Long story short, a guy is selling his 9n polo which has KWv2s (not inox line - standard ones) and was after £350 for them. He's willing to take £300 for them but I'm a bit hesitant. He's going to have to pay a garage £120 to take them off so he'll leave them on rather than take them off for any less which is fair enough...

He's the 2nd owner and reckons he's done about 10-12k miles over 2 years and the prior owner had them for about 2 years as well. He's not sure what mileage they covered then though. Both front springs have been replaced, there's a bit of corrosion on the rear dampers but nothing too horrendous and all the adjusters are free and the damping adjustments work fine.

For a set of coilovers that normally cost over a £800 it seems like a fair price but I'm not sure about the normal lifespan of a set of KWs. Worried one of the dampers might go pop and cost a small fortune to replace, (would it be possible to replace a pair of dampers with V1 dampers if one went?) On the other hand they sound like probably one of the best setups for comfort and I'm not looking for ultra lows just a bit lower than the eibach lowering springs are just now. So what do you think brisky. Deal or no deal?

Seems ok to me. I have eibach pro streets and they have covered 75lk miles and are spot on! I'm sure they're the same quality as your kw's

What have the springs been replaced with, hopefully the correct ones for the V2's and not some aftermarket alternative.

The V2's are very good and will give you some control over the ride, they should last a long time in theory but why have the springs been changed already?.

Seems ok to me. I have eibach pro streets and they have covered 75lk miles and are spot on! I'm sure they're the same quality as your kw's

Ahhh, I missed out on a set of Eibachs for £200 over summer because I screwed my shoulder and couldn't pick them up... still kicking myself...

What have the springs been replaced with, hopefully the correct ones for the V2's and not some aftermarket alternative.

The V2's are very good and will give you some control over the ride, they should last a long time in theory but why have the springs been changed already?.

Yes both springs have been replaced with actual KW V2 springs. Stupidly I never asked why they had been replaced... might be just due to corrosion.

I've just taken off a set of 3rd hand kw-v1's which looked like this....

Ok not so bad but....

I personally covered about 15k by the time I replaced them for a brand new kit of the same.

Although they look pretty beat, they're still really useable, no leaking from the struts and I would happily have sold em as me mechanic reckoned they still had plenty of life in em yet.

That said, £300 is an expensive risk for me, especially when you can get brand new v1's for £470 odd from DPM which are more than enough for a daily IMO

I've just taken off a set of 3rd hand kw-v1's which looked like this....

Ok not so bad but....

I personally covered about 15k by the time I replaced them for a brand new kit of the same.

Although they look pretty beat, they're still really useable, no leaking from the struts and I would happily have sold em as me mechanic reckoned they still had plenty of life in em yet.

That said, £300 is an expensive risk for me, especially when you can get brand new v1's for £470 odd from DPM which are more than enough for a daily IMO

Any particular reason you replaced them? Just the corrosion on the springs? They look awful (though could probably just be powdercoated) but the dampers look pretty spot on, are they inox line?

I hear what you say about it being an expensive gamble, but buying some new V1s is over 50% as expensive again. I suppose that they aren't all going to fail at the same time and I could just buy sets of V1 dampers to replace them if they did. Hmmm. And here's me swithering about selling the VRS to buy a corrado VR6 too :think: life is never simple... just still kicking myself about missing out on the Eibachs and don't want that feeling lingering over me again.

Yeah cos I'm a Virgo and a perfectionist so couldn't live with that under my arch!

No, honestly the real reason was that put the 3rd hand Kw's on to trial them as never owned or driven a lowered car prior to this so wanted to get a feel for them. (Swapped for my standard suspension)

As I like them I replaced, which was always the plan if I got on with them. (Still haven't got round to binning the old suspension!)

They're just the v1's.

My last said of coilovers were used, looked fairly tired but worked well. Ran them for 20,000 miles without issues before upgrading for a set of V1's. while the new setup felt noticeably better, the old ones (eibachs) still had life left in them. Gave them to a mate to stick on her car. Still going now afaik!

Stock suspension lasts 1000's of miles, iv no doubt pricey aftermarket stuff will last just as well, especially if looked after, which this sound like they have.

What's the difference between the 'inox' and normal ones?

Jars, what are you doing with the old KWs?

Inox have stainless steel damper housings so they don't corrode easily, the standard ones have galvanised steel bodies.

Jars, what are you doing with the old KWs?

Inox have stainless steel damper housings so they don't corrode easily, the standard ones have galvanised steel bodies.

Just sat there collecting dust, not got round to doing anything with them. Didn't think anyone would want them looking like that! (The rear adjusters are missing though-can they be replaced?)

Well you where going to sell them...

Well you where going to sell them...

Yep, but then didn't hear anything....!

Ha ha, I got some new ap's in the end (same as v1's) happy with them so far!

Ha ha, I got some new ap's in the end (same as v1's) happy with them so far!

And that's why I didn't chase!!

Good purchase?? Did consider them myself but couldn't get away from what I already knew with the v1's

Yer, very good so far, The backs are down all the way, still not low enough really, so may take the adjusters out?

I just asked as if the dampers were ok it would be good to know for a future spares purchase if I get these V2s and the dampers died. PM me what you were after for them.

Yer, very good so far, The backs are down all the way, still not low enough really, so may take the adjusters out?

Ha really?? That's ironic!