Originally Posted by Richard Eldridge

you will never be sorry you installed Bilsteins. They also have a lifetime guarantee(whatever that really means)!
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I think you may be certain that if you buy these (or anything else with a guarantee) you will need (1) a dated receipt of the seller, and (2) a box lid or some other proof of purchase that you have personally received these.

You would also need Bilstein's USA address, I imagine.

One has visions of a car up on blocks for weeks, while awaiting the arrival of the new replacement shocks.

My guess is that most such replacements are received by people with a shop who have mastered the procedure. Probably only a very few new replacements are actually made.

Bilsteins are extremely good shocks, and most people do not keep a car long enough to wear them out. After five or six years, many people would forget that the shocks were replaced, especially if they did not do the replacement personally.