Hi

I was ordering some parts for my LUMP last night, ended up being $75 delivered in one order from Summit in the US, $95 putting the bits together on Ebay and $110 and beyond through local retail parts.

I also routinely buy BMW parts via Pelican Parts in the US. They are routinely 30%-50% cheaper landed in 7 days. Yet to do anything in the Jag world.

Part of me thinks I should be supporting local businesses, but the local businesses arent adding value, just adding cost. I can do exactly what they are just doing as long as I am happy to deal with my own stuff ups.

I guess I am running at about 80/20 import vs local. Local content seems to be either consumable stuff or bulky and heavy items like rotors , a/c compressors and the like. Knowing what I can buy for gives me some bargaining power and if I find a place that provides good service and can make money getting near my price (doesnt have to be under) I will buy locally.

Just wonder what other people experiences are. Any good places you recommend? Thoughts on the import/local thing?

 

Some of my experience here https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...tralia-104465/

I'd say i've imported 95% of the stuff i've bought for my Jags & the Land Rover, but in truth i'd love to be able to buy everything local.

Aftermarket stuff like brake pads, rotors, etc are cheaper OS and there is zero availability locally so a local rep would have to import them anyhow, so I may as well do that myself.

Genuine parts, 9 times out of 10 they are cheaper from OS even with shipping costs added in, although the gap may be closing now that the Aussie dollar has tanked, if the locals haven't put up their prices it may be close.

Usually i'd import it myself, with a few exceptions;

1. If the part is likely to get damaged in transit (big/bulky/fragile)
2. If it's in local stock & I need it urgently (has happened a few times)
3. If the price is "close enough" to not make it worth importing myself
4. If the part is hazardous & can't be airfreighted (this happened a week ago)

In saying that I did a reasonable sized spend with a local dealer last year;

one big-ticket item was bulky and would have cost a bomb to ship, they had in stock
one big-ticket item was same price to buy from them, taking shipping costs from UK into account, they had to bring it in
the rest were small bits & pieces (nuts, bolts, clips, like $2 each) which they had in stock

Sometimes the best deals are OS, I bought a used diff for the XJR off ebay in the US last year, arrived within a week and it was $200 including shipping with Fedex, you can't beat that, you just can't...

 

Supporting local is nice, but we're not charities are we? So it's about value, and I agree that there's no value in paying someone else to import for you when you can do it for less yourself.

In my case I'd import 80-90% of parts where cost of freight doesn't kill the value.

I've had good success with these suppliers:

* Black Country Jaguar - UK (new & used)
* The Gasket Shop - UK (new)
* Jaguar Classic Parts - UK (new - not cheap, but they have everything)

Locally I mainly use Jag Prestige in Ringwood for used/reco parts (they have some new stuff as well). They do good prices on Baldwin oil filters and IMO they are more competitive than Jagdaim, and in my case more convenient. They're also associated with Graham Ratcliff's.

If I'm getting a shop to do a repair (usually G. Ratcliff - excellent, highly recommend), I've found it more cost effective to buy a part direct from Jag Prestige and supply to the repairer. I found out the hard way (and Ratcliff's do load the price of a part sourced from Jag Prestige....)

 

I have been using Rimmer Bros UK for 3 x Service kits and 1 set of front and rear pads and sensors. Found the diesel fuel filter was the incorrect version as the water sensor from the original did not fit the supplied version. They are sourcing the correct parts and will supply without fuss or argument. Good old fashion service to date.

Mind you, when I went to have the rear pad wear sensor fitted, the mechanic indicated that the connectors were different (both female and different shapes) so I took a photo of the mechanic holding the two different connectors and sent it back to Rimmer. They went to Jaguar and have been waiting on a response for a while. Meanwhile, I went to a local dealer and asked for a rear pad wear sensor, and it was identical to the version supplied by Rimmers. What the...?

So, last weekend, back to the mechanic and up on the hoist to do a closer inspection. This time, I was under there myself and asked the mechanic to remove the connector again, which he did. I spotted the error immediately. He had removed the wheel speed sensor as opposed to the pad wear sensor. On closer inspection of the correct sensor, Rimmer and local Jaguar were both correct. So back to Rimmer with a profuse apology and they responded quite well but glad I was able to have resolved.

Anyway, we live and learn, again!

My last service cost was under $350.00 including parts, fluids and labour. My previous experience with a local dealer was north of $900 for a "B" service and then there were parts that they just did not change (air filter, fuel filter, pollen filter). How do I know? Because I took it in to my mechanic less than 2 weeks later and we inspected the parts that were supposed to have been replaced during a B service. So the local dealer is off my service options and I will have to be absolutely desperate to go back.

I have another unsavory experience with the same dealer and feel free to PM if you are interested in the detail.

 

Finally fitted my new EBC Red Stuff pads and original wear sensors today. With the aid of the Workshop manual (painstakingly downloaded from TOPIx), managed to go smoothly.

The difficult bit was finding all the correct tools, but once done, the pad change over went smoothly!

Ahhh, no more annoying message in the Instrument Panel. Yes, yes, yes!!!

 

Nice when it all goes smoothly :-)

I did a bunch of relatively small jobs on one car a few weeks ago and all the time I was thinking something going to go pear shaped soon, this is all going to well. All the better when there is a direct fix/feedback as well like putting out a light, fixing a miss , having a car that idles etc.

 

"My last service cost was under $350.00 including parts, fluids and labour"

Same or less. importing service kits a few at a time and buying the oil locally when on special = fuel,air and oil filters works out as cheap as an AU Falcon.

Last import Akebono Ultra Euro pads on all corners $125 inc.for all from US or one wheel from Pedders who import them. No contest. Local discs on ebay $120 a pair.

This Jag has been cheaper to service than a HQ....all with OEM parts. Our small market and the margin required to mark a profit after all the government and local councils have their bit means importing is growing. I won't mention the GST dodging part,just ignore that bit.

 

Its funny the perception people have that European cars are a) expensive and b) cost a fortune to run.

Usually I get a) from someone with a young SUV in the driveway and the have trouble believing that both may cars cost way less than their SUV.

The running cost just seems to be conventional wisdom but really only applies if you are defaulting to a dealership. My cars are cheaper than my wifes Subie to keep on the road, and I dont find that too crazy even though she is a dealership freak (given the resale on last couple of subies I dont argue at all anymore)