2012 maxima and I want to maintain oe ride if possible. I priced nissan struts for $258/ea at dealer and can get the $210. Monroe oe spectrum for $150/ea at rockauto. Another problenm is my local garage says my vin is a s trim but I was told I have an sv trim and have 18 in wheels. Monroe sells struts for s trim and another for sv through rockauto. Im not sure on difference or does rockauto auto consider the sv the sport trim 19 wheels? Any opinions would be appreciated. Looking to install myself so looking for a quick strut.

 

Just because your Vin decoded your car out to be a S trim, it might not be. I decoded my 2009 SV Sport and it came back as an S model. The report said I didn't have heated leather seats, no trunk spoiler, no paddle shifters, had 18in wheels and standard suspension and a number of other items that my SV has that are not listed for the S trim. My advise to you would be to use 100 percent oem replacement shocks and struts if you want that oem ride. You will pay more but some others on here went the cheep aftermarket route and nothing but problems.

 

Oem.

 

I did the Monroe’s from rockauto on my 2010, restored factory ride quality. Had a rebate at the time so it steered my decision.

if your car has Leather, you have a SV. S model is cloth.

S and SV - 18” wheel
SV Sport - 19” wheel

 

Non sport S or SV is great candidate for the Monroe oe spectrum shock and struts.

 

A side comment regarding Rock Auto..... I recommend checking with your local Advance Auto Parts store first. The always available 25% off coupon code brings most items I need down to close to RA prices after figuring in shipping at RA and I get the item that day. Sometimes you’ll find a 30%-35% off coupon for AAP so always search first.

If the coupon doesn’t get the price close enough to make it worth it even factoring in you get the item today instead of a week if you use RA’s economy shipping, my local AAP will often match RA’s prices if it’s the exact same model and mfg part number. If they can’t match it they will give me the deepest discount their system will allow which is usually the pricing they give to auto dealerships.

Not always but more times than not it ends up being as cheap as RA.... occasionally cheaper.... or so close that it’s worth it, even for someone who will spend an hour looking to save another dollar like myself, since I can get the part in hand immediately.