Buying Used Coilovers: What to Check Before You Pay
Used coilovers can be a fair buy if four things check out. The kit fits your exact car, the dampers do not leak, the locking collars turn and the shafts are straight. Know one more thing before you pay: the warranty usually stays with the first owner, so plan on the rebuild path instead.
A used coilover kit is never just a new kit at a lower price. It is a set of parts with a history you cannot see. Some were pulled off a garage queen after one summer. Others did five winters on salted roads and three track days with the wrong rates. The checks below help you tell them apart before money changes hands.
Used Coilovers: Confirm Fitment First
Fitment is where most used coilovers purchases go wrong. Coilover kits are built for one chassis, and often one body style, drivetrain or year range. Our own listings show how fine the splits get. Some kits are listed separately for coupe and sedan. Others split by rear mount style, or by Si versus base model.
Ask the seller for the part number and the car the kit came off. It is often on the box, the paperwork or a label on the damper. Then match that against the product page for your car. If you cannot find the part number, call us at 1-800-460-9106 with your VIN and photos of the kit. We will help you check it.
Do not trust "it fits a 2014 Civic" on its own. A kit for the 2014 sedan and a kit for the 2014 Si are different kits. Close enough is not a fitment.
Check the Dampers for Leaks and Seal Wear
The damper is the part you cannot fix with a wrench. Check it first.
Look for oil. Wipe each damper body and the shaft. Fresh oil, a wet dust boot or grime caked around the top of the body points to a failing seal. A light film can be assembly lube, so look closely.
Feel the shaft. On a monotube, high gas pressure pushes the shaft out. Push it in by hand and let go. If it stays put, the gas charge may be gone. Twin-tube dampers, such as KW V1 to KW V3, usually run lower gas pressure than monotubes, so they may push back less. Compare all four.
Work the adjuster. If the kit has a damping adjuster, turn it through its range. You should feel clear clicks. Then stroke the shaft at both ends of the range. You should feel a difference. No difference means a problem inside.
Noises tell you a lot too. A clunk or knock when you stroke the shaft is a red flag. Our guide on coilover noise explains what each sound usually means.
Seized Collars and Damaged Threads
A coilover you cannot adjust is just a fixed strut, because you cannot set ride height or preload. Check every collar.
Use the spanner wrenches and try to turn each locking collar and spring perch. They should break loose and spin along the threads. If one will not move, the threads may be corroded or galled. Salt and road grit are the usual causes. Look for white powder on aluminum parts, rust on steel bodies and flattened or chewed thread peaks.
Some seized collars free up with patience and penetrating oil. Some do not. Never force a seized collar with a pipe wrench. You will mark the body and can damage the threads for good. If you buy a kit with stiff collars, clean the threads and use an anti-seize that is safe for aluminum. Copper anti-seize next to aluminum collars promotes galvanic corrosion.
On full-length kits like BC Racing and Fortune Auto, height is set at the lower mount, and the spring perch sets preload. So check the lower mount threads too, not just the perch.
Bent Shafts, Mounts and Springs
Shafts. Look along each shaft against a light. Pits, scratches or flaking chrome will tear up the seal. A bent shaft can bind as it strokes. Either one means a rebuild at minimum.
Bodies and brackets. Look for dents, cracked welds or bent knuckle brackets. A curb strike can bend a body or bracket in ways that are easy to miss. Lay matching pairs side by side and compare.
Top mounts. Some kits use a spherical bearing in the top mount. Rock the mount by hand. Play or a gritty feel means wear, and wear means noise on the road.
Springs. Ask what spring rate the kit runs, and check the stamp on each spring. A previous owner may have swapped rates. Look for rust through the coating, cracks and coils that sit uneven at rest.
Wrong springs are an easy fix on some kits. We sell individual BC Racing springs, and Swift Springs SPEC-R springs are an upgrade option on most BC Racing fitments. One note: wear never changes unsprung weight. A tired kit weighs what it weighed new. The wheel, tire, brakes and hub still make up most of it.
The Warranty Usually Stays With the First Owner
This is the part many buyers miss. BC Racing and KW warranties cover the original purchaser only.
BC Racing. BC Racing North America lists a two-year limited warranty on full kit orders, from the date of purchase, subject to its warranty terms. Coverage applies to the original purchaser only.
KW. KW lists a limited lifetime warranty on KW V1, KW V2 and KW V3 for the original purchaser. The kit must be bought from an authorized North American dealer and installed per KW's instructions.
Fortune Auto. Fortune Auto lists a five-year limited warranty on its Generation 4 to 8 products, subject to its terms. Ask us whether a second owner is covered before you count on it.
Our warranty page lists the terms for each brand we carry, including Öhlins, Bilstein, TEIN and Feal. Our guide to coilover warranty support goes deeper. Price a used kit as if it has no warranty, because it most likely does not.
The Rebuild Path and Questions to Ask
Seals and oil are wear items on any damper. A used kit with unknown miles is a rebuild waiting to happen, so price that in. Fortune Auto states that it rebuilds and revalves kits in-house at its facility in Powhatan, Virginia. Fortune Auto's published schedule calls for a rebuild every 60,000 miles for street-only use. Mixed street and track use calls for one every 15,000 to 30,000 miles. On BC Racing kits, replacement parts can typically ship directly, so you do not always need to send the whole kit out. Our coilover rebuild guide covers when to repair, replace or upgrade.
Before you pay, ask the seller these questions.
Ask the seller
What car did it come off, and what is the part number? How many miles and years were on it? Street, track or winter use? Has it been rebuilt, and by whom? What spring rates are fitted? Are all the parts here, including top mounts, hardware and spanner wrenches? Why are you selling?
Vague answers are an answer too. If the kit spent winters outside, protect it once it is yours. A coilover sock keeps grit off the threads.
After You Install a Used Kit
The checks do not stop once the money is gone. Treat the first few weeks as a shakedown.
Start from the manual. Reset damping to the kit's manual setting, not whatever the last owner left it on. Click counting differs by brand, so find the manual for your kit.
Set height, then align. Set ride height on all four corners, let the car settle, then get an alignment. Camber and toe move with every height change.
Recheck the collars. After the first few hundred miles, check that every locking collar is still tight and the heights have not moved.
Listen and look. New noises or fresh oil in the first month point to a problem the seller may not have known about. Catch it early.
Our guide on how to install coilovers walks through the job step by step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are used coilovers worth buying?
They can be, if the kit fits your exact car, nothing leaks, the collars turn and the shafts are straight. Price in a rebuild and assume no warranty. If the gap to a new kit is small, new usually makes more sense.
Does the coilover warranty transfer to a second owner?
Usually not. BC Racing and KW warranties cover the original purchaser only. For Fortune Auto and other brands, check the current terms with us before you buy.
How can I tell if a used coilover is leaking?
Wipe the body and shaft, then look for fresh oil, a wet dust boot or grime caked at the top of the body. Stroke the shaft by hand and listen for clunks. Compare all four dampers.
Can seized coilover collars be fixed?
Sometimes. Clean the threads, use penetrating oil and the right spanner wrenches, and be patient. Never use a pipe wrench. If the threads are galled, the body may need replacing.
Can I rebuild used coilovers?
Many kits can be rebuilt. Fortune Auto states that it rebuilds and revalves its kits in-house. BC Racing replacement parts can typically ship directly. Call us with the brand and part number, and we will tell you the options.
How do I know used coilovers fit my car?
Get the part number and the car the kit came off, then match it to the product page for your car. Body style, drivetrain and year splits matter. Call us with your VIN if in doubt.
Should I change the springs on a used kit?
Only if the rates are wrong for your use or the springs are damaged. Check the stamp on each spring first. Individual BC Racing springs and Swift Springs SPEC-R upgrades are available for many BC Racing kits.
Thinking About a Used Kit?
Send us the part number and a few photos before you pay. We will help you check fitment and tell you what a rebuild involves for that brand.
Call 1-800-460-9106. If a new kit makes more sense for your performance suspension plans, we will say so. Free shipping across Canada on most kits.
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