Strewth! how many old parts places have closed up

whqqsh, Sep 26, 7:11am
around your area, Im trying to find some old bits for a few projects & maybe a bit of advice but in my travels many of the old places are gone. My list starts with
Vetran & Vintage closed down & gone,
Pioneer no longer retailing to the public (according to the sign on the door),
Classicar gone (website contact details unchanged but phone has disconnect tone rather than a redirect)
A mate suggested Greenlane speed shop but thats been gone quite a few years now.
there are a few more but theyve slipped for now, Things are looking grim out there

mad20b, Sep 26, 7:23am
GSS is still up & running!

whqqsh, Sep 26, 7:58am
not as a speed-shop though

rob_man, Sep 26, 8:53am
Segedins! Must confess I haven't been in the market for a while now. I can see how they might all disappear though, use it or lose it I guess.

trogedon, Sep 26, 8:55am
Yek, not good. I guess many more people are importing direct (esp. smaller items).

mellisa2000, Sep 26, 9:31am
Well, check the ads in Petrolhead

fryan1962, Sep 26, 10:21am
where in Thames can I get copy of petrol head please!

rob_man, Sep 26, 6:56pm
In the toilet at Fish's work.

dr.doolittle, Sep 26, 7:42pm
Thats the power of the internet for you.
Their shop window is now at your fingertips. Not much point in having a flash or easy to find premiss anymore when they can get the parts sent to your door direct.

a.woodrow, Sep 26, 7:45pm
yep we have had a couple of locals close up, makes it harder trying to find parts for older stuff

whqqsh, Sep 27, 6:15am
Segedins are still all go, only guys in town that had in stock an oil pump & pickup for a big block Ford with reverse sump. & on Sat afternoon too :)

extrayda, Sep 27, 6:44am
Yup, I ended up going to Segedins, either Dominion road or near the Airport.There's also a place in Glenfield (can't remember the name) that was helpful to me when I needed some MSD parts.They sold some other stuff, but not sure if they carry much stock.

shuddupowh, Sep 27, 6:59am
May be easier for some shops tp close up and just sell online. May not be selling enough to cover overheads! And competing with overseas suppliers.

whqqsh, Sep 27, 7:54am
Segedins Dominion Rd & Mangere (STA) are totally different companys & the few times Ive been to STA Ive been totally unsatisfied & gone elsewhere (usually to Dominion Rd), the Glenfield place was probably Kendalls or further out to Albany, Cardwells

extrayda, Sep 27, 8:07am
Yep, I know the Sege's are different, from what I understand they weren't supposed to be, but there was a falling out and they went their seperate ways.I bought a carb/intake/rocker covers and some other stuff from STA years back and found them to be fine, and pricing was ok too.In general I used to go to Dominion road though.Kendalls closed up years back.I've been to cardwells, but they were mainly speedway gear, plus a few other bits.Just remembered the Glenfield place was Engine Parts Limited in Hillside road, the guy there was very helpful.

whqqsh, Sep 27, 8:27am
Last time I went to STA I stood at the counter like a lemon while the 4 or 5 staff sat around, chatted, one made a call to his missus & generally acted like I was nothing but an inconvenience. After ages I was about to walk out when another guy came in (obviously a regular) & 3 of them raced over doing the 'mate, mate, mate, how can we help' thing with him. I announced loudly what I thought their customer service & their doubtful parentage & only to have the manager run out to the carpark to apologise & ask what I wanted & how could he help. I told him the list I of parts I wanted, watched him turn a bit pale & added that he could help himself by getting rid of the lazy idiots he had behind the counter because I wouldnt be back & would surely spread the word!

extrayda, Sep 27, 8:34am
haha, well done.It was a long time back I went, things have changed for the worse by the sound of it.I also imported a few things from STA in Australia (mainly a shifter, as it was cheaper, and had the gear indicator on the correct side), and MSD bits from US, which was massively cheaper at the time.Don't need to anymore since I no longer have an interesting car at the moment (although my bank balance thanks me, and it's a nice change to be able to use the garage for the daily !).

franc123, Nov 26, 9:58pm
Whilst in the couple of dealings I've had with STA Mangere, or the other Dom Rd one for that matter have been OK, theres no doubt that a lot of firms in NZ and their staff have got a slack attitude towards customer service, it's not only the (often much) cheaper prices that are driving their clients to web based overseas suppliers.That I reckon is the two main reasons many of them are shutting their doors, and it will happen to more of them in the near future I'd say, they are just not onto it enough.The suppliers I use in the UK for car parts are really good by comparison, have fantastic websites and pricing, are pretty upfront about the freight costs and the stuffs here in a week, even general inquiries are answered within a few hours normally and in a friendly manner.Try emailing some of the locals and you are lucky if they even bother to reply much of the time.