Not Sure if Ripped Off or Got a Great Deal
 

OK so here is the story:
My car was the showroom vehicle for all the dealer add ons available at the time (June 14).
One of these add ons was "TRD" lowering springs. I loved the look and the car was substantially lower than stock. I measured against stock and we are talking about 1&1/4 inches.
I bargained all the add ons into the price and got many of them for free.
I did however pay $400 (already installed) extra for the springs.
When I was getting my snows on the other day and they put the car up on the hoist, I figured it was a good chance to take a look underneath. The first thing I noticed was that the springs were black, not red as I had expected (I had not got down low enough to look before that) and had labels on them that said " RS*R.
Went home and pulled the box with the stock springs in it out of the TRD exhaust box they put the stock parts back into and all the labels are in Japanese, except for the main heading that says RS*R-S.
So...from all the evidence I have gathered I figure I do not have TRD springs at all and they are actually RS*R Superdowns.
Now I know that the TRD springs are priced on the Scion site at about $600 but have no clue if that is the installed price,
I positively, love these springs with the handling and ride I get and would not change but... at $400 installed did they rip me off or did I get a good deal?

If it's worth $400 to you regardless, I don't think you got ripped off.

I think you got a good deal. If you got the TRD springs the price would have been higher, so in that sense you didn't get ripped off. Now...you were under the expectation that you were getting TRD springs, and if they TOLD you you had TRD springs, and it's on your cars cut-sheet, then the dealership either made a mistake or lied.

I'd be kinda pissed because obviously you were going with an OEM+ build, and now you don't have one. But...coming back to the dealership is up to you.

Typical hourly rate is around $80 and probably about 2-3 hours for spring installation so you paid $160-240 for the springs. If you're happy with them, then who cares at this point? You can't go back and argue because the due diligence was on you to verify things before signing the paperwork.

Did they wrap the springs+install into the bill of sale as one or did they have a work order set? If you have it on paper I don't see why they won't owe you a TRD spring set. If they just labeled it as 'lowering springs' you will have to check up and see if they tried to swindle you. $600 is stealership for just springs if that's the case but they're not cheap cause OEM JDM TRD. Much more $ than your RSR but it seems you are content with them and that is what matters in the end!

Seeing how the set you got are RSRs and not TRD, you should make sure that they won't turn you away for warranty work in the future because your springs are not "oem". That's probably the area where you will get screwed.

Wow fast responses!Thanks.
To answer everybody at once:
Yes I am very happy with them.
They are listed as TRD on the bill of sale, wrapped into price of the car.
They really have no idea what are TRD parts and what are not so don't think it was a deliberate attempt to deceive. They also thought the Scion spoiler was TRD.
May be that the Canadian dealers all use these springs but that seems unlikely.
As the TRD springs are listed at a much higher price I think I will hit them up for some extra service or something as want to be fair but don't want to take advantage of them anymore then I want to be taken advantage of.

TRD springs can be had for $195 new online or if your dealer price matches.

As noted above, the potential for any warranty issues is why I would go back and talk to them.


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As long as I take it back to that dealer this should not be an issue as they are on my bill of sale as TRD, I have the box with their shipping label and they installed them.
I will take in the bill and have the Service Manager sign off that these are the springs they actually installed. They are pretty good there but if there is ever a turn over in staff that could change.


If anybody that I raved about how nice the TRD spring were and how much drop I had with them read this then sorry I didn't know!

Full disclosure - I dig you, man. One of these days we are gonna get that beer & poutine. :thumbsup:

Went in and spoke to dealer.
Service manager signed off no issues. He said that was what they got when they ordered the TRD parts (I believe him) so why the RSRs is still a mystery.
Told him about the price difference and he offered up 4 free oil changes before I even had to ask.
So, still love the springs regardless of what make and now most certainly a good deal as they really cost me about $100 installed!

It's VERY possible that RS*R makes TRD's OEM springs. As long as it's documented then you are good to go.

@Tcoat

People generally tend to think that TRD springs are just rebranded Eibach Pro-Kit. This is the first that I've heard of the RS*Rs being speculated as a TRD supplier. As a person with a fair amount of experience with both RS*R Superdowns and Eibach Pro-Kit springs I'll say that the RS*Rs were much more comfortable for initial bumps than the Pro-Kits. This is mostly due to the slightly softer and more progressive RS*R spring rate. The RS*R's are also about 1/4" lower all the way around (after settling) than the Eibachs (which IMO made the RS*R drop look better).

However, the RS*R Superdowns tended to be harsh on hard bumps. This is because they do not include a set of shorter bump stops with the springs. The factory bump stops only give about .6" of clearance to the factory springs, so lowering the car any amount more than that puts you on the softest tip of the factory bump stops. Unless your spring kit comes with replacement shorter bump stops (as the RS*Rs did not) they (the Superdowns) were generally riding the factory bump stops. The '86 uses the OEM bump stop as a secondary spring, so this isn't the end of the world, however it will affect ride and handling somewhat. The Eibach Pro-kit comes with replacement shorter bump stops to prevent this issue. Still the Pro-Kit is measurably stiffer and less compliant on the road, but probably more predictable with the front end (although I got used to what the front end of the Superdown equipped car was going to do).

Now because you don't know if the dealer replaced or trimmed the factory bump stops when he installed your SuperDowns you might want to try and confirm this visually. If you cannot then try to feel for any understeering behavior when weight has transferred over the front wheels, if that's the case, then the dealer may not have trimmed or replaced your OEM bump stops.

If that's the case I'd recommend pairing your RS*R Superdowns + Shorter progressive bump stops. You can get replacement bump stops from Eibach USA (PM me for part#) and also Koni if you find that your ride is too harsh or if you have any handling issues.

-fin