Euro car parts pulling a fast one ?

[Andyb712]

Hi all need some lower control arms for my astra h vxr

My question is basically when I check with all the tuners such as courtney, rnd etc

They all list the lower control arms as identical on the astra g and h and also the zafira a and b

Basically all 4 cars share the same part

Yet on euro car parts if I price up left and right control arms via my reg the price is like £140 for moog ones

Yet if I price up some moog ones via an astra g gsi reg lifted from the internet

They come out at £80 less

They have different part numbers too via my reg and the lifted astra g reg

Even though according to almost everywhere online they are the exact same part shared by all 4 models regardless of individual vehicle spec engine size fuel type etc etc

So my question is it feels like they are just putting the price up based on the fact that mine is the newer vxr

Vs the older astra g which are a lot cheaper

It's almost like they have different part numbers online on the website yet the staff just grab the same part from the same bin/storage location in the back of the shop?

Anyone got any thoughts or experienced anything similar?

Cheers all

[mcflurry]

Maybe the standard ones are made of different materials, even if the upgrade ones fit all models?

[Andyb712]

mcflurry said:

Maybe the standard ones are made of different materials, even if the upgrade ones fit all models?

That's a good point but even a lot of ebay listings for any off brand version arms say they fit all modes

The only difference I could see between the models via the euro items would be the ball joint quality if their even is any

Which wouldn't matter to me as I have two new separate bolt on ball joints in the garage

[Scrump]

Buy the cheaper ones then.

[Condi]

Buy the cheaper one, if it doesn't fit take it back. You can hardly blame ECP if it doesn't though!

[steveo3002]

ecp isnt the best at accurate listings , if owners clubs etc tell you xx part fits then go for that

[Sheepshanks]

What's the returns policy - can you buy both sets and see how they compare, then send the ones back that you don't need?

[Limpet]

steveo3002 said:

ecp isnt the best at accurate listings , if owners clubs etc tell you xx part fits then go for that

I agree with this. They're often called Euro Wrong Parts for a good reason.

Based on bitter experience, I no longer buy from ECP unless I have the opportunity to get a good look at the old part first and take it in for comparison. I have lost count of the number of parts I've got home and found to not fit. And not obscure stuff either. Brake pads and clutch cylinders for Fords and VWs, for example.

The part numbers and fitments on their website are often wrong.

[Andyb712]

Cheers for all the replies guys appreciate

Spoke to my mate who works for an independent garage and he said euro are notorious for doing this

He said just buy the g ones and see if they match up to the originals which they no doubt will

Luckily I'm pretty friendly with a lass from the local car scene that works there

So I shouldn't have any issues replacing them if need be

Just think it stinks they charge more for the exact same part just because its a higher spec version car they are being fitted to lol cheeky buggers

Edited by Andyb712 on Saturday 29th August 19:35

[AW10]

It might be worth checking another sire like buycarparts.co.uk to see what part numbers they list.

[loskie]

autodoc are pretty good for part no's

[Andyb712]

Cheers all ordered the g version via euro

£63 in total vs £200 searching via my own reg without the euro discount code, the code brings them down to £140 via my reg

Even checked the genuine Vauxhall part numbers and it's the exact same part number for all 4 vehicles

So I'm basically 100% convinced it's just euro using dodgy underhand tactics and massively upelling based purely on vehicle spec

Wonder how many others have been had by this tactic lol cheeky sods

[PhillipM]

It's very common with performance variants to have stiffer bushings even if they are physically the same dimensions. That's probably why the part numbers are different. Happens a lot with engine mounts too.

[normalbloke]

PhillipM said:

It's very common with performance variants to have stiffer bushings even if they are physically the same dimensions. That's probably why the part numbers are different. Happens a lot with engine mounts too.

Exactly. Mk1 Focus RS has larger bolts holding the lower arms in. Arms are otherwise the same as the normal Focus,apart from an urban story about internal bracing, which has never been proved...

[Auntieroll]

Even checked the genuine Vauxhall part numbers and it's the exact same part number for all 4 vehicles

If Vauxhall quote the same part numbers then they will be identical.

[Drive it fix it repeat]

ECP are generally a bunch of cretins IME. Unfortunate as they do some impressively good prices at times and very convenient. Sadly I'm fed up of getting cheaply made rubbish or more often the wrong parts sometimes the right parts, for some other random car.