Best and worst parts bargain

rabenson · Unread post by **rabenson** » 22 Jul 2003, 21:58

Just noted Jon's post re keypad where he points out that a new one is 70 odd quid.
I have long had a theory that parts prices are wholly unrelated to the actual item and as such are entirely unpredictable.
Best bargain I had was genuine citroen radio adapter to allow me to fit a standard cd tuner unit - the princely sum of a tenner and it has an nice spring loaded flap too!!
I once priced up a glovebox door assembly for a peugeot 205. only £225 quid!! [:0] neadless to say the glovebox remained doorless....
Anybody done better, or worse??

Unread post by **Jon** » 23 Jul 2003, 13:35

Recently:
Good value, engine top cover for Berlingo £14.00 complete new from Citroen (distress purchase after I ripped the original one off in a rage to get to the diesel primer after Mrs W ran out of diesel)£14.00
Expensive: Idle speed actuator for BX 16v £214.47 from Citroen, ouch!!!
Amazingly cheap, complete RH electric mirror for Xsara from Citroen £39.05. Yet a manual Saxo mirror Citroen want £49.16. I can never work out their pricing!

Unread post by **alan s** » 23 Jul 2003, 14:58

This is not relating to car parts but to appliance spares, however, a comparison can be drawn for no doubt the same reasons.
A pump top for a dishwasher was around $35; made of fibrous material & not very involved or complicated. Having found one with a leak I replaced it only to find a smaller leak still existed. Turned out a sliver of glass had gone through the inner pump casing which was also a much larger, very intricate design & most of the major components were attached to it; how much was it going to cost? My guess was possibly up to $200 based on a comparison with the $35 part. Wrong!! It was $10...when I asked why, I was told by the parts guy that he couldn't remember the last time he sold one which as he said, didn't explain why this one was so cheap, but did explain why the other was so dear; after all, I was told, he'd sell a dozen of the others every day; that's why they were so dear.
Another glaring one from many years ago too, was VW front mudguards....VERY cheap; about 3 pounds 10 (pre decimal currency) Headlights, about 25 shillings each Wow!! how cheap is that...these were used as advertising ploys. What wasn't told was that there was a mounting behind the headlight that was prone to rust & in the advent of an accident ALWAYS got busted so it was common to replace it and it was ........wait for it........... 110 pounds. [:0]
That possibly doesn't sound much these days, but remember; the entire car sold for about 750 pounds. That's really frightening if you put that into todays values. [:p][:p]
So I suppose the conclusion drawn from all this is, it really doesn't matter how expensive or cheap the part is to manufacture, the old farmers bartering system based on the law of supply & demand is what governs the size of the price tag.[V][V]
Alan S [:D]

blueboy2001 · Unread post by **blueboy2001** » 24 Jul 2003, 00:26

I'm surprised about the price of the Xsara mirror - they wanted about £120 for an electric heated one for my Xantia!
I think a lot of companies make the prices up as they go along. If you think cars and domestic appliances are bad, don't get involved with agricultural machinery. One manufacturer decided to knock 70% off all its parts prices this year - good for the customer, not so good for the dealer who has about £40k worth of bits on the shelf.
The worst example of incongruent pricing I've seen was earlier this week. A customer asked me to get an Assiter Ram kit (basically a strong bracket and a hydraulic ram) for his tractor. I asked the stores lad for a price and he said about £150 + VAT. It arrived the following day and he picked it up and brought it back an hour later saying it was the wrong side - we'd got a left side one and he needed the right. Ordered the RHS one and it came back invoiced at £565 + VAT. Thinking that must be a clerical error, we checked the price list to find the list price is over £600! I rang the Head Office and spoke to someone who confirmed the price was right.
The only difference between the sides is in the bracket - the LHS is like |/ that and the RHS is like \| that, but they're not square so you can't turn them upside down to fit. In the end I took the LH bracket to the engineering firm next door and had them cut and weld it to fit the other side - cost £40.

Unread post by **alan s** » 24 Jul 2003, 15:01

Struck another one today talking to a guy whilst getting a couple of new tyres on the BX.
It seems he got rung in to help a guy who had driven a Pug turbo (405) into water & got some down the throat and hence into one pot which thereupon bent a con rod. Being in Australia, that was a big deal. Contact nearest Pug dealer & tell him they wanted a conrod & a set of bearings. Bearings arrive at short notice but after a fortnight, get told they can't buy "a" conrod but must buy all 4....none in Oz. Have to come from France, about 4 to 5 weeks. 6 weeks later they arrive; bearings are different; the notches are on the same side on the new & opposite side for the old. None in Australia; they have to come from France....4 to 5 weeks wait they are told. 7 weeks later they arrive.
How much for the bearings I can't say, I do know however that the conrods alone were A$2000.....I wonder why they don't sell a real lot of Pugs, Cits & Renaults in Australia???[:0][}:)][:o)][:o)]
Alan S[:p]

NiSk · Unread post by **NiSk** » 28 Jul 2003, 00:22

A new genuine Citroën bonnet locking mechanism for an XM - £5 !! (incl. VAT)(unfortunately you need 2 of them)
//NiSk

surfer · Unread post by **surfer** » 23 Sep 2003, 17:44

Sorry, didn't pay enough attention at the time, but was this stereo facia for a Xantia?
I got a rather more expensive item from Halfords which some of the fixing points have now broken off from and I may wish to replace it.
Thanks,
simon.

chizzy · Unread post by **chizzy** » 23 Sep 2003, 23:57

I got a Cit one for a zx so I could remove the "double decker" std radio cassette c. £10. Give your local dealer a buzz.

Kered · Unread post by **Kered** » 24 Sep 2003, 01:26

Now retired but having been in sales all my life, I have been exposed to the "Marketing Department". These folk make the bullets that the sales guys sell. An often heard term regarding price is "It's what the market will bear". In other words it has no relation to the cost of manufacture but what they can get for it. If you want an example - look at the cost of a toothbrush. It costs pence to make but what do you actually pay! Shop at Lidl's and it is more realistic.

FFX-DM · Unread post by **FFX-DM** » 26 Sep 2003, 21:39

I think I may win this overpriced for what it is argument. £18 for a bit of string!! That's what the dealer cost for replacement parcel shelf cords is.[:0] Crikey! [:0]

benj · Unread post by **benj** » 26 Sep 2003, 21:46

£180 quid for a standard 4 cylinder head gasket for a porsche 944 from porsche

AndersDK · Unread post by **AndersDK** » 26 Sep 2003, 22:45

'91 Peug 605. Failed MOT on HC value 450.
Had slightly uneven idle too.
Estimated Peug garage work (after testing the car) :
no idle problem detected
HC value confirmed too high approx 450
*> new valve stem oil seals approx £700-800
*> new cat converter approx £700
*> no guarantee this work cures the problem.
- the problem ??
2 months earlier this car had a headgasket change - the head was stored on a workbench - with plugs still fitted.
The owner decided to grown over the car while testing the basics at home - started on the plugs - one plug had a gap clearance of 0.1mm.
Corrected - idle went dead-stable again and owner rushed for re-MOT - HC value now 40 - passed MOT !
Submitted by the owner on the Swedish Akuten Citroen Q & A [8D]