Need a replacement turbo? Import your own and save over 1K !

[haro]

Hi guys,

I am rather new to this forum but have been a member of numerous forums & been playing with cars for well over 15 years
now.
I joined up here as my father owns a T5 Transporter 2.5L and I wanted to look for some tips/pointers.

My dad uses his Transporter as a MAXI-TAXI here in Brissy and it is currently up to 415,000KM. The original turbo started
leaking oil from the seals so he asked me to source him a replacement item.

He was quoted $2400 from Hi-Way VW in Slacks Creek and I laughed when they told me and let them know they were
kidding themselves.

next call was to Mario at MTQ here in Brissy and he could do it for $1800 which was reasonable.

Next up (and the winner) was to look overseas. I contacted a company in Germany that I found using google and they
were able to ship me a genuine garrett replacement for the T5 for about $1150 including shipping which was a bargain.

070145702N 070145702NX Turbocharger AXE 2,5 TDI V6 VW T4 T5 720931-5004S GT2052V 128kw 175hp Garrett Garet Garett Garret turbo shop

so guys dont be afraid to look online and save yourself some dollars.

Haro

[Bug_racer]

Buying parts from overseas yourself is always going to come up . Everyone seems to want to save as much money as they can , but there are a few things that people dont realise .

Your buying a part from overseas so if anything goes wrong its up to the seller to credit you back for any warranty concerns , damaged in transit etc .

The biggest item which although no one has posted about yet is liability insurance . Your fitting a part that is not supplied by anyone here so you become responsible for the part itself . Any failure of the part which causes injury or death and everything goes back on you . Your car insurance may not cover you seeing as that particular part has no cover from any importer manufacturer . Its all a grey area and I can just see someone is going to get burnt hard for saving a few $ . Its like driving around with no car insurance , eventually it will bite , and bite hard . Local companies have to pay a fair bit for liability insurance (usually at least 4 million for a small business ) and they have to carry on the cost of that to the consumer .

[Stan]

dont forget that for $1150, there will be import duty as well as the item is over $1000

[DkN]

Tell them to declare it for $950 on the customs documents

But, you didn't hear it from me. In fact, did I just say that? I think my computer glitched and I was meant to say tell them NOT to.

Stan is right though, if you pay import duty + taxes on it by the time you have it with you it'll cost as much as MTQ. Although it might legitimately cost less than $1,000 if $1150 is including shipping...

Also dealers are known for high pricing, but in Highway VW's defence their parts / services are usually quite a bit cheaper than Austral. If you do choose to go to the dealers I would go with Highway.

[mikinoz]

What! If I buy on the internet I can save money? No way. Where do I start looking?

[Ivo]

Have you got it yet? If not make sure you update this post when it arrives and you get it fitted etc.

[haro]

@ Bug Racer - Interesting point you bring up about liability but I think that is a bit of a stretch although not incorrect in theory. I guess people can play the 'what if' game & I would be VERY surprised if any such legal action was ever filed anywhere as it would be too much of a case to persue for limited gains in my opinion.
But again - Not a bad point but not sure if its relavent for a simple ol Snail/Turbo <-- *couldnt find a normal smile face haha.

@ Stan & DKN - Yes the item was under $1000AUD it was the shipping & paypal fees (which I selected) that tipped it over the 1K amount so duty did not apply which is nice. If it was over 1K it would/should have been around an extra $150-175 from my calculations and previous experience.

@ Mikinoz - haha I know, I just thought I would share incase anybody else is going down this path - no need to line the pockets of chumps. I love my online shopping, I have picked up some of best pairs of Reebok Pumps online haha

@ Ivo - Turbo has arrived already and been installed without any problems. As mentioned it was/is a genuine part so was identical to the one that was removed and is working nicely in my old mans VW Transporter.

** Cheers for the replies guys, I just wanted to post it up to encourage people to expand their horizens and not be afraid of looking online for some items. Mechanics and Dealers (in general) have been stooging owners for YEARS AND YEARS and I know as I have been working on my own cars for a long time and I have a couple of mates who are in that industry & I know what sort of **** goes on.

The guys at Hi-Way said my father needed a new intercooler at $425 as the one he had was "filled with oil" so had to be replaced. Again I laughed and told them to pull their fingers out, use some degreaser and get the apprentice to start cleaning. Intercoolers are pretty basic.

Anyway - happy customer.

[jfoldbar]

the thing that would worry me the most, what if you got it here and it was a bit different/wrong. then you gotta send it back. just to save a few hundred bucks.

[haro]

the thing that would worry me the most, what if you got it here and it was a bit different/wrong. then you gotta send it back. just to save a few hundred bucks.

True true - It certainly pays to read all the specs very carefully and confirm all this stuff with the seller prior to purchasing anything. Normally when things like that happen its usually due to the buyer making an error sadly. I've done it in the past when I bought a pipe for my old motorbike - didnt read the description properly, didnt fit, so i sent it back and they sent me another one. Still worked out a little cheaper but a bit of a pain in the bum.

On another note - I am also in the process of sourcing a new replacement AC Compressor from Singapore, VW quoted $1500. I found an OEM Supplier for about $520AUD Delivered.

Good times

[GUV]

Well done Haro, thanks for the link, It would be interesting to see who clicks the link if their turbo failed.
Welcome to the forum and take the scare mongering as just a sign of affection.

[Transporter]

I don't know what is the conversion between the EU and A$ but the price in that link was close to EU1,000. .
Good luck to all wiht their car repairs in the no so distante future, you will have nobody else to blame. LOL

[Transporter]

the thing that would worry me the most, what if you got it here and it was a bit different/wrong. then you gotta send it back. just to save a few hundred bucks.

...or it didn't arrive at all and you need to get your van on the road. Certainly ordering cheap parts on line can work for some or sometimes, but it doesn't have to be always practical. Let's say you can't fit it yourself and the mechanic doesn't want to fit the parts you bought from the internet. Another reason would be that you get the OEM part, but it could be the second or third grade, hmm.

I think that you guys who can't do your own servicing and repairs will be waiting to get your car back on the road much longer than before the eBay times pretty soon. Don't get me wrong, I bought the things of the eBay as well. But, it is a bit of gamble to me when you buy a part that cost $1000 from the abroad. I guess I'm not a pokies player; also I have to admit I hate the gamble that you have absolutely not control over it.

I always say to customers that are too smart and already bought their own parts, that they should buy the tools for that job as well and DIY. Not worth of to waste my time.

[Ivo]

Transporter, from reading you last few replies it sounds like your really pissed about people trying to save $$$.

"I always say to customers that are too smart and already bought their own parts, that they should buy the tools for that job as well and DIY. Not worth of to waste my time. "

Its a shame to read that from a moderator and a sponsor of this site.


"Good luck to all wiht their car repairs in the no so distante future, you will have nobody else to blame. LOL"
Actually I think it will be good luck to the guys who have this attitude, I cant see them staying business.

[Corey_R]

This is a complex issue.

Local business use both the hourly rate (or labour charge) and any profit in parts.
If all of a sudden there is no profit in parts, then the business will either fail, or they will have to increase their labour rates to remain viable.

If everyone were on equal terms, and no one had profit in parts and everyone just had suitable labour rates, then that wouldn't be so much of an issue. The issue is where you have a mix. If you supplied your own parts, would you be happy to pay higher labour rates? Probably not. No one else does either. This puts local businesses in difficult positions.

Then there is the obvious issue of counterfeit goods, or even completely incorrect parts. Customers supply the parts from sometimes dodgy sources and then expect the local business to be able to sort out the issues, which sometimes just simply cannot be resolved. Even worse, if in the case of a turbo, it gets installed and then fails and destroys an engine, the customer will often go back to the installer and hit them up for a warranty claim on the installation....

Look at Transporter's signature. He's a moderator, but he's also a local business owner in automotive services.

This is a complex issue.

[mikinoz]

Transporters point is fair, just badly articulated I think.

If a mechanic won't fit parts he has not sourced that is his prerogative.

I have bought a few things in from OS now and have had some wins and some losses, but all the time I am wearing the risk knowingly as I do the work myself.