Who do you use for parts?
Discussion
I do all my own repairs, servicing etc and in the middle of sorting out some stuff underneath. I ordered a couple of parts from Powers Performance - used the 'wish list' email - and a couple of items from TVR Parts over the weekend.
On Monday morning (yesterday) received an email from Powers asking for payment and this morning the parts came as promised. Excellent helpful service.
Received a confirmation email from TVR Parts with the order details at the time of placing the order. Having heard nothing this morning made a quick call to find out when they would come. The parts were not in stock but their website did not mention this. They said they were chasing up their suppliers. This was very disappointing as I need the gearbox seal before refitting everything! The owner of this company then spoke to me. Very, very quickly this became an argument and I was amazed at the non-existent level of customer service. All I wanted to know was when my parts would arrive: hardly an unreasonable request? The previous order I made just over a fortnight ago with them never arrived either. They gave the courier the wrong address.
I have asked TVR Parts to cancel the order and to delete me from their database. I am in urgent need of the parts so phoned Powers and they will be here in the morning
So, I will use Powers when I can but who else does anyone recommend for an efficient, pleasant and helpful service?
On Monday morning (yesterday) received an email from Powers asking for payment and this morning the parts came as promised. Excellent helpful service.
Received a confirmation email from TVR Parts with the order details at the time of placing the order. Having heard nothing this morning made a quick call to find out when they would come. The parts were not in stock but their website did not mention this. They said they were chasing up their suppliers. This was very disappointing as I need the gearbox seal before refitting everything! The owner of this company then spoke to me. Very, very quickly this became an argument and I was amazed at the non-existent level of customer service. All I wanted to know was when my parts would arrive: hardly an unreasonable request? The previous order I made just over a fortnight ago with them never arrived either. They gave the courier the wrong address.
I have asked TVR Parts to cancel the order and to delete me from their database. I am in urgent need of the parts so phoned Powers and they will be here in the morning
So, I will use Powers when I can but who else does anyone recommend for an efficient, pleasant and helpful service?
JWzed said:
I have always found Racetech to be good. Ordered the bulk of my spares from them when I did my body off refurb. 
Yes, I have used Racetech in the past when I got my Powerflex suspension bushes from them. Good service but their prices seemed a bit higher? They do have a big list of parts so will keep them in mind.PhilH42 said:
No business is perfect lets be honest and the list of available parts is impressive now, so they have clearly worked hard on that aspect....but lack of quality and service can undo that pretty quick.
Oh yes, definitely agree with you and the owner was quick to point out 'how hard they were working on obtaining parts to keep my car on the road'. Unfortunately the customer 'care' side is letting them down. Between Powers and Racetech I hope I can find the parts in the future.TwinKam said:
With 37 years in the trade, I do my best to avoid the 'main dealer' and his inflated prices where I can, and source the same quality part from alternative suppliers ('OE' parts made by Bosch, Hengst, SKF, Siemens etc etc) There are exceptions and it pays to check not only prices, but delivery times & costs.
So my answer is, whoever is offering best value at the time, like for like.
Before I started the recent work on my Cerbera, I made a spread sheet of the parts that I needed, comparing prices across all the 'usual suspects'. Firstly I was surprised to find that not all the parts available from the 'aftermarket' were available from the 'main dealer' ie TVR Parts Ltd (eg, head nuts, piston rings, pump lock tab...) And I was astonished to find the variation in prices, with TVR Parts Ltd being cheaper for nearly all of the parts that I needed (cf the price of the main pump shaft between TVR Parts Ltd and Powers...).
Consequently TVR Parts Ltd saw the vast majority of my spend. I latched onto Martin (who just happened to answer my initial call) and found him pleasant, efficient and helpful; he even located an 'unavailable' pump drive gear for me s/hand at a very reasonable price. There were a couple of minor slips but these were sorted immediately and without further cost to me. Delivery was next day although I have called to collect from them on a couple of occasions.
I have also dealt with Racetech, Powers and ACT and found them all equally helpful but due to my recent experience with them I have no problem in sticking up for TVR Parts Ltd.
As we know the dealer prices are often much higher but on the other hand, the part usually fits properly first time without a fight so it can be a balance depending on budget and capability.So my answer is, whoever is offering best value at the time, like for like.
Before I started the recent work on my Cerbera, I made a spread sheet of the parts that I needed, comparing prices across all the 'usual suspects'. Firstly I was surprised to find that not all the parts available from the 'aftermarket' were available from the 'main dealer' ie TVR Parts Ltd (eg, head nuts, piston rings, pump lock tab...) And I was astonished to find the variation in prices, with TVR Parts Ltd being cheaper for nearly all of the parts that I needed (cf the price of the main pump shaft between TVR Parts Ltd and Powers...).
Consequently TVR Parts Ltd saw the vast majority of my spend. I latched onto Martin (who just happened to answer my initial call) and found him pleasant, efficient and helpful; he even located an 'unavailable' pump drive gear for me s/hand at a very reasonable price. There were a couple of minor slips but these were sorted immediately and without further cost to me. Delivery was next day although I have called to collect from them on a couple of occasions.
I have also dealt with Racetech, Powers and ACT and found them all equally helpful but due to my recent experience with them I have no problem in sticking up for TVR Parts Ltd.
It pays to check the prices of parts between the various suppliers. When this problem arose I had ordered 2 parts from TVR Parts as they were cheaper than Powers but ordered the other 2 parts as Powers were cheaper than TVR Parts. However, without the expected service the price is no longer the controlling factor alone. I will pay a premium for fast service as sometimes I want the car fixed quickly and need a reliable supplier.
I ordered the 2 parts, that did not come as expected from TVR Parts, from Powers just before midday yesterday and they were delivered before 10am this morning. I know where my next call will be.
It should also be remembered that many aftermarket companies sell their parts as OEM quality. That is vastly different from the manufacturer's own brand. It can mean many things to different people and some household names have been bought by big parts suppliers and then the contents are made in China.
I too look for original parts without a TVR tax - only yesterday fitted Hardy Spicers on the propshaft and they came at just over £10 each inc postage. They are genuine GKN parts supplied by a Landrover specialist.
I'm sure many who know what they are looking for do the same and why there is an alternative parts list. It could do with updating as times and suppliers change as do prices.
e.g. the original Bosch headlamps are well over £100 each from TVR suppliers brand new although you can get re-silvered ones for around £75 now (exchange). I asked Andrew Page Bosch suppliers for 2 reflectors as they were priced at under £40 each. They came back with, ' only available in Germany.' So I tackeld Bosch direct but they would not budge on it despite having 120 sets on the shelf. So much for EU regs.
It would be good if the parts list was updated regularly with finds that could save us a fortune in TVR tax. I seem to remember there was something similar on the Cerb forum a few years ago?
I too look for original parts without a TVR tax - only yesterday fitted Hardy Spicers on the propshaft and they came at just over £10 each inc postage. They are genuine GKN parts supplied by a Landrover specialist.
I'm sure many who know what they are looking for do the same and why there is an alternative parts list. It could do with updating as times and suppliers change as do prices.
e.g. the original Bosch headlamps are well over £100 each from TVR suppliers brand new although you can get re-silvered ones for around £75 now (exchange). I asked Andrew Page Bosch suppliers for 2 reflectors as they were priced at under £40 each. They came back with, ' only available in Germany.' So I tackeld Bosch direct but they would not budge on it despite having 120 sets on the shelf. So much for EU regs.
It would be good if the parts list was updated regularly with finds that could save us a fortune in TVR tax. I seem to remember there was something similar on the Cerb forum a few years ago?
Edited by N7GTX on Thursday 13th July 14:07
bobfather said:
CerbWill said:
TVR Parts are, as others have stated, an absolute shambles unless you're lucky enough for them to have all the items in your order in stock and ready to go. They were much better when they were Racing Green/Clever Trevor.
Clever Trevor is now TVR Parts, or at least TVR Parts bought them outEdited by CerbWill on Thursday 13th July 15:31
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