Latest Australian E30 Parts Horror Story

Fri Apr 10, 2009 2:37 am

Ok guys, you are all probably sick of me whinging about genuine parts from BMW dealers down under but couldn't resist this one...
went into local BMW Autohaus the other day looking for a temp sensor. Gave parts guy the part number and he came up with a price of AUS $126 (that's almost 60 quid folks!!)
I laughed (he looked upset by this) and said I would pass. I had checked the price with an independent Euro parts dealer (Imparts) and they got it for me for $19.
Someone around here is making a major fortune...I want some

Fri Apr 10, 2009 3:33 am

Hmm can you tell me the name of both places please??? Obviously im in Aust to, If you cant post it can you pm me mate..

Mike

Fri Apr 10, 2009 6:52 am

Hobart Autohaus is the BMW dealer and Imparts is the independent dealer

Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:08 am

Have you guys down under investigated having bits sent from UK or Germany?Would that be cost effective?

Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:42 am

My experience has been that you get what you pay for. I've completely deleted euro car parts from all my directories as I got sick of either the wrong part being suppliede, the quality was crap or the part failed early.

I've had better luck with german and swedish but the last thing I need is a 330ci coming back to me with the brake wear indicator lit again when it's just had new discs and pads!!

The culprit? The shite rear wear sensor bought from GSF

95% of all bits I need come from the main dealer.

Fri Apr 10, 2009 9:08 am

B7 wrote: 95% of all bits I need come from the main dealer.

+1, same here too

Fri Apr 10, 2009 9:38 am

we fit gsf and euro parts to all make of cars with no problems you just have to remember they do about 3 different qualities . cheap is cheap for a reason at the end of the day so its all ways worth asking about different brands . euro do sk ball joints and suspension parts for bmw or if you want to pay a bit more they do lemforder witch is oe quality a bit more expensive but you do have to pay for quality

Fri Apr 10, 2009 9:44 am

dano0 wrote:we fit gsf and euro parts to all make of cars with no problems you just have to remember they do about 3 different qualities . cheap is cheap for a reason at the end of the day so its all ways worth asking about different brands . euro do sk ball joints and suspension parts for bmw or if you want to pay a bit more they do lemforder witch is oe quality a bit more expensive but you do have to pay for quality

by that statment im guessing you work in a garage how do you no how long the parts will last after the car has left the work shop as you may not ever see that car again on your own car is where it counts

Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:04 am

as a garage we need repeat business and referrals so we don't fit cheap parts that will go wrong in 500 miles even if we did they all come with 12 months parts and labour guarantee
But your right on my car genuine or nothing . the thing is some people cant afford bmw prices that's why gsf and euro are about .i was just saying you can get aftermarket parts witch are reliable and a bit cheaper if you ask for better quality not how cheap you can get it

Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:14 am

dano0 wrote:we fit gsf and euro parts to all make of cars with no problems you just have to remember they do about 3 different qualities . cheap is cheap for a reason at the end of the day so its all ways worth asking about different brands . euro do sk ball joints and suspension parts for bmw or if you want to pay a bit more they do lemforder witch is oe quality a bit more expensive but you do have to pay for quality

And 9 times out of 10, both companies want similar prices to Main dealers for their quality parts. Which defeats the object in my mind.

Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:23 am

the bloke i work with has a e46 m3 priced all the filters through bmw well over £200 priced up through ecp about 120 ish all mahile filters witch is what he took out brake pads are textar available from gsf and the brake pads he took out are textar with a bmw badge so you can get genuine parts cheaper than main dealer if you do a bit of home work
But if you can save your self a few quid why not

Fri Apr 10, 2009 12:57 pm

But in Oz, you don't have the availability of GSF and Euro. There's main dealer and imparts. Oh, and the local garage with all the contacts in his books and some scrappies. Else, there's nowt all. Not looking forward to coming back. Might have to load up the container with parts!

Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:04 pm

or some ecp mules

Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:18 pm

Well recon sumone on hear will post to you. Have you contacted Cotsworld or the likes?

Fri Apr 10, 2009 2:24 pm

B7 wrote:
dano0 wrote:we fit gsf and euro parts to all make of cars with no problems you just have to remember they do about 3 different qualities . cheap is cheap for a reason at the end of the day so its all ways worth asking about different brands . euro do sk ball joints and suspension parts for bmw or if you want to pay a bit more they do lemforder witch is oe quality a bit more expensive but you do have to pay for quality
And 9 times out of 10, both companies want similar prices to Main dealers for their quality parts. Which defeats the object in my mind.

This is very true, you have to be careful as some parts actually cost more than the dealer supplied stuff!

Fri Apr 10, 2009 2:33 pm

Google BM-Auto Engineering. They're Perth based and specialize in E30's, and they are fucking awesome. Prices are amazing. The owner doesn't look at it at a business, but a hobby.

Seriously, check em out

Sat Apr 11, 2009 2:52 am

Might have to load up the container with parts!

Find me a good set of 15" Basket weaves and I'll make it worth your while!! You wouldn't believe the price of them here - if you can get them at all

Sat Apr 11, 2009 2:54 am

DanThe wrote:
B7 wrote:
dano0 wrote:we fit gsf and euro parts to all make of cars with no problems you just have to remember they do about 3 different qualities . cheap is cheap for a reason at the end of the day so its all ways worth asking about different brands . euro do sk ball joints and suspension parts for bmw or if you want to pay a bit more they do lemforder witch is oe quality a bit more expensive but you do have to pay for quality
And 9 times out of 10, both companies want similar prices to Main dealers for their quality parts. Which defeats the object in my mind.
This is very true, you have to be careful as some parts actually cost more than the dealer supplied stuff!

All interesting comments but the real issue here is that I can buy genuine BMW parts from UK or USA for a fraction (and I'm talking 25% or so) of the cost of getting them here. Now come one, postage isn't that much, especially for a temp sensor!!

Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:57 am

surely that must mean theres a gap in the market why not try to fill it ?

Sat Apr 11, 2009 2:52 pm

A brazillian chap mentioned to me recently that a litre of Pentosin (BMW only PS/SLS fluid for tourings and M5s) is over £20 there. I bought 3 here for under £20 from my local dealership.
I get trade at my local dealer parts counter but regardless thats a massive difference.

I reckon it might be worth picking a couple of random part numbers and checking prices for the same parts in different countries. That way we could get best value for money internationally.

Sat Apr 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Jables wrote:Google BM-Auto Engineering. They're Perth based and specialize in E30's, and they are ******* awesome. Prices are amazing. The owner doesn't look at it at a business, but a hobby.

Seriously, check em out

+1 Rubin is a top bloke. He breaks a few cars and has lots of used parts.I was in Perth last november to sell my M635 that had sat in my parents garage for 12 years. Rubin sorted me out lots of bits . Nothing cost more than a bottle of wild turkey !

Saturday barbecues are good to !