Car parts in NZ, made of gold ?

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bashfulbro, Oct 8, 7:40pm
I need an external mirror for a Rav 4, Toyota wrecker in Takanini, wants $ 495+ GST. for one off a 2007 model,(10 years old.). Toyota , told me $ 500 +GST for a new one. Most enquiries iv`e made in NZ are around the same price. It`s an electric mirror, with indicator light in it, so i didn`t think it would be cheap., but feel that`s OTT.
I ordered one from Aussie on Ebay yesterday, for $ 95 Aus., plus $40 Aus , for shipping, It`s brand new, and should be here by Wed. or Thur. this week.
Why is everything so expensive here?

stornello, Oct 8, 7:42pm
Perhaps if you opperated a car dismantling yard you might gain more insight.

pc_uncorrect, Oct 8, 7:46pm
It's unfortunate but true, i too have resorted to sourcing automotive parts outside of New Zealand.

kevymtnz, Oct 8, 7:52pm
nz always been like that , and you wonder why so many are rich while the most are poor

mrfxit, Oct 8, 8:01pm
I used to help manage 1, also an engine reconditioning shop after that.

Times have changed a lot over the years & govt PC regs have had a lot to do with everything getting tighter.
IRD, OSH/ACC/ Worksafe etc etc.
It's now a very over regulated business & most other "hands on" business's are in the same situation.

We used to be a nation of "fixers" but thats all changing.

thejazzpianoma, Oct 8, 8:42pm
This. and the scary thing is it's getting worse and no one is acknowledging the problem!
Ultimately the solution to this and most of the issues in this country in my opinion is to teach people to think critically at school. We have absolutely no classes in understanding cognitive bias's, propaganda and basic psychology, yet we are bombarded constantly with those exploiting these things for their own agenda.

This needs to be made THE priority, well ahead of most of what is currently on the school curriculum. Most skills school teaches young people can be googled and refined as required. The skills I am talking about most wouldn't even realise they need until they have them. So it should be obvious which is more important.

My 2C

cabrio1, Oct 8, 9:23pm
Toyotas are cheap and easy to fix. Check any euro related thread.

mrfxit, Oct 8, 9:28pm
1 of my new pet hates of recent times is some test&tag ppl.
Been getting a few power cables with 2 or 3 separate test tags on each one.

iag.newzealand, Oct 8, 9:31pm
And also quiet a few now run by Indians that have unrealistic pricing on parts and are also hard to understand.

jkm, Oct 8, 9:36pm
need some rubber o rings for the Holden. $120 from the local Holden Franchise. $20 on Ebay Australia and $10 post to my door.
No brainer really.

thejazzpianoma, Oct 8, 11:55pm
The trouble is, ultimately it's terrible for our country. Test in tag as above creates massive waste as Schools and institutions replace their extension cords and multi adaptors as it's cheaper than testing.

Our jobs go offshore as we buy directly from countries with sensible rules along with profits that could have remained in NZ.

Our Government (opposition and sitting) is so far out of touch with the problem their "solution" is to try to lower the GST threshold on imports beyond what is economical to do!

The whole system is buggered.

They also don't seem to see any connection with this and the housing crises? Land is still quite affordable in lots of places but the cost of building especially when it comes to council fees are obscene!

Likewise anyone who wants to put in a secondary dwelling or convert their basement to rent out. just not worth it, at least to do it legally. Which is most ironically causing masses of people to do things in breach of the law.

This isn't rocket science but the people won't rise up and demand better!

tegretol, Oct 9, 12:06am
That is a subject about which I have been actively campaigning about for the last couple of years.

The single issue that prevents any form of Critical Thinking being taught in our schools is the teachers. "We are already overworked and can't start any new subject", "We'd have to retrain and learn what it is all about ourselves", 'We'd need more resources/cash to teach that", "Why does it matter so much anyway. " etc. So while the midset within the education system is as so, I fear it won't happen.

But given the level of dumbness amongst an increasing number of apparently intelligent youth today, something needs to be fixed. How many kids even question what they read in the press these days? For that matter how many kids even read the press these days?

I share your despair.

mrfxit, Oct 9, 6:46am
I am seeing some common sense appearing in the tagging time limits with 4/5/6 year dates appearing, but theres still a lot to sort out on a practical level.
Even brand new power cables have to be T&G'd.
Things like Static position cables shouldn't need testing for (Eg) 5 years from brand new, then only every 5 years unless they are in the sun a lot or office furniture is being moved around a lot, etc.
I get a lot of cables & theres probably something like 1 in 500 (or higher) of any type that would have a fault in the casing & even rarer for wire damage.

Yes some devises & cables are prone to damage, but those are the items that should be targeted, not everything created.

mrfxit, Oct 9, 6:55am
Car wreckers are getting pretty stressed with the massive amount of regulations & threats of high value prosecution for even minor breaches plus all the paper work involved.
The end result is high prices & the general increase of "can't be stuffed" getting stuff off a car in the yard unless you pay up front & accept what ever I bring out.
I have seen a lot of high regulation AND lazy crap creeping in to the industry over the last 10 years.

It's almost as if they don't need to, or want to deal with the general public any more or simply can't be bothered with older vehicle parts OR odd requests for parts these days.
(Odd requests = parts not often asked for)
Not sure which.

bumfacingdown, Oct 9, 7:48am
" "We'd have to retrain and learn what it is all about ourselves""
What is wrong with that statement?

91zero, Oct 9, 7:57am
For older vehicles like this you can request a "special price" from your dealership parts department. They will put through a request to Toyota NZ who in most instances will be able to sell it to the dealership at a heavily discounted rate - and the dealership can then pass that on to the customer. Only if TNZ have it in stock however; if it's ex Japan they don't often do it.

rodeorunch, Oct 9, 8:14am
https://www.ebay.com/i/282119793847

Ebay can be good for parts.
Just make sure you state right or left side as I see some say drivers side
Witch could be left hand drive

extrayda, Oct 9, 8:29am
Parts have often been cheaper overseas even 10+ years ago.
Over the years I have ordered stuff from US (ignition components / carbs / various performance parts) that ended up being a LOT cheaper than NZ (almost $400 for a single item IIRC). I have also ordered parts from OZ. Craziest one was about 25 years ago (I can remember that far back if it is car related !) I bought quite a lot of rubbers (windows / doors / boot etc.) from Rare Spares - and it was cheaper to buy them from their Christchurch agent at that point and ship them to Auckland than buy locally (I'm sure they are standardised now) - I also bough some Rare Spares stuff from OZ in those days.
About 5 years ago I priced a replacement mirror for an A32 Cefiro - $450 from Nissan for a single one. Picked up a brand new pair off TradeMe for $80 ! , swapped the backs over - all done.
Other times I found it was cheaper to get the NEW part from the stealership than get it from Wreckers (not usually though).

extrayda, Oct 9, 8:36am
As for the teaching at schools, my two youngest are being taught differently than I was, there is some focus on ways to solve problems (e.g. Maths) rather than just rote learning the answers. Took me a while to come round, but I can see how understanding how to think about the problem is ultimately more useful than just knowing the answer to that specific problem.

I am also a big fan of letting kids do things themselves and letting them fail (if they do), as you can then have the discussion about why things went wrong. IMO much better than correcting them along the way.

I hate the current school exam system (NCEA), as the kids learn very early on how to play the system and just do the minimum to get by.

flack88, Oct 9, 9:23am
#9 go into cranford street Taliban wreckers yard,they all smoking and wearing no safety boots,the floor covered in oil and fuel no emergency exits,the vehicles stacked 3 high,you can just rock in and climb and get your parts but keep a close eye on the suicide bomber on the forklift!How come they get away with that ?if anyone else did that they have some lazy pom or ex cop from Worksafe there in heartbeat.

black-heart, Oct 9, 9:33am
My last 3 visits to wreckers have all ended the same way, laughing at them and walking away.

rsr72, Oct 9, 10:02am
NZ is the land of rip-offs, the low-wage, high-cost country of the OECD.
Whether car parts, cars, houses, building materials, and food, we New Zealanders are taken to the cleaners and there's no-one, no-one at all, least of all government, there to protect the population from widespread and endemic fraudulent consumer pricing.

thejazzpianoma, Oct 9, 10:54am
Nice to know I am not alone on this!

Also well done for trying to make some change on this. If there is ever a way I can help push this for you (time permitting) I am happy to help.

I do know there are a few teachers keen for this, mostly secondary science teachers etc who understand the ramifications. But of course they are well in the minority.

I do think some of the existing subjects could be condensed to make room for this. As a secondary subject, I also don't see why this couldn't support a specialist teacher on its own as most schools would have a large enough roll to support it.

thejazzpianoma, Oct 9, 10:58am
That's a great start, but it needs to go beyond that. A lot of critical thinking is not intuitive so it's essential that it is actively taught. Especially when it comes to cognitive bias's and such.

If there is a "one stop solution" to the nations problems, this is it. Get the next (and current) generations thinking properly for themselves and stuff starts to happen for the better right accross the board.

tegretol, Oct 9, 11:00am
It's touted by the teachers as one of their reasons for NOT taking on the task of teaching Critical Thinking. That's what makes the statement so wrong - when the teachers are deciding what to teach OUR kids. Surely they work for society and not for the teachers union?