There was a time when some car dealers could boast they could earn almost as much selling spare parts as they could from selling cars. Indeed, the parts business was an extremely lucrative one for many years. But "the times they are a changing". Donal Byrne reports.
When the EU's block exemption measures are finally in place later this year there will be a mushrooming of outlets where customers can buy original spare parts from an independent retailer as well as their main dealer.
The industry seems to be getting the message: many parts which carried huge profits for car distributors in the past are now suddenly becoming a lot less expensive.
"Parts were a solid earner and had a good mark-up for years, but you will now find that the difference between the price of genuine parts and the so-called 'spurious parts' has narrowed significantly," says Padraic Deane, editor of Auto Trade Journal. "Distributors now realise that they should be chasing larger volumes with smaller margins and getting people to come back to them with their business."
The word "spurious" has been used by the motor trade for years to generate fear about the kind of parts being used by some mechanics. In some cases this was justified.
In many others, however, it was not. There are genuinely dodgy parts but there are also many which are of exactly the same standard as those used by the manufacturer because they were made in the same place.
Many of us forget that big car companies don't make brake pads or fuel injection units - they buy them in. And the companies that do manufacture these parts sell them elsewhere too.
Gerard Lee, managing director of Jetstar motors in Dún Laoghaire and a mechanic himself, gives an example of the variety in prices for effectively the same parts.
"Someone can come to me to have a headlight replaced on a C-Class Mercedes," he says. "I have two options. I can get the part from Mercedes in Ireland and it will cost about €300 or I can go down the road to a motor factor store and get exactly the same one for about half that price.
"The two lamps are made by Hella, which supplies the part to Mercedes. I guarantee that when I take them out of their boxes there will be absolutely no difference between them. The only difference will be the price and the colour of the box.
"I won't make any more money from the deal whichever one I choose, but at least I have the satisfaction of charging my customer half the price for the part."
However, he also cites examples of some mechanics buying the cheapest product possible. "Volkswagen will sell me a set of brake pads for €60 and they are made by Textar. I can buy the same Textar brake pads for €45, but I can also buy a rubbish set for €25.
"If I fitted the cheapest set, your brakes would be screeching and they would wear the discs out quicker. I don't want customers coming back with complaints like that - it would actually cost me more in the long term to fix the problem. The same is true when people buy spurious body panels that don't fit properly."
He says he will never opt for the cheapest parts but there are plenty of mechanics who will. Some, he says, will use the cheapest possible engine oil that eventually causes huge problems for engines.
"If they are doing the work for small money they will use the cheapest," says Lee. "We would never do it and sometimes we even have to opt for the dearest too. A seat cover or a clip to hold on a door panel, for example, may only be supplied by a manufacturer and that is where they really screw you."
Paul O'Callaghan of Ashgrove Interparts, which has three branches around the city, says about 70 per cent of the mechanics he deals with now demand the better quality parts.
"We are selling filters from Knecht and Mahle, for example, and they are the suppliers for some of the biggest German companies but we will sell them for between 20 and 25 per cent less than the car distributors."
So, the lesson seems to be that if you are not dealing with a main dealer - many of whom are currently obliged to buy only from their distributor - you need to build a situation of trust with a garage or individual mechanic. If they are willing to seek out the better quality parts you can save a lot of money but only if they subscribe to your "pay cheap, pay twice" philosophy.
But do a lot of people still work on their own cars and can they save even more? Ashgrove Interparts' Paul O'Callaghan says about 40 per cent of business is with private individuals. "Come in on a Saturday morning and you will meet lots of people who do their own."
Gerard Lee of Jetstar says they are becoming fewer and fewer. "Service intervals are getting longer and longer anyway and people are driving newer cars."
Interestingly, Toyota has recently introduced a second-line of parts called "Optifit". These are approved Toyota parts that fill the vacuum normally occupied by spurious parts. Toyota sells at two different prices but they now encourage mechanics to think Toyota rather than spurious.
Toyota decided to launch a second-line of spare parts because it knew it was losing out to competition from motor factors and wholesalers. "We supply parts that are not of quite the same standard as the original Toyota part but there are a lot of people driving older cars who don't require quite the same standard. However, these parts are of a very acceptable standard and are backed by Toyota.
Toyota's after sales director, Jim Cusack, says he wants mechanics and small operators to come to a Toyota outlet first rather than go to a motor factor. "We have been running trade evenings for local mechanics and there has been a good response. We know that a lot of people don't want to spend large sums on parts for cars that are much older or even on their way to the scrap yard in a year or two. We want their mechanics to come to us, not to the competition".
According to one industry expert: "It's a wise move because there is a lot of money to be made from parts and they are building up loyalty and quality expectations. It makes a lot of sense if you consider that in 10 years time we will probably dispose of engines rather than fix them. It will be more cost-efficient. Who gets their TVs repaired anymore?"
The industry view is that you get what you pay for and genuine parts offer peace of mind and long-term value. There are plenty out there who disagree and with considerable justification.