In light of the current exchange rate and current economic situation etc...I was thinking whether club funds could be used to gain discounts on parts.
These parts could then be held at an agreed location with vat paid etc..so when someone needs something its to hand rather than waiting for shipping, clearance etc.
It could only be used by members etc.
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Or send me over to the states and il bring everything back :wink: TT
DOC398
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Tourettes Tutor
I have the X factor
Even the Euro has dropped badly now lol TT!
Imagine if we had a parts nucleus bought at good prices available in GBP which would be fixed...no worrying about exchange or vat etc.
Al
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Al - a good idea, I'm down with it. Exchange rate wise it's better now than it has been in the last few months but then again overall the £ is still undervalued so it will get better again in time.
But having said that, the shipping and VAT on items is a real pain - if there was a stock of oft-needed parts that members could buy from the club that would be great - question is, who'd keep them?!
VIN 7176
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Great Idea,
Get aload of parts from Ed, stick them in a van and then drive them over. One cost of shipping. Storage might be a problem but I think Ed would be happy with that.
Dan
Gez, I think are a few people who who would volunteer...me being one..I have a nearly empty loft and masses of storage at work etc...and I am not the only one.
Sometimes bits pack up and you need a quick replacement..if the club held some stock here it would mean cars back on the road quicker etc, with less scouring Ebay etc...we could decide a club budget then see what we can get.
Al
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I think thats a great idea. Many times I have needed a part and had to wait ages for it to arrive and missed 2 car shows last year because of this.
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mmm. Not sure on this one myself. I'm happy to go with it if the rest of the committee is but it does raise a whole heap of questions such as; DaveH carries a load of spares at the moment and has had to sit on these for years and years, what kind of spares would you be looking at? Most day to day bits can be got locally (brakes/suspension/Engine bits) The club has not got that much money floating about spare, how much would would you have to lay out to get enough stock to make it worthwhile? I would have thought 5k min to get sufficiant quantity of each item...and the list goes on :? Insurance/postage Etc Etc. And more importantly what happens when the £-$ rate goes back up (which it will) and the items we own are back to being cheaper buying them dirct from the US of A
Sorry if I sound a bit negative on this but I dont think we are big enough as a club to go down this route. Perhaps if the UK and Ireland ran the same currency that way there would be a bigger customer base, but as it is even the postage on parts to Ireland is very expensive.
Just my 2p
Chris
Chris,
I dont think anywhere near 5k owuld be needed, I know that Dave H has stuff left...maybe we could ask him what it consists off, then ask the members what parts they could have done with laying their hands on quickly etc.
For instance the stainless exhausts at the reduced rate, the club could have perhaps bought one or two?..they would have sold easily eventually with perhaps even a 5% markup..MNickels is looking for one already, maybe a couple of blower motors too.
Radiators is another, I know I have a spare but John H doesnt want paying until its sold which is ok as a one off..but if we say bought 5 over etc the savings would be very beneficial, whoever buys my spare radiator could save up to £150 of the European price, you get my drift here.
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Hi Al, Dont get me wrong, I'm not totally against the idea. I have been thinking about it. We 'could' buy in items such as brake pads (Green/red Stuff) Etc direct from the manufacturer and sell them on as with lots of other items. Its just the sheer quantity of parts required to make it really viable.
Chris
Hi Chris
With this current situation its a buyers market, I dont think we would need to get loads of stuff in..just perhaps some common parts and some not so common that have to come inevitably from abroad.
Anyone got any ideas for parts they would like to see?
Auto gearbox computer would be a start !
It would be handy if someone could help Dave Howarth do a stock control to see what he has and then list it on here or maybe through a club e-bay shop or similar. After this it wouldn't take much of Dave's personal time with people ringing him up asking about the odd part.
If it helps I have 1 each of the following spare I can LEND out (temporarily):
IDLE SPEED ECU
IGNITION AMPLIFIER
OEM DISTRIBUTOR
NickT
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I'm with Nick on the Auto gearbox computer idea, that really can be a job-stopper and myself and another club member who knows who he is worked through the night to get mine back together last year as a matter of urgency.
Angle drives, with the same thing in mind?
I am also a member of another car club which occasionally buys rare parts as they come up, to make sure they stay within club circles. Not that they pay over the odds, they stop at a sensible budget, but it does mean that unobtainable parts are then held within the club and can be sold (for the going rate) to a deserving cause as and when the need arises. For example body panels only come up rarely, and the chance of one being on (say) Ebay the day after you prang the car is rare. But if one could be held within the club, then when you DO prang the car, it'll be there waiting.
Tough one. We (the club) would need to decide:
Budget, Range, Storage Location, Contact person, Spares controller etc etc. Plus give someone/ several people the autonomy to buy things as they see fit - there won't always be time for a comittee decision on each rare part as it comes up, typically a week if we are to stick with the Ebay example.
I don't think it can be quickly set up, we'll have to decide exactly what we want and how it is going to work before going ahead methinks. But yes, I have thought of this, it is a good idea.
It does fit in with the mission statement of
...Since then the Club has gone from strength to strength giving owners the opportunity to meet up with each other, help to locate spare parts and assist with valuations for classic car insurance.
Also just my 2p, and no, I'm afraid I don't have any storage space!!
The other consideration is that we don't want to tread on anyone's toes in terms of our relationship with vendors etc....
Richard Hanlon
Derbyshire
DOC 393
1981 DMC-12 VIN 06126
