Rear Shock Options

[Jake707]

While trying to take advantage of warranty work while my 17 yukon XL Denali is at the dealership it was found that the rear shocks are done. The dealerships quote to replace was ~$2,400 with each shock costing $900. There has been quite a bit of back and forth with the warranty company as it states the shocks are covered however they only cover OEM shocks up to $400 per shock or aftermarket shocks up to $316 per shock, plus the labor.

Option 1
Replace with OEM replacements and I would have to come out of pocket ~$1,000 ($1,800 shock price - $800 that warranty will cover)

Option 2
Replace with aftermarket shocks at a max $316 per shock or again come out of pocket the difference

GMParts.com has a 35% off suspension sale going on and I sent the details to the dealership however they confirmed with their district manager that the sale is "non transferable i.e. cannot be applied to a repair order" so I would have to pay full retail price for the parts.

So my questions are
1) Are the OEM shocks worth the $1,000 out of pocket I would have to pay?

2) What would the best aftermarket option be to achieve the "cush" ride my wife wants?


We only use the Yukon for road trips and taking the kids to soccer etc, no towing etc.

 

[Bigburb3500]

Have you checked RockAuto’s pricing?

 

[Jake707]

Have you checked RockAuto’s pricing?

On OEM shocks? I thought they sell aftermarket replacements which I wouldn’t know what brand/model to use to replace these with.

I’ll check them out when I get to a computer, I’ve used their site before and it was clunky at best on a cell phone haha

 

[KC 2013 Tahoe]

Rock Auto usually offers choices of original GM, AC/Delco/Delphi as well as aftermarket options too.
No way I'd ever pay a stealership $2400 to replace my rear shocks... the same folks that wanted to charge $700 to replace my spark plugs.
Took all of 45 minutes to do them myself, plus the cost of eight Irridium Bosch plugs. $600+ in my pocket, not theirs!

Rear Genuine GM rear shocks for our 4WD 2013 Tahoe run $383 each from R-A, with a bunch of other options that cost far less.
Changing rear shocks is not too terribly hard, unless they're all rusted in there (not a problem here in the desert S/W).
If you have the time/tools, I'd do it myself and pocket that extra cash the dealer will use to fatten-up their balance sheet.

 

[Bigburb3500]

On OEM shocks? I thought they sell aftermarket replacements which I wouldn’t know what brand/model to use to replace these with.

I’ll check them out when I get to a computer, I’ve used their site before and it was clunky at best on a cell phone haha

Yes, they have a TON of options and if you search on the forum here ppl post their discount codes. I’m currently buying new shocks for my truck from them and they are dirty cheap vs anyone else even with shipping.

 

[Jake707]

Rock Auto usually offers choices of original GM, AC/Delco/Delphi as well as aftermarket options too.
No way I'd ever pay a stealership $2400 to replace my rear shocks... the same folks that wanted to charge $700 to replace my spark plugs.
Took all of 45 minutes to do them myself, plus the cost of eight Irridium Bosch plugs. $600+ in my pocket, not theirs!

Rear Genuine GM rear shocks for our 4WD 2013 Tahoe run $383 each from R-A, with a bunch of other options that cost far less.
Changing rear shocks is not too terribly hard, unless they're all rusted in there (not a problem here in the desert S/W).
If you have the time/tools, I'd do it myself and pocket that extra cash the dealer will use to fatten-up their balance sheet.

Just to clarify, this is warranty work. I wouldn’t pay the dealership the $2,400 either haha and if the shocks are under those thresholds I listed I don’t come out of pocket anything, which is the only reason why I’m comfortable even having the dealer do the work or I’d do it myself for sure, just trying to take advantage of the warranty the best I can while I can. Haha

 

[slupie]

Magnaride shocks at the dealer are $900 each, RockAuto sells them for about $400 each. Most aftermarket Magnaride shocks are knockoffs and from what I have read on these forums don't last.

 

[KC 2013 Tahoe]

Just to clarify, this is warranty work. I wouldn’t pay the dealership the $2,400 either haha and if the shocks are under those thresholds I listed I don’t come out of pocket anything, which is the only reason why I’m comfortable even having the dealer do the work or I’d do it myself for sure, just trying to take advantage of the warranty the best I can while I can. Haha

Yes - Hope you can get them covered without having to pay any out of pocket costs! Good luck

 

[Bigburb3500]

Just to clarify, this is warranty work. I wouldn’t pay the dealership the $2,400 either haha and if the shocks are under those thresholds I listed I don’t come out of pocket anything, which is the only reason why I’m comfortable even having the dealer do the work or I’d do it myself for sure, just trying to take advantage of the warranty the best I can while I can. Haha

I wonder if you show the pricing on RockAuto if dealer will match pricing? Worth a shot or if you are comfortable with doing it yourself, will the warranty company buy/reimburse you for the parts?

 

[Jake707]

warranty company won’t pay me anything. Work has to be done by shop and the reimburse.

I found two options on rock auto at about $400 each but not sure which would be best or if another option would be better?
One says GM but also says AC delco and the other says Arnorttp

 

[Bigburb3500]

warranty company won’t pay me anything. Work has to be done by shop and the reimburse.

I found two options on rock auto at about $400 each but not sure which would be best or if another option would be better?
One says GM but also says AC delco and the other says Arnorttp

Someone else could chime in that knows more than me but I’m 99.99% sure the AC Delco is a GM part or a GM part is an AC Delco… should be same thing. Idk about Arnorttp

 

[Doubeleive]

While trying to take advantage of warranty work while my 17 yukon XL Denali is at the dealership it was found that the rear shocks are done. The dealerships quote to replace was ~$2,400 with each shock costing $900. There has been quite a bit of back and forth with the warranty company as it states the shocks are covered however they only cover OEM shocks up to $400 per shock or aftermarket shocks up to $316 per shock, plus the labor.

Option 1
Replace with OEM replacements and I would have to come out of pocket ~$1,000 ($1,800 shock price - $800 that warranty will cover)

Option 2
Replace with aftermarket shocks at a max $316 per shock or again come out of pocket the difference

GMParts.com has a 35% off suspension sale going on and I sent the details to the dealership however they confirmed with their district manager that the sale is "non transferable i.e. cannot be applied to a repair order" so I would have to pay full retail price for the parts.

So my questions are
1) Are the OEM shocks worth the $1,000 out of pocket I would have to pay?

2) What would the best aftermarket option be to achieve the "cush" ride my wife wants?


We only use the Yukon for road trips and taking the kids to soccer etc, no towing etc.

you are screwed either way, skip the shocks at the dealer and DIY for $200 less, the oem ones have a lifetime warranty now anyway. from dealer or rockauto

 

[Jake707]

I sent both options to the dealer asking if they have any experience with the AC Delco or Arnott as well but havent heard back yet.

 

[Tahoe14]

You stated warranty is covering the cost but you have to come out of pocket $1000. You could order from Rockauto for $800.00 and do the work yourself plus you could get another 5% off the cost using their discount code. There are members who could tell you how to install the new shocks and there is probably a YouTube video to show you how.

 

[Doubeleive]

if you don't want to do it buy the shocks you want and drive it over here I will do it for $200

 

[Jake707]

If I wanted the dealership to install the factory shocks I would have to come out of pocket $1,000. Each shock is $900 and warranty only covers up to $400 for factory OEM. If I went aftermarket shocks like the AC Delco or Arnotts warranty would cover $316 per shock, but the dealership can’t or won’t order aftermarket like those from Rock Auto. So it was basically a standoff of either pay $1000 out of pocket or not have the dealership do it. So we picked up the Yukon yesterday and I can take it to an Indy shop and have the ac Delco or Arnotts installed and be covered. So I won’t be out of pocket anything. If the shocks weren’t so expensive I’d sa F it and do it myself but since we paid for the warranty I’m going to use it haha. Just needed to confirm the dealership is not the way to go over an Indy which is what I prefer anyway.

Still haven’t been able to find a comparison of the AC Delco to the Arnott which seem to be the two main OEM replacement options for this fancy suspension system.

 

[mike singleton]

If I wanted the dealership to install the factory shocks I would have to come out of pocket $1,000. Each shock is $900 and warranty only covers up to $400 for factory OEM. If I went aftermarket shocks like the AC Delco or Arnotts warranty would cover $316 per shock, but the dealership can’t or won’t order aftermarket like those from Rock Auto. So it was basically a standoff of either pay $1000 out of pocket or not have the dealership do it. So we picked up the Yukon yesterday and I can take it to an Indy shop and have the ac Delco or Arnotts installed and be covered. So I won’t be out of pocket anything. If the shocks weren’t so expensive I’d sa F it and do it myself but since we paid for the warranty I’m going to use it haha. Just needed to confirm the dealership is not the way to go over an Indy which is what I prefer anyway.

Still haven’t been able to find a comparison of the AC Delco to the Arnott which seem to be the two main OEM replacement options for this fancy suspension system.

Listen to Shania Twain - "Dance with the One that Brung Ya!" Arnotte industries (FL) is great to work with but they sell only wholesale (when you used to sell direct) but you can still buy these nice Magnetic Ride Shocks from Rock Auto and other parts suppliers. We have a 2004 Yukon XL Denali (240K), 2011 Chev Suburban XLT (149K) and a 2019 GMC Yukon Denali (30K) (all of them with Level Ride) and had excellent experiences with Arnotte Products. I try to put the miles on the older road warriors and not drive the 2019 Yukon very much. We've purchased 4 sets of rear level ride air shocks (AC Delco original) and loved them. Arnotte used to sell reman's for the 04 Yukon Denali but I'm not so sure any more. They had a lifetime warranty. You can buy the OEM AC Delco Magnetic Ride shocks for about $350 each and if you want that nice even ride, that's your ticket! IMO. GM owns ACDELCO and you can't go wrong with their parts for the most part.