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expence of car parts


mike151
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why should a pair of brake shoes for a citroen ax cost more than 3 times as much in france? i was shocked  when i paid  over £50 for them, so i priced them up when i got back to england & found i could get them for £15. there was no mention of citroen on them & he had the cheek to keep back the springs & other retainers. i wo'nt buy anything else in france for cars again unless i have to. has anyone else had such experiances?

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From what I have seen, the sale of Factored parts in France is less than the UK, they seem to keep to OE parts, regardless of who made them (e.g. AP brake parts as sold to a manufacturer).

The other factor (no pun intended) could be that the DIY maintainence of cars seems to be more common in France, and someone is cashing in on that!

Ducati Paso brake pads in Italy, Brembo = 30euros a each caliper. UK, EBC, full set (three calipers), £28, France Brembo 60euros a caliper, EBC 85euros a caliper.

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commence ranting......

France is a complete and utter joke for parts and consumables.

Every single part I have bought in france has cost significantly more than it would have in uk.

I work as a mechanic part-time, and this really grips my poo. Even just availability of the parts is a joke. My nearest "big" parts factors didnt even have a head gasket for a citroen AX diesel in stock! Back in uk, I could go to dingbro or partco etc in any town around NE scotland and if they didnt have what I needed in stock, they would get it within a few hours, and would often deliver the parts to me. On friday I went into a factors here for a track rod end for a merc 190 - none in stock and they "might" have it by this afternoon (tuesday)

Even second-hand stuff from scrapyards is a joke. 20 bloody euros last week for a rad fan motor from a pug 309! in UK if I would be very surprised indeed if it would cost more than a fiver. I quite fancy knocking up a wee trailer so asked about the price for a rear leaf-sprung axle from stuff like fiat pandas or escort vans etc. TWO HUNDRED EUROS!!but they would throw in the wheels for free, well woopee doo. I would be better off buying a brand new trailer from a brico shop.

Its not as if I work on and require parts for exotic and rare cars that comand a premium, its all mainstream bread-and-butter cars, most often french manufacturers too.

Dont start me on the price of consumables either. Im restoring a classic car just now and the price of this stuff is seriously making me wonder if its worth my while continuing.....Grinding and cutting discs, mig welding wire and tips, (never mind the debacle I had trying to find gas for the welder - Thats a thread I posted a while back on here) Body filler, wet n dry paper.....its all at least double, if not 3 or 4 times in some cases, the price of the uk equivelant.

I have taken to ordering general stuff via ebay. This carries certain risks though, as many things like ball-joints, bushes, discs and pads etc are cheapo brands that last a much shorter lifespan than better brand names. If you do this, try to get reputable brands like Quinton Hazell, Ferodo etc rather than unbranded stuff. The specialist parts, I order direct from UK suppliers. The body panels I needed for the mini came to 200€ all in from UK including shipping to france. If I had bought them here, it would have been closer to 300€ before even adding shipping or TVA.

Next time I am back in UK with a car, I will be buying all the paint, thinners etc to do the mini, as I just cant afford to buy them here in france.

 

.......and relax.

 

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Well........

Some years back I changed the headlamps on my Discovery to LHD ones. I was having a service done (it was inside warranty so had to go to a LR dealer) which was a lot, lot, more cheaper than in the UK and only took half a day instead of the full day the UK dealers took. When I went to pick it up I mentioned headlights and asked for a price. I think they were about 98 Euros each and included the bulb which when I checked against the UK (for RHD) the price of the two LHD ones bought in France was less than I could buy one for in the UK. Admittedly I have only ever bought the lights for the Disco and nothing since so perhaps its not a fair example.

Personally I think all car parts are a rip off wherever you are especially if they have the car makers stamp on. Ford CV joints for a Granada without the Ford stamp but from the same bearing manufacturer about 40% less than the ones with Ford stamped on them. Mind you that was 20 years ago but it probably has not changed.

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Agreed - The great fun is when you run something like a Lotus Europa and the parts are 40% than the Renault parts which were 40% more expensive than the manufacturer. I would love to find the French equivalent of Midnight Motors or German Swedish and French. Or even the old Michelin depot on Marylebone High Street where provided you had a competition license you could buy road tyres very cheaply.

The other side of the coin is that the ex Peugeot dealer I use has a daily parts drop and I talk to the mechanic/owner of the business not some sycophant in service  reception

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I loved it when we got Lotus (Loti??) in, seeing what bits were on it! Excels and Eclats were awash with a mixture of Marina/Ital switches, Cortina/Escort stuff. Elites were the same of course, but had the addition of some "parts bin" air vent parts, even down to the stickers with the "hot/cold/screen/floor pictures.  During my apprenticeship I created and was eventually given the job title "parts sourcer", and every time we got anything obscure in it was my job to get the bits. Most obscure one? A Wood and Pickett Mimi Clubman Estate, the front bumper was a cut down and re-chromed Aston Martin DBS rear bumper! Now that was EXPENSIVE!!!

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