Worth considering spares prices when considering your purchase. Of late I have been amazed at VW prices, even more so when you consider they have been required on 4/5 year old cars.
- Polo A/C compressor - VW price £931 incl VAT, my supplier for same Sanden compressor, including shipping and VAT £699
- Polo Expansion valve - VW price £148, my supplier from Valeo £59
- Passat condenser - VW price £502, mine £249
- Passat expansion valve - VW price £148, mine from Valeo £59
Just goes to show 2 things, firstly the VW quality is no better than anything else, and someone somewhere is making a lot of money.
|
|
you forget one thing the VW parts will have VW on the box and that costs a fortune in printing costs
|
|
|
I had to replace the fuel pump on a Polo I owned around 7 years ago. The factored part cost around £20. The VW part was about £70 (if you pay cash and I knock off the VAT etc).
The thing was, I was told that pump failures on that model of Polo were common so why would I want to pay extra for a part that I knew was rubbish?
|
|
|
VW owners rarely buy genuine parts but when they do they know which ones to buy from VAG.
An example, HJ says in his breakdown of Golf MkII's that rear calipers are £300 each - they are not - they are £120 genuine VAG. Many owners buy pattern calipers only for them to fail a year later.
Sometimes there *is* a difference.
VAG oil filters contain a one-way valve to ensure the filter remains charged - pattern parts don't.
I would *never* put pattern parts in key locations such as brakes, cam-belts/chains or lube systems. Even non-Hella headlights are a false economy.
I agree that VW parts are pricey but in most cases you do get what you pay for (& the parts girl at Silver Street VW in Taunton is a bit tasty)
The *biggest* VAG rip-off has to be their £16 each number plates.
How many 150,000+ mile 10-15 year old pristine condition Ford Escorts/Vauxhall Astras/Peugeot 205's do you see on the open road???? Now question VAG part prices?!
|
Guy,
Before I start this isn't an anti VW response, I just don't see them as uniquely brilliant.
On the pattern part angle you are a little over critical. I wonder what you class as pattern? Anything without the VW label?
Taking the oil filter. I have heard that old comment about "I wouldn't touch a pattern filter as they don't have the anti-drain valve" so many times but it isn't really true. I buy pattern filters from many decent trade sources and they always have the correct valving.
Do you mean pattern as in parts from the large discount VW/M.B/Saab/Cit-Pug suppliers? I recently had a £250 order from Andyspares for Cit-Pug parts and all bits were OE. The oil filters at £2.45 +vat were Citroen, braking parts were Lucas and Bendix, filters same as on the car from new, timing belt ditto. No complaints at all.
If you mean Halfords for example I know (source in marketing research dept) many of their parts are OE or above OE spec. Some of their timing belts are really excellent. If you compare their distributor caps with the Lucas ones on the same stand the Halfords ones are often better finished and close to original.
Now if you mean never heard of brands at the boot sales well that is another matter. And I would support you in some of the pattern older Land Rover parts. There is such a huge trade worldwide in these LR bits that there is rubbish made in all corners of the world. You find it in plain white boxes with just a part number marked on. Some of these bits don't last five minutes.
Now as to the uniqueness of the 150,000ml 10yr old VW. You know what's coming as you read the threads a lot but........we have a rust free, smooth performing BXTD at 11yrs and 215,000mls+. I am also trying to replace it with a 10yr old BX that has covered 241,000mls without becoming a wreck...and BXs are rubbish aren't they.
I think the key to this is that the VW owners love their cars and look after them. They hold their value so well that at a given age they cost a lot more, hence they often have more spent on them.
I will repeat I'm not anti VW but the experience of the two makes in the family at present (8yr old Golf 1.8GL vs 8yr old ZXTD) shows little between them.
David
|
|
Logic convinces me that you have the correct explanation for the apparent superiority of VWs on the road - they have a 'residual value' advantage which encourages their owners to spend more on keeping their resale value up (tho' this must be somewhat chicken/egg). My H and K-reg 205s are the 10th and 11th examples owned by my family, and I can only think of one significant bit of corrosion on any of them - in the rear door of the oldest (B-reg) which must have been a bit of dodgy metal. By 10 years old, though, 205s are mostly worth 3-figure sums so owners lose heart. However 'bangernomics' is spreading to more models - anyone care to predict the effect on VWs ?
|
|
|
|
|
The same goes for Audi parts....if you have seen the advert where a kangaroo is made up of A4 bits - I guess the Audi parts prices would at least equal the cost of an A4. I usually buy OEM parts (Garrett Wright in Slough and others) and the quality seems good. Are some of these parts perhaps original supplier without the VAG re-boxing?
|
|
|
I feel that David is right in his assesment of VW spares. And I think it is worth considering who actually makes them anyway.
The post war Wolfsburg factories with huge chimneys burning away as they built the beetles has long gone.
VW source their compnents I imagine exactly the same way as any mass car manufacturer form hundreds of suppliers.
Their assembly lines in different parts of Europe will no doubt have lorries pouring in bringing bits and pieces from all the usual companies.
Oil filters for example will be coming in from Fram, Mahler, AC Delco with the VW name on them. I can't imagine for one moment that VW have their own dedicated factory making them.
I think that they are just good cars with a good sales technique which by making them more expensive than similar vehicles, attracts more discerning owners who feel they are getting something a bit special.
If this wasn't true how can their satellite companies (Seat, Skoda) make virtually the same cars with the same components so much cheaper?
Alvin
|
|
|
