Incredible parts prices differences!

[Mustang]

Now that I have settled back into mainstream motoring (Alfa 156) there is a much wider avilability of parts for my motor. With this in mind I've been window shopping for some new suspension wishbones, and thought I'd share the results. The 156 has has a double wishbone arrangement on the front. All prices are including VAT, except the mail order UK which is ex VAT, ex delivery.

Column 1 Alfa Main dealer;Motor factor 1 Motor factor2 Mail order UK
Upper wishbone €53; €87; €182; €38
Lower wishbone €227; €132; €325; €99

And, I even checked again with motor factor no.2 to ensure the prices quoted were per wishbone and not per pair!

[CJ]

Looks like old rip-off Ireland is alive and well, just shows what sort of money can be made on parts in this country.

CJ

[soc]

Looks like old rip-off Ireland is alive and well, just shows what sort of money can be made on parts in this country.

CJ

I've always thought that there was money to be made in suppling car parts. If you could make your contacts and set yourself up as an internet reseller/distributor of mainstream parts I'm sure you could supply at a much lower price than most motor factors (let alone dealers)...... another possible opportunity for a bunch of like minded enthusiasts who understand cars, the needs of their owners and have some reasonable IT expertise

[Mustang]

Shane wrote

another possible opportunity for a bunch of like minded enthusiasts who understand cars, the needs of their owners and have some reasonable IT expertise

Could be the makings of a cosy cartel

[soc]

Shane wrote

another possible opportunity for a bunch of like minded enthusiasts who understand cars, the needs of their owners and have some reasonable IT expertise

Could be the makings of a cosy cartel

well having watched funky-products and motorsport-world grow from small office based operations to thriving business in the past 3 years I'm convinced there has to be a market - particularly if you can export to the UK as their sterling would buy them so much more in ireland

[Myfeckin FTO]

Shane wrote

another possible opportunity for a bunch of like minded enthusiasts who understand cars, the needs of their owners and have some reasonable IT expertise

Could be the makings of a cosy cartel

well having watched funky-products and motorsport-world grow from small office based operations to thriving business in the past 3 years I'm convinced there has to be a market - particularly if you can export to the UK as their sterling would buy them so much more in ireland

Well well - don't we all have our commercial hats on today!
Anybody want in on a Jap import Superstore with good aftersales service that also supplys high quality good value parts and is not associated with any cartel??? I bags the high risk Limerick branch.

[Mustang]

MfFTO wrote

Well well - don't we all have our commercial hats on today!
Anybody want in on a Jap import Superstore with good aftersales service that also supplys high quality good value parts and is not associated with any cartel??? I bags the high risk Limerick branch.

Count me in, tired of the 9 to 5 anyway. I could buy another FTO and just put on the 'company' insurance policy, on the cheap! Or better still the company could buy me an FTO as a company car.

[soc]

Well well - don't we all have our commercial hats on today!
Anybody want in on a Jap import Superstore with good aftersales service that also supplys high quality good value parts and is not associated with any cartel??? I bags the high risk Limerick branch.

I quite fancy a nice cosy internet mail order firm which I could run from the comfort of my own home - take in your orders, contact your suppliers and get them to courier the part direct to customer - low risk, low cost would mean lower prices which (in theory) should generate more business.....

[Dave]

i'd have no problems in cooking some books!


but back to a serious note, we have tried to the above and i have to say in our experience the main wholesalers in the country charge quite high prices, so much so that any reasonable margin would have been out the window!
i think we quoted shane on some parts and they were basically cost and they were far cheaper across the waters!

in saying that there is a lot to be said for the economies of scale!

[CJ]

I'm sure there are plenty of people reading this thread who have thought about starting up a business involving cars at some stage (apart from Dave, Karl and Al who already have!). We talk a great game but when it comes to the crunch, we crawl back into our comfortable 9-to-5 holes with a regular pay cheque and health cover (OK, well maybe thats just me...). I'd love to take a chance on something along these lines but my own view is that you would want to be dedicating most of your time rather than evenings and weekends on something that could get very big given the reources. Maybe someday I'll grow a set of balls and leave it all behind in lieu of a bank loan, some tax return forms, hard times, good times and maybe a few extra quid.

Not just yet though....

CJ

[soc]

I'm sure there are plenty of people reading this thread who have thought about starting up a business involving cars at some stage (apart from Dave, Karl and Al who already have!). We talk a great game but when it comes to the crunch, we crawl back into our comfortable 9-to-5 holes with a regular pay cheque and health cover (OK, well maybe thats just me...). I'd love to take a chance on something along these lines but my own view is that you would want to be dedicating most of your time rather than evenings and weekends on something that could get very big given the reources. Maybe someday I'll grow a set of balls and leave it all behind in lieu of a bank loan, some tax return forms, hard times, good times and maybe a few extra quid.

Not just yet though....

CJ

I hear everything you're saying there and totally agree - I'm definitely guilty as charged. That said, I reckon if you could deal direct to factory with supliers and can market effectively you could be on to a good thing - the hard part I'd imagine is (a) creating the relationships with the suppliers and (b) generating a customer base.....

I'll keep dreaming though....

[Speedyboy]

I've always thought that there was money to be made in suppling car parts. If you could make your contacts and set yourself up as an internet reseller/distributor of mainstream parts I'm sure you could supply at a much lower price than most motor factors (let alone dealers)...... another possible opportunity for a bunch of like minded enthusiasts who understand cars, the needs of their owners and have some reasonable IT expertise

Do you not think anyone with the common sense to check an Irish parts web site will check the Uk /ebay ? Which means you have literally 00's of competitors, I think a low price bricks and mortar outlet would work much better in Ireland, Theres still a huge amount of the population not online.