Opel - Parts Rip Off

Mikefitzs

For a few months now I can't open the boot on my Opel Zafira 2007 1.9CDTI. First I checked up what could be wrong on the Web. It all pointed that I needed to replace the micro switch on the boot door, because sometimes water gets in to it and causes damage.
I contacted Opel in limerick to get a price for the switch - €92 + VAT, I got a shock, I could tell by looking at it that it might be worth €20/30. Anyway got onto Vauxhall in EnnisKillen and bought the switch for €56 incl VAT.
I fitted the new switch but the damn boot still wouldn't open. I traced the cables back to the fuse box in the boot and lo and behold found a corroded pin inside a connector block inside the fuse box. Obviously water got in to it at some point when the boot was left open for a while and travelled along the wires.
To get to the rest of my disgust with Opel limerick.
I called them today to get a price to replace the fuse box.... are you sitting? €495 + VAT = €595
I called up Vauxhall in Enniskillen, guess what? I could stand again - £230 + VAT (€271 + VAT) They then offered me their "Trade VAT discount" because I had bought parts from them previously. £10 P&P

The lad in Opel told me that Opel Ireland set the prices for parts. isn't that price fixing if the garages can't set their own price?

Opel total €595
Vauxhall total €283

Saving of €312

Lads (Opel) are ye takin' the piss or what???????

Anyone else having any of the above experience?

mondeo

I was once quoted from a main dealer e-595 for a distrubutor for an old banger 92' civic I ran around in back in the day. Got the same part in the Uk dealer for 200 sterling. I was pretty satisfied:)

kasper

opel set the prices the dealer has no control over it at all , unless trade discount i am sure the other brands are the same .

Mr Benevolent

kasper wrote: »

opel set the prices the dealer has no control over it at all , unless trade discount i am sure the other brands are the same .

Opel parts are well known to be a ripoff in Ireland.

DublinDilbert

kasper wrote: »

opel set the prices the dealer has no control over it at all , unless trade discount i am sure the other brands are the same .

Sounds like Opel Ireland is setting the prices for the ROI.

The likes of BMW will have unified pricing for parts world wide, so you won't see major difference for the price of parts between ireland & england etc... The price of labor seems to be a different matter

Mikefitzs

Hard to believe why they're so expensive when their cousin accross the border is selling the same product at less than half price.
Have Irish companies learned nothing from the recession. Internet shopping and value for money is where we are all at these days.

kasper

the opel dealer in ireland doesnt have much choice opel sell them cars spare parts ,

Mikefitzs

kasper wrote: »

the opel dealer in ireland doesnt have much choice opel sell them cars spare parts ,

They need to cop on, they're not getting my hard earned cash:pac:

kasper

unless they start selling vauxhalls i dont see what they can do about it

Mikefitzs

kasper wrote: »

unless they start selling vauxhalls i dont see what they can do about it

Vauxhall and Opel are the same company selling the same cars and parts. They could do a lot about it. The parts are not branded with either name (unless it's the badge you need).
I'm looking to buy a fuse box made by Hella so it should be the same price North or South, shouldn't it? the price difference shouldn't be anymore than 20/25% for parts giving the VAT and currency difference.
120% is taking the piss really.

kasper

an opel dealer cant buy parts off vauxhall ,opel buy from GMDIL i think it is and vauxhall buy from a different company

I Love Tea

This isn't just confined to Opel. I recently needed a part for my car which is a Citroen. The dealer I went to had a Peugeot franchise aswell. I could get the Citroen part for 50euro but would have to wait a few days while I could have the identical Peugeot part next day for 85euro. Turns out the price difference is down to the Citroen in Ireland are now handled by Citroen UK while Peugeot are still being handled by an Irish distributor who's adding there own margin onto the price to the dealers

kasper

i suppose at the end of the day its up to the importers

furtzy

Found out my Opel dealer was making a huge profit on parts i.e 70% mark up Got my local indy to get the parts from opel Ireland at a much lower price....might be the same in this case.

Mikefitzs

I've checked around the country this morning. It's all lies :eek:, Opel are not setting the price for parts.
Same item is €441 + VAT in Louth, Waterford €420 + VAT

This shows that the dealer is charging whatever they see fit.
It's still too expensive so my cash will have to go to the Queen :mad: very sad indeed

Joe 90

I Love Tea wrote: »

This isn't just confined to Opel. I recently needed a part for my car which is a Citroen. The dealer I went to had a Peugeot franchise aswell. I could get the Citroen part for 50euro but would have to wait a few days while I could have the identical Peugeot part next day for 85euro. Turns out the price difference is down to the Citroen in Ireland are now handled by Citroen UK while Peugeot are still being handled by an Irish distributor who's adding there own margin onto the price to the dealers

That reminds me of when I had a Peugeot 104, back about 1980. It was cheaper to go into the Peugeot deal an derry and have a set of points fitted than it was just to buy them from the Peugeot dealer in Letterkenny.

Guy:Incognito

How can the northern dealer let you off with paying vat?
Also I dont think you'll get the XE rate on the currency, it'll work out a bit more than the €271

Mikefitzs wrote: »

I'm looking to buy a fuse box made by Hella so it should be the same price North or South, shouldn't it? .

Not really no. Do you think you'd get your job up north if you demanded the same wage as down here?

Peopel seem to forget teh fact that despite how close we are, the North is a seperate country, nothing to do with our prices, wgaes, tax etc.

ART6

Mikefitzs wrote: »

Hard to believe why they're so expensive when their cousin accross the border is selling the same product at less than half price.
Have Irish companies learned nothing from the recession. Internet shopping and value for money is where we are all at these days.

That bewilders me too. Nowadays I buy almost all tools and parts that I need over the Internet, and mostly they come from UK suppliers. Over the last couple of years I have saved over a grand at least like that. That's a grand less for Irish suppliers who keep squealing poverty.

Mikefitzs

Stekelly wrote: »

How can the northern dealer let you off with paying vat?

He gave me a discount equal to the VAT amount, VAT would still be paid.

Always look for money off, you never know you might just get it!

Mikefitzs

Stekelly wrote: »

How can the northern dealer let you off with paying vat?
Also I dont think you'll get the XE rate on the currency, it'll work out a bit more than the €271



Not really no. Do you think you'd get your job up north if you demanded the same wage as down here?

Peopel seem to forget teh fact that despite how close we are, the North is a seperate country, nothing to do with our prices, wgaes, tax etc.

Please check facts before posting. Look at todays exchange rate £1 = €1.18. £230 X 1.18 = €271.40.

Why are you commenting on my job, you don't know what my job is.
Those prices in the North are the same and sometimes more expensive than UK mainland prices. There is no justification for 120% difference between North and South.

The North is not a seperate country it's just ruled by a different state.

Guy:Incognito

Mikefitzs wrote: »

Please check facts before posting. Look at todays exchange rate £1 = €1.18. £230 X 1.18 = €271.40..

I did check, as i said thats what xe gives. Getting that rate is different though. It's usually a cent or two more (less? whatever makes it worse for the customer)

Mikefitzs wrote: »

Why are you commenting on my job, you don't know what my job is.
Those prices in the North are the same and sometimes more expensive than UK mainland prices. There is no justification for 120% difference between North and South.

It doesnt matter what your job is or even if you dont have a job. Wages and dole are higher here. Thats quite a big fatcor in the reason we pay more. If wages are higher, costs are higher meaning whatever is beign sold has to be more expensive. It's basic economics.

Sure you proved yourself you could have gotten it cheaper here and no doubt you could have gotten it dearer somewhere else in the UK.

Mikefitzs wrote: »

The North is not a seperate country it's just ruled by a different state.

It's owned, ruled taxed and everything else by the UK. it's certainly not part of the Republic of Ireland where I live.

Mikefitzs

Stekelly wrote: »

How can the northern dealer let you off with paying vat?
Also I dont think you'll get the XE rate on the currency, it'll work out a bit more than the €271



Not really no. Do you think you'd get your job up north if you demanded the same wage as down here?

Peopel seem to forget teh fact that despite how close we are, the North is a seperate country, nothing to do with our prices, wgaes, tax etc.

Apologies there on the currency bit. Yes there is 1% charge on that. €274

Mikefitzs

Stekelly wrote: »

I did check, as i said thats what xe gives. Getting that rate is different though. It's usually a cent or two more (less? whatever makes it worse for the customer)





It doesnt matter what your job is or even if you dont have a job. Wages and dole are higher here. Thats quite a big fatcor in the reason we pay more. If wages are higher, costs are higher meaning whatever is beign sold has to be more expensive. It's basic economics.

Sure you proved yourself you could have gotten it cheaper here and no doubt you could have gotten it dearer somewhere else in the UK.




It's owned, ruled taxed and everything else by the UK. it's certainly not part of the Republic of Ireland where I live.

Can you justify the 120% price difference given the 4% VAT difference the wage difference?

Social welfare payments have nothing to do with the cost of cars and car parts.

Guy:Incognito

Mikefitzs wrote: »

Can you justify the 120% price difference given the 4% VAT difference the wage difference?

Social welfare payments have nothing to do with the cost of cars and car parts.

It actually does. It's all about spending power.

And the difference isnt 120%. It's that difference netween the one place you used in the north and the dearest place you have here. Again, you proved yourself it could be gotten cheaper down here than the first place you checked.

If I find somewhere in the UK selling it for £400 + Vat that doesnt mean thats the UK price.

kasper

well its a free and open market you are entitled to buy where ever you want

Mikefitzs

Anyway, I was trying to get peoples input that have had similar experience with garages recently.

I still can't see how such a massive difference can be justified, I buy goods in my line of work everyday. I tender for contracts against northern companies regularly and we still win the business.

dirtydiesel

I was quoted 650e for a cat for my saab by a saab dealer in Tipperary, sourced the cat in the UK for 350e.

Anan1

Mikefitzs wrote: »

I still can't see how such a massive difference can be justified, I buy goods in my line of work everyday. I tender for contracts against northern companies regularly and we still win the business.

Given the ready availability of the same parts cheaper in the North, it's a strategy that will contribute towards garages going under here.

laura.

Mikefitzs wrote: »

For a few months now I can't open the boot on my Opel Zafira 2007 1.9CDTI. First I checked up what could be wrong on the Web. It all pointed that I needed to replace the micro switch on the boot door, because sometimes water gets in to it and causes damage.
I contacted Opel in limerick to get a price for the switch - €92 + VAT, I got a shock, I could tell by looking at it that it might be worth €20/30. Anyway got onto Vauxhall in EnnisKillen and bought the switch for €56 incl VAT.
I fitted the new switch but the damn boot still wouldn't open. I traced the cables back to the fuse box in the boot and lo and behold found a corroded pin inside a connector block inside the fuse box. Obviously water got in to it at some point when the boot was left open for a while and travelled along the wires.
To get to the rest of my disgust with Opel limerick.
I called them today to get a price to replace the fuse box.... are you sitting? €495 + VAT = €595
I called up Vauxhall in Enniskillen, guess what? I could stand again - £230 + VAT (€271 + VAT) They then offered me their "Trade VAT discount" because I had bought parts from them previously. £10 P&P

The lad in Opel told me that Opel Ireland set the prices for parts. isn't that price fixing if the garages can't set their own price?

Opel total €595
Vauxhall total €283

Saving of €312

Lads (Opel) are ye takin' the piss or what???????

Anyone else having any of the above experience?

And I bet if it was a woman who rang it would have been more expensive again (in RoI). I went to a garage one time looking for a trade in and found the perfect car, he wanted 15k along with my own, came home and got him to ring him and he wanted 9,500e straight sale :mad: . I always buy my car parts in the north, you never get the same value here as you do in the north imho

quad_red

laura. wrote: »

And I bet if it was a woman who rang it would have been more expensive again (in RoI). I went to a garage one time looking for a trade in and found the perfect car, he wanted 15k along with my own, came home and got him to ring him and he wanted 9,500e straight sale :mad:

Cheeky!

arnelv

Believe it or not, you can buy the same/original part at half the price. same manufacturer .the only difference is the Opel packaging..since then i start sourcing my parts with my trusted mechanic. :eek:

furtzy

I did the same and the dealership that was ripping me off has been closed and liquidated so I guess the market is taking care of these rip off practices