I hate to bring this up again, but....

Here's another example of why I get upset with JLR in Australia

Handbrake pads to suit Brembo STR/XJR and the Alcon-equipped XKR...

C2C13800, list price in the UK, GBP £72.85+VAT, price via Jag dealers in Sydney AUD $299.47 incl GST.

Convert the GBP price to AUD and it's $123.30+GST/VAT

AND

David Manners has aftermarket pads for £26.00+VAT

But I can't wait for a delivery from the UK, so I have to buy local....

 

Have you thought that the difference in pricing is the price for instant supply. Afterall JLR have paid for them, stored them etc, so they are ready for that fast supply situation.

 

But then a number of the online retailers also have to buy and store the parts. If you were fortunate enough to live nearby to one of these retailers you'd probably be able to collect your purchases in business hours rather than wait for a postage service.

So while repairs and parts needed ASAP are bound to cost more compared to shopping around, I don't think the magnitude of extra cost is fair in the examples given. Especially when the Australian business presumably buys brake pad sets and other parts in bulk, resulting in cheaper unit prices, and cheaper shipping per unit when compared with an individual buying just one set of pads. Sure, a dealer has to make a profit on the parts they sell, but sometimes I wonder what percentage of a part is profit!

 

Well I guess at the end of the day, if stock is selling at the higher price, they are not going to lower them, I assume most of their sales may be to mechanics who simply pass on the costs.

 

Typically in the UK workshops & garages get a 20% "trade discount" from the Jaguar list price from dealers, & next day delivery by courier is included if the order is above a minimum value (£50-£100 depending on the dealer). You can bet the dealers are probably getting at least a 50% discount from the list price when they buy from Jaguar (via Unipart).

Now fair enough there are extra costs in Oz, Unipart is the main logistics centre in Sydney, plus there is an extra margin for JLR Australia on top of that, then the dealer gets his margin, he keeps his own stock too.

But still, charging 2-3x the price is just too much.

If I ordered those pads from David Manners the freight cost would be £33.27 for a courier with delivery typically in 7-10 days.

So that's the situation; $100 for aftermarket, or $180 for genuine including delivery from the UK in 7-10 days, or $300 to pick them up from a local dealer same day.

The problem is; can the customer wait? In my case no I couldn't so I had to bend over...

 

I used to work for an OEM, not car related but in the asphalt industry supplying asphalt plants and parts to suit.

Typically, prices were marked up anywhere from 40% to 60% or more.

These costs were to cover research and design, manufacturing costs, overheads, personnel costs including sales, tech help etc etc.

As you've stated Cameron, the only way around it is to go aftermarket, or if possible in some cases deal direct with the original supplier as the OEM's buy in from many different sources.

The only other option is to forward order yourself I guess as far as is possible in advance from these other sources to try and keep costs down.

Please believe me when I say I'm not defending the OEM's but I do see their position too, and unfortunately its just the way it is.

 

It all comes down to just how much is too much, doesn't it?

JimC64, if Jaguar Australia was asking 40-60% on top of what a UK online retailer is charging they'd probably get a lot more custom. When that delta is around the 100-150% mark (maths off the top of my head based on the original post!) then questions should be rightly asked. And yes, the OEM, the distributor, and the retailer need to make money (cars and their support shouldn't be a charity!), but in an open market a customer won't and shouldn't be happy with a 100-150% mark up.

If an individual can get low volume OEM parts shipped from the UK that much cheaper, either the OEM/supplier is charging too much to their Australian outfit, or the Australian outfit is charging too much to their customer, or both - regardless of who is making the markup, the customer is the loser in this equation. Of course if you need the part at 4 hours notice, you may not have the luxury of shopping around!

Dave

 

Yes, it seems to be a Ripoff, Prices quoted at local Jaguar dealer.
Door aperture rubber seal.700 Dollars, I had to buy it.
Sat Nav disc..$1000.00. brought from wheris for 300.
Air suspension Compressor, 1000 dollars. I brought from the US for 300.

 

Update!

After ranting & raving & carrying on like a spoilt child about the cost of parts here, swearing to never buy local again, I gave a local dealer one last shot in getting me some parts after having a chat with one of the sales people at a recent show.

I was rewarded with good availability, and prices that were comparible to UK pricing after taking the shipping costs into consideration.

I bought a few small bits & pieces (nuts, bolts, plastic plugs) but two big-ticket items; a bonnet liner and an engine cover for the XJR.

1st surprise was that they had everything in stock that I wanted, bar the engine cover, which is a pretty odd thing for someone to need anyhow.

2nd surprise was the pricing. The small stuff was close enough to the UK pricing that it would not be worth buying from the UK ($30 all up). The engine cover was actually cheaper to buy local & have them bring it in (by about 10%) because paying the £60 airfreight on the item pushed it up over the local price.

The big one was the bonnet liner, although the "purchase price" of the part was much higher than the UK list, by the time it would have been packed up well enough to ship safely, and adding the shipping costs for such a bulky item on top, would have been more expensive that the local stock. Not to mention the risk of it getting damaged (I would consider this a very fragile item, easily damaged).

How bulky? See below:



I also checked the price on a few other big ticket items which will be needed soon. Some were "ok" and others back to the 2-3x the price scenario. I need to look closer at the shipping costs & the potential risk for damage in transit to weigh it up better. For example shipping a radiator from the UK to here, and having it turn up without damage, what's that worth?

Bottom line, I will be cross-checking the local stock & pricing to compare with the total delivered cost from the UK in the future, rather than just assuming it'll be 3x the price here...

 

Hi everyone,
I bought in carpet and hoodlining to original specifications from belgium for just under half the price of australian nylon product not available in original colours here either, and my humourous one, original type gaz shocks for rear of Precious the series 2 xj6 , landed for $261 compared to $ 540 from melbourne, i rang to tell them why i didnt shop local, The reply i got was ( you must have bought them from the same place as us) before he dropped the phone.
Darrell