At 09:17 AM 02/05/2000 -0600, you wrote:
>Hi
>In the time I have had KYBs on my 78 bus, I have replaced 4 of them, all on
>the rear.  They last about 6 months, and then leak all the oil out,
>rendering them useless.  My 87 Jetta has been through FOUR repalcements on
>the rear!!!  These cars are NOT driven hard, or off road.  IMHO, KYB makes
>the car handle great.....for a VERY short time, then they go away.

Can you say "Bilstein"??? They come with a lifetime warrenty that you will
never need, the only kind of warrenty worth anything 'cause their specs far
exceed the second best wannabees. They cost twice as much as any wizbang
substitute which is far less than what you have already spent on too many
others, not even considering the labor for multi short lived replacements.

It will take a 'coupla more months, but I will have a web site soon wherein
you can order ANY Bosch part they manufacture (except oil filters) as well
as the highest quality German brand names, including Bilstein. One point of
data. I can't tell you how many 30+ year old Mercedes I have seen with
original 200k+ Bilsteins still functioning as new. I am familiar with one
43 year old 220S with 700,000+ miles on the chassis with an amazing number
of original parts, not the least of which are the Bilsteins.

Aftermarket brands will be limited to the rare few that have been shown
over time to EXCEED the value of OEM over the long haul.  Items made of
paper mache' and marzepan(sp) will always be available from others,
including the aforemention Bosch oil filters.

T.P. Stephens aka Doktor Tim
San Juan Island, WA