[dorkwin]

Hi Gang,
Brand new member here, I haven't even picked up my '10 Off Road yet. The local Nissan Dealer presented it with stock BF Goodrich Rugged Trail A/T and stock Bilstein shocks as "Certified" but as is common practise here, they wait to sell it before they complete the work needed for it to pass inspection.
It took a bit of advocating for myself to convince the dealer that the shocks needed replacing. Now that I have that line item on my bill of sale, I am having to make my case that in selling an Xterra Off Road, which sports Bilstein shocks by specification, and which was equipped with Bilsteins on the lot, must replace them with Bilsteins.

The question I want to ask is: Are the Bilstein 4600 shocks the most accurate direct replacement for the Off Road? Was there a Nissan cross-branded shock they used?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[StomperNJ]

Same as the tires.....a used car won't be factory perfect and the dealer doesn't have to replace the shocks with the units it shipped from the factory with. If you want better suspension have them knock a few bucks off the asking price and put better components on when you bring it home.

 

[GreyDuck]

@StomperNJ brings up a great point, but yes, the 4600 is what the OR & P4X came with out of the factory.

 

[mikidymac]

If it is a "Certified" car at a Nissan dealership then they need to replace it with the same parts that it left the factory with as is shown in the Nissan parts diagram so the Off Road model needs to have the Bilstein shocks but they can be either from Nissan or Bilstein direct. If they are no longer available then they would need to negotiate that with you as an "equivalent replacement". Just like if you took it in for service for replacement shocks they should not be puting the base X shocks on an Off Road.

Just because you say I think it needs new shocks is part of the negotiation. If their mechanic doing the certification says they are fine then you don't have a base to demand new shocks.

 

[hybrid90]

I don't know about this. Doesn't a "used" car also means it could be a trade in and if the previous owner replaced the Bilsteins with something else, then that's not the Dealers problem? Certified just means that the X passed all regulated inspections for resale regardless of what aftermarket parts that were installed on the X before the trade in. I mean, I could be completely wrong here but that's just my guess.

But for reference, I have a 2014 Pro-4x and it came with Bilsteins 4600 and BFG all terrains 265/75/16 and the 2015 came with Hankook Dynapros AT 265/75/16.

 

[campisi]

Dude if I were the dealer I'd tell you to take a hike. I wouldn't sell to you at any price.

 

[early 2010]

Sounds like you and the dealer are jerking each other around. If you are really wanting stock replacment suspension parts, head to the Nissan parts counter and order up exact replacment parts. Or you can go with aftermarket Bilsteins which are not direct factory replacments. At which point why are you raising a stick about factory parts?

Just because it is used doesn't mean they are bad either. You might actually get a better suspension if you don't do anything to the stock stuff. If it is still running stock tires, good chance it isn't worn enough to need replacing. You might be raising a stick to get yourself a downgrade.

 

[hybrid90]

Dude if I were the dealer I'd tell you to take a hike. I wouldn't sell to you at any price.

LOL why don't you go ahead and tell OP how you REALLY feel campisi

 

[mikidymac]

I don't know about this. Doesn't a "used" car also means it could be a trade in and if the previous owner replaced the Bilsteins with something else, then that's not the Dealers problem? Certified just means that the X passed all regulated inspections for resale regardless of what aftermarket parts that were installed on the X before the trade in. I mean, I could be completely wrong here but that's just my guess.

But for reference, I have a 2014 Pro-4x and it came with Bilsteins 4600 and BFG all terrains 265/75/16 and the 2015 came with Hankook Dynapros AT 265/75/16.

Correct, I was just saying that if the dealer found the shocks to be bad during their certification process and needed to replace them then they should be replacing them with the equivalent that the model came with. So in this case they should be replacing them with something comparable to the factory Bilsteins not the base X shocks.

 

[Mar10]

Dude if I were the dealer I'd tell you to take a hike. I wouldn't sell to you at any price.

Your astounding insight is amazing! Thank you for contributing SO MUCH to the OP’s question!!!!

I bet you are a JOY at parties!

 

[dorkwin]

Just because you say I think it needs new shocks is part of the negotiation. If their mechanic doing the certification says they are fine then you don't have a base to demand new shocks.

Thanks. That part is over, the shocks did need replacing to pass safety but I had to point it out, but they conceeded. I was right.

 

[dorkwin]

Sounds like you and the dealer are jerking each other around. If you are really wanting stock replacment suspension parts, head to the Nissan parts counter and order up exact replacment parts. Or you can go with aftermarket Bilsteins which are not direct factory replacments. At which point why are you raising a stick about factory parts?

Just because it is used doesn't mean they are bad either. You might actually get a better suspension if you don't do anything to the stock stuff. If it is still running stock tires, good chance it isn't worn enough to need replacing. You might be raising a stick to get yourself a downgrade.

This is good a good read on the situation... They were definitely jerking me around and I dug my heels in, so I'm probably guilty of it too. They won't go for the Bilstein 4600s, but they will put some KYBs in there. I stopped fighting and I'm just going to try to enjoy the delivery.

 

[mikidymac]

At least it's new shocks...