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  #16  
Old 06-26-2020, 11:49 AM
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We actually have a two year warranty on all URO Parts products, and our upgraded URO Premium line has a lifetime warranty. We're pretty easy to work with on warranty issues though, and normally aren't sticklers on the two year period. We take everything on a case by case basis, thoroughly evaluate the circumstances (and reject the occasional fraud attempts), and do our best to be fair.

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  #17  
Old 06-26-2020, 04:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by URO Parts Support View Post
We actually have a two year warranty on all URO Parts products, and our upgraded URO Premium line has a lifetime warranty. We're pretty easy to work with on warranty issues though, and normally aren't sticklers on the two year period. We take everything on a case by case basis, thoroughly evaluate the circumstances (and reject the occasional fraud attempts), and do our best to be fair.
Have heard good things about URO's W123 blower motor but sadly that's an exception. The W114/ W115 blower motor is NLA, widely sought after, and could use your focus.
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  #18  
Old 06-26-2020, 07:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by URO Parts Support View Post
We actually have a two year warranty on all URO Parts products, and our upgraded URO Premium line has a lifetime warranty. We're pretty easy to work with on warranty issues though, and normally aren't sticklers on the two year period. We take everything on a case by case basis, thoroughly evaluate the circumstances (and reject the occasional fraud attempts), and do our best to be fair.
Just as an example the genuine Mercedes w126 trunk seal (126-750-00-98) lists at $164.75

The ÜRO equivalent at $28.00.

I for one would be happy to pay ÜRO, say, $50, $75 or even a $100 if they'd sell it at equal or better quality - fit, finish, appearance, durability than the original Mercedes item.

I'd be surprised if most w126 owners wouldn't agree. Have you ever considered that as an alternative business model - going for top quality, charge more, and get everyone to sing your praises and leave the problematic quality reputation behind for good?
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  #19  
Old 06-26-2020, 09:02 PM
dkr dkr is offline
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I would second that. Double or even triple your prices. I could care less. Spend the money on QA and testing and quality materials and I would be happy to buy Uro. Keep in mind that each failure of a "cheap" part will cost the owner a lot extra on the back end. As stated here, a seal failure could generate rust, suspension part failures could cause an accident, etc. Many of these jobs are not easy to do and nobody wants to do them again for a long time. I never bothered contacting Uro for warranty issues because when you see that your part has a problem and other people are complaining about the same thing, I wouldn't want a replacement part. And for the low cost it is often not even worth the time to pick up the phone unless you are flaming mad and even then, I don't see the point other than to vent to a customer service person who has probably no idea what the part is or does to begin with.

I just replaced the front windshield seal on my W123. I spent about $175 for an NLA OEM seal I found on eBay. It fits and looks perfectly. I paid to have it professionally installed and I am very happy with it. If it started leaking, I wouldn't use the same brand as I would have to pay double in labor to have it reinstalled.

Dkr.
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  #20  
Old 06-26-2020, 09:49 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WDBCB20 View Post
Just as an example the genuine Mercedes w126 trunk seal (126-750-00-98) lists at $164.75

The ÜRO equivalent at $28.00.

I for one would be happy to pay ÜRO, say, $50, $75 or even a $100 if they'd sell it at equal or better quality - fit, finish, appearance, durability than the original Mercedes item.

I'd be surprised if most w126 owners wouldn't agree. Have you ever considered that as an alternative business model - going for top quality, charge more, and get everyone to sing your praises and leave the problematic quality reputation behind for good?
I absolutely, 10000% agree with your assessment here. Scrap the entire idea of "cheap" parts, these cars are entering into "classic" car territory and have moved out of the mainstream "disposable beater" territory. Forget the "cheap parts" crowd, it doesn't matter how cheap the part is, it's still "too expensive". The type of people who own these cars tend to be older (or even original owners) or the younger crowd that maintains and drives their vehicles.

I fall into the latter category, though I'm approaching middle-aged at this point. I tend to keep cars long-term, and I don't appreciate re-doing repairs every couple years because some cheap aftermarket part didn't last. I've used a precious few Uro parts over the years, my first bad experience was 10+ years ago with a relay for the 500SL that had pins that were too small to stay latched in the socket.

Since then I've had several "meh" to downright "bad" experiences with Üro and joined the "friends don't let friends buy Üro" mentality.

One thing I've been very vocal about on this forum and elsewhere is their Gen II W126 sunroof seal. The one I received absolutely did not fit the car. It was so long that I couldn't ever work enough slack out to close the roof panel. Üro sent a replacement that while still too big, at least let me close the roof panel with some judicious use of force. The seal was too big, the rubber too firm, and the tab that gets stuffed in the slot was too thin to stay secure. That car got totaled in January of last year and spent the 3 years I owned it without the sunroof ever being opened because of that seal.

More recently, Üro released a replacement ignition lock cylinder for the early R107's which has been NLA for years. They sent me an engineering sample in exchange for an unbiased review http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-sl-discussion-forum/402431-review-%FCro-ignition-lock-cylinder-116-462-02-79-a.html It's items like this that Uro needs to be focusing on. Fill a gap in the market with a quality item and fix that reputation as purveyors of poor-quality aftermarket parts that don't fit, don't work as intended, or don't last. Considering the longevity and popularity of the diesel cars, they'd have a market for a long time to come.
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  #21  
Old 06-27-2020, 01:04 AM
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Agree on quality. A long or even easy to use warranty means absolutely nothing if there are repeated failures. I buy remanned calipers locally because some are so bad they don't work out of the box. I test any remmaned alternators or starters before leaving the store for the same reason. I've also learned the hard way to keep cores until I have some mileage on the new part because, stores ship cores soon and they have no way to give a core back once it's shipped which is a problem if you ever get a cash refund.

The 85SD is about to come out of the shop after a complete repaint needs rear windshield seal and trunk seal. Both cause problems when they leak.

The 85TD needs windshield seal, trunk window seal and the trunk seal. I'll bite the bullet and go OE if available. These particular cars are too good to let leaks rust them away and I'm getting too old to do things twice.

The PO said that sunroof seals had been replaced twice. The seals were too thick in the corners and held the sunroof off from where it is supposed to seat. I replaced with OE and it works fine. This car has multiple rust holes from neglected or improperly replaced seals. I don't know the brand that I replaced but even paying a glass man for windshield R&R would have been cheaper than replacing the floor.
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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Last edited by Junkman; 06-27-2020 at 01:15 AM.
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  #22  
Old 06-28-2020, 03:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WDBCB20 View Post
Just as an example the genuine Mercedes w126 trunk seal (126-750-00-98) lists at $164.75

The ÜRO equivalent at $28.00.
My W126 trunk seal is almost 40 years old and aside from some cracks in the bottom, it's still intact and doing its job. Same for 3 out of 4 of my original door seals. Only one has a small tear. Judicious application of Gummi Pflege Stift is keeping those seals pliable. I don't think a $28.00 seal is going to give you the same longevity. FYI if you're in the market for a genuine W126 trunk seal, I've found it listed under another part number (126-750-03-98) at a list price of $112.00 and can be found at 26% off list from MB of Naperville (MBOEMParts). I can't find the difference between the two part numbers, but some parts houses list both numbers interchangeably.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Diseasel300 View Post
I tend to keep cars long-term, and I don't appreciate re-doing repairs every couple years because some cheap aftermarket part didn't last.

Since then I've had several "meh" to downright "bad" experiences with Üro and joined the "friends don't let friends buy Üro" mentality.
As I've gotten older, I've fallen into that category too, especially when I've been able to get OEM parts from MBOEMParts at prices that are not that much more expensive than aftermarket. The only Uro parts I've put on my SD are air cleaner mounts and the hose from the coolant reservoir to the bottom of the radiator. With the air cleaner mounts, I didn't care because I've found regardless of brand, I'm usually replacing them every 3 years due to heat and vibrations. I've had the Uro hose for well over 5 years and it's holding up well. I forgot why I ended up using the Uro hose, but I inspect my hoses frequently and it's holding up just as well as my Gates/NAPA hoses, which are already known for quality.

Quote:
More recently, Üro released a replacement ignition lock cylinder for the early R107's which has been NLA for years. They sent me an engineering sample in exchange for an unbiased review http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-sl-discussion-forum/402431-review-%FCro-ignition-lock-cylinder-116-462-02-79-a.html It's items like this that Uro needs to be focusing on. Fill a gap in the market with a quality item and fix that reputation as purveyors of poor-quality aftermarket parts that don't fit, don't work as intended, or don't last. Considering the longevity and popularity of the diesel cars, they'd have a market for a long time to come.
There are so many parts going NLA that they could fill a need for and I know people would pay top dollar if the quality was equal to OEM. Right off the bat I can think of the W126 lower windshield seal, transmission VCV, bowden cable. There's a company selling the lower windshield seals aftermarket on ebay.de but they won't ship to the US. W126 owners have been trying to get that seal for over 10 years. If Uro could produce and sell a quality version of that seal, they'd be a life saver. Uro's been the butt of jokes here for years, but maybe they can finally turn that around?
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  #23  
Old 06-28-2020, 09:33 AM
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I'm pretty sure it's at the point now where you can't really get in the middle. You can do dirt cheap or extremely expensive.


If it's built in China or similar I'm sure no matter what you tell those factories no matter how much extra you pay them the quality is still gonna be garbage.

And then if you want good quality you have to spend the money to completely change your business model build a factory in us or Germany or similar, do the r and d to insure a great product. Not to mention Mercedes and similar have been in the high quality world for a long time, I'm sure the connections they have are getting them what they need for cheaper than what URO could get it for starting out.

They may not even be able to meet MBZ's price point. (Although yes I'm sure MBZ is charging a premium, but it may be for the above stated reason)

But then here is another kicker, the labor force in America, is completely crap these days. You can't find a good worker that actually shows pride in there work to save your life.

Ive been looking to good guys at work for close to 10 years now. They are few and FAR between.
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  #24  
Old 06-28-2020, 09:39 AM
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I'm going on 9-10 years on the URO windshield seal in my 77 240D and its still in good shape. In full disclosure though the car lives under a cover in the garage and hasn't spent more than 20-30 nights outside in that entire time so YMMV. At the time it was the only one available so I didn't have any other option.
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  #25  
Old 06-28-2020, 10:49 AM
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  #26  
Old 06-29-2020, 11:06 AM
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Not that its necessarily pertinent, I've heard the stories of failed URO parts, primarily engine mounts and steering components.

But I have also seen that it looks like they are trying to improve and reach out to the communities and make parts that are NLA from every other source and would end up landing all our cars in the scrap pile when the NOS stuff finally is tapped out.

I've put URO windshield (front and rear) and door seals in both of my 82 300Ds, and I have zero complaints past its incredibly hard to get the aluminum trim back in, but both cars are dry as a bone inside.

The grey car has had those seals since 2013-14ish, still holding up great, the blue car I put in last year after finding a back seat full of water. Now its dry inside and I just have one last piece of trim I've been mustering up motivation to put back in without getting frustrated and ending up with an aluminum pretzel.
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  #27  
Old 06-29-2020, 12:33 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tdoublenastywitit View Post

If it's built in China or similar I'm sure no matter what you tell those factories no matter how much extra you pay them the quality is still gonna be garbage.


But then here is another kicker, the labor force in America, is completely crap these days. You can't find a good worker that actually shows pride in there work to save your life.

Ive been looking to good guys at work for close to 10 years now. They are few and FAR between.

I have a close family member responsible for importing aftermarket parts from China and Taiwan who claims that you can get any quality you want. He also says that he can buy a fender landed for less than he can ship it across the US.


As far as quality workers, depends on the skill level of the job requirements and pay level. Here, grunt labor ie yard work & general clean up gets $15/hr. It costs more to live than what they make working part time and they can get another job across the street so you're not going to find people at that price who will think like an owner. They need to be supervised. Those who don't need supervision will quickly raise prices or move on because they can.
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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.
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  #28  
Old 06-29-2020, 12:35 PM
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@Jarod, did you put the chrome in before installing the glass?

I'm hoping my trim on the SD rear window isn't fubared by the incompetent glass man or I'll need to source a replacement.
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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.
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  #29  
Old 06-30-2020, 10:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tdoublenastywitit View Post

If it's built in China or similar I'm sure no matter what you tell those factories no matter how much extra you pay them the quality is still gonna be garbage.
China has satellites, manned space flight and a rover rolling around the far side of the moon. Rather large investments to leave at risk to "garbage quality".

It would seem, as Junkman points out above, "you can get any quality you want" is closer to the truth.
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Last edited by WDBCB20; 06-30-2020 at 10:40 AM.
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  #30  
Old 06-30-2020, 10:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Jarod View Post
I just have one last piece of trim I've been mustering up motivation to put back in without getting frustrated and ending up with an aluminum pretzel.
It's recommended to closely follow the shop manual installation instructions - step by step in the order indicated. Has helped me in situations where doing things by what seemed logical and obvious just didn't work.

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