Hello all. I just wanted to double check if im looking at the right products. Dont want to get the wrong items. Im looking at replacing the front struts and rear shocks on my 2007 saturn ion 3 - 4door 2.2L. Around 135k miles on it.

This was the one i found for the front struts A-premium. $218.99 (for a pair)

This was a second i saw. Duralast $87.49 (for 1) / $174.98 (for 2)

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The rear shocks i was less sure about tho. I found a few options. But im not sure its the right part, much less the differences between these options (other then price.)

This is the first one i found. FCS Auto $32.99 for one

This is the second one i found. KYB $49.99 for one

And this was the third i found. Duralast $41.99 for one

Every thing i listed is marked as fitting my car. But i wanted to make sure im looking at the right things. And IF they are the right products, what is the difference between the brands/types? Obviously theirs a noticeable cost difference, but i wonder if the quality of each is reflected in that or if some are just jacked up higher then others and quality is mostly the same.

Thank you!

 

Are these the correct items?

 

Hey, apologies, sir.

One of the unwritten rules around here is that every post receives an answer. As a group we have failed you. I will research and post this evening.

 

No apologies needed at all. As a group, you guys have helped me tremendously over the years. And for that, you guys have my gratitude for sure. Also, being on disability for so long, i tend to have a different perception of time these days. Its rly weird. 10 years go by just like that. Then other times 5 min feel like 5 years... as such i was worried about bumping this thread.

But anyway.. its my first time buying struts and shocks. But considering the insane price jack up of most shops iv been to in recent years for various things.. it became unsustainable. So i have a small shop mechanic near by that was willing to do/charge for install if i provided parts. - Its weird, hes known as a bit of a scam artist. Yet his work/price is still beating all the big shops around... so that says a lot about those big shops as well.

And.. off topic-ish again. Yea, just want to make sure im looking at the right parts.

 

I can't verify the specific items you've listed but here is RockAuto's listing for front struts.

And here is there listing for shocks (and some more struts).

Prices vary widely. But RockAuto is very good about listing only compatible items.

 

I just clicked on all of your links sir.

Indeed, they are all listed as compatible.

The fronts are more expensive since they are a loaded pair, meaning they include new springs.

As far as brands and prices, I strongly second oldMarine's statement regarding RockAuto not listing shyte, with the caveat that I never purchased the least expensive of anything on RockAuto because I think it's only there for the sake of carrying what all customers demand as opposed to the ones actually looking for quality parts.

​​​​​​I don't trust chain store brands for moving parts when the Price is that low. AutoZone makes a profit of about 250% on most physical parts so for them to sell a rebranded private label truck for that price to me indicates that the during last in particular is a cheap piece of ****. Which is why I don't trust it. I would rule those out.

FCP Euro caters to the European car market, Volkswagen Audi Porsche, etc. I have to assume that the struts they carry are compatible with some European cars as well. The fact that they are, like AutoZone, private labeling somebody else's suspension parts makes me a bit leary. They're ridiculously low price also frightens me.

Anyone who drives a Saturn S car nose KYB is a dependable quality brand because at this point 98% of us have KYBs on all four corners of our cars. My 95 coupe included.

KYB is in general a bit more sporty / harsh of a ride which is traded in return for CRISPR handling. I don't drive an ion so I can't confirm that 100%, but that is the general bend on KYB.

I will now go and look at oldMarine's RockAuto links and see what's what, then come back with some final recommendations subject to complete overrule by OldMarine

 

You know one of us should get some sleep, yes?

 

And my final review indicates....

I'm probably going to recommend KYB's all around. They are listed as having an oem ride to them and The fronts are about 170 a pair but they do not sell a loaded set, meaning the price above is for two struts only. This is not a big deal, only about three extra minutes of time with your mechanic having to disassemble the strut spring combination and reuse the spring for each one in the front. I highly recommend you order a new mounting plate and hardware if you decide to take this path. It's quite inexpensive as a percentage of the entire job.

It took me a bunch of digging but it turns out that I confused FCP Euro with FCS. They are completely different companies and I will correct my post above. Forget FCP euro

I also found during that digging that a premium and FCS are part of the same company. I think FCS is one of the lines of parts they offer like bronze silver gold.

They have a reputation from what little I could find for grossly undercutting other manufacturers by cranking out huge volumes of parts in China. However, the part quality and fitment seam to be pretty good for what you pay.

I need sleep. I will Post screenshots of the KYB individual parts and part numbers in the morning. Oh f me it is the morning. I'll do it later

 

First off let me just say, Thank you for looking at all that. I greatly appreciate it. Other wise id have been ordering blind and hoping for the best.. not something i care to do in a machine that could kill me if things went wrong.. So yea.. appreciate it is a bit of an understatement.

Secondly, ill say that i fully understand sleeping issues all to well. My sleeping issues are endless, and life long. Im on permanent disability from injury and i assure you, while justified, the sleep issues cause me even more daily problems then the injury. I could type up a book report on that whole thing... So ill sum it up and just say.. i get it.


That right there is part of why i wanted to ask you ppl here about this. This not being my area of expertise, i couldnt tell much difference about any brand/company/quality. And as i said above, when it comes to a machine that could kill me if things go wrong... i dont want to grossly cheap out with sub quality products that could be more likely to fail. - Of course thats countered by the fact that im broke. But still.. dont want to cheap out to much.

I cant say much about A-premium except that i just put a bunch of there products in my car in December. If they have a reputation for undercutting then that would explain why there products where cheaper. Of course every shop iv been to has far more then a 'reputation' for jacking every cost up astronomically... But at the time i was kinda in a slight panic. Took the car in to get a couple things looked at. Shop gave me a list that was between $5k-$6k worth of repairs, and that wasnt even for everything recommended. Again, 2007 ion. And the day/ride before i took it in, my car stopped starting up most of the time. So i was in a bit of a panic and needed to come up with something.

I ended up finding and getting a bunch of 'A-premium' parts. And had the local guy with a shop install them. (The only person i could find that was willing to do so.) He too has a reputation for being a bit of a scam artist. It terrifies me tho that his install price and work was still far better then all the bigger shops. When a scam artist is offering better service then your shop... that says a lot about the other shops...
But i had a serpentine belt, camshaft position sensor, steering shaft, 2pc rear suspension coil springs, 10pc control arm ball joint and sway bars and tie rods installed. They were all A-premium brand. - So far they seem to be doing well. Granted i dont drive much. And i also couldnt compare them to anything else as these are my first replacement parts from the original ones in the car. And its my first car. So saying they seem ok so far doesnt mean much coming from me. But id figured id mention it.

Im not sure where you were looking at those, im guessing rockauto since you mentioned that. I was looking on a-premium just because thats what i already had pulled up atm. I had a question on the kyb front struts. Actually two.

1. The kyb strut (for the front end) i saw, as you mentioned, was the strut only. It did not have that spring part attached to it. Now i did replace the REAR coil springs. But as far as i know, the FRONT springs on the strut are still original with the car. (2007, almost 136k miles). So would it be a better idea to replace those springs along with the strut? (Get a strut/spring replacement.) - And a separate question with that, can you get front spring and strut separately and use them both? Or do they need to be built together like that a-premium one i linked to?
(Kyb single strut. Front right.) (Kyb single strut. Front left.)
(A-premium strut+spring. Set.)

Pics/links there just for easy reference.

2. Second question is the design of the items. Im trying to visualize the a-premium set without the springs. And, as best as i can imagine it, they still look quite different from the kyb brand struts. Im wondering why they look so different? I could understand some minor difference with different brands/manufacturers. But this seems more then minorly different. So it just has me wondering in general why the designs and items look so different. As well as if it effects quality.

 

bumpp