Has your transmission fallen out of the car yet?

A few years back, before anyone knew better, I bought a URO transmission mount for my W210.

Within a year, as part of a complimentary inspection, the dealer told me it was bad. I ordered a new one from partsdotcom (linked to the MB dealer network); it was the Corteco brand. It was sold as OEM and looked exactly like the one I'd originally removed, and it was markedly more substantial than the URO part I removed.

The guy at BW whose sweet 126 was totaled by a failed flex disc is probably not a fan, either.

The only reason to use URO is if it's a non-critical part that is easy to change.

Otherwise...well, there is no otherwise.

Good luck.

Will you be dissapointed if I tell you it hasn't?

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Unfortunately, there does seem to be an "otherwise."

ÜRO has a significant fan club on this forum.

Despite the obvious tales of woe piling up. Sad but true.

Im more thinking it will have turned to the shore hardness of warm bubble gum.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Sometimes people find it easier to blame a cheap component instead of admit to their own incompetence in installing that component or overlooking basic maintenance. Its human nature I suppose. I don't have a problem with this, it just makes the parts that much cheaper to buy so go ahead keep bashing the brand, I enjoy it.

My list of perfectly reliable URO parts going back to 2009.
2009
"URO Parts 12 32 1 711 399 Voltage Regulator" Automotive; $12.15
"URO Parts 124 460 0019 Idler Arm Bushing Kit" Automotive; $12.93
2010
ÜRO PARTS 1387188 Strut Mount $ 26.79
ÜRO PARTS 1335433 Radiator Upper Hose $ 4.80
ÜRO PARTS 6842428 Radiator Lower Hose $ 8.17
ÜRO PARTS 1236179 Oil Cooler Hose $ 5.47
ÜRO PARTS 1236178 Oil Cooler Hose $ 4.87
ÜRO PARTS 9142056 Coolant Recovery Tank Hose $ 3.40
2011
ÜRO PARTS 1242400618 (124 240 0618) Transmission Mount $ 8.78
ÜRO PARTS 61311378073 (61 31 1 378 073) Radiator Fan Switch $ 11.00
ÜRO PARTS 0055422617 (005 542 2617) Temperature Sender / Sensor $ 3.77
ÜRO PARTS 1243300803 (124 330 0803) Tie Rod Assembly (inner & outer) $ 12.75
ÜRO PARTS 2023520165 (202 352 0165) Control Arm Bushing $ 4.15
ÜRO PARTS 2014920116 (201 492 0116) Hanger $ 1.18
ÜRO PARTS 1243300903 (124 330 0903) Tie Rod Assembly (inner & outer) $ 12.75
ÜRO PARTS 2013520027 (201 352 0027) Control Arm Bushing $ 8.72

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So, what I am taking away from your post is:

- URO part failures, by and large, are the result of purchaser/installer error, not the quality of the parts themselves. Your extensive, documented experience has borne this out.

- URO parts are equivalent to, if not better than, MB OE parts quality, as your experience shows, thus saving URO purchasers up to 90-95% over factory parts costs.

- As a DIYer, you have a perfect track record of installing numerous URO parts on your vehicles

- Dozens if not hundreds of other DIYers here (not to mention professional shop owners and mechanics, who install parts for a living) who have had URO parts fail on their / customers' vehicles, are not competent at installing even the simplest of parts

I had to go to the deal for these a few weeks ago. They are about $100 each. Last time I bought one, they were around $65.

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1991 F250 super-cab 7.3 IDI. (rebuilt by me) Banks Sidewinder turbo, hydroboost brakes, new IP and injectors.
2003 S430 - 107K
1983 300SD - Tanoshii - mostly restored ~400K+.
1983 300SD - Good interior. Engine finally tamed ~250K.
Monark Nozzle Install Video - http://tinyurl.com/ptd2tge

Injecting a little common sense into this debate, let me point out that as a reseller, URO may well in some cases be buying from suppliers that produce products of acceptable or even superior aftermarket quality. Even if URO's procurement is soley low-bid based, there is always a chance that someone will be desperate enough to sell their stuff cheap, just to move their production out the door.

Gerry wishes that we blanket-condemn URO for selling shoddy products. That may be justified in principle, i.e. in a world based on black and white judgements. Last time I looked, about 90 percent of life takes place in grey zones, not in black and white.

I just installed a w123 URO door check (the only one available from many suppliers when I was looking, incidentally). I am not a metallurgist, but based on cursory inspection it is very bit as hefty and well made as the OE item. Of course a door check isn't a mission-critical rocket component. Time will tell.

To suggest I should not use a URO door check because their flex discs are crap is the sort of things academics on panels get all red-faced and blustery about on panel discussions, to impress the cute undergrads in the audience.

I was happy that TJTS1 listed the URO items he has installed, with apparent success. Frankly it's interesting information. However, to suggest (it was more than an implication) that URO parts failures are the result of owner or shop error sounds like some sort of attorney response to a letter of intent to sue. (I know, I have one somewhere from the legal dept of Volvo of Canada.)

I have no desire to use URO based on price alone, having read way too many stories of premature failures not only here, but on other boards as well. Certainly if what I read is any indication, some of their BMW parts are worse ****e than the bad Mercedes ones.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

We'll I'm glad we agree on something. Its nice to see you come around. I knew there was hope for you.
Where exactly did I say that?
I guess so.
Well I showed you mine, you show me yours. Please include a links to the "dozens if not hundreds of other DIYers who have had URO parts fail". To be clear, by definition dozens means a minimum of 24 separate individuals and hundres means a minimum of 200 separate individuals. I think this forum (and a few others) has become the echo chamber for a few very vocal individuals like yourself. Prove me wrong, I look forward to your response.

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Maybe, what you are all getting is a counterfeit URO part. Made in China.

Every time a URO-related thread comes alive on this forum, 1-2 more folks pop out of the woodwork with their stories of woe. I'm not going to take the time or bother to go through every thread and count individuals, but I do not believe it would be difficult to come up with 24 folks who have had problems.

For every person who has been vocal about having a problem, I would assume there are several more who either don't/can't/won't post, or who do not know about this forum.

A Google search would likely come up with the hundreds of folks who have had problems, if you count other marques.

Your vociferousness about defending URO is a nice counterbalance to my zeal of making the masses aware that these parts are utter junk.

By the way, I think you are on the wrong side of / in the minority on this debate....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

-So you think there are possibly hundreds of URO parts unsatisfied customers out there.
-You don't believe it would be difficult to find 24 unsatisfied URO parts customers.
-Yet you're unwilling to take the time to find any evidence supporting your position.
-And you stick to your position purely on blind faith.

Color me skeptical. I think you and a few others on this and other forums have a fundamental problem with the fact that some of us are using parts that are not strictly from OEM suppliers manufactured in the fatherland. Frankly I have more important things to do with my money than try to keep an old car strictly original. If you want to use more expensive parts because you think its worth it, fine I'm not going to criticize you for it.

I drive a 26 year old car which I maintain in good condition and put close to 20k miles on this year. I'm not some purist trying to restore it to factory fresh condition for the next 26 years. If I wanted a factory original W124 I would just hand the keys along with a blank check to the Classic Center (not far from here actually). These cars are essentially worthless. The 300D could be totaled tomorrow and nobody is going to compensate me for a pile of expensive OEM parts. I wouldn't hesitate to get rid of it if I found something else that better fit my needs.

I'm sure theres plenty of terrible W124 parts out there, some of which are manufactured URO parts, some of them are supplied by the dealership. Believe it or not I've even returned a few I didn't like (Amazon's free return policy is a beautiful thing). But I'm not going to write off an entire brand simply because you happen to be biased against it or its country of origin.

Unlike you, position is based on hard evidence not popularity.

cheers

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Having worked for various car manufacturers over the years, I will tell you this much. Toyota used to make cars in the US and they made the same models in Japan and shipped them. The struts and other components were sourced in the country of origin.

From a warranty perspective, we had 10x amount of US sourced struts fail than those from Japanese built vehicles. That being said, I'm sure there were at least a few folks who never had a single issue with struts on a US built vehicle.

A few things need to be considered.

The majority of folks on these types of forums are not professional mechanics. It's not unheard of to destroy a perfectly good part because it was installed incorrectly. Even I have done this.

That being said, I can't believe everyone who's installed a URO part only to have it blow up 3k later is an idiot. I'm not sure what percentage of the URO hater threads you would discount due to the owner needing a beating with a clue bat, but I'm sure even that percentage would still yield a high failure rate.

URO parts are sold at a price point. They are cheaper for a reason. If you are comfortable taking a gamble that 1 out of X amount of parts will be a dud, feel free, it's your money. Not every part URO makes is going to fail as soon as the box is opened but I'm willing to bet their failure rate is higher than most of us would be comfortable with it.

In fairness, the majority of folks, who have never had an issue with a URO part, you generally wont hear from because they have nothing to complain about. So know you have to wonder how many of those folks exist.

I have personally bought 4 items with the URO brand.

Trunk seal for my 124, installed easily and no more water leak. SUCCESS!

Front right sway bar link. Installed with out issue and hasn't snapped in half yet. It's a piece of sheet metal, how bad can it be?

I bought a front signal which ended up being darker than my existing unit. I ordered the other side and the entire batch of right signals for the w124 were incorrectly boxed. I was given 2 new lights from a different manufacturer who's color matched the oem exactly. So the URO part was not an exact match.

I personally would never buy a URO part that was more than just a piece of rubber or stamped sheet metal. I'd certainly never buy URO for mission critical components like engine mounts and suspension pieces. Given the information that is available to all of us on various websites, the reliability of these parts just isn't there.

In short, if 10 people tell you to stay clear of brand X Y and Z, it's common sense to stay away from those brands, even if 1 or 2 folks have had great success with those brands.

It's your money, buy what you want just don't complain if you haven't bothered to read the warning signs that are all over these sites. You get what you pay for.