Consumers affected by escalated component prices

20th June 2014

  

Font size: - +

Vehicle owners and operators are increasingly feeling the pinch as a direct result of inflated prices of vehicle components, reports trade body, the Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA).

Association chairperson Les McMaster says vehicle workshop owners are finding it increasingly difficult to source good quality parts at an affordable price. “To ensure that standards are met by our accredited workshops, our members are paying top price for parts, despite cheap and inferior options being available,” he says.

Further, vehicle service and repair centre Goch & Cooper Autoservices MD Deon Goch explains that the escalating price of parts also has a direct knock-on effect on the consumer. “Consumers cannot afford to do all the repairs needed on their vehicles, resulting in fewer repairs being carried out. “This also results in more unroad- worthy vehicles on our roads and further complications in the long run for the consumer,” he says.

Goch advises workshops to educate buyers, as the same spare part can vary in price by up to a few hundred rand, depending on the suppliers. “A simple engine mounting, for example, can vary by as much as R500 between suppliers for the exact same brand,” he says.

“If the supplier is at the high end of the price range, there is less chance that the customer will choose to go ahead with the repair,” says Goch.

Bargain Hunting
Vehicle service and repair centre Autoworks director Gunther Schmitz says the current situation in the automotive industry involves consumers looking for discounts.

However, he says that the aftermarket part suppliers are not reducing their pricing, which narrows the margins for independent workshops. “There is also a tendency among certain parts suppliers to offer cheap parts, but not to come to the party when the component fails,” he says.

Schmitz says his strategy is to only buy original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) quality parts, and negotiate for the best price on these parts. “That way, we sell quality and compete with the agents.

“Consumers need to realise that there will always be somebody cheaper, but cheaper does not mean better,” warns Schmitz.

Goch says, along with the price of parts, workshop owners also struggle with the availability and quality of parts, resulting in vehicle downtime. “There has been a huge influx of substandard parts. The biggest frustration experienced by workshop owners is the quality of parts, which means brands need to be selected wisely,” he says.

Goch advises vehicle owners and operators to carry out preventative maintenance to avoid consequential damage that leads to unforeseen expenses. “Do not miss the service schedule and have routine checks done to prevent surprises,” he states.

Consumer Pressure
MIWA’s Right to Repair Cam-paign encourages consumers to put pressure on OEMs to have vehicles repaired at a repairer of choice and includes being able to have the OEM parts fitted by an independent workshop without fear of forfeiting the warranty on the vehicle.

“As a representative body, we have teamed up with automotive engineering shops to have part failures reported to the correct associations and, where a trend is detected, the parts distributor or importer is confronted,” says McMaster, adding that the MIWA encourages consumers and workshop owners to report parts overpricing and inferior products to industry bodies such as the MIWA for action to be taken.

Edited by Megan van Wyngaardt
Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION