stiff drink and thanking my lucky stars the failure didn't result in a big off. OK, this shows the importance of sourcing parts that are suitably certified - I wonder if the wishbones had the same type approval as the OEM ones. Would be worth checking and its something that everybody should take into account when purchasing dare I say it "value" parts because thats what these were - check the price of an OEM wishbone and see the difference.

I know we all moan about the cost of parts but its worth using OEM on critical areas unless you are upgrading to a specialist (uprated) part. Its something I've said before in previous posts with alloy wheels - unless they are correctly type approved I'd stay the hell clear and find something that is. Ebay is a killer (hopefully not literally) when it comes to cheap alloys and IMHO, something should be done to limit the import. I could put you in touch with a mate who thankfully survived an egg shaped alloy and another cracked one. By all accounts another 50 miles or a decent pothole would have seen it collapse. Thank you eBay - be warned - £399 sets of four 19" alloys with tyres really should set alarm bells ringing in most people.

Unfortunately I have first hand experience of value parts having had a rear wheel bearing seize solid on a Nova 15yrs ago. This resulted in the halfshaft snapping and the wheel folding up into the rear arch...........at 70+mph on the A23. My missus was driving at the time and freaked out so I ended up trying to control a three wheel car with no brakes from the passenger seat. I almost suceeded and managed to hold it together down to about 40 mph when I spun, bounced off the crash barrier and ended up in the path of an artic facing the wrong way. I can tell you that there is nothing that will ever scare you more than a juggernaught filling your windscreen with smoke pouring from its tyres. The traffic officer that turned up 2min later said the reports they'd had led them to expect a fatality. I learnt a valuble lesson that day - don't scrimp on safety related parts. The supplier settled out of court but I still lost money and can visualise the accident to this day.

With regard to the failure, I would take as many pictures as possible, document anything you feel needs documenting and contact the supplier in the morning. I would immediately ask to speak to somebody senior rather than the first person who picks up the phone and don't back down until you speak to somebody who can really help you. I tend to ask to speak to the Managing Director - start at the top and work down! Make it quite clear that much depends on their response and that should you not get full satisfaction, you will be seeking an independant examination and this could very well result in legal action and that no, you are not kidding and regard this as a very very serious failure. Mention VOSA while you're at it and Trading Standards is always a good one. Follow up you phone call with an email and only give then 24hrs to respond before chasing again.

The other wishbone should be removed and replaced - don't even consider any other option.

Seriously you were very very lucky and it might even take a couple of days for the realisation to sink in.

Good luck with Eurocar Parts and good luck getting back on the road.

Edited 4 October, 200916 yr by wardth

I dont feel very shaken to be honest, apart from the clonking and movement i could feel on braking. The handling didn't feel all too bad.

I just focused on keeping the car moving at a slow but steady rate, without making any dramatic movements.

Working in the material quality market, I'm just dissapointed that components of such quality can be developed, i do understand you get what you pay for though.

But at the time it was the only parts i could get hold of quickly.

Holy f**k.

You're very lucky that didn't happen at speed. As said that's either been there since manufacture or a long while due to the rust and the fact that only the small section at the top is a clean break.

Very nasty :(

Working in the material quality market, I'm just dissapointed that components of such quality can be developed, i do understand you get what you pay for though.

But at the time it was the only parts i could get hold of quickly.

Totally - I've gone to motor factors in the past to get bits for cars and before I knew better, I remember getting a complete set of brakes for a MkII Fiat Uno 1.2 for £30 - thats 2 x discs, 2 x drums, 4 shoes and 4 pads! I asked the guy three times to confirm the price. Jeez I'd never do it now but can understand why you fitted them. Listen nobody is out to beat you up on this - you bought the items in good faith and they should be of a given level of quality especially as they are a car part.

I can feel a call to your local Skoda dealer coming on tomorrow!!!

Euro Car parts have a reputation along with GSF and the like for selling good quality pattern parts.

If this sort of thing is starting to happen then they need to get to the bottom of it for their own good as if their reputation got damaged then business would suffer.

Euro Car parts have a reputation along with GSF and the like for selling good quality pattern parts.

If this sort of thing is starting to happen then they need to get to the bottom of it for their own good as if their reputation got damaged then business would suffer.

I wouldn't wish to do this to a company, it maybe a one in a million chance. That something like this could have happened.

I cant remember what the original part looked like, but i seem to think the area concerned was of a different structural build up.

The first thing my dad said to me when he saw the wishbones packaged up that they were of a good pattern brand. So im just hoping for everyones sake out there, that its a one off.

Regarding it happening at speed, i would have imagined this could have happened. Given that some motorways are a little bumpy and uneven at times. I wouldn't have liked to think about this happening. The lack of steering and brakes would have left me in a situation, the fact that upto the point i heard the crunch there was no change in driving characteristics!

Thinking about it now is quite scary, and could have caused some serious problems. Given the road i was on isn't all that wide and is rather tight in some places.

Edited 4 October, 200916 yr by Browny_37

Crap from China perhaps?

There is an increasing amount of cheapo/fake rubbish from the far east flooding the market. Its not just Nike trainers and ipods that are copied nowadays, it even stretches out the the aerospace industry.

I don't think anyone is having a pop at you for fitting these parts Browny . When fitting a part of this type you expect it to be built to a certain minimum standard - pattern or otherwise. You are not to know of any defects short of NDTing every component before fitting.

I for one would certainly be in contact with the seller ASAP for the reasons I mentioned earlier. They may have unwittingly sold a bunch of defective wishbones or as you say, it could be a one off event. Have a close look at the other wishbone to see if it is suffering with any fatigue.

This will give you an idea whether its poor design, poor manufacture or one of those nasty one in a million things.

There is a lot to be said for OEM components, even if they are expensive in comparison