She says...

Press, 18 March 1977, Page 7

She says...

I was delighted to hear about the inquiry into the cost of motor spares, but despite the soothing noises being made about the present state of affairs I’m not convinced that many of us aren’t being cheated left and right on spareparts prices. Certainly many of the prices I’ve heard quoted for spares in the last few years leave a lot of questions to be answered. I’ve heard of people being quoted wildly varying prices for the same part from different concerns, and I’ve also heard of remarkable variations in what is basically the same part for two different cars. An example of this is the price I heard quoted recently for a plastic taillight lens assembly. The orange and red bits of plastic for one model cost $6.50 — a rather steep price for an item which can’t have cost more than $1 to make, at the most generous possible estimate. But even this figure was laughably modest compared to the $29 quoted for what was basically the same item, but to fit a different model of car. Then you can take the question of car wiper blades. The standard variety for several cars are listed at somewhere between $4 and $6. Yet if you shop around you can buy “non-standard” blades which are far superior in

both their design and their performance for less than half the price. Another infuriating thing is the deliberate habit of some car makers of using systems which require the replacement of an entire and very expensive unit when one small, part, worth only cents, fails. One example is the humble car indicator switch: break one of the little pins inside, and you’ll find you have to buy a complete new unit, which can cost anywhere from about $25 to $35. There’s another popular model of British car that has to have its entire propeller shaft replaced when the simple, cheap bearings in the shaft fail — as they inevitably do, sooner or later. This increases the cost of the repair from about $l5 to more like $BO or $9O, I’m told. Talk about the conspicuous waste of resources for the profit of a few! I believe that the problem of expensive parts lies more with the carmakers, outside this country, than it does within it, although I dare say we have our share of villains too. If several governments get together, perhaps something will be done — as has been the case with safety and pollution moves. It’s going to be to the benefit of us all if this does happen. —Barbara Petre.