Euro Car Parts having a laugh ???

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flango

Hardcore MB Enthusiast
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Jun 10, 2008
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Gods own country
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Mercedes SLK R171
Looks like I need a heater blower for my CLK so thought I would try ECP with the club discount.

Valeo Heater Motor: Website Price £251.94 so with 25% club discount that gives £188.96

Same Valeo Heater Motor from KMS £68.90 nearly a third of the price of ECP for the same part from the same manufacturer

I think someone is trying to pee up my back and tell me it's raining :eek:
 
But you didn't get a discount from KMS. Everybody loves a discount.
 
Welcome to ECP world! See my thread yesterday.

I've seen it have you seen my original thread LINKY I should have known better everytime I try to use them they don't have it say they can get it string you along forever with no communication only for nothing to appear not even an e mail, this just confirms I should have given them a swerve in the first place, once burnt twice shy lesson learned :doh:
 
Have you tried Mercedes for a price?

I find that they are either unbelievably cheap for some items, yet unbelievably expensive for others.
 
Ha Ha.

The CarParts4Less advert is alongside the O/p...
 
I thought ECP had been sold - so pay back time for the buyer - someone somewhere will have to pay for it - if my info is wrong my apologies
 
I thought ECP had been sold - so pay back time for the buyer - someone somewhere will have to pay for it - if my info is wrong my apologies

They were bought out by LKQ who sell refurbed car parts in the US iirc
 
Has the heater blower motor definitely failed? On my old C240 I got another 3 years use out of the motor by extracting it and stretching the springs that sit behind the carbon brushes on the motor.

3 years later I pulled the heater blower unit out again and got a local motor factors to replace the carbon brushes on the motor that had worn to stumps. Total cost? £10... The guy only wanted a £5 but I felt that was daylight robbery as at the time a replacement would have cost me the best part of £150.

There is a great how to posted on here by Shude for the W202 but I believe the W208 would be very similar, not sure about the W209:
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/howto/5482-howto-blower-motor-ventilation-fan-removal-w202.html
*EDIT* Shame... Seems the illustrative pictures on the HOW TO: have been lost over the passage of time :(

S.
 
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Alot of negative vibes going around! Not sure why all of a sudden?

L

Valeo Heater Motor: Website Price £251.94 so with 25% club discount that gives £188.96

Same Valeo Heater Motor from KMS £68.90 nearly a third of the price of ECP for the same part from the same manufacturer

Hi flanaia1

I can assure you, we're not trying to play with any bodily part of you but it looks like something has gone wrong here!

Our pricing is controlled by the product team, who introduce the parts and price them accordingly. If you would be so kind to let me know the part number, I would like to look into this, as theres a few possible reasons for the huge price difference.
1. the market selling price of this part may have dropped over time, however the product team may not have updated the selling price
2. the competitor may be clearing old stock, if its reduced to clear then we would not match it, as there is no need
3. The brand they are advertising is not actually the brand we are supplying

Either way, Id love to feed this back to the product team (and see for myself!)

I thought ECP had been sold - so pay back time for the buyer - someone somewhere will have to pay for it - if my info is wrong my apologies

Hi Joe - Your info is correct, as LKQ Acquired EuroCarParts nearly 2 years ago (press release here - http://www.eurocarparts.com/ECP_LKQ_Press Release.pdf) However the emphasis has been to gain new business through aggressive pricing. It makes no business sense to invest in a company to increase their price, and slow down their sales - So, sorry to say your incorrect there (as always, we're open with our pricing - simply give me a few part numbers and ill provide the past 4 years price history to see where its increased (or decreased) over time!)

Welcome to ECP world! See my thread yesterday.

Hi Mike,

Im not sure if ive spotted your thread yet - however we're here to support forum members with any issues they may encounter - If you drop us a PM we can help to resolve any issues you may have!


Hope that helps,

Pat
 
Has the heater blower motor definitely failed? On my old C240 I got another 3 years use out of the motor by extracting it and stretching the springs that sit behind the carbon brushes on the motor.

3 years later I pulled the heater blower unit out again and got a local motor factors to replace the carbon brushes on the motor that had worn to stumps. Total cost? £10... The guy only wanted a £5 but I felt that was daylight robbery as at the time a replacement would have cost me the best part of £150.

There is a great how to posted on here by Shude for the W202 but I believe the W208 would be very similar, not sure about the W209:
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/howto/5482-howto-blower-motor-ventilation-fan-removal-w202.html
*EDIT* Shame... Seems the illustrative pictures on the HOW TO: have been lost over the passage of time :(

S.

Yep motor has definitely failed, at first I thought it was the resistor as that felt overly hot and the blower had a mind of its own but swapped that out and no different. Pulled the motor this weekend and brushes are about 15mm tested it and its dead as a dodo so time for a new one. No real drama as it's only a 10 minute job, fortunately on the thread by Shude I actually printed it off a while ago so had it for reference which is why the job was so quick :D

It's just the rip off prices and massive variance that pees me off :mad:
 
Hi flanaia1

I can assure you, we're not trying to play with any bodily part of you but it looks like something has gone wrong here!

Our pricing is controlled by the product team, who introduce the parts and price them accordingly. If you would be so kind to let me know the part number, I would like to look into this, as theres a few possible reasons for the huge price difference.
1. the market selling price of this part may have dropped over time, however the product team may not have updated the selling price
2. the competitor may be clearing old stock, if its reduced to clear then we would not match it, as there is no need
3. The brand they are advertising is not actually the brand we are supplying

Either way, Id love to feed this back to the product team (and see for myself!)

Pat

OK this is part of my issue with you guys, If you read the post you will find the car the part I require and the manufacturer of that part and the price. This will enable you to find the correct part on your website (there are only 2) yet you want me to do the leg work and supply you with the part number :doh:

If you were more proactive instead of being inherently reactive then I'm sure your customer service and communications would benefit as a result.

As regards your comments above I don't accept them.

1. If the price has dropped over time and you have not updated the selling price you have taken your eyes off the ball (hence my comment about being proactive.)

2. I accept the old stock clearance comment but when you are more expensive than the dealers then again something is not correct with your monitoring of market prices and adjustment of your own selling prices if you deem to see fit.

3. The brand they are advertising is not the brand they are supplying !!!! Is this not misrepresentation if you are advertising a specific brand (which you are)

To me it's dead easy I'll purchase the quality part I need from the company that gives me the best combination of price and aftersales service. I appreciate price is not everything and we all have to make a profit but when the exact part from the same manufacturer is nearly 3 times the cost of a competitor then something is really wrong.
 
OK this is part of my issue with you guys, If you read the post you will find the car the part I require and the manufacturer of that part and the price. This will enable you to find the correct part on your website (there are only 2) yet you want me to do the leg work and supply you with the part number :doh:

Hi!

I had tried, however i cant see a mention of the year or chassis of the car - Could you let me know the details you used?

If you were more proactive instead of being inherently reactive then I'm sure your customer service and communications would benefit as a result.
Happily we process over 3,000 online orders per day, and have over 99% satisfaction which is improving every day - However we do try to ensure that we react to any issues quickly, such as this. In this case, its the first time its been bought to our attention, therefore we're looking into it as it might not help you, however we might be doing other customers in the future a dis-service


As regards your comments above I don't accept them.

1. If the price has dropped over time and you have not updated the selling price you have taken your eyes off the ball (hence my comment about being proactive.)

Totally! - Which is why I'd like to pass the details onto our product manager to investigate! - With over 132,000 products stocked, and over a million listed, they can occasionally miss an updated price from a supplier, or a change in market price - this is human nature and i'd like to highlight this to the product team to investigate

2. I accept the old stock clearance comment but when you are more expensive than the dealers then again something is not correct with your monitoring of market prices and adjustment of your own selling prices if you deem to see fit.
Exactly as above, if its a genuine reduction in market price, and our selling price has not changed then the team have dropped the ball on this part!

3. The brand they are advertising is not the brand they are supplying !!!! Is this not misrepresentation if you are advertising a specific brand (which you are)
This wasn't an accusation, i just listed it as a possible scenario - We stock / List a Valeo one, however maybe theirs is actually Hella, or an own brand?

To me it's dead easy I'll purchase the quality part I need from the company that gives me the best combination of price and aftersales service.

This is exactly what we aim for - We cant always be the cheapest, but we try to be atleast 60% of the time, and offer the best service and purchase experience throughout.

I appreciate price is not everything and we all have to make a profit but when the exact part from the same manufacturer is nearly 3 times the cost of a competitor then something is really wrong.
Hopefully its just a case of a price update missed, but once i get the part number, ill fill you in - even if its just for interest?

On a serious note - Thanks very much for the feedback, with the support of forum members such as yourself and others it allows us to resolve issues like this, even if we've lost your business on this sale, the details we're looking into, might help other members and customers.

Pat
 
Here you go identical same part same manufacturer (Valeo) from KMS £68.90
 

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Here you go identical same part same manufacturer (Valeo) from KMS £68.90

Thanks so much, that confirms the part I found was correct!

I've dropped you a PM with some info - from looking, the market price of £180 - £200 sounds about right for the Valeo unit, as this is what others seem to be selling it for.

We'd love to see any information on the KMS one being available for £68 however I cant find it on their website - and at that price. its half the price of our cheaper EIS branded alternative so there is something fishy there!

Pat
 
Ordered 2pm yesterday arrived 10am this morning, thats what I call value and service


valeo2_zps9fba6500.jpg
 
He probably gets your point now! Time to let him investigate and respond.

Tony.

Just providing the part number as requested :thumb:
 

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