The Glory Days Of Dirt-Cheap Suspension Parts Might Be Coming To An End

In America, suspension parts for normal, everyday cars are shockingly cheap, and have been for many years. One of the great ways to really tune up a vehicle whose ride is a bit wallowy is to buy an affordable “suspension kit” from eBay. It comes with a ton of parts — control arms (with ball joints), inner and outer tie rod ends, struts, and on and on. It’s extremely comprehensive, and the amount of improvement to your ride per dollar spent is shocking. But those days may be coming to an end, in part, because Detroit Axle is on the struggle-bus.

Detroit Axle has been my go-to for cheap suspension bits; I’ve been buying from them for years. 

In fact, I recently I bought a control arm/tie rod end/sway bar kit for our Nissan NV200 taxi Copart partnership. And a year and a half ago I bought the same parts, but for a Toyota Sienna. As you can see, the price was right:

The Nissan’s kit isn’t installed yet, but the Toyota van got those new parts, and in addition to a set of struts, they were an absolute game-changer for a vehicle that had sat dormant for years.

 

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Look at how smooth this ride is:

 

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I also bought this kit for my old 2009 Nissan Versa, which I was gifting to a friend:

I ended up road-tripping the Versa to Arkansas, and it was fantastic.

 

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I also bought dirt-cheap wheel bearings for the HHR I bought for my friend’s parents:

I generally try to replace old suspension components when I’m giving a car to a friend or family member, and Detroit Axle has been my go-to, because the pricing is amazing.

That HHR’s suspension job was horrible, but in the end, the thing drove from Detroit to New York like a dang cloud:

 Obviously, if you have a performance car, maybe dirt-cheap suspension bits sourced from China aren’t the move, but for the vehicle’s I’ve owned, which have been normal daily-drivers, Detroit Axle ball joints/tie rod ends/control arms/sway bar links/struts have been awesome, cheap, and way safer than old, worn out bits.

The problem is, Detroit Axle is apparently in dire straits, as The Detroit News writes:

“Detroit Axle’s situation is dire; it will likely be forced to shutter most or all of its business and lay off hundreds of employees if it does not receive relief by the end of June,” attorneys for the company wrote. “And every day that passes without relief brings new irreparable harm to the company in the form of lost business opportunities, customer goodwill, and reputation.”

The site goes on to mention an over 70% tariff:

But it says that the problem with the small-value package exception centers on its distribution operation in Juarez, Mexico, which receives parts from China before shipping them out to U.S. customers. Before, shipments worth under $800 could avoid being taxed at the U.S. border, but in early May, Trump’s move to end that exemption took effect.

That has left the company to pay a “crippling 72.5% tariff on goods that it ships from its Mexico facility to consumers in the United States,” its attorneys wrote. The company argues that the administration exceeded its authority and didn’t follow proper rule-making procedure when it axed the small-value goods exception.

Then comes this bombshell:

“The company cannot absorb the massively increased costs from the 72.5% tariffs and cannot meaningfully raise prices on its cost-conscious customers,” company attorneys wrote. “So by the end of June, Detroit Axle will likely be forced to close its doors and lay off hundreds of employees in Michigan.

Yikes!

Obviously, my cheap suspension parts are of no importance in relation to people’s jobs, and obviously, I have no interest in talking about the politics of tariffs vs no tariffs. I’ll just say that I like the idea of trying to get more manufacturing jobs stateside if it’s done in the right way.

No, this short article is just to point out that one of the big players making it easier for you and me to keep our vehicles in good order on the cheap could be going away soon, and I’m sure they won’t be the only ones. It could make wrenching that much more challenging for us enthusiasts.

[Ed note: This has an interesting history and had a lot to do with Section 321(a)(2)(C) of the Tariff Act of 1930, which came into law in 1938 and allowed for the lowering of tariffs on small items that were worth less than $1, though in the years since it’s increased to $800 (per person, per day) and with the Internet the number of goods entering under Section 321 has grown to beyond a billion annually. Generally, there’s bipartisan support for this law as it can relieve inflationary pressure and allow for an easy flow of goods. At the same time, though, it’s likely resulted in job loss for local retail and also potentially contributed to the flow of illegal substances in the country, which is why there’s been some bipartisan talk of ending it. President Trump decided to end it via an Executive Order, and now Detroit Axle and others are suing, saying that reversing this decision requires more than just an EO. – MH]

Images: Author unless a screenshot from eBay/Amazon