[MV] Original or Repo
King (landy@netpointer.com)
Sat, 02 Jan 1999 18:46:30 -0800
Gotta love this topic.
I deal with a lot of Land Rovers.Repairs,parts,servicing and so on.It
started as a hobby but became a hobby out of control.Having worked as a
mechanic for many years and doing the British vehicle scene for many more
years one learns a lot about Repo and Genuine or Original.
Repo parts are made for one reason and that is to make money.Sure the
factory parts are too but they sell the vehicles on their research and
marketing and their parts are the back up.Most Repo parts suppliers and
manufacturers make and sell only parts.That is a whole different ball game
on quality.OK you will get some companies that make parts for the factories
and then put out thier own line but they are made to their own spec which
sometimes but mostly not of better or even equal quality.
For example-GM goes to monroe and says we want you to build us this shock
with these specs for this much.Or the specs are presented to Monroe and
Gabriel and the 2 companies bid for the contract.Now the same companies take
the specs of the shock and alter the unit enough to not be a patent
infringement and then manufacter thier own line and label and sell as
such.Sometimes this is better but not always.Here comes the real politics of
this.In North America all automotive parts must meet or exceed the SAE
standards.This makes the companies liable for thier product in case of
failure or such.In the UK such laws don't exist.You are on your own.Joe blow
down the street can sell you a wheel cylinder made of paper mache and if you
install it and it blows up then it is up to you as a individual to sue or
present the case to the courts and get compensated and this comes from your
pocket the costs untill settlement.Do you have that kind of money with in
reach to chase a law suit and support a lawyer(liar)?Big companies know most
don't and it's a numbers game just like recalls on vehicles.What's cheaper
$200,000 on law suits or 500,000 recalls to replace a $1 part?This is done
for each individual incident.What a scam for the legal profession eh?So the
common problem here with repo parts out of the UK is that there is a lot of
crap.I mean a lot of crap on the market for repo parts.It's all in the
marketing.They have boxes that use the same labeling as the factory.They
call the parts OEM,original,Genuine,etc.They use the same names as the
companies that have the factory contracts and so on.It is a major scam in my
opinion and this type of marketing is starting to creap over here because it
is big business.One can see it with the made in china garbage for small
block chevs.I don't even like the stuff made in mexico and I can tell the
difference if it's made in mexico or CDN or US.But hey, the suits tell us
the quality is the same, all in the name of profits.
If someone knows more details on this story then please do enlighten me but
there is a rumor/story that goes like this.....
Some years ago,the British Government made a loan to India of a sizable
amount.It was agreed to be payed back thru trade of goods because India
doesn't have that much coin.The trade ministers got together and hashed out
a deal where some of the parts were manufactered in India to be Land Rover
parts.When the trade minister brought the parts back to the Land Rover
factory to check out it was all concluded as garbage suitable for scrap.The
Government told the Land Rover factory that they had to take these parts
because it was the only way that the loan could be payed back.So the suits
from Land Rover went back to the drawing board and concluded that if they
had a 20% recall rate on the parts that they could live with that.Now here
is how we get screwed.Most people don't know what is a good part and what
isn't so my best guess is that there could be as high as 50% crap that was
sold and mixed in with the good stuff.And most people don't complain because
of the hassle.What these pricks did was-instead of like VW when a part is
made in Germany it is labeled and priced as such,and when a part is made in
Brazil or Mexico it is priced and labeled as such(which is fair and honest
to the consumer).The suits from Land Rover(and a few other UK companies
jaguar included)took the made in India parts and stuffed them in the regular
made in the UK boxes and sold them at the made in the UK price.What a
profit.What a scam.and you are the sucker for it.
I live in CDN and have worked on many many vehicles over the years and one
thing is for sure.If the parts are made in USA,CDN or Germany(they have to
meet the DIN standard which is every bit as good if not better than SAE)then
you can be assured quality and safety.Made any where else,you had better
know what you are doing because it will be a gamble.
Also in all fairness to others if you sell a vehicle with lots of jobber or
aftermarket or repo parts then say so because it is not fair to the guys who
go the extra yard and seek out the factory stuff and pay the extra for it.
Repo parts are in my opinion(most of them anyways)car sales man parts.Fix it
just enough to get out the driveway.There is always the Idiot who thinks he
is smarter than the rest and thinks he can go one up by getting away with
aftermarket cheaper stuff.There is always a way to tell the difference.
Andre
===
To unsubscribe from the mil-veh mailing list, send the single word
UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of a message to <mil-veh-request@skylee.com>.