BMW Madness

[Siyaman]

So yesterday morning the starter on my E90 decided finally call it quits.Luckily the car was parked at home,so I decided to call BMW Auto Atlantic and get a quote to replace the starter.The price they gave me almost gave me a heart attack,R9800 and this was excluding labour to fit it on.I ended up getting one from Diesel Electric for R1700 which looks exactly like the one we took off,Bosch.
Now I'm wondering why is there such a big difference in prices between what i paid and what the stealers are charging for what is essentially the same thing.Unless what Diesel Electric is selling is a pirate Bosch part.Maybe someone can clarify on that but I would never pay close to R10000 for a starter motor.


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[Donovan2412]

I've never heard of Diesel Electric selling pirate parts. Their reputation is good.

 

[moranor@axis]

what you see there is motorplan inflation :rollsmile:

 

[Straight six]

Don't look at Diesel for faults

They charged accordingly...(fairly)

Bosch is Bosch...

The fault is sitting with "Stealers"....

How can the same product cost 4 times more....Does the "BMW" packaging cost that much??

 

[Nick]

You pay for the R&D it took to develop the part.

 

[Coisman]

I might be wrong, but BMW gives a 2 year warrantee on all parts and work done, so maybe that also boosts the price... maybe John from Leo Haese can add some input here?? :dunno:

 

[JohnLod]

Hi,

If I may mention something and I know there is going to be commentary on this. The advantage Bosch has is that they import directly from their mother company. With BMW it would work as follows in a nut shell:
Client orders from dealer -> dealer orders from BMW SA ->BMW SA orders from BMW AG=Germany ->BMW AG orders from part manufacturer.
Any one that does business knows that there is always an expense and mark up when goods are sold on. The mark up isn't as much as you would think but it starts adding up when in has 3-4 links in the chain and it is done in Euro's.
Some of the grey/pirate products also get produced locally which also naturally helps keep the costs down. There is often a difference in the quality of the materials used. I know in the past (not sure about today) were some of the body panels look identical, the difference was in the thickness of the material used. I know that BMW SA is trying to get permission from BMW AG to try get local manufacturers on some components but end of the day it is BMW AG that makes the rules.
It may not mean much to some but BMW gives a 2 year warranty (on most components) were as local warranties vary from 3-12 months. I think CPA stipulates 6 months though.

Regards

 

[WIDEOPN-X5]

Diesel Electric premises - Neat tiled floor (?) Melamine Counter(?) built on facebrick wall (?) and cheerful sales people behind the counter to help

BMW Dealership premises - fancy ceramic tiles (?) designer furniture in abundance (?) capuchino / esspresso bar with nibbles (?) mood lighting (?) massive spares stock holding including slow moving items.....

I suspect this may go some way to explaining why BMW spares out of a BMW branded cardboard box cost more than say a GUD filter for a BMW out of a GUD box from the local spares shop....

:rollsmile:

 

[Siyaman]

Hi,

If I may mention something and I know there is going to be commentary on this. The advantage Bosch has is that they import directly from their mother company. With BMW it would work as follows in a nut shell:
Client orders from dealer -> dealer orders from BMW SA ->BMW SA orders from BMW AG=Germany ->BMW AG orders from part manufacturer.
Any one that does business knows that there is always an expense and mark up when goods are sold on. The mark up isn't as much as you would think but it starts adding up when in has 3-4 links in the chain and it is done in Euro's.
Some of the grey/pirate products also get produced locally which also naturally helps keep the costs down. There is often a difference in the quality of the materials used. I know in the past (not sure about today) were some of the body panels look identical, the difference was in the thickness of the material used. I know that BMW SA is trying to get permission from BMW AG to try get local manufacturers on some components but end of the day it is BMW AG that makes the rules.
It may not mean much to some but BMW gives a 2 year warranty (on most components) were as local warranties vary from 3-12 months. I think CPA stipulates 6 months though.

Regards

Hi John,
Does the 2 year warranty apply even if i have the starter fitted at an independent mechanic? Because i wonder what the labour cost was going to be like on top of the R9800


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[Coisman]

Hi,

If I may mention something and I know there is going to be commentary on this. The advantage Bosch has is that they import directly from their mother company. With BMW it would work as follows in a nut shell:
Client orders from dealer -> dealer orders from BMW SA ->BMW SA orders from BMW AG=Germany ->BMW AG orders from part manufacturer.
Any one that does business knows that there is always an expense and mark up when goods are sold on. The mark up isn't as much as you would think but it starts adding up when in has 3-4 links in the chain and it is done in Euro's.
Some of the grey/pirate products also get produced locally which also naturally helps keep the costs down. There is often a difference in the quality of the materials used. I know in the past (not sure about today) were some of the body panels look identical, the difference was in the thickness of the material used. I know that BMW SA is trying to get permission from BMW AG to try get local manufacturers on some components but end of the day it is BMW AG that makes the rules.
It may not mean much to some but BMW gives a 2 year warranty (on most components) were as local warranties vary from 3-12 months. I think CPA stipulates 6 months though.

Regards

:ty:

 

[JohnLod]

Hi,

If I may mention something and I know there is going to be commentary on this. The advantage Bosch has is that they import directly from their mother company. With BMW it would work as follows in a nut shell:
Client orders from dealer -> dealer orders from BMW SA ->BMW SA orders from BMW AG=Germany ->BMW AG orders from part manufacturer.
Any one that does business knows that there is always an expense and mark up when goods are sold on. The mark up isn't as much as you would think but it starts adding up when in has 3-4 links in the chain and it is done in Euro's.
Some of the grey/pirate products also get produced locally which also naturally helps keep the costs down. There is often a difference in the quality of the materials used. I know in the past (not sure about today) were some of the body panels look identical, the difference was in the thickness of the material used. I know that BMW SA is trying to get permission from BMW AG to try get local manufacturers on some components but end of the day it is BMW AG that makes the rules.
It may not mean much to some but BMW gives a 2 year warranty (on most components) were as local warranties vary from 3-12 months. I think CPA stipulates 6 months though.

Regards

Hi John,
Does the 2 year warranty apply even if i have the starter fitted at an independent mechanic? Because i wonder what the labour cost was going to be like on top of the R9800


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The 2 year warranty would depend on the part. In some cases if the fitment required special tools and the part failed due to incorrect fitment then the warranty would not cover it, each case would be on their own merit. As a basic guide line, say you fitted a vanos and it failed within the warranty period and a private garage fitted it, the process would then be that the vehicle gets booked in at a BMW dealer and they would then diagnose the fault. If the part had failed due to a manufacturing fault and not a fitment issue, then yes the part would be covered and be fitted under warranty. If is found not to be the part failure, the costs would be for the clients account. Electronics is a touchy subject, especially when programming/coding is involved. Once again. each case would be on its own merits.
Please note that this is MY basic explanation.

regards

 

[AdiS]

Thanks for the input, John.

It is just a reality that sometimes you can get the same part direct from the original manufacturer at a far cheaper price than BMW. Having said this, I have also seen times where BMW has been the cheapest option, or very close to the aftermarket part price, in which case you may as well get the original part with the warranty.

Conclusion - always start with the dealer, and the research the rest of the market for alternatives and then make an informed decision.

 

[JohnLod]

Thanks for the input, John.

It is just a reality that sometimes you can get the same part direct from the original manufacturer at a far cheaper price than BMW. Having said this, I have also seen times where BMW has been the cheapest option, or very close to the aftermarket part price, in which case you may as well get the original part with the warranty.

Conclusion - always start with the dealer, and the research the rest of the market for alternatives and then make an informed decision.

That is correct, if you take some E90 clutch kits are cheaper from the dealer than non original parts.

 

[tman]

Drugs. They use a lot of it!

 

[Siyaman]

Thanks for the input, John.

It is just a reality that sometimes you can get the same part direct from the original manufacturer at a far cheaper price than BMW. Having said this, I have also seen times where BMW has been the cheapest option, or very close to the aftermarket part price, in which case you may as well get the original part with the warranty.

Conclusion - always start with the dealer, and the research the rest of the market for alternatives and then make an informed decision.

I have always done this and most of the time if the dealers are expensive the margins are not the huge but in this instance i was shocked that there can be an R8000 difference for what is essentially the same thing.Its not like BMW have their own special part they make.Its the same part from same manufacturer. I could buy 5 starters for what BMW is charging.


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[Straight six]

Hence i'm surprised when someone mentioned that we pay for the research & development of that part....

Part is by Bosch what would BM have developed in a starter??

 

[Luis Malhou]

I needed the 6 screws on the cabin filter cover on my E90.. after discount R250??? Marouns, same skrew.. R21 for 12...some skrew loose LOOSE HERE!!.

Also just to add to what John says, BMW buys tons of starters for their cars from Bosch, when you order from BMW local dealer they are not asking for Bosch Germany etc. They are drawing from BMW Germany stock. R1700 to R9800???
Im a big BMW fan and own a few and try to use OEM when i can especially on my classics, but its a ripoff in most cases.