> I bought front wheel bearings from Rocky Mountain Motor Works
> catalogue and they sent me bearings manufactured in China.
> (I've seen the same brand in Wal-Mart at $5 for two)

> I've gone through several various brands (of extractor exhaust
> systems) on my '72 with poor durability. However the last one
> I bought from Rocky Mtn Motorworks which gives lifetime
> guarantees on all their parts.  I expect it too will rust out and
> they will be the first one's I'll call when it does.

This is a pet peeve of mine.  It is important not to confuse a "lifetime
warranty" with any promise of quality.  A lifetime warranty is merely a
marketing ploy. Charge 120% of the value of a part, and you can afford to
replace one out of five for free when they fail.  It's just like buying an
extended warranty on a product, except that the price of that warranty is
already built in to the price and not optional. Now I'll be the first to
admit that, as an RMMW distributor, I'm the first to take advantage of their
"lifetime warranty" on behalf of a customer if a product I purchased through
them fails. But I will also not hesitate to buy a product elsewhere, sans
"lifetime warranty," if I can get significantly better quality at a
comparable price.

It is worth noting that the "lifetime warranty" covers manufacturing defects
only, not wear and tear.  So RMMW and others can, should they choose to,
deny a warranty claim based on rust-through or just plain "wearing out," on
the grounds that this is normal wear not a defect.  Now add to this mix the
fact that the cheap Chinese part will probably "wear out" much sooner
because of its low quality, hence the end of your "lifetime warranty."  Now,
more realistically, RMMW will almost certainly stand behind the Chinese
bearing, and replace it for free, simply because it isn't worth losing a
customer over a part that costs them about a dollar to replace.  And they'll
almost certainly do the same for the exhaust as well, when it rusts out.
But you're still out the time, cost, and inconvenience of removing,
shipping, and reinstalling this "lifetime warranted" part, only to receive a
replacement that will rust out just as quickly, leaving you back at square
one again.  Most likely you'll just say heck with it and buy another one (if
not the first time it fails, then certainly the second time), which is what
they're banking on.

Take these wheel bearings or exhaust system as an example.  For the $8 RMMW
charged for the chinese wheel bearing, you could have bought a set of SKF's
that are widely considered to be of much better quality (and wholesale for
twice as much, incidentally, but retail for the same price since RMMW is
marking up the chinese ones to cover their "warranty").  Now, the SKF's only
come with the standard 6 month warranty.  But three years from now, after
you have paid the shipping and wasted the time removing and reinstalling
"lifetime warranted" chinese bearings three times, those original $8 SKF's
are still likely to be going strong.  Now tell me, which was the wiser
choice?

I'm not putting down RMMW.  While I don't favor their wheel bearings, and
their extractor exhausts are no better (or worse) than anyone else's, they
do on the other hand offer me great prices on certain other VW parts of very
high quality, including in some cases genuine Volkswagen product and O.E.
German parts.  So I've learned to pick and choose, buying from them where
appropriate and from any of the other 30-plus suppliers I deal with when
they have a better offering.  But my criteria is parts quality first, and
"lifetime warranty" second. It's a common misconception to confuse a
"lifetime warranty" for a guarantee of higher quality, and this isn't always
the case.

- Ron Salmon
 The Bus Depot
 http://www.busdepot.com