26 replies to this topic

[Lewis998]

Is it just me that thinks mini spares is putting the squeeze on people ?
For the L/H window regulator mech they want £70, but on ebay I found one for £20 (that's including P&P)
Also the one in ebay is not a one off they have at least another 10.

Ridiculous no ?

[JoneseyBoy]

you get what you pay for

[minibarnerz]

2nd hand eBay part over new (and probably) genuine!!!
Yeah, ms ain't always the cheapest option! But they great on customer service and nearly always have what yur Lookin for!

[Lewis998]

They're good points, just at the price as I didn't think it would be that much

[[email protected]]

We have had to get ours manufactured afresh as they are now obsolete from Xpart/rover. Each one has over 100 individual parts, and when Rover did them they were over £120 each. There are fewer and fewer "old stocks" of these parts, and as they exhaust and as parts go obsolete we will need manufacture more and more parts as this happens. I am sure 95% of people would much rather know we are investing time and money into keeping vehicles on the road, rather than leave it to people searching for old or new old parts on eBay.
It's also quite subjective. In the UK parts are still relatively plentiful, but we export products all over the world, where this isn't the case.

All in all considering we are not buying a lot less in volume than the production line originally did, and the work that goes into getting product sourced/made these represent far better value for money than they did 18 months ago

[Lewis998]

When you put it that way, its hard to argue with the statistics, I take it back

[aston19uk]

i think minis are cheap plus there parts too. i used to own a jap car and the cost on that blew me away. with a mini, i can mod it, tune it, repair it for a lot cheaper than most cars and still have cash to go down the brothel lol

[Lewis998]

i think minis are cheap plus there parts too. i used to own a jap car and the cost on that blew me away. with a mini, i can mod it, tune it, repair it for a lot cheaper than most cars and still have cash to go down the brothel lol

haha, I've never owned another car but I knew that mini's were cheaper (parts wise) compared to other cars which is part of what made me settle on getting one

[Cooperman]

Try buying parts for, say, an MGB, Mk1 or 2 Cortina, or other 1960's classic. After all, that's what a Mini is really.

[mini77]

As long as there’s an alternative to rubbish, junk pattern parts I don’t mind! Stop buying the junk you only pay more in the long run!! Stop encouraging them to make more....

Edited by mini77, 20 April 2011 - 06:43 PM.

[Nic]

As long as there’s an alternative to rubbish, junk pattern parts I don’t mind! Stop buying the junk you only pay more in the long run!! Stop encouraging them to make more....

agreed as im doint the bodywork on my mini atm, i think especially with panels support bmh and buy genuine ones they do cost more but that is off set by the massive amount of time you save fitting and they have a proper finish on them. im never wasting my time and money on pattern panels again..

[GTIAlex06]

payed a fiver for mine off ebay....delighted

[Boycie]

Parts will continue to rise in price as the stocks either diminish or, as above- someone has taken the plunge and had the part remanufactured. This is massively expensive to do and it's lucky for us companies are still doing it.
Sadly the Mini is no longer produced, there's only so many cars and parts left so should be gratefull that we can still buy decent new parts!

In general I think Minispares is fairly priced.

If you've ever run a later-shape Range Rover, you'll know how extortionate the prices of things are and I must say, they're barely any better quality-wise than Mini parts..

[Cooperman]

One should have the greatest regard for Keith Dodd (owner of Mini Spares) and all his dedicated team for all the support he's put into Mini parts development and production over the years.
He has had quality issues with suppliers which has cost him a lot of money and he now has a great supplier base providing top-quality parts and he continues to invest in newly manufactured items to replace those NLA from Rover and unipart, etc.
Many other Mini parts suppliers have attempted to copy the parts as made by Mini Spares, sometimes with success, but sometimes with lesser quality.
IMHO you get what you pay for and MS's prices reflect their quality and service and Keith's on-going committment to the future of our little cars.

[sir Jake the brit]

try owning a renaultsport there parts are a fortune, esp when the electrics are crap! it cost me £60 for 2 numberplate lights and a bit of wire!! minis are cheep as chips!! and i love chips!!