Update on the lift kit situation ….
I have always used BDS kits on my personal CJs and have recommended them to others / installed them when I had a shop. Never a complaint from me. I have installed other kits such as Rubicon Express and OME. No questions with their quality - just stuck with what I knew and liked which was BDS.
Plans were to purchase the same 2.5” YJ conversion kit from BDS as always. That’s when things got interesting. Their website has changed dramatically with most of their emphasis on modern vehicles. No worries. I always order through my local dealer. I’ve done that multiple times in the past. Easy peasy. I just like to check out the BDS site to ensure nothing has changed with the kit.
Local dealer said things have gotten “interesting“ with BDS lately and he’s unable to place an order for what I want without calling them directly. Ok, whatever works. He said he’d call me back. While I waited, I decided to call the BDS support line and ask about the kit and if anything had changed since the last kit I purchased. Guy I spoke to, while polite, didn’t seem to care once he heard I was working on an old Jeep. He ended up telling me to “work with your local dealer” to order a kit and told me to have a good day.
Local dealer called me back frustrated. Said he spoke to their vendor contact at BDS and essentially got the same feeling - that they don’t seem to care about older vehicles anymore. Vendor contact told him to “piece the kit together himself and call back with the part numbers.” When my guy shared he couldn’t see them anymore on the BDS site the contact essentially said to keep looking.
Two different BDS representatives gave myself and my local dealer the same feeling / lack of support.
So here we are. I ordered an OME kit put together through Quadratec. Went with Bilstein shocks. One front spring has not arrived yet but it doesn’t matter at the moment. No where near that stage in the build.
That reminds me - I need to post the RE 4.5" kit for sale.
