Importing APR products from the US

[Guy_H]

I think the issue is a little bit more complex than that.

Take the VWR intake. Rennenhaus used to sell them. APR now sells them. For substantially more.

Why is it complex?

Rennenhaus - One man operation, (part time I understand - he has a full time job as well), no business premises, no staff - insurance? Overheads? advertising?

Nothing against that at all, but not all performance product importers get to work on the same basis in Australia.

The VWR intake in question was $850 from Ian, it is currently $975 from APR - that's a 14% difference - we carry them in stock, they are made in the UK & attract 15% duty over other US made products. The next batch has arrived today & currently being shipped out to our dealers for fitting on customers cars.

[gareth_oau]

a bit off topic, but Porsche australia we recently defending their pricing, stating that in the cost of a $390k Porsche (as an example) there was $170k in Australia taxesn including import durties, GST, luxury car tax etc.

I somehow don't think comparing US prices to australian prices is always a level playing field

[Fodpuck]

Also, if you buysomething from US and something goes wrong - where do you go. I had my Pirelli APR Stage 1 tuned at Harding Performance and they have been excellent to deal with and helped immensley with my enquiries when my battery died. I thought the cost was quite reasonable considering they vast improvement it made to the performance and the after sale support I have received.

[Ideo]

Why is it complex?

Rennenhaus - One man operation, (part time I understand - he has a full time job as well), no business premises, no staff - insurance? Overheads? advertising?

Nothing against that at all, but not all performance product importers get to work on the same basis in Australia.

The VWR intake in question was $850 from Ian, it is currently $975 from APR - that's a 14% difference - we carry them in stock, they are made in the UK & attract 15% duty over other US made products. The next batch has arrived today & currently being shipped out to our dealers for fitting on customers cars.

Fair enough.

Just as long as the consumer knows that they are paying more than what they were previously available for.

And that buying in bulk apparently has no cost savings.

Cheers for the update.

[DNA Tuning]

I'm sure a number of customers make a larger annual salary than the guys they are buying the aftermarket equipment off..

This is true; and this is why APR can somehow even sell some exhaust systems at $4k. Let's not kid ourselves, the price set for these pricey parts is based on market research on the demographic.

Let's look at their Porsche 911 Turbo products as a comparison... $5900 for a catback and $2995 for an exhaust header. Sure there are some funny twists and bends in the Porsche's exhaust layout, but it is less piping and certainly not that much more expensive to manufacture.

Similarly, their plain ECU remap is $3795... the point is, they will price it not based on their bottom line but on what the target demographic is willing to pay.

All tuners, including myself, are to some extent guilty of this; in my case it is around the $1500 mark for a 911 Turbo remap so that is double what my VW Golf customers pay for a similar service.

[h100vw]

If I was advertising on pages 3 and 4 of Motor magazine, my prices would be higher than they are.

Gavin

[Guy_H]

Gav, If tuning was 100% of your income, and you didn't have a full time job as well. I'm sure you would be doing business differently too

Very happy employing Australians in our business, even happier that we get to export 100% Aussie made products to international tuning markets. Call me old fashion, but I hate seeing all our talented engineers lose their jobs in Australia.

[h100vw]

Gav, If tuning was 100% of your income, and you didn't have a full time job as well. I'm sure you would be doing business differently too

Very happy employing Australians in our business, even happier that we get to export 100% Aussie made products to international tuning markets. Call me old fashion, but I hate seeing all our talented engineers lose their jobs in Australia.

Dead right Guy, I'd not be on here very much. I wouldn't have the time.

[kryten2001]

Well I'll add my 2c...

GENERALLY speaking (and I'm speaking GENERALLY as I love APR stuff and really appreciate all the help I've had from Guy and his local resellers), we pay WAY too much for just about anything in Aus.

There is rampant inflation here due primarily to labour and associated onflow costs. Everybody wants to earn $200k+, yet everybody wants to pay nothing for their gear. This leads to anything that is sourced from australia or includes australian labour to cost a FORTUNE... Been to the movies lately? Good case in point.

Buying local vs overseas is always a REALLY tough call and it depends on your long term goals. If you want simply to get the hardware in your hands, then yes buying overseas IS cheaper. And yes you can find APR resellers to sell it to you direct, just do some legwork. I never have, but it can be done if that's your thing.

With all that being said, if your goals were as lofty as mine, then you need local support. Of course the labour and pricing of the hardware was EXTREMELY expensive compared to overseas, but that's what you get when you live in oz. Next time it hurts paying for something, remember that check-out chick behind the counter is probably on $30/hr.

If you need help, and want a long term (and valuable) relationship with your local reseller, then buy it here. Depending on your particular goal, it's well worth having them in your corner. Of course if your local reseller is happy to fit 'grey' gear then you're laughing, but they probably won't.

As another poster stated, we all need to put food on the table. It's just a shame that doing so in Australia costs so much - and this is passed on every time you deal with an Australian business. Eventually we'll simply price ourselves out of the international markets.

Kudos to Guy for employing local talent, but I promise you that talent costs a lot more than equal talent overseas. That's what we're paying for. If you agree and want to support this strategy that's fantastic - but have no doubts that's what you're paying for.

That and the lack of competition and economies of scale, of course...

As I said I'm not saying this in condemnation at all - I agree with Guy and I happily paid more for local talent (my APR experience was exemplary, especially when faced with some hurdles) - it's important to know that's what you're paying for though.

Frankly I would never consider doing what I did any other way. The extra I could have saved would have vanished in a heartbeat (and would have) if I'd bought overseas.

But I did a little more than simply buying an intercooler and a HPFP.

[brimway]

I agree with the gist of what you are saying, but .... "rampant inflation" and check-out staff on "$30/hr" .. don't think so

[kryten2001]

Live in WA mate!

[brimway]

thanks but no thanks

[Transporter]

Of course if your local reseller is happy to fit 'grey' gear then you're laughing, but they probably won't.

...and they have a good reason for it.

AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER LAW – 3rd party products fitted by workshops
Please be advised that the Australian Consumer law has changed in January 2011.
Every workshop is held liable for its work and services regardless of who the part provider is: workshop or car owner.
A document signed by the car owner to forego any potential warranty rights against the fitting workshop will not stand in court because the Australian law says otherwise.
Workshops accept and approve any parts quality by simply fitting it to a vehicle and can be even held liable for any consequential damage when it comes to the “crunch” with the car owner.

[thezoneR32]

...and they have a good reason for it.

AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER LAW – 3rd party products fitted by workshops
Please be advised that the Australian Consumer law has changed in January 2011.
Every workshop is held liable for its work and services regardless of who the part provider is: workshop or car owner.
A document signed by the car owner to forego any potential warranty rights against the fitting workshop will not stand in court because the Australian law says otherwise.
Workshops accept and approve any parts quality by simply fitting it to a vehicle and can be even held liable for any consequential damage when it comes to the “crunch” with the car owner.

Jesus put that sh*t away would you!

[whiteVR6]

...and they have a good reason for it.

AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER LAW – 3rd party products fitted by workshops
Please be advised that the Australian Consumer law has changed in January 2011.
Every workshop is held liable for its work and services regardless of who the part provider is: workshop or car owner.
A document signed by the car owner to forego any potential warranty rights against the fitting workshop will not stand in court because the Australian law says otherwise.
Workshops accept and approve any parts quality by simply fitting it to a vehicle and can be even held liable for any consequential damage when it comes to the “crunch” with the car owner.

Ok so if this is the case then how would it work against insurance. I have specific insurance to be allowed to import products from overseas and if anything was to fail I would be held liable. A regular workshop DOES NOT HAVE this type of insurance as its so expensive to have. The person who imports the parts IS LIABLE. I personally think it would stand up as the wokshop fitting the parts is not bringing in the parts/re-selling them.

---------- Post added at 10:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:14 PM ----------

And to add, it sounds like you can buy a car from overseas and expect the local importer to have to warrant it!