Hey guys, this is not a bash on anyone but I'm making this thread to show a few people the struts I received and the problems with them...

I worked out a trade with Topher for my bronze mp3 rims and in return was I was supposed to swap spring/struts with him. He has the Tokico HP's and Eibach Prokit. I have stock P5 struts with MP3 springs. Topher's struts were basically welded onto his car and we're unable to get them off without cutting. He offers to buy me a new set of Tokico HP's instead of screwing with them further.

He orders a set off ebay from a dealer (supposedly). Even though the auction specifically says "will not fit a p5".
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WDVW

The package arrives....




Opening the packages reveals somethign odd.....wet paint inside the box.


The struts are all chipped/scratched and look to be spray painted by hand.




I've been thinking about and I don't think I've been ripped off or lied to or anything...I'm just REAL dissappointed in the condition these arrived in and the fact they look used and re-painted..

 

New struts should be evenly painted. It clearly looks like they were painted while still on the car somehow. I just got the Tokico Illumina struts and they were very nicely and finished. I never had any black paint on mine and the top cap was painted also. It looks like in one of your pics the shaft is pitted and the threads show some wear. Take a closer look and that will tell you if the are new or not. New struts should have a Tokico sticker and a orange warning sticker on them. And whats with the paint rubbing off in the box????

 

wow, thats amazing. also considering that for a mere $20 more you could have got brand new HPs shipped

 

These were advertised as brand new. That sucks big time, Matty. I agree that by the pics, those struts look used and painted.


...A new set of HP's for a protege look like this:


It looks like a different shade of blue.

 

yeah, I think these were used and re-painted. There are no stickers or warning labels on them and the paint seems to easily rub off.

I spoke with Kevin (kchbiw) and he said his struts (not HP's) came in a box and the paint had slightly rubbed off his also. He also sent me some pictures of the actual MSP struts on the car and the blue color matches perfectly.....it's the damndest thing.

They have the Tokico name and part number imprinted into them (not sure if it's the correct part # for MSP though), they did come from a dealer, they did come with new OEM mazda bushings for the strut cap, they did cost ABOUT what new Tokico's cost....

however,.....

the paint is rubbing off by hand, they are scratched all over, the paint is uneven, there are no stickers or labels, no orignal packaging, they APPEAR used and re-painted.


If anyone sees Topher online send him my way so we can question the ebay seller as to what the hell is up with these.

 

is it me or are those struts originally black? and if they were new, they should have come with compression straps over the rear struts to hold the strut down (and not poke through the box like it did). i also know tokico individually boxes their struts. you might have just bought mazda struts disguised as the blues. when i pulled my stockers off, i know they were labeled tokico as well. sorry chief, i think you got owned.

here's a pic of a real tokico blue:

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/attac...chmentid=10868

 

I think for some reason they were painted two tone....i have no idea why. 3 out of the 4 were strapped down but one of the bands broke in shipping. I was also expecting some label or something as well. Do you know know if stock struts are made by tokico These have a "tokico" part number stamped into them but when they were painted over so the paint filled in most of the numbers.

I didn't get owned....looks like Topher did. He's the one whos got to square up with me and get me the right struts. I just feel bad cause I don't know for a fact that these are wrong or even used but something doesn't add up.

 

Anyway, sorry about your situation, Matty. But thanks for the heads-up reagarding the auction and the seller...it'll make me think twice before dealing with him/her/them!

I hope the problem has a quick turn around for you...

 

Here's another pic which shows the compression straps and warning label. Also you can see part of the box these arrived in in the background. They were individually boxed and the four boxes were strapped together-- VERY sturdy.

my first attempt at image linking...
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...27986192&idx=2

 

Yeah, I'm fairly sure that all stock protege struts are of Tokico manufacture, at least the P5' were, not 100% on the regular sedans.


Good lukc getting this worked out man, I can see what you were talking about now, clearly not new. I can't think of a reason to paint them unless they weren't blue initially. Maybe they WERE brand new Tokico sturts, just not brand new HP's.

Anyway, keep me informed.

 

yeah Fluke's picture seals the deal for me. I know the ebay sellers identity, work address, website, name and phone number.

I sent Topher a pm so he can get the 4-1-1 from the seller first before I start issuing threats.

I'm about as happy as the time I organized a big meet for everyone and we were overrun by mexicans. (for those who saw that).

 

lol, sounds like an interesting story.

Anyway, good luck getting this resolved!

 

ok, topher got owned... but either way, i wouldn't put those on my car. but if you go and look at that pic fluke put up, you will see the compression straps are red and go over the whole strut, not a zip tie that is jerry rigged to the strut. and like i said in my first post, i remember the stock struts were also tokico when i pulled mine out.

 

looks like someone did some color matching and painted some stockers. Give those back to Topher, Matty, and make him follow up with them and have him buy you some from a REPUTABLE company...

 

yeah, thats what I'm trying to do but Chris (topher) is nowhere to be found. I know he used to sit on AIM all day but he has changed jobs now and I haven't seen him on. I've sent a pm to him linking him to this thread...hopefully he'll see it soon. I just dont want him to be out anything if that place he bought them from says "no, you've had them too long without saying anything"