Adventures in not buying Bosch - today, wiper blades!

[Marm Toastsmith]

Bosch stuff used to be good. For a while I was loyal to the brand as it seemed a guarantee of no nonsense quality kit. As a family we bought loads of Bosch stuff, and to be fair, some of it was good.

But since then I've had a drill, a spark plug, and a cordless vacuum cleaner fail on me prematurely.

The spark plug was an absolute pain in the arse. It lasted about 10 miles and because it was new, I tried everything but the spark plug (first) to cure the misfire. Took me ages to solve that one.

The drill was just meh. I mean it was an OKish drill, and it lasted like maybe 3 or 4 years of light, occasional use. Not really up to the premium price tag either in terms of performance of longevity.

The worst was the vacuum cleaner, which was about £300, and failed well within its two year guarantee period. Stupidly I assumed it was a 1 year guarantee and didn't send it back. When I finally bothered to look at the guarantee terms I realised I was 3 weeks too late. I contacted Bosch, numerous letters and phone calls, it was a case of tough shit.

It's obvious really, everything is made in the same Chinese factories, but I had hoped that this premium brand would offer premium customer service and after sales support on their shit vacuum cleaners. They don't.

I've concluded that the only premium thing about them is the price. I'm out.

So far my Lidl drill is more powerful than the Bosch one it replaced, and the battery lasts longer. It was half the price. Genuinely impressed.

The Argos / Bush vacuum cleaner isn't as good as the Bosch one was, but it's OK, and it was about £70. I'll let you know when it breaks.

The Beko fridge is good. Nothing to complain about, and it was the cheapest on the market.

Today I need some wiper blades, not getting Bosch. Michelin Rain Force? Cheaper than a well known German brand... let's try 'em.

[Dyslexic Viking]

I have bought Bosch car parts that have been made in South America, Africa etc. not what I would expect from them and at that price.

But wipers, my Hyundai has had the same Bosch wipers now for 3 years and they still work well.

[MikeR]

My new airprofile techy Bosch wiper blade was landfill after a month , the resurrected Bosch hanger one is still going .... 

[mk2_craig]

Got to admit that Bosch are still my default choice for wiper blades, after consistent good experiences over the years.  I like my Bosch drill and jigsaw too, plus the fridge freezer is much better assembled than the Beko it replaced, though my ex brother in law had a Bosch pressure washer and it turned out to be a total pile of shite that never worked properly.

I don't have the money to be a proper brand snob, but eventually came round to believing that if you buy cheap, you buy twice.  To be fair though, there probably isn't that much difference over budget stuff these days.

[GregZX]

I almost bought a Bosch oil filter last week from ECP. It was £4.85. They didn’t have any in stock so I got a Mann filter instead. It was £6.75. Hopefully the £1.90 difference denotes better quality. 

[AnnoyingPentium]

Not had good longevity with Bosch wipers. The current Champion/Trico ones are very good, being about a year and a half old.

[artdjones]

  I've found Bosch wiper blades to last well. But I always found the spark plugs poor, even in the 80s. Champion were much better.

[Dj_efk]

I’ve never bought anything other than NGK for plugs and I’ve not had one instance in messing about with engines of all descriptions in the last 30 odd years that has made me regret it - so no idea what other brands are like.

 

Like you, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Bosch brand has been whored out to the point where it’s now meaningless in terms of appliances and tools. I will still only buy Bosch (or genuine) engine sensors for my VAG vehicles however.

[Metal Guru]

Everything I’ve had  by Bosch 20 years or more ago was great quality and lasted well. This would include a washer dryer, dishwasher , various power tools and windscreen wipers. Anything I’ve bought in the last 10 has been vastly inferior and not been even as good as the cheapest makes.

 

[SiC]

Valeo wipers are a reasonable premium brand name alternative. 

[bunglebus]

A year ago I put some o-rings on this somewhat unfortunate Dinky Beetle to act as tyres

Within a few months it had gone like this 

Surely we should be able to make rubber components that don't do this?

[Cavcraft]

Their batteries are brilliant, but the wipers we got for my daughter's car were absolute crap.

[Dave_Q]

On 20/07/2023 at 19:14, Dyslexic Viking said:

I have bought Bosch car parts that have been made in South America, Africa etc. not what I would expect from them and at that price.

But wipers, my Hyundai has had the same Bosch wipers now for 3 years and they still work well.

I don't really have an opinion on Bosch but just wanted to add that there is no difference in quality based on where it's made, provided the will is there from the parent company to implement proper machines and processes.

I have some experience of buying specialist ball bearings for work and the ones made in China or Thailand are indistinguishable from the ones made in Germany.

I would also probably choose something made in Mexico or South America over the USA if there was an option.

[Ghosty]

Bosch spark plugs are (were?) made in Russia, and even worn out NGKs are better.

[Noel Tidybeard]

unbelievably bosch wipers are moar costly than genuwine honda items and look shit when fitted

[SilverMachine]

i too have noticed the quality of bosch products is getting poorer. i worked for a engineering company many years ago. we had a couple bosch drills and a few dewalts. the dewalts were far superior to the bosch ones, and it was always a battle to grab a dewalt if going out fitting stuff!  I have tried the michelin wipers and found they were okay but didnt seem to last as long as bosch! i do like the valeo wipers though, there currently on year 3 at least on the fusion! no idea whats on the audi currently but there due a replace soon but there the silly aero style ones.

[GregZX]

On 21/07/2023 at 17:49, SiC said:

Valeo wipers are a reasonable premium brand name alternative. 

I bought Valeo “Silencio” blades for my car. They are anything but f@*king silent. Absolutely terrible. 

[Rust Collector]

Wipers are about £2.49 a blade from the Range for their cheapest no-name brand. They're quiet and last at least a year, and cheap enough that when they get damaged and leave streaks you can just launch them in the canal and buy another set.

[lisbon_road]

I've given up buying branded windscreen wiper blades.  After all, it isn't like they are some part buried in the engine.  Just got some GSF ones for £1.48 each. 

 

[Rust Collector]

1 minute ago, lisbon_road said:

GSF ones for £1.48 each

They make my wipers from the Range look positively decadent, shame there's no GSF out my way.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Funny this has been bumped up... I need new spark plugs for the Audi right now. Obviously not Bosch. Think it's going to have to be NGK, although Denso are temptingly priced.

[lisbon_road]

2 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

They make my wipers from the Range look positively decadent, shame there's no GSF out my way.

They're just 18" old type ones.  Something tells me your Range Rover will need bigger ones,  so £2.49 sounds pretty good to me. 

[MikeR]

Michelin one for the C1 front from Lidl for a fiver and it's doing better than the last Bosch , however the rivets are looking rusty ..

Rear wiper is a 13 inch halfrauds bog std one  which is working fine so far compared to the last Bosch one ...  A tenner .

However we have not had the blistering summer sun yet , be interesting to see if they go off then .... 

[Missy Charm]

I've recently put Valeo wiper blades on my car, front and back.  There was no particular reason to choose that make, but Valeo are what the local factor sell and I can't be bothered shopping around for such a mundane thing.  Anyway, the new blades fit well and seem to do a good job.  They are quieter than the old ones too which were, of course, Bosch.  God only knows how old the Bosch ones were, in fairness.  

I live in a very dry part of the country so barely use the wipers!  

[drewd]

I might be in the minority here, but the Bosch Aero wipers I'd fitted to my 307 a couple of years ago were great, if pricey. They were silent, smear free and lasted a couple of years.

I replaced them about 6 weeks ago with some cheapish blades from GSF and they're terrible by comparison. They squeaked and juddered from day one and they don't clear the screen as well as the Bosch ones did.

My W203 also has Bosch blades on and although they don't smear they're really loud. I'm going to replace these soon.

Does screen profile make much difference? The W203 is older and has a more upright and curved screen compared to the 307. Perhaps that's why the Bosch baldes work well on the 307?

[beko1987]

I went through a phase of liking the aero wipers, and did always try and buy genuine bosch ones but it became hard to dodge the fakes. 

Then because of where I park my car, on a dusty gravel parking area they get ruined just as quickly as the cheapo blades regardless, especially when it's parked for a week at a time. Then winter where I'm wiping a frozen screen/pulling them off the glass etc

I also found that when they did wear, as said above they scraped really fucking loudly. Misty damp drive up the motorway? Fucking awful! I just buy cheap boggo @Andyrewspecial blades now and budget to change them every year/when they go shitty. They squeak and scrape less when they go crappy too. Lifting them and running a finger/baby wipe down the blade every so often/when the shit falls from the trees helps no end too