Hi all,

I'm looking for a set of decent priced GENUINE (oem) side steps. I know eBay retailers have the copies for about £170, I have seen them irl and they are IMHO very basic quality. But originals for £600 seems a bit too expensive.

Can anyone give me a good tip for a supplier of the proper side steps please? I was in Wales today visiting a retailer who promised me his steps were "100% oem, 100% rubber" (referring to the material of the black step section) and when I got there, after a 100 mile journey (! very annoyed !), they were copies.

Many thanks / Luke

Hi, welcome!

Although not original I'm going for these:

http://www.powerfuluk.com/products/range-r...-tool.html

You didn't visit barry4x4 by any chance did you? 2013 (13.5MY) RRS HSE Black | Causeway Grey | Privacy | Ivory & Ebony | Grand Black Lacquer | Style 7 Alloys | AWESOME

thanks for the link but these are the plastic steps that i'm trying to stay away from. i really want the rubber steps, trying to keep everything on the car oem/original.
yes, it was Barrys. not meaning anything bad about the guys, in fact they probably sell exactly the same steps as powerfuluk.com, just dont want a copy.
/ Luke

I haven't come accross any steps that have a rubber step, even the L/R steps are plastic.

I have just returned a set to Barry4x4 as they didn't come with precut cills. I wasn't going to knock them either as Mike was superb  2013 (13.5MY) RRS HSE Black | Causeway Grey | Privacy | Ivory & Ebony | Grand Black Lacquer | Style 7 Alloys | AWESOME

yes he seemed a genuine guy, just not originals as advertised it would be interesting to see if they can source the originals.

when it comes to the pre-cut sills, i've read that it's best to keep the original sills and cut them yourself. I haven't taken the sills off myself but I hear there are markings on the sills to show where to cut. I hear the replacement sills can age quicker.

Ady 555, are you sure about that ? I have been to range rover and even felt the original side steps and they have a rubbery feel to them.

/ Luke

The side steps that were fitted to a sport in my dealers showroom were definately plastic and not rubber.

@ tanloverluke - have you seen an OEM and decent set of non-OEM side by side. They are identical . So much so, that I guess they are probably made in the same factory somewhere in the far east

For something as sacraficial as side steps there is no way I would go OEM unless they were being thrown in as a sweetner form the dealer

Each to their own though  ON THE WAY: BMW F21 M140i
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Beancounter_74 not side by side, no, just on different occasions. They look the same, agreed, but quality wise they are far different and this is why I would prefer oem. the question therefore is, are the dealers selling different types of steps, one original and one cheaper copy?
seems as though i'm going to have to clear this up...

I doubt any dealer would sell non-OEM steps, I'd say that's a very quick way to lose a franchise

I can't help but think you have seen a suspect set of steps with someone trying to pass them off, was it a JLR Dealer, or a reseller ? ON THE WAY: BMW F21 M140i
MERCEDES GL350 - Metallic Navy Blue w/Grey interior

GOING: BMW F31 335D MSport+ xDrive Touring
GONE: Land Rover Discovery 4 HSE - Stornaway Grey w/Black Interior (wish we'd kept it )
GONE: BMW F10 520D MSport - Carbon Black
GONE:MY12 RRS SDV6 HSE Sumatra/Ivory/Grand Black Privacy glass

The ones you saw with a rubber base i'm thinking that those were perhaps fake replica's and the genuine side steps have a plastic base. I know when my dealer fitted my non oem side steps he couldn't tell any difference between them.

Ive recently replaced my OEM steps (plastic) with a replica set (also plastic) and did a comparison, and other than the fact that the OEM were aged, you would NEVER tell the difference.

Get a set of ebay...........and treat yourself to something nice with the money you have saved

well i guess with 3 members giving me such a response, i have to change my opinion on this !
I went to the land rover dealer in Yeovil and they had only one car, a 2008 rr sport, with side steps and they were rubbery. i thought this made sense, because in the rain the surface wouldnt be slippery whereas plastic would.

you've all been very kind in replying.

i'll buy the ebay steps. They all look the same so i'm assuming they are all from the same manufacturer. from what i can see, the only difference is the package that contains the bolts - some of them also have the yellow "rivets".

Just one thing left to ask, isnt the plastic step slippery in the rain ?

cheers / Luke

No it isn't, don't ever try to use any type of polish or plastic treatment otherwise it will become very slippy. One thing i would recommend is treat the rivets that hold the aluminium trim on with something, to help them from rusting over time, they have been known to rust away and cause the aluminium trim to come off at speed, this is not just with replica steps but with OEM steps too. Another tip is to coat the aluminium trim with a few coats of a good wax, this will help with cleaning them and stop them from tarnishing.

Ady 555 wrote:

Another tip is to coat the aluminium trim with a few coats of a good wax, this will help with cleaning them and stop them from tarnishing.

Ady, I saw this advice that you had posted on another thread and as I was in a rush to get mine fitted, thought I would wait until I gave it a "proper clean" before waxing them.....2 months later after the winter weather & salt, & I really wish I had done it straight away, I spent over an hour scrubbing them the other day to get them to look brand new again

Luke, well worth following Ady's advice on the wax.......will save a lot of arm ache later on.