Why are things so dear!!

[Sloppysod]

I see this the other day and thought yes that is why Citroen want £1500+ for a steering rack!!.
The Accenture Software understands that you need it to drive your car so you will pay the price they ask, so with that knowledge they put the price up!!
https://in.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idINKCN1IZ07L.

Now we know!!

[Kerek85]

Renault said it "strives to provide its customers with a wide variety of quality spare parts, the price of which is calculated based on parameters that Renault considers fair and equitable".

I paid 60 quid for a clio door pillar sticker. I thought it was a tad dear considering almost all Clios have them and it wasn't a rare sporty model.

I only paid 30 quid for the same type of item on a Ford ka.

[GiveMeABreak]

Yes, I've never read such a lot of corporate hooey. Guilty - all of them.

So now you know - source your parts elsewhere and the prices will drop. Those genuine Citroen racks shot up nearly £500 overnight - not because customers thought that it was worth it - but because of all the failures in them creating the demand. Now hopefully, in this example, if enough of us have decent rack replacements that are treated and refurbished from decent aftermarket suppliers, we can tell PSA and the likes in the immortal words of 'Scotty' - "up yer shaft".

[EDC5]

That's a disgrace. Spares should be sold on a cost plus basis rather than what people can stretch to when they need their car back on the road for work!

[white exec]

That's a disgrace. Spares should be sold on a cost plus basis rather than what people can stretch to when they need their car back on the road for work.

If only that were so. Pricing is often set at "what buyers are prepared to pay", and that is affected by perceived worth, size, weight, solidity, and how desperate customers are for their Widget to function again . . . and, of course, by what choice they have for buying it elsewhere.

Many companies selling manufactured kit need to maintain spares stock for perhaps 10 years after last production, and where components don't fail, or turn out to be unexpectedly long-lived, companies can get "stuck with" large untouched stocks of spares on their shelves. These, eventually, have to be written off. BUT, that's no reason for high-turnover, frequently-selling spares to be extortionately priced.

Once upon a time, vehicle insurers seemed not to care about the size of a workshop's repair bill. Now they do, and pattern- and aftermarket parts are regularly specified in place of OEM . . . that is, if they are available.

[Stickyfinger]

10 years parts supply, hahaha, only by choice. Eu manufactures have negotiated 7 years and that is reducing to 5 if their plans are accepted.

[GiveMeABreak]

Less than that now in terms of support too. I can give you a recent example where the NG4 Navidrive was available to order up to and including 2014. PSA have not and are unlikely to commission HERE for any future map updates. The current one is 2016-2 which contains 2015 data! So 2 years and obsolete. Disgusting.

[van ordinaire]

That's why, despite the fact so many cars now have integral (indeed, integrated) SatNavs, there's still a steady demand for TomToms & the like.

b-t-w, my TomTom's 6 years old, & does, sometimes, get a little confused now (although I've never followed it blindly) but is still fine, for all practical purposes.

[Gibbo2286]

My TomTom's much older Van, I bought it for £25 in a bankruptcy auction, must be around 12 years ago, still works fine, even added the USA maps and took it to the States on my last trip.

[Peter.N.]

I think they work on the principle that if you can afford to pay that much for a car you can afford our price for the spares, one reason I wouldn't buy an new/expensive car even if I could afford to.

Peter

[GiveMeABreak]

That's why, despite the fact so many cars now have integral (indeed, integrated) SatNavs, there's still a steady demand for TomToms & the like.

b-t-w, my TomTom's 6 years old, & does, sometimes, get a little confused now (although I've never followed it blindly) but is still fine, for all practical purposes.

Yes, but remember that the Head Units are not just Sat Navs now Van, they are embedded systems that control car functionality and options, telematics and telephony, media, emergency call etc. So if it was just Sat Nav, fair enough, but on a £2k premium system you would expect support longer than 2 years on maps.

I think a factory fit is also better for aesthetics - especially if you consider that a lot of people also have dash cams (out of necessity now it seems ), GPS radar detection (who me?) it soon starts to get a bit crowded without having to put up a bloody Tom Tom too!

[andy5]

Over £300 update on some.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03 ... e-gps/amp/

OK, there are some clever details on built in units, like calculating from the ABS sensors so you don't get lost in tunnels, but besides that there isn't much you can't do with a £50 Android phone.

I bought a Becker unit on clearance at Argos a few years ago, but have hardly used it. I tend to study Google Maps before setting off, and only occasionally might use it on the phone in the last few miles or if there is unexpected traffic.

Why some people have the things up on the window, and lit up at night, zoomed in close while they are on a motorway for another 20 km which they may be on daily, I just don't know

[GiveMeABreak]

But I'm just making the point Andy that they are not just Nav units - they do calculate the route when going in tunnels of course, but a lot have the your complete media centre, and rear infotainment, your voice command system for operating the controls, the bluetooth and independent built in telephone system (or both in my case), DVD player, Equaliser, etc., etc., so none of these things that an android can do and shouldn't need to if the car manufacturers provided a minimum time frame for support. If people knew this from the start they would not have opted for a particular system. And 2 years for map updates for a 2014 purchased system is not on.

[Chris570]

But I'm just making the point Andy that they are not just Nav units - they do calculate the route when going in tunnels of course, but a lot have the your complete media centre, and rear infotainment, your voice command system for operating the controls, the bluetooth and independent built in telephone system (or both in my case), DVD player, Equaliser, etc., etc., so none of these things that an android can do and shouldn't need to if the car manufacturers provided a minimum time frame for support. If people knew this from the start they would not have opted for a particular system. And 2 years for map updates for a 2014 purchased system is not on.

Especially when you can still get maps for the older RT3 system!

[GiveMeABreak]

Exactly and this was my point to Citroen Customer services, whom have replied several times asking for VIN and car details and all the other unnecessary information:

First Response

Thank you for your recent email.

We're always looking to keep up to date with new technologies so I'm surprised to hear that our map updates have not been kept up to date.

I can't comment on information you've received from HERE technologies but I want to forward your concern onto the product manager for your vehicle.

In order to help, I need the following information from you:

- Vehicle registration number
- Vehicle chassis number (VIN) - you'll find this in your handbook pack
- The Citroën dealership you use

Second Response:

The reason I'd like a little more information was that I'd like to forward your enquiry on to the product manager for the model to see if they can provide any insight.

Can I take it from your response that your vehicle is the Citroën C5?

Until now I was not aware that PSA had decided against renewing maps with HERE technologies and, as such, am unable to give your question as complete a response as deserved.

I told them that is not required, I have supplied the technical and consumer names for the unit - end of - that is all they need to know, and the map versions. I told them I have contacted HERE maps and they have emailed me to say PSA have not commissioned another update as yet for this system.

Third Response:

Thank you for your further information.

The information I've been given from the product manager for the model is that this should be taken up directly with HERE technologies, suggesting the lack of updates is due to the providing company.

From the information already provided, I would infer that you have contacted them and their response is that PSA have decided not to renew this.

From the customer care team, I'm not privy to any decision making process so I can only apologise if this is the case.

Kind regards
Matthew O'Sullivan
Customer Care Manager

The "From the information already provided" is what I already provided to them in my original enquiry. So as you can see, we now have the ping pong game starting all over again!

Damned infuriating that they think we all totally thick and cannot see what is going on - how many brain cells does it take to locate the product development Team Head and ascertain the correct answer? Do you really think HERE maps will just make maps for systems they are not asked to???? Please stop treating us like idiots Citroen.