Hi everyone!
My quest for finding a reliable manufacturer is continuing... I have
narrowed down the field to four companies from three countries. One of those
manufacturers is Stabilus, the OEM for the DeLorean factory. It wasn't easy
to get Stabilus on board because... now, get this... bad experience with a
DeLorean parts supplier a few years ago. For obvious reasons they will not
give me any details but word is that Stabilus lost a lot of money on that
deal and decided not to produce any parts for the DeLorean in the future.
So, when I gave them the original part number for the door strut I received
a very quick answer "This part number will not be produced EVER". I got them
to assign a new part number and convinced them that this is a different
project and different people involved. The struts can be produced but only
if I do not sell them to some certain people. This will be a gentleman
agreement with no signatures but I will most definitely stick with it.
At this time I have received technical drawings for the new struts along
with the new part number and all technical details like force, speed,
damping, etc. I have also received a quote and the prices are fairly high in
my opinion. For a large quantity order the price will be €66 each. That's
$88 US or $176 for a set of 2 plus shipping. What do you guys think?
The other three manufacturers offer better, lower prices. I have received
samples from one of them. They look nice...
With those manufacturers I will be able to keep the prices I've posted
before. $35 each for those who are on my pre-order list and $45 each for all
new orders with free shipping. In other words, Stabilus is twice the price.
The remaining two manufacturers are working on test samples and I should be
receiving them soon. I will post as soon as I have some info...
Warranty information is pretty much the same for all four manufacturers - 2
years or 30.000 cycles whichever comes first. The strut needs to be mounted
with piston rod down and operated at least a few times a month when not in
use.
The question for now is: Is anyone interested in getting Stabilus struts at
about $185 - $190 per set (shipping included)?
Greetings from Poland!
Tom Niemczewski
Vin 6149 plus 2418, 3633, 5030, 16473, 17086
Google earth: 52°25'17.66"N, 21° 1'58.40"E
www.deloreana.com
