jarvace

I made the mistake of buying both upper and lower control arms from EBAY which are Deutsche/URO as I couldn't find an actual person with bad experience rather than people saying they have heard they are bad etc. So I decided to take the half price control arm plunge, chance my arm and try them out.

Well I can definitely say that the quality is terrible first hand. They have been on the car for 13 months and they are starting to go.

Most alarmingly I drilled into the both Front upper thrust arm bushing which are meant to be oil filled and they are just solid with an empty void in the middle. NO oil to be seen, and there was no sign of prior leaks!

The balljoints on all 4 control arms already have play in them and two of the rubber balljoint boots was completely split.

The bushings were also splitting and looked like they were starting to tear.

So after a costly experiment with cheap Chinese parts, I hope this helps others from avoiding cheap control arms from ebay.

Lemforder replacements are in the post and to be installed by the weekend.

wvadam

Thanks for the info. Good to know as I almost bought URO parts myself. I knew there must be a reason they were so cheap.

It sounds like they failed in almost every imaginable way.

VVF

Well, duh...
I actually remember reading a couple of reports by people who actually used the Chinese control arms, to the same effect.

Guess if you're DIYing, for the price it might be ok to change them every 1.5 years.

jarvace

Duh yourself VVF

I am providing first hand knowledge on the subject. I could not find any previous information or review directly relating to the quality of W203 Ebay purchased Deutsche/URO control arms.

Its unhelpful comments like yours which is why i pulled the trigger in the first place.

You have no first hand experience with a product, just hear say and comments about hearing from other sources... not helpful.

VVF

Well, I am sorry you are offended. I meant it more to the tune of 'you get what you pay for', as can be seen from the rest of the post.

Sorry I made you buy crappy parts. Where to send a refund check?

pcy

we all make mistakes... that's part of learning.

I buy Lemforder suspension parts and I am willing to pay for quality [especially for suspension parts].

VVF

And to follow up on how easy is to find reviews on Chinese parts, here is the link to a forum where I read about them: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=241104
A little googling will reveal more threads of the like nature. No need to waste money to convince yourself of their inferior quality

chazzz

It's always better to stick with OEM parts. About five years ago, the independent shop replaced my Jeep's water pump. Last year, the water pump failed. I decided to do it by myself. When removing the water pump, I found out that it was a cheap, low quality water pump. I bought Mopar brand water pump (OEM) and installed it. It should last a long time.

Genuine Mercedes Parts (www.genuinemercedesparts.com) sells control arm for a 2005 Mercedes C230, $192 each. I think it's worth to spend more money but it will last a LONG time. Never buy any auto parts from eBay, you don't know where they were made from.