Cheap eBay Chinese sidesteps. A review.

A lex · Aug 27th, 2014, 15:25

I've been wanting some OE style sidesteps for a while. The imminent arrival of a mini-me and the associated lugging of baby seats (plus a small wife) means that I had to make my mind up about getting some.

Volvo want something daft like €800+ here in NL.

So I bought a set of 'OE Style', but clearly imitation bars from eBay. £290 delivered (next day!) in the UK. There are loads of sellers offering them for about the same price, but they'll all come from the same factory in China I bet!

So, what are they like? Well actually pretty good!

They are sturdy, well made (heavy!) and 100% look the part. When you get up close you can see some roughness in the castings, but you have to put your face right up to them. Seeing as they will be caked in dirt and stood on for 99% of their life, its not a big deal at all.

Construction: No instructions in the box, but the original Volvo instructions are online and can be Googled in a few seconds.

The Volvo instructions advise to bolt the 3 parts of the step together securely before fitting to the car. DONT DO THIS. It makes them impossible to mount. Everything needs to be finger tight only, allowing you to bend them and make small adjustments. This is down to the slightly lower quality construction im sure, but again its not a big deal when you know.

Installation process.

-Jack car
-Very loosely attach front mounting (prop up rear of step on a trolley/bottle jack)
-Attach rear end of steps to finger tight
-Tighten front mountings to finger tight
-Adjust the joints on the steps as needed with a 12mm ring spanner. Volvo advise 25Nm, which is basically a bloody good shove with an average sized spanner.
-Tighten front (50Nm)
-Tighten rear (80Nm)
-Admire your work!

The 1st step took me an hour to fit (fiddling with bolts holes etc).
The 2nd took 20mins as I knew to leave things loose whilst I got it on the car.

Longevity wise, who knows... but OE steps corrode as well, so if I get 5yrs out of them ill be happy.

Overall 8/10 and for the price a bit of a no-brainer to be honest.

Some pics:

cheshired5 · Aug 27th, 2014, 15:29

I think they look excellent.
If they still clean up well after winter, they'll prove to be a very good purchase.

T1sh0 · Aug 27th, 2014, 15:58

Steps look great! I do wonder to take my chances and buy them directly from alibaba.

Other thing that bothers me even more is how long would it take before crafty thiefs, here in Poland, actually make sure my XC90 could do without side steps.

A lex · Aug 27th, 2014, 15:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by T1sh0

Other thing that bothers me even more is how long would it take before crafty thiefs, here in Poland, actually make sure my XC90 could do without side steps.

True, with the right tools and a bit of knowledge it would only be about 10 mins work for one person to have them off.

You could loctite them in to place though?

rich1068 · Aug 27th, 2014, 16:01

Just what I wanted to see A lex. Thanks for taking the plunge with the copies. I've been wanting to ask about these for a few weeks but never got around to it.

Here in the UK they're £915 and I got my dealer to £800 and something or other. Still too rich for me though. Would you mind PM'ing or posting a link to the eBay seller?

A lex · Aug 27th, 2014, 16:03

This is the seller I used:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1613643365...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

But like I say, theyll all come from the same place in China via AliBaba im sure!

They state a one year guarantee - but its not worth the paper its written on as a DIY install voids the guarantee

However delivery was very, very quick and painless.

dave morton · Aug 27th, 2014, 19:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by T1sh0

Other thing that bothers me even more is how long would it take before crafty thiefs, here in Poland, actually make sure my XC90 could do without side steps.

instead of regular bolts use allen studs or star studs

volvoid · Aug 27th, 2014, 20:17

or put a blob of weld on bolt heads to the bars.

T1sh0 · Aug 27th, 2014, 21:06

Then they might well take whole car!

Thank you all for the tips!

owenfackrell · Aug 28th, 2014, 10:38

I also have these but have had them for almost a year now. I put protective tape on the leading edge of them to help protect them which has done a wonderful job but where I didn't put it on the underneath parts the paint has started to come off. To be fair the car has covered 20k in that time.

Aug 27th, 2014, 15:25	#1
A lex Premier Member Last Online: Jun 21st, 2022 08:16 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Maastricht View Photos By: A lex	Cheap eBay Chinese sidesteps. A review. I've been wanting some OE style sidesteps for a while. The imminent arrival of a mini-me and the associated lugging of baby seats (plus a small wife) means that I had to make my mind up about getting some. Volvo want something daft like €800+ here in NL. So I bought a set of 'OE Style', but clearly imitation bars from eBay. £290 delivered (next day!) in the UK. There are loads of sellers offering them for about the same price, but they'll all come from the same factory in China I bet! So, what are they like? Well actually pretty good! They are sturdy, well made (heavy!) and 100% look the part. When you get up close you can see some roughness in the castings, but you have to put your face right up to them. Seeing as they will be caked in dirt and stood on for 99% of their life, its not a big deal at all. Construction: No instructions in the box, but the original Volvo instructions are online and can be Googled in a few seconds. The Volvo instructions advise to bolt the 3 parts of the step together securely before fitting to the car. DONT DO THIS. It makes them impossible to mount. Everything needs to be finger tight only, allowing you to bend them and make small adjustments. This is down to the slightly lower quality construction im sure, but again its not a big deal when you know. Installation process. -Jack car -Very loosely attach front mounting (prop up rear of step on a trolley/bottle jack) -Attach rear end of steps to finger tight -Tighten front mountings to finger tight -Adjust the joints on the steps as needed with a 12mm ring spanner. Volvo advise 25Nm, which is basically a bloody good shove with an average sized spanner. -Tighten front (50Nm) -Tighten rear (80Nm) -Admire your work! The 1st step took me an hour to fit (fiddling with bolts holes etc). The 2nd took 20mins as I knew to leave things loose whilst I got it on the car. Longevity wise, who knows... but OE steps corrode as well, so if I get 5yrs out of them ill be happy. Overall 8/10 and for the price a bit of a no-brainer to be honest. Some pics: __________________ 2007 V70 P3 2.0 Ex: 01 V70 T5, 04 S60 D5, 05 V70 D5, 09 XC90 D5 Other cars: MINI Clubman Cooper S, GMC Yukon XL Denali 6.2L, Ford Mustang GT 5.0 Supercharged 735bhp.

Aug 27th, 2014, 15:29	#2
cheshired5 Premier Member Last Online: Dec 26th, 2021 13:42 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Crewe	I think they look excellent. If they still clean up well after winter, they'll prove to be a very good purchase. __________________ 2002 S60 SE D5 Manual 209000 miles

Aug 27th, 2014, 15:58	#3
T1sh0 Member Last Online: Nov 18th, 2014 18:01 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Warsaw	Steps look great! I do wonder to take my chances and buy them directly from alibaba. Other thing that bothers me even more is how long would it take before crafty thiefs, here in Poland, actually make sure my XC90 could do without side steps. __________________ Volvo XC90 2.5T 2005

Aug 27th, 2014, 16:03	#6
A lex Premier Member Last Online: Jun 21st, 2022 08:16 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Maastricht View Photos By: A lex	This is the seller I used: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1613643365...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT But like I say, theyll all come from the same place in China via AliBaba im sure! They state a one year guarantee - but its not worth the paper its written on as a DIY install voids the guarantee However delivery was very, very quick and painless. __________________ 2007 V70 P3 2.0 Ex: 01 V70 T5, 04 S60 D5, 05 V70 D5, 09 XC90 D5 Other cars: MINI Clubman Cooper S, GMC Yukon XL Denali 6.2L, Ford Mustang GT 5.0 Supercharged 735bhp.

Aug 27th, 2014, 21:06	#9
T1sh0 Member Last Online: Nov 18th, 2014 18:01 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Warsaw	Then they might well take whole car! Thank you all for the tips! __________________ Volvo XC90 2.5T 2005

Aug 27th, 2014, 16:01	#5
rich1068 I've Been Banned Last Online: Jun 9th, 2016 11:05 Join Date: May 2014 Location: Sheffield	Just what I wanted to see A lex. Thanks for taking the plunge with the copies. I've been wanting to ask about these for a few weeks but never got around to it. Here in the UK they're £915 and I got my dealer to £800 and something or other. Still too rich for me though. Would you mind PM'ing or posting a link to the eBay seller?

Aug 27th, 2014, 20:17	#8
volvoid Monster Raving Loony Last Online: Nov 12th, 2018 20:03 Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: hitchin	or put a blob of weld on bolt heads to the bars.

Aug 28th, 2014, 10:38	#10
owenfackrell Premier Member Last Online: Feb 4th, 2024 19:04 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: southampton	I also have these but have had them for almost a year now. I put protective tape on the leading edge of them to help protect them which has done a wonderful job but where I didn't put it on the underneath parts the paint has started to come off. To be fair the car has covered 20k in that time.

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