Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2002 01:41:47 +0100
Reply-To: Clive Smith <clive.harman-smith@NTLWORLD.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Clive Smith <clive.harman-smith@NTLWORLD.COM>
Subject: Re: VW obscene parts pricing
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> That's what VW does. If they can get outrageous prices for their parts,
more power to them.
> If you don't like it, buy elsewhere. If they have a corner on the
particular part you need,
> well, good for them. Now they can really hammer you. It isn't evil or
even immoral.
>
> I am involved with our local movie theater, which is run as a non-profit
company attached to a
> local museum. Know what the markup on popcorn is? 3000% !!!! Good for
us. I wish it sold
> for more.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill N" <freeholder@STARBAND.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2002 8:32 PM
Subject: Re: VW obscene parts pricing
Slightly different case here Bill.
Popcorn is not something you have invested in, necessarily need, and that
might have further contractual implications after its sale (other than it
shouldn't actually kill you within minutes!).
A vehicle is something in another category. You should be able to see that
the implied contract is something that extends a little further by the fact
that manufacturers will implement a safety fix or service item years after
that vehicle has run its 'simple' warranty.
That I extend this implied understanding to encompass 'the ability to supply
parts' for at least 20 years then I'm sure you might agree this would at
least be arguable in court should the company still be solvent - and
depending on legislature, maybe even winnable.
Well, just extend this to that same argument, and put to the judge that by
charging (for the absurd case) $1,000,000 for a vital but tuppennyha'penny
part that couldn't be obtained elsewhere, they were effectively and possibly
unilaterally withdrawing from this tacit commitment.
All I'm saying is where is the $m mark, where is the line to be drawn -
anywhere?
For me, £68, nearly $100, for an 18" x 1.5" thin wall mild steel tube with a
couple of kinks in it is getting near the mark, especially as even at that
price I doubt if one is still on its way to me after 5 weeks. And we're not
talking Syncro 16 here, they made 30,000 odd of these things.
If they had loads and wanted $500 for one, then would that be tantamount to
blackmail - or is it understandable that they have either not planned to
supply this rare component at all or simply run its stock level down through
the years?
Maybe I should be charitable and accept my conjectures above and that this
is human nature, but I still think there is somewhere a line to be drawn -
and VW do rather give a lot of folk who work hard to support their older
vehicles (and thus wave the flag for them, giving them that maybe
unjustified reputation they have for 'going on forever') a bit of a hard
time. Presumably they do not want to meet anything but their minimum of
obligations parts-wise, otherwise such a massive aftermarket parts business
would not have evolved around them.
If no-one can think of a manufacturer that has a pro-active pricing policy,
which encourages safe, correct maintenance using fully warranted dealer
parts for an extended life, then my case is lost!
Some of the Japanese?
Ford?
Clive
'88 Syncro Transporter (Gold Edition)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill N" <freeholder@STARBAND.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2002 8:32 PM
Subject: Re: VW obscene parts pricing
> Well, I am about to become unpopular... unfortunately not a new
experience.
>
> Here in the good ol' USA, we are capitalists. I have run retail
businesses most of my life.
> The object is to buy it as cheaply as you can and then sell it for as much
as you can get.
> That's what VW does. If they can get outrageous prices for their parts,
more power to them.
> If you don't like it, buy elsewhere. If they have a corner on the
particular part you need,
> well, good for them. Now they can really hammer you. It isn't evil or
even immoral.
>
> If I have some Vanagon part to sell, and I put it up on Ebay, I never
complain if the bidding
> goes higher than expected. I have never heard anyone else complaining
that THEIR stuff was
> worth too much, either. Nope, the complaints are all about the other
guy's stuff selling for
> too much. Well, sometimes I'm the seller, and then I'm happy when the
bidding goes up. On the
> other hand, when I am the buyer, I hope the price stays down. Remember,
buy it as cheaply as
> you can and sell it for as much as you can get.
>
> I am involved with our local movie theater, which is run as a non-profit
company attached to a
> local museum. Know what the markup on popcorn is? 3000% !!!! Good for
us. I wish it sold
> for more.
>
> Bill
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> > The current astronomical VW parts pricing includes the obscene cost of
> > paying the "Royal" VW elite executives starting with their "Pope" or
CEO. As
> > their consumption crazy saleries and stock options swirl higher and
higher,
> > the parts prices of VW cars manufactured well before they were hired are
> > forced to bear this economic load. However the greedy, self-serving VW
> > "Royal executives" simply thumb their noses at the working proletariat
using
> > thier products and demand higher parts prices to maintain their
extravagant,
> > executive life style. The Executive leadership of VW GMBH is hardly
> > different from the criminals at ENRON !!!!!!!!!!!!! OFF with their
heads!!!
>
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