**Bad VW part vendor WARNING list**

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
Should put Napa, Autozone, Advance, Pep boys, etc all on this list too..

Did you miss the part I said about NON CRITICAL?
Nope.

Did you miss the part about supporting him, even on "non-critical" items is perpetuating his shady business and likelihood to destroy yet more engines?

Napa, Vato, advance etc all have brands they need to protect. If they sell a timing belt that is obviously faulty, they will stand behind it. Rottenbacher does nothing of the sort.



Screw you Windex, too fast
:D
 

quartersaw

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2005
Location
Albany, NY
TDI
2002 Jetta Wagon, '96 B4V,'99 2 door Golf
My BLAAST 'Billet turbo', which allegedly gave up to 30 lbs. of boost (per seller) lasted about 500 miles.
Had problems with the turbo from day one, and was fed a stream of B.S. by the seller.
BLAAST has ignored my e mails for warranty coverage.
I replaced it with a VNT-17, and have had no problems.
If you buy a BLAAST turbo, you are throwing away good money.
(I'm running a Malone Stage 4 tune)
A bump for this crook. Learning the hard way is expensive...
 

theodore

Active member
Joined
Aug 8, 2017
Location
Spokane, Wa.
TDI
2) 1996 b4 Passat
We are not buying jewelry here, i have been buy from Pete for 4=5 years, some OEM parts are more important than others kolbensmit bearings etc. i have used the Arco pistons both IDI and TDI, we spec them while boring and have only had to return one, he sent us another no questions asked.
Volkswagen China is still making 1.6 engine for new cars. General motors has adapted that very same engine in chevy cruze and equinox.
 

mrurbina

Vendor
Joined
Oct 4, 2009
Location
CHARLOTTE,NC
TDI
MK4 jetta tdi , alh wagon
I live in charlotte,nc and I bought from Prothe( he goes by LOTS of names) and a simple HD trans mount for a mk3 fell apart and was poorly constructed ..even the metal mount was a flimsy metal. The mk4 clutch slave and master both crapped out within a month..the autozone parts were better constructed out of the box and didn't let down. The mount from Roth. had the metal bend and the rubber twist itself. You can buy cheap crap off of him but ultimately all his crap comes from cheap manufacturers where he buys in bulk .
 

TDIJetta99

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2005
Location
Port Jervis, New York, USA
TDI
03... Faster than yours =]
We are not buying jewelry here, i have been buy from Pete for 4=5 years, some OEM parts are more important than others kolbensmit bearings etc. i have used the Arco pistons both IDI and TDI, we spec them while boring and have only had to return one, he sent us another no questions asked.
Volkswagen China is still making 1.6 engine for new cars. General motors has adapted that very same engine in chevy cruze and equinox.

Will you warranty your engine work when one of those pistons blows apart at 4000rpm and takes out the rest of the engine with it?
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
We are not buying jewelry here, i have been buy from Pete for 4=5 years, some OEM parts are more important than others kolbensmit bearings etc. i have used the Arco pistons both IDI and TDI, we spec them while boring and have only had to return one, he sent us another no questions asked...
Please let us know the name of your business so we can post it here to let folks know to avoid it...
 

tooreal

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 10, 2010
Location
Tennessee
TDI
2006 VW Jetta 1.9 TDI, 5-speed Manual, package 1, DOM 10/06. Tinted windows, Rear Spoiler, Reflex Silver
I bought an actuator from someone named Prothe on eBay Hoping that it was a Good Deal, it Made my car run Great but there is a Permanent CEL that Won’t Go away? They said that they have Never had Any trouble with their units at all? I had to Custom Grind the Bracket to get it to Bolt to my Car, it was such a PITA and took way to long to install! Especially since it Now gives me a Permanent Fault Code! Junk!
 

iluvmydiesels

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Location
phila area
TDI
AHU
Should put Napa, Autozone, Advance, Pep boys, etc all on this list too..
i ve been buying NAPA parts for a few years now, 1.6 and 1.9TDI parts, i can only think of one part i had a problem with since, maybe two.
the other day i bought a napa timing belt, (for an AHU) it says 'made by gates, backed by gates'. a little more expensive than most t-belts you find. i feel secure with it, thats why i bought it. going to install it soon, when i get to work on my motor.

even napa axles, for mk2s and 3s they are ~$50 an axle, after core return. some members complain on my choice, as its not oem VW, yet i ve been running a few for years, not a problem yet, and not for the price.
napa water pumps tho have gone to plastic impellers, now i stay away.

autozone and advanced i see in a lower quality category, still for parts usable. for critical parts, i prefer to buy better.
pepboys i feel is in a lower quality zone as well, still not out of the 'can buy from list'.
 

hevster1

Vendor
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
Columbia NJ
TDI
98 NB
i ve been buying NAPA parts for a few years now, 1.6 and 1.9TDI parts, i can only think of one part i had a problem with since, maybe two.
the other day i bought a napa timing belt, (for an AHU) it says 'made by gates, backed by gates'. a little more expensive than most t-belts you find. i feel secure with it, thats why i bought it. going to install it soon, when i get to work on my motor.
even napa axles, for mk2s and 3s they are ~$50 an axle, after core return. some members complain on my choice, as its not oem VW, yet i ve been running a few for years, not a problem yet, and not for the price.
napa water pumps tho have gone to plastic impellers, now i stay away.
autozone and advanced i see in a lower quality category, still for parts usable. for critical parts, i prefer to buy better.
pepboys i feel is in a lower quality zone as well, still not out of the 'can buy from list'.
I have had at least 10 Napa brand new axles fail for everything from vibrations to clunks. Then again, I probably work on way more than you do. It depends on what you purchase but generally NAPA is more expensive than I am on everything.
 

tdi_in_va

Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2016
Location
Virginia
TDI
B4 Passat
Add to this list the website www.carsteering.com which sells re-built steering racks. Have bought several from carsteering.com in recent years, and every single one has developed terrible leaks in no time. Yes their RMA process is straightforward, but for how much labor is involved in replacing the rack, it is not worth it. Every single rack I've bought from carsteering.com has leaked out in less than 10,000 miles. One of them leaked straight out of the box, car was not even driven on the road yet.

They may have put out a quality product at some point in the past, I see favorable forum posts about them from around 2012. Looks like they decided to cut costs and cheapen the product; what they're selling now is garbage.
 
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Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
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