Repco, A massive ripoff

[sd6]

Bit of a rant here but how has this place not gone out of business? i'll admit i buy most my stuff online because the prices beat the death out of nearly every shop you can find except for a very small percent of cases, and you usually get a bigger selection of better parts. But repco seem to be the worst of all of them, not only are they way over priced but most parts they sell are non genuine Chinese garbage. Just today i needed a coil pack for an AU falcon for a family members car, online i could get a Australian made bosch unit, probably what ford used from factory for $79 delivered. Repco wanted $180 for a fuelmisser unit and $340 for whatever the other brand they had that i have never heard of. $340 for a coil pack for an au falcon???, you'd think the car was a euro. Another example i needed some idler pulleys, once again repco wanted $160 for their own branded Taiwanese pulleys. Online i had a set of gates pulleys delivered for $30 2 days later from across the other side of the country. This is pretty much a constant trend with repco and it doesn't matter what make of car either. It gets worse soon as you want something for a car thats a little less common than a falcon, commodore, magna etc, then you're lucky if they even stock the part, walk in there needing something for like a modern jeep and they will scratch their heads. On the times i need parts that day and can't wait for postage any of the other big names in the business usually have what i need and it will be maybe 10-15% more then online and of a respectable brand. Apologies if this thread is against forums rules, everytime i have to deal with repco i leave feeling annoyed. Then the next issue is half the workshops around the place are tied to repco and as a result customers get ripped on prices everywhere, repco trade prices still aren't as good as retail price everywhere else. The only good thing about them is in my case they are the closest automotive store in my area and atleast the staff at the store near me are nice and try to help you. I exclude basic things like oil, coolant, brakes etc in these prices, This is focused on the part devision, suspension, engine parts etc. Your bread and butter materials are the same between stores and seem to always be on sale anyway.

[Adamz Ghia]

Markups on car parts are insane. I got my Bendix front and rear pads for $55 staff pricing, Autobarn wanted $95 for just the fronts!

[383hq]

Yep, they wanted $81 for a mondeo diesel fuel filter. Told em to put it back on the shelf, must have had a 50% stupid tax. Sure enough $36 later somewhere else...
You know somethings' wrong when the dealer prices start to look attractive

[Mr Brooksy]

It also says something when the staff discounts still give a big margin for profit... Repco are by no means the only ones doing it.

You pay through the nose for convenience, do the homework and you'll save big time. Places like Repco and Supercheap prey on those of us who want the part now, and who don't know enough about the car they drive.

[sd6]

You're not wrong about dealership prices, some things are stupidly expensive but I have bought coils, plugs and a thermostat at the Ford dealer way cheaper. Many eBay sellers are independent automotive businesses as well so they are still putting a mark up yet it's still way cheaper

[Olbucko]

Does the manager of each outlet decide the margins?
I bought 5 litres of Shell H1 synthetic oil for $41.99 and a Ryco Z9 filter for $8.49 at Repco in Bathurst last week, pretty cheap, I thought.

[PALE ALE]

Rip
Every
Poor
C#!t
Off

[Itsme]

Just shows a lot of people don't care & will pay the prices!
Repco also generates a lot of spare parts sales to automotive businesses.

[eb2fairmont]

Hope amazon starts doing car parts

[pottery beige]

I once tried buying a timing light at repco

nup

Phil Irving shakes head

[cro142]

The old Repco was bought out by an American company a couple of years ago and they obviously have a "take no prisoners" approach to customers.

[Windsor220]

Repco is one of the most expensive places for car parts unless its discount oil. I use Veales.

[sd6]

My memory as a little kid going back 15 or so years ago was my dad buying everything there. It was sort of a place you went to and trusted you were getting good after market parts and cheaper then dealerships, i recall even seeing crate engines on the floor at one stage. Don't know if it was a repco thing or just store specific.

[FTE217]

Originally Posted by cro142

The old Repco was bought out by an American company a couple of years ago and they obviously have a "take no prisoners" approach to customers.

The old Repco was bought by a previous Asian consortium before the american GPC company FYI.

Its interesting to read these posts.
I'm sure we have some members here who work for Resllers mentioned and others to chime in.
I have been a mechanic/brake specialist/spare parts guys and now in the manufacturing side.....
Forgetting the OE's for now I find pricing over the years the cheapest ever compared to back in the day of no internet and less own branded items to choose from.
The typical brands back in the day such as Ryco/bendix/monroe etc used to be much higher cost in average to now believe that you young uns.
Back when disc brakes were only on fronts compared to today I used to sell re manufactured brake shoes for $50 odd bucks ! crappy drum brakes.
Now you can buy disc pads pretty well priced when shopping around.
No name brands or own brands in general are not as bad as they once were for those inclined.
People want cheaper prices but you get what you pay for as they say and then people complain it doesn't last as long - you can't have it both ways eh.
Lucky they own/no name brands came in for this has forced along with the net the known brands to drop pricing.
The OE's now added with their longer WTYS have been on a mission to recover what they think is rightfully theirs, dropped pricing on many of their consumable items to reel you in.
Not all of those items are made from their OE line but their aftermarket lines and or some are outsourced.
Remember also - were a small market in the big picture - I had 4 OS visitors with me the last 3wks, they just couldn't believe how much it was to buy 2 beers, eat out at night, our property our fuel.
Thats life in Australia.

[sd6]

Originally Posted by FTE217

The old Repco was bought by a previous Asian consortium before the american GPC company FYI.

Its interesting to read these posts.
I'm sure we have some members here who work for Resllers mentioned and others to chime in.
I have been a mechanic/brake specialist/spare parts guys and now in the manufacturing side.....
Forgetting the OE's for now I find pricing over the years the cheapest ever compared to back in the day of no internet and less own branded items to choose from.
The typical brands back in the day such as Ryco/bendix/monroe etc used to be much higher cost in average to now believe that you young uns.
Back when disc brakes were only on fronts compared to today I used to sell re manufactured brake shoes for $50 odd bucks ! crappy drum brakes.
Now you can buy disc pads pretty well priced when shopping around.
No name brands or own brands in general are not as bad as they once were for those inclined.
People want cheaper prices but you get what you pay for as they say and then people complain it doesn't last as long - you can't have it both ways eh.
Lucky they own/no name brands came in for this has forced along with the net the known brands to drop pricing.
The OE's now added with their longer WTYS have been on a mission to recover what they think is rightfully theirs, dropped pricing on many of their consumable items to reel you in.
Not all of those items are made from their OE line but their aftermarket lines and or some are outsourced.
Remember also - were a small market in the big picture - I had 4 OS visitors with me the last 3wks, they just couldn't believe how much it was to buy 2 beers, eat out at night, our property our fuel.
Thats life in Australia.

While it is true the Internet has changed things greatly it has also driven a competitive market and changed the shape of everything. Back in the day if you bought monroe, bendix, ryco etc you knew you were buying the goods, they cost more yes but they were the best and after market was very hit and miss. These days all three of those brands are merely a former shadow of what they once were in my opinion. The bigger issue is 1: older manufacturers riding on their reputation and commanding what is high prices in todays market yet what they are selling is just a re badge import from Asia Anyway. The second issue is while the good manufactures still exist, bosch, kyb, koni, qfm, dba the list go on are all very good manufacturers for the most part. Instead of paying a premium for them however i buy them for cheaper then repco can sell me their inferior equivalent. The market has flipped on its head, now the good stuff is bought cheap online, the cheap stuff is bought for a 5 cent piece online and falls off your car in 3 days and local business fails to support the quality goods and markets the 5 cent rubbish from ebay and charges a premium for it. At the end of the day for places like repco to keep a good name i'd expect something more reasonable like this. Eg online au falcon coil pack. Bosch $79, non branded $25. Repco: bosch $110, non branded $40, that way buying local becomes viable because there is product support from retail that does not exist online and when you get something faulty it is a royal pain to be stuck waiting 2 weeks shipping and return to get the replacement if they will even give it to you. The store however, walk in there same day and leave, grab a burger at maccas while you're there and continue on. Instead what we have is ebay: bosch coil $79, non branded $25 and repco poor quality brand for $180 with bosch not even an option, nor vdo and you will probably have to wait 3-4 days for them to get it in.

[Interceptor]

Originally Posted by Olbucko

Does the manager of each outlet decide the margins?

Sadly, the store managers have little to do with pricing.

I've been on the other side of the counter, and believe me, its ****ing frustrating dealing with the powers that be that are so far out of touch its not funny.

Trying to argue with them that $75 for an item is too dear falls on deaf ears, even when you show them that the ONLY time something sells is when its on a catalogue special for a third that price.

Repco was once trade oriented, but is now sadly aimed squarely at the retail sector, one trade customer walked when he discovered a customer had bought parts on special for the same price as his account pricing.

You just have to look at their stores and what they stock to see how far out of touch the category managers who control what gets stocked are.

Sadly, a lot of the change is being driven by the availability of online shopping.

[FalconXV]

Ripping
Every
Poor
C***
Off

[sd6]

I never blame the workers and the managers of these stores, i have worked in my fair share of businesses like this. Upper management sets rules, prices and targets. Managers who try to argue otherwise usually end up redundant or being given a different position. To make matters worse, when the things that headquarters have put in place fail as warned the blame is on the manger and his workers.

[Trevor 57]

Bursons is your friend - that is why the tradies use them

http://www.burson.com.au/

[paule11]

Originally Posted by sd6

My memory as a little kid going back 15 or so years ago was my dad buying everything there. It was sort of a place you went to and trusted you were getting good after market parts and cheaper then dealerships, i recall even seeing crate engines on the floor at one stage. Don't know if it was a repco thing or just store specific.

I Remember Repco being the place that had good quality and in stock years ago

[Olbucko]

Originally Posted by sd6

My memory as a little kid going back 15 or so years ago was my dad buying everything there. It was sort of a place you went to and trusted you were getting good after market parts and cheaper then dealerships, i recall even seeing crate engines on the floor at one stage. Don't know if it was a repco thing or just store specific.

I remember Repco in the late sixties and seventies when much of their business was selling hard parts and tools to the trade, not cheap accessories. Trade customers received at least 20% discount and didn't pay sales tax, but had to produce a trade order to get their discount
Many Repco branches also had a machine shop out the back where they did cyl boring, crank grinding, head jobs, and other machining work.

Sadly, today they seem to be just a shell of their former selves.

[Revolver]

Originally Posted by sd6

I exclude basic things like oil, coolant, brakes etc in these prices

Your bread and butter materials are the same between stores and seem to always be on sale anyway.

Well you should, I have a SCA & Repco across the road from each other local to me. I needed oil, so went into SCA, looked at the price of an oil (that wasn't on special) and remembered that Repco had a 25% off for RACQ members weekend, so I cruised on over there, found the oil (exact same product I wanted at SCA) And my Jaw hit the ground when I saw that the price was around $10 dearer than at SCA, and with the 25% discount, still made it a couple of bucks more than the full priced item at SCA.

Same with transmission fluids, etc.

Problem is, SCA needs to order in the bulk of spare parts, so if you do need it on the day, your screwed. Bursons (formally Auto one, which is 2 streets up from the SCA & Ripco stores) always has what I need on the shelf, usually around 5% cheaper than Supercheap.

Bursons if you need parts straight away, SCA for your consumables (especially when on special), Autobarn if I cant get what I need from them, they usually come to the rescue.

Ripco I avoid like the plague.

[Franco Cozzo]

How do you think we feel when we use Bursons and the difference between our trade price and RRP that you pay over the counter is less than 10%.

Or on 5L of oil we'll pay $79.99 and you'll pay $82.

Even parts from dealerships, you'll pay freight then it cost you more than what the customer pays over the counter anyway.

Or you see something on eBay that they are selling for less than our buy price from our suppliers, you ask who is selling them those at less than our buy price and they all point fingers at each other.

With Repco the RRP is generally much higher so auto businesses like myself can make decent margins on parts, incentivises us to use them, we can't charge over a supplier RRP or you might as well as go there and buy your own parts.

Also lol at $380 coil, a set of coils, plugs and rocker cover gaskets was $2500 for my E38 7 series at trade pricing and that wasn't from BMW either.

[eb2fairmont]

Well sorry I don't understand trade price full stop. It costs what it costs and if I'm paying for a job then that cost gets passed onto me plus labour along with any other environmental costs and disposal fees.

[Trump]

Trade price allows for the value adder (the mechanic in this example) to make a bit from the product when he sells it at RRP, in addition to his hourly labour charge.

[Whitey-AMG]

I wait for the RACV member card specials and get anywhere from 25-30% off the stuff I need from REPCO.
I get good service from my store , no issues with warranty returns if I need em , they are close by and local and generally stock plenty of branded products.

I'm not in the trade so I generally expect to get ripped from whatever store I go to..... I just bargain hunt to minimise the damage.

[Mr Brooksy]

Slightly off topic (kinda), but those of you who own repair centers (mechanic, tire fitters, panel beaters etc) do you like or dislike when customers like me source our own parts?

The reason I ask is, the two guys I use in two entirely different countries, if I'm not confident (or time permitting) to do the work myself are more than happy for me to source my own parts. They know I will only buy quality, but also know that what I buy they can't get close to matching most of the time.
It saves them time in ordering, and the parts are guaranteed to arrive with the car instead of waiting for their supplier to show up (and sometimes bringing the wrong parts).

Just curious.

[Trevor 57]

Repco are trying to compete directly with SuperCheap, that is why I go to Bursons

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by Mr Brooksy

Slightly off topic (kinda), but those of you who own repair centers (mechanic, tire fitters, panel beaters etc) do you like or dislike when customers like me source our own parts?

I owned & ran a workshop for almost 40 years, up until just recently, so I can speak from experience.

The downside to the customer supplying his own parts is obviously that the workshop loses out on profit, which BTW is his income.

Leaving that bit aside, the only real problems start when a part fails under warranty. Who pays the labour for the diagnosis & fitting labour for the replacement ?

If the workshop supplied the part, the customer is totally covered. The workshop cops the loss or maybe chases the supplier or manufacturer to recoup his labour costs. This is why he had added a profit margin in the first place. But the bottom line is that there is no cost to the customer.

If the customer supplies the parts, then the customer or his supplier has to cover these costs. If it's close to home & the customer collects the parts & it's a simple job then it's no biggy. If the customer has to wait a few days, because he bought it on ebay or a lot of labour is involved in the re-work, then things get very messy for the customer.

Recently I've seen a few of these cases go to Fair Trading. They take a view that if the customer supplies a part which ends up failing because it was obvious cheap Chinese junk, but the workshop doesn't inform the customer of this fact before he fits it to the car, then the workshop is at fault. So in view of this, they say to insert a statement on the invoice to say that the customer was informed not to use the parts supplied & have the customer sign it.

If the customer is an intelligent, rational person & the parts are of equivalent quality to what the workshop would normally fit then there are no real issues.

Dr Terry

[Pis-ton broke]

from a young age i learnt to shop about for part prices, you would be surprised at the price difference for the same part at different auto part shops. and sometimes it was heaps cheaper to go genuine.