Had a faulty injector on the V8 Jeep recently. Auto sparky diagnosed it so alls good. They called around to find me a secondhand injector - $250 was the figure! Holy smoke I said, leave it with me. So I call 4x well known secon-hand parts companies and basically the best deal I was offered $1,000 second hand for the set of eight! WOW and no guarantee.
So I Go on eBay for a search, brand new set genuine Jeep = $460 set of eight.
Second hand set of eight refurbished Bosch 4-jet injectors $140, freight $45 including a 5 year warranty.
So I called the car spares here and "very politely" explained what I had found and the cost - Answer, go buy them then.
So when is NZ going to wake up and smell the roses, my guess it won't be long before they won't have a business!
Yes I bought the Bosch set on ebay :)
clark20,
Mar 2, 6:48am
What's your view on imported trailers?
survivalkiwi,
Mar 2, 6:54am
I have never come across a rich car parts dealer. I would say that if everyone starts buying from over seas they will become a buiness from the past. If they dropped their prices to match the over seas prices they would probably go broke. I also think the same thing can be said about a lot of other businesses in NZ.
franc123,
Mar 2, 7:15am
Sorry but asking a grand for a set of used and unguaranteed injectors is just piss taking, any thinking person wouldn't be going for that deal and if the business asking that price was on the other side of the fence they wouldn't be buying it either. Its an absolute no brainer that you would import those direct.
gazzat22,
Mar 2, 7:21am
Did you enquire what a new one or set would cost in NZ,could be interesting.
supernova2,
Mar 2, 7:23am
Some years ago I was after a bonnet for a Euro. Got a couple of prices ex wreckers and woa what ya know one of them was TWICE new price. When questioned he said something to the effect of bugga you checked most don't and just assume that used will be cheaper. Then went on to say wouldn't budge on price as some other fool will come along and buy it anyway! Caveat Emptor!
xs1100,
Mar 2, 7:41am
+1 and should you have any sort of warranty claim I hope you are successful with it, that is after you send them back and wait a month only to be told yeh naw we really don't care and what you going to do from down there.
no problem with people stepping outside the norm and sourcing their own gear so long as they realise when the nz guy no longer there that they created that and that applies to so many areas
robotnik,
Mar 2, 7:42am
Your vehicle is not that common in NZ, so what do you expect? Try getting a part for a JDM vehicle or something like that in the US and you may encounter the same problem.
matarautrader,
Mar 2, 7:59am
I buy quite a lot of car / caravan parts via ebay. I check out local prices and if they are within 30 % I buy locally. I think its reasonable that if someone is enterprising enough to have the parts locally and they add a reasonable markup thats fine and I am more than happy to buy from them. But if the local prices are eye wateringly higher than ebay I buy from ebay. For example recently I needed some circuit breakers for my caravan. Prices in New Zealand varied from $83 each plus postage down to $45 each plus postage. I brought 3 off ebay for $39.00 total including delivery. Thats $13 each. And they were the exact same device. Even used the same photos.
puddleduck00,
Mar 2, 8:09am
Can't comment on actual car parts, but I wanted to buy a box of assorted car fuses. I went to Repco and they had a box of assorted fuses, but the price was ~$120. Unbelievable right? So I ordered some off Aliexpress and they were $5USD including shipping for a box of 100 assorted fuses. I assume, because Repco is Australasian, they would have more buying power than me - so the cost price of their fuses would probably be even cheaper than what I can buy them for.
unideck,
Mar 2, 8:26am
You already know the answer to that - but hey, nice try :)
unideck,
Mar 2, 8:34am
Mmmm, OK, I have recently been rebuilding a Subaru 3.3 engine here (H3) I talked to 3x Subaru dealers and got the following pricing, all new parts:
Full head gasket set $1,120 Cam Belt $415.00 Head bolt kit $328.00 Knock Sensors x2 $210 each
Bought on eBay:
Full head gasket set $184.00 Cam Belt $40 Head bolt kit $98 Knock Sensors x2 $13.84 the pair inc freight
So, moral of the story is I guess - it pays to look overseas and do ones homework.
differentthings,
Mar 2, 9:00am
Mate I don't know how you get that price. I buy parts from the US now and again. (light and they fit into a 250mm x 100mmx 100mm box and their postage cost is $7 usd alone. It comes with a printed label so I know how much it cost them to post it to me.
Because it's not from USA, from China, the posties over there must almost pay you to post a parcel.
mrfxit,
Mar 2, 9:22am
"So I called the car spares here and "very politely" explained what I had found and the cost - Answer, go buy them then. "
Been like for many years. It's rare for a wrecker to drop a price to match any other proven price.
It's also reflected in that attitude towards other maintenance items like radiator hoses/ brake pads etc etc that are only need for a limited life vehicle just to keep it going & safe for a year or 2 longer till something better can be sourced (including possibly the vehicle).
Last time I asked for a radiator hose for a specific vehicle, I got the old chestnut of "LOL, just buy a new 1, they are as cheep as chips" when it fact it was around $80-ish dollars for that hose. A lot of wreckers can't even be bothered going out the back to have a look for small items.
franc123,
Mar 2, 9:37am
Yes, and the hose may not have been immediately available either. Pickapart is an absolute treasure trove of these sorts of parts, near new brake pads, wiper pivot covers, grommets, battery cables, body mouldings, the list is endless that normal wreckers cant be bothered with that are perfect for keeping an oldie going or even to tidy it up I've always figured they must be making too much money if they can't be bothered even checking. I got sick of the attitude of normal wrecking yards years ago, when there's flash jet boats or stock cars or Yank tanks in the corner covered up under tarps the sods are making enough money alright.
unideck,
Mar 2, 9:42am
I hear ya mrfxit. I actually said I was willing to pay more IE more than what was quoted out of the states but not a grand haha.
I don't mind paying extra here as mentioned above but this day and age its so fast out of the states it can be quicker than freight from Wellington to Coromandel. One of my companies imports playground equipment from California and from point of order to arriving on my doorstep is 4 days - impressive I recon.
Funny you mention the hose, I needed a heater hose, bulkhead to engine that had two odd bends. Could I get anybody here to sell me one hahaha, new they were near $130, made my own in the end out of shear frustration lol.
puddleduck00,
Mar 2, 9:43am
Aliexpress dude. Not from the states but from Asia. Sometimes you have to pick items up from the post shop if it's too big for the postie, but I'm okay with that. I wouldn't buy car parts off there, but a few fuses you can't really go wrong.
clark20,
Mar 2, 10:20am
Yes you can, if they melt, or don't blow when they are meant to
puddleduck00,
Mar 2, 10:51am
The same could apply to the ones from Repco. They all have similar origins. The fuses are fine. They blow when they're meant to and they don't blow when they're not meant to. Pretty straight forward.
snoopy221,
Mar 2, 11:14am
go and price a genuine GT40 Or a GTHO phase3 They are old skool back in dog and bone dayzzz the ole flea. (EBAY) flea bay- actually is akin to the same go price stuff that is something older and yes the flea beats tm- BUT only on stuff common in nz at mo stuff not common in nz at mo is getting higher on flea. However COMMON STUFF is just doing due diligence on pricing. best example circa loike 3 yrs ago cv joints 4 ta 6 hundy each ovanyt 60 pingas each. Due Dilligence. As posted earlier they donna check so we sell at our price.
clark20,
Mar 2, 6:04pm
Similar origins do not mean similar quality, I bet Repco have a pile of standards for the ones they sell.
mrfxit,
Mar 2, 7:05pm
Funny thing about Customer spec's for manufacturing plants.
Heard many storys about how some Asian factorys have built an item to the customers specs with the first 1 or 2 shipments being exactly correct but as time & more shipments progress, the quality goes steadily downhill.
mrfxit,
Mar 2, 7:13pm
. LMAO, a modest amount of years ago, I had been asked to leave some of those wreckers & automotive 'new parts' premises for daring to quote other companys prices.
A couple of places in Huntly spring to mind when mentioning that I could get the same exact part from Hamilton "cheaper" even after paying for petrol. I got the std "Go & buy theirs then"
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