Mondo Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 This is a little rant and a justifiable one at that! My little XD90 needed dampers. I found a set on Ebay listed as "Land Rover Defender Wolf Rear Shocks (7XD)" for £50. As these items are as rare as rocking horse menure, I bid for them. I was outbid within an hour. I checked the counter bidder's feedback and noticed he had never bought anything Land Rover previously, but he had bought lots of motorcycle parts. I checked the Seller's history and he too had wheeled and dealed tons of motorcycle parts. Co-incidence? Probably not! I re-bid and won the Item, whoohoo! I asked the Seller if he could source front shocks. No reply. I mailed and asked again. No reply... Anyway they cost me £66 including P&P and they did arrive swiftly. The next day Dunsfold Land Rover then listed a full set of "Landrover Defender Wolf New Take Off Shock Absorbers" which I bid on out of desperation of needing front dampers. I bid and in a few days, I won these! Whoohoo again! I called Dunsfold to arrange payment and had a chat with what I can only term as the nicest guy in Land Rover parts I've ever had the pleasure of speaking with. He informed me they remove the shocks from new Wolf XD vehciles and that they are technically new items with delivery mileage on them. I'm happy with that, especially at £42 including P&P! These arrived very quickly too, the day after I paid. Today I took the 90 to a freind's place to get them fitted. We opened both packages as I left them sealed in the boxes. The job went fairly well and without too much drama (other than overtightened Nyloc nuts) the Dunsfold supplied front dampers were fitted I decided to fit the brand new (and more expensive) rear dampers, but much to my shock they were nowhere near the originals I had removed or the rears supplied by Dunsfold The diameter was about 1.5cm narrower and the bottom threaded shaft was over 2cm shorter than the original/Dunsfold supplied parts. The bottom line is, these will just not fit a Wolf XD at all! Fortunately both sets of rear shocks have Armstrong numbers. Tonight I mailed the Seller of the incorrect part to inform him, in a very diplomatic manner, that the parts supplied are in fact the wrong parts and will just not physically fit a Wolf XD. I've requested a refund or re-supply of the correct part - and suppplied him the Armstrong part number I got from the rear dampers I got from Dunsfold. I am awaiting his reply - and from previous experience will be amazed if he does reply. Today this Seller has a set of "Land Rover Defender Wolf Shocks Set 7XD" listed on EBay for a starting bid of £99. Thank goodness these weren't on Auction 2 weeks back or I may have been stuck with incorrect front and rear dampers Needless to day, I have fitted the Dunsfold rear dampers, which I will add, are in excellent condition, sparkle like [almost] new parts and now my beloved little "Larentia" no longer leans into corners and nose dives under braking. The bottom line is, people think that selling Wolf XD parts is a licence to print money. I've seen used Wolf parts sell for insane prices on EBay, these parts are usually available from most Land Rover dealerships' parts counters if you are prepared to wait the 2-3 weeks it takes them to get them in I've also seen V8 distributors described as Wolf parts as well as a 127" chassis listed as a Wolf XD chassis and seen 4 brand new "Wolf" rims on Ebay selling for £199 + £15 P&P. That amounts to almost £50 a wheel. Not bad considering they are under £40 a piece at your local Land Rover dealer - if he can get them and I assure you they can if you're prepared to wait. Military parts or not, they are made by Land Rover... I guess it's the price we pay for owning an ex military vehicle, but with a little patience and dealing with the right people we can get the right parts, both new and used, at the right price. /end_rant And to add insult to injury - my minor little issue today was one broken chassis shock mount as someone had tightened a Nyloc nut in anger, it was broken trying to remove it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
101sean Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Describing something as a Wolf part does seem to be a licence to print money, same as saying ex SAS. It was probably Phil Bashall you spoke to at Dunsfold, if you get a chance go to their open weekend in September, probably the nicest show on the circuit. I'm going to post a link to here on the EMLRA forum if that's OK. Are you a member there? A few Wolfs of both the genuine and walt variety on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lardrover Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Describing something as a Wolf part does seem to be a licence to print money, same as saying ex SAS. It was probably Phil Bashall you spoke to at Dunsfold, if you get a chance go to their open weekend in September, probably the nicest show on the circuit.I'm going to post a link to here on the EMLRA forum if that's OK. Are you a member there? A few Wolfs of both the genuine and walt variety on there. We have a section on the EMLRA Forum entitled "Walts and Ringers". Contrary to how that sounds, I put it up for precisely this reason, so that people aren't conned into paying over the odds, let alone for the wrong stuff, I didn't do it to berate people for having a project in the first place. I would be happy for you guys to follow this up on there as well and see how the refund of the incorrect parts went. Name and shame if you like, it sounds like there was some shill bidding going on also. In fact, I'll change the name to suit the topic better. Agree with the sentiments about Dunsfold. I'm sure all the genuine traders out there won't mind the con artists fading away. All the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 Well, there is light at the end of the tunnel The Seller said "if you don't want them, I'll refund you" and that they fit these to Wolves all the time as they are MoD contractors. I have no idea how they fit the rear shocks as the threaded shaft is 2cm shorter than standard, unless they do not use the standard heavy duty XD rubber bushes which then contradicts the XD design and vehicle's integrity in my book. The good news is that I am getting my refund 101sean and Lardrover I've had a look at the EMLRA site and it's interesting. It's an excellent resource for the fine details on ex military Land Rovers including deals etc. Thanks for the info on that guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stageonesimmo Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Mondo - whats the part number o the shocks (the Armstrong one will do) I'll have a compare at work tomorrow and see what they've flogged you - We only fit the bushes from the IPC so if they dont fit with the XD bushes, they aint XD simply put. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 Mondo - whats the part number o the shocks (the Armstrong one will do) I'll have a compare at work tomorrow and see what they've flogged you - We only fit the bushes from the IPC so if they dont fit with the XD bushes, they aint XD simply put. stageonesimmo, This is the Armstrong part number on the pseudo XD shocks: 650091510607 (BS3939) I am also curious as hell to what their original designation is! Thanks Mondo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 might be for a standard GS 110 pre XD vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stageonesimmo Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Beleive it or not, we've got none in stock for a change! I'm waiting for some to come in for a Rad Tp TUL so once they arrive I'll do some 'brass-rubbing' and get you the numbers....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Boy Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Think I have found the perfect example of "Wolf" part mickey taking!! Snow Cowls £125!!!!! Does anyone think they can knock these out for £10 a set? Fancy setting up a business??!! Just imagine on Dragons Den... Profit margins, 1000% Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Makes you wonder why the hell you'd want a pair of them, when one side has nothing underneath the hole in the wing? unless it's for the people who have to have a symetrical vehicle anyway, you can get them a lot cheaper from IBH (aka Ian aka Porny) from this site very well made they are as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 A prime example of Ebay sellers taking advantage of the "Wolf" label. As diesel_jim pointed out the RHD wing top vent on the Wolf is blanked off! Heater induction is via the LHD vent only. Why be forced to buy a pair when only one is needed? To be honest I still havent fitted one on my 90 yet but those IRB variants look the part and once coated with matt black paint, no-one would notice that it isn't an MoD issue part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneten110 Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Normally my local dealer can get me wolf parts within the same time frame as "normal" parts. ie 2 days for a stock order, 1 day for a VOR order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I noticed those a while back on ebay but never saw anyone actually bid for them. Who could be that stupid. That link above shows somone actualy bought it!! I bought mine (just one) for 14 pounds including P+P and thats only becuase I got caught in a bid war with somone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I noticed those a while back on ebay but never saw anyone actually bid for them. Who could be that stupid. That link above shows somone actualy bought it!! I bought mine (just one) for 14 pounds including P+P and thats only becuase I got caught in a bid war with somone else. Sorry about this second post. my finger jumped on the mouse button and it posted it twice.. (this is an edit by the way ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Dunsfold currently have some "new" take off wolf springs and dampers for not much money, and coming form DLR, you know that they'll be the correct ones. note: their prices are plus VaT as i found out when i bought a seat box a couple of weeks ago.... lucky i had some extra cash with me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil00001 Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 They are getting on the band wagon in Holland too, they are trying to sell these for 280 quid, rare new unused.......mad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 Dunsfold currently have some "new" take off wolf springs and dampers for not much money, and coming form DLR, you know that they'll be the correct ones. Jim, I bought a full set of "brand new take off Wolf dampers" from Dunsfold in early February. I can vouch that these dampers were immaculate and as good as new. I took the little XD90 for its first decent run of the year through the Somerset B roads (Glastonbury/Cheddar) areas this weeked and the roadholding was what I expected of new dampers all round. A bargain from a reputable reseller! They are getting on the band wagon in Holland too, they are trying to sell these for 280 quid, rare new unused.......mad Neil, insanity. Those wing vents are a dime a dozen on EBay UK and the average selling price tends to be from £30 for a used pair with crappy paint to £60 for a brand new pair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMc Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Here's another one Landrover TOW Hook UPDATE WOLF 110 90 defender trailer Read his rather high-handed reply to someone who's tried to put him right. Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted May 6, 2008 Author Share Posted May 6, 2008 Read his rather high-handed reply to someone who's tried to put him right.Paul. For those who don't have Ebay accounts: Q: Hi, Just for info these are not and have never been fitted to Land Rover Wolf. This is possibly a much earlier tow hitch. Modern trailers have a fixed eye and require the hitch to swivel. Chris 02-May-08 A:When i've been at various bases they i have seen these fitted to wolfs so they must use them too. This was fitted onto my ex RAF Mreg which i changed it to a ball hitch Thanks for you concern Alan Scandalous.. so because it looks the same it's now a "Wolf XD part" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old leafer Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 i drove my car past the wolf compond at longleat a while back i think i should list it on ebay mmmmmmm i think i will call it a disco one wolf any takers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share Posted July 12, 2008 Result! I am pleased to say that today I won a brand new Wolf rim, in factory black with an equally brand new Goodyear G90 tyre fitted for £58 on Ebay. In the era of Wolf centric rip offs, I though this is news worth sharing :¬) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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