How is the quality? I've heard moaning about gsf. Suspect it is variable and can't identify how good something is until buying and trying..
Does it matter if you don't use the exact screw, I was brought up with the make do and mend and fix it up cheap mentality. I keep lots of jam jars full of nuts bolts screws and so on, I wouldn't dream of paying £6 for one screw, better to spend that on fuel. Folks moan a lot about gsf but they do have the stuff and its cheap, instead of doing mail order to VWH or JK and others, with gsf you can pop in and see it and buy it. Buying from JK and VWH and others does not guarantee quality, they are businesses and need to buy in low and sell high to pay for their big overheads like premises and staff etc. With fuel costs on the up again big time, saving money on parts is a must.
Yea , so have I , but don't think it's any different to anybody else's stuff , it's all junk lol , it was in a Euro parts box , and seems ok , it's going to be a good wile before I use it as I'm building up an engine
Right, I didn't realise there was any issue with gsf until I heard the moaning. The other week I was looking at front light rims - £40 each was the best price for "good quality" metal ones, and I'm not even sure that they don't tarnish. £10 each for plastic ones which look fine as far as I'm concerned. (Not from gsf but another supplier) JK and the others said they don't stock the plastic ones, I guess maybe the margins are too low. Only problem now is the rim screw. Whoever thought that a corroding-metal screw was sensible in a place that traps water is an idiot.
i've been looking at leather merc swivel seats ,850 pounds or from the same place vw t4/5 1850 pounds...
There is a way of balancing the scene tax instead of charging £4 for a screw , but it depends on the scale of sales . bear with me on this one:- Supermarkets know exactly what you buy and when , they can record every purchase against the bank card you use, that's why they always seem to have 75 pence off the Shampoo you buy once a month- just when you need the new shampoo and they print big banners promoting the "price cut" however they also know you buy six tins of beans each week so they just add 30 pence to each tin of beans, so you think your getting cheap shampoo but your actually paying more for the whole shop as they are adding £1.80 to your beans, but they done use big advertising banners to promote the increase in the price of beans. so Scene tax could be shared a little by adding , say a £1 to a £200 starter motor and drop the silly price of a screw , most wouldn't notice the £1 on the starter , but quite rightly we notice the silly price for a screw. the net result is the same essentialy we are still paying stupid money for a screw but we don't notice it , just like my analogy to shampoo and beans above the above are just examples and scales but do you get my drift. I am a tight Yorkshire man
Has anybody actually tried ordering them from their main VW dealer? I needed some of the special screws holding the instrument pod onto the dashboard and just went to the VW dealer who apologised for not having them in stock, explaining that I'd have to wait two or three days until they came in. They came in the next day and cost me 24p each.
I doubt that any of the VW parts retailers are that sophisticated, I expect they're just more-or-less adding a standard multiple across the board. The fact that they're all (except perhaps gsf) selling most of their stuff at the same price suggest that they're just looking at each other to determine how much of a mark-up they can get away with charging in the market. They're not a supermarket, that's a daft comparison IMO. They're retailers with a relatively small amount of product range, most of which comes from the same wholesalers. If the wholesale price increases (say by 20% due to currency fluctuation if the wholesaler is abroad), then standard retail accounting suggests that you increase the retail price by the same amount. Even though the difference in retail price is far higher than the difference in the wholesale price. You have to have a very large range of products and very enlightened/clever retail analyists to do it any other way - and I'm betting that the VW parts retailers don't have that. Instead, I'm sure they have various pressures from accountants to keep the prices high, and a captive audience with nowhere much else to go for the parts they need. Of course that's also a very precarious position to be in. A competitor who thought that the prices were ridiculous could undercut them (either with the same wholesale products or with others they got hold of in some other way) which could easily make the existing companies unstable - which in the long run could make the parts harder to get hold of. So going for cheaper alternatives might in the long term affect the supply of spares. On the other hand, it is an entirely understandable thing to do in this kind of market where the products are steeply increasing in price. Happy days.
Some very valid arguments . I suppose I was moaning about the cost on "principle" how can a screw cost £6... especially a screw used in that application which has no special properties ? It did seem overly expensive and really doesn't do much to garner trust or support for the supplier and with cash in short supply these days, overpricing just turns potencial custom elsewhere. I do think that JK are unique within the supply chain in that they have invested in having alternative parts manufactured in the UK that are much better quality than some of the offerings by long established manufacturers. There Preservation stuff especially the panels and metal parts are excellent. I knw where these parts are made and can attest to the dedication of the company that makes them who in addition to the sideline of making low volume VW parts, turn out some of the best classic car restorations in the country. I have found the Preservation stuff to be far better than some of the other available sheet metal parts and they dont appear to be overly expensive, despite being hand made in low volume. Perhaps with things like these screws they should offer an alternative part, alongside the concours part, that does the job, satisfies the budget, and still makes a profit as well as assist the enthusiast. I can get 100 similar screws for £16, If they were a quid each they would sell them easy and make a reasonable profit, leaving the £6 screw for the hardened 100 point concours restorer.. I have to admit here that after a wee request JK come through on the screws offering some flexibility and in so doing secured a heap of customer satisfaction and continued loyalty.. Wonder why they don't do loyalty cards ?
Nice to hear JK are open to the human touch. I think the parts they make themselves are a different thing - not so easy to compare with other brands on price, whereas most if the other bits are generic and from the same wholesale suppliers.
Good point, but what do they mean by 'the backing cover plate is no longer supplied with these rear light units'?? Are they selling just the lenses?
It’s the bulb holder cover that’s NLA. https://www.bbt4vw.com/en/catalogue...lder-cover-taillight-each-type-2-08-71-07-79/
The backing plate is the strip that clips to the back of the bulb holder, it encases the tail lamp wiring and stops muck getting in to the terminals of the bulb holder ... opps... to slow ... see above
I dont think that part has been easily available for a few years. It saves me having to take it off when the spade connectors pop off the Brazilian 'sort of 6.35mm' tags made out of folded metal which end up being both too thick and too wide, and the tail lights start doing strange things again.
i once had my Capri stood outside the house for a week after changing the clutch, i couldn't get the auto adjust clutch pedal to work , reluctantly i went to a ford dealers to replace a spring at the princely sum of 14 pence ( this was around 1970 and i earn t £18.90 a week )
