A quick investigation showed the damper was covered in oil and basically shot. Not good for a 3 year old, 38,000 mile car you might think, but I have fitted Eibach springs that have lowered the car by 10-15mm. For that reason, I didn't think it fair or even worthwhile going down the warranty route.
I tried all the usual car parts places to source a replacement, but nobody had them listed or could even order them in. I tried Eurocarparts, GSF, EU Linco etc etc. eBay had a few listed, but wasn't convinced they were the right part and seemed very cheap. A couple of places felt quite sure that any sport damper from the 6R range would fit, and it probably would, but they stopped short of recommending it or selling me any!
I rang my local TPS to be told that they are having a bit of a purge on selling to public, as opposed to trade, customers so they suggested I called a dealer parts department. They also confirmed the damper was Polo GTi specific and not used on any other models so not interchangeable.
I did consider fitting a set of Bilstein B8's, and maybe still will at some point, but I'm happy with the handling and needed a quicker fix. And, I didn't really want to shell out £450 at this point!!
Phoning my local VW dealer, I was surprised to fnd they were only £60 each including new mounting bolts, so I duly ordered a pair. They had to come overnight from Germany as the parts system showed none in the UK.
Fitted them last night, 30 minutes a side including jacking and rear wheel off, and normal service resumed. I had noticed the car felt a little more bouncy at the rear lately, but that's been sorted with the new dampers.
Hopefully, these will last a while, even though the car is lowered a little, but buys me time until Bilstein day...
