Thread: Why are parts so overpriced in Australia?

Originally Posted by lr90freak

Oh i must have unconsciously mispelled phrases on purpose to point out the fact, that in the absence of a strong informed opinion all you have is to attack me on, is the way my opinion is conveyed and not that I am wrong!

I do work for such a company ( i wish i owned it ) but i also have worked in the retail sector for a number of years and this is what my opinion is based on.

And if you think i am worried about sharing my opinion on a forum which contains potential customers i am not!
I don't think poorly of my potnetial customers, (how did you come to this conclusion?) I'm just sick of the bashing of the retail/wholesale sector, thats all, when there are things out of our control that play a part in it all.
If you have dealt with me in a professional context you will find i believe in good customer service and i try to help with whatever i can.

All i ask is that you realise this issue is more complex than the fact that everyone is being ripped off.

And don't tell someone there view point is ridiculous if you can't back up yours with actual knowledge of the issue!

I note you have sidestepped the valid opinion I posted on the previous page from an (automotive spare parts) business owner who believes that (automotive spare parts) companies need to revise their pricing structure.

You have also not responded to Pat's reply to an early post of yours:

Originally Posted by PAT303

Td6 service kit Aus price $320 plus delivery,UK price $72 Aus delivered to my door.Someone is making money. Pat

Sure it is a more complex issue than many think, and pricing structures need to account for overheads, etc, etc... However, the fact remains, that Australian retail prices for automotive components from 3rd party (non manufacturer) suppliers are some of the highest in the world.

I have a 2008 PUMA Defender. As most would know the vacuum pump oil seal is suspect on the early pumps, to point of immanent failure.(just a matter of time)

I have Cape trip planned for August, so I want to either carry a spare or up grade to the new type before the trip.

Now to the point - New replacement vacuum pump (genuine) from Brit Car in the UK is 90GBP or 145AUD's plus delivery.

Quote from Trivett's $574.00 or 400GBP.

Now that is over the top.

If any one thinks that I should buy local, you must have rocks in your head.

I was over on the Jeep forum (don't ask!) and some are buying bull bars for Wranglers from the US, $800 delivered. Nice looking bars too.

Wow Paul! Who rattled your cage? I've never seen you so fired up. All valid points you've made though. I recently imported a flasher unit for the Disco, why? Because I couldn't find one in Brisbane or Ipswich and received no response from email enquiries down south. I had the part from the UK within a week, for under $20.00. Where will I look for my next (maybe $1,000+) purchase? The UK.

Not restricted to parts supply or Australian vs overseas - it also applies to regional vs capital city, probably for similar reasons.

A couple of years ago I found excess wear on the spline on the rear prop shaft of the County. I looked at either a new shaft or rebuilding the old one locally. I was not entirely surprised to find that I could get a new one cheaper than getting it rebuilt. What did surprise me was that I could get a new genuine part cheaper than rebuilding it. But what really surprised me was that the quote for rebuilding included a freight component for two cross and bearing and a sliding joint from Sydney to Dubbo that was twice the cost of freight for a complete prop shaft from Melbourne to the local village out of Dubbo. In a similar vein, after getting a price on a set of points from a Dubbo business, they had to get them in - and charged an additional $6 over their quote for freight from Sydney. Next time I will get them by mail from a capital city.

John

Originally Posted by Drover

I have a 2008 PUMA Defender. As most would know the vacuum pump oil seal is suspect on the early pumps, to point of immanent failure.(just a matter of time)

I have Cape trip planned for August, so I want to either carry a spare or up grade to the new type before the trip.

Now to the point - New replacement vacuum pump (genuine) from Brit Car in the UK is 90GBP or 145AUD's plus delivery.

Quote from Trivett's $574.00 or 400GBP.

Now that is over the top.

If any one thinks that I should buy local, you must have rocks in your head.

But you have no idea what Trivett are paying through Land Rover Australia and I could hazard a guess it's well above what you pay retail from the UK.

This happens in all industries and has done since white man first came here.

An example is Stihl.
Their wholesale pricing structure to local Stihl dealers is higher than what a dealer can land a part here from the US at full retail + freight, but they are tied in to buying from Stihl Australia.

I've also had this discussion with Makita.
I can buy a certain part, landed from the US for nearly 1/3 the price locally.
The problem is that the wholly owned Makita Oz subsidiary are quoted, in this case from another Makita wholly owned subsidiary in Germany for x number of bits which is probably 1/100th what the US buys, and so their per unit price is over double what the US importer pays, then the little matter of freight raises it's head.
It's much more expensive to send containers here compared to Asia or the US, then we have our overheads and compliance costs.


Of course you don't have to buy genuine from a dealer, there are other genuine parts sources locally, as well as OS.


I still buy local for most everything Land Rover related but I'm well looked after by a major importer/wholesaler and have things air bagged to me overnight.


I'm just glad I'm not in retail, from the small dealings I have had there is such a sense of arrogance and entitlement with some of the general public I think I'd be reaching across a counter and ripping a few throats out

Originally Posted by Sleepy

I was over on the Jeep forum (don't ask!) and some are buying bull bars for Wranglers from the US, $800 delivered. Nice looking bars too.

Winch bar for my puma,Oz price $1250,UK price with light bar,four lights,wiring kit etc $900 delivered. Pat

Originally Posted by JDNSW

[snip]
In a similar vein, after getting a price on a set of points from a Dubbo business, they had to get them in - and charged an additional $6 over their quote for freight from Sydney. Next time I will get them by mail from a capital city.

John

I cop this daily as all my parts for my business are freighted in.

One supplier can send bits for $11 incl. GST that will cost $66 from someone else
The cheaper freight price comes from the Dubbo branch of a major wholesaler while the dear one comes from Newcastle, only 2.5 hours away.
Oh, and Dubbo is overnight, if I can get an order in by 3:30 I'll have it at 11:30 the next day while Newcastle is two days minimum

This isn't a case of loading the handling charges but a straight freight cost from the freight company.
It's a case of better freight deals with different companies, the big wholesaler have a national freight deal with TNT and Tamex, the smaller Newcastle based wholesaler just doesn't have a good Tamex deal, which hurts them further as I won't buy parts I require urgently from them.