Parts price gaps ‘disturbing’

Press, 12 June 1989, Page 9

Parts price gaps ‘disturbing’

PA Wellington Car parts prices, surveyed annually by the Automobile Association, showed more falls than rises but there were still disturbing variations between companies, an A.A. consumer research officer, Mr Lawrie Duffield, said yesterday.

Mr Duffield said there was a vast difference between some Ford and Mazda models he described as “virtually clone vehicles.”

"Pleasingly enough, there were seven falls and only five rises ... but to me the most interesting thing was that the Ford Lasers were reduced 23.6 per cent while Mazda 323 s were up 18 per cent,” he said.

Conversely, the Mazda 626 dropped 7 per cent ($235), while the Mazda-sourced Ford Telstar rose 16.8 per cent, or $469. “Industry sources say that the Mazda parts used in assembly of Mazda vehicles are Japanese,

while Mazda parts used ... in Ford vehicles are Taiwanese — not necessarily all, but a substantial number.

“Why, then, is there such a vast difference in the price of these spares?” Initially the A.A. believed Mazda 323 parts had rocketed 53.4 per cent, with a list supplied by a Mazda dealer totalling $3569, $1241 ahead of last year, Mr Duffield said.

But the company disputed its accuracy and it was adjusted to $2742, still the biggest percentage increase and $619 more than the Laser.

The March survey used 10 commonly used parts for a selection of 11 New Zealandassembled cars and one imported model. They were a windscreen, left and right front guards, bonnet, bumper, grille, headlights, radiator and a right-front suspension strut for two Hondas, an Accord LX and a Civic LX,

Mitsubishi Sigma and Mirage, Mazda 626 and 323, Ford Laser L and Telstar L, Nissan Sunny, Toyota Corolla, Holden Commodore SL and Mercedes Benz 190 E.

The biggest decrease was the Commodore's $llO3, from $3769 in 1988 to $2666 this year, or 29.3 per cent. Other substantial falls were the Laser, $526 or 22.2 per cent; the Sunny, $637 or 22.2 per cent; and the Accord and Civic, $lOOl and $551, or 17.6 and 14.3 per cent respectively. The Accord’s parts were $5704 in March last year and $4702 this year. The most expensive, the radiator, was down from $1620 to $ll5O. The result was a turnaround from last year’s survey which embarrassed the company then assembling Hondas, N.Z.M.C., by finding that a Mercedes 190 E was only slightly more expensive to repair than was an Accord.

Since then Honda New Zealand has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Japan, and N.Z.M.C. has returned to its Austin Rover roots.

Last year the Accord’s parts basket cost $314 less to fill than the 190 E’s at $6OlB. This year the gap was $939, with the Mercedes remaining the most expensive model to repair, though its parts were also cheaper by 6.3 per cent.

The other significant increases were the Telstar, $469 or 16.8 per cent; the Mirage, $534 or 14.2 per cent; and the Sigma, $412 or 8.8 per cent. The Corolla, cheapest in 1987 and second to the Laser in 1988, was up 2.9 per cent this year, from $2553 to $2648. Mr Duffield said he had obtained the parts without subterfuge, “simply walking in off the street as ordinary old Joe Citizen,” and presented the results as cold, hard facts.