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Old 15th April 2009, 01:10   #1
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Time to insist for Over-The-Counter Sale of Spares!

We, the consumers have been held to ransom for long enough at the hands of the various manufacturers and their so called A.S.S's. Every manufacturer has varying levels of the same malaise effecting their service network. While the monopoly forced upon us emboldens them, the poor customer continues to languish under the mercy of this nexus... and try as I might, I have been unable to come up with any situation where this benefits us customers in any way what-so-ever! (contrary to manufacturer spiel!)

I think the time has come for a revolution. The manufacturers HAVE to agree to sell original parts over the counter. I do not think they have any right to dictate where we get our vehicles serviced, or to deny us spare support if one so chooses to patronise private parties/garages. Insisting on either/both HAS to be in direct contravention of MRTP Act. (The lawyers amongst us can shed more light on this)

Personally, I have chosen to act - and intend to force the issue the next time I need Hyundai Spares!

Inquilab Zindabad!

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Old 15th April 2009, 01:32   #2
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I've never had occasion to, so I don't know-- but don't A.S.S.'s sell spare parts independent of fixing/replacing them? (Evidently not!)
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Old 15th April 2009, 01:41   #3
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Originally Posted by Perakath View Post
I've never had occasion to, so I don't know-- but don't A.S.S.'s sell spare parts independent of fixing/replacing them? (Evidently not!)
Never! The last time I needed a rear alignment nut - and I had to speak to the GM of the dealership himself - who also hummed and hawed and spoke to ten ppl before I got one!
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Old 15th April 2009, 02:09   #4
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I think tata sells most of their stuff over the counter. there is a tata authorized spares shop from which I buy most of the parts for my indicab from.
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Old 15th April 2009, 02:16   #5
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Honda won't seel me any of it's proprietary oils e.g. Honda Automatic Transmission Fluid, Honda Brake Fluid etc.

For both the above oils Honda specifically states in the manual that if any other oil is used it could damage the respective part and Honda proprietary oils protect these parts.

I asked them in case of emergency and the car being in a town where there is no A.S.S. would they sell the oil OTC and they refused for the same i.e. Linkway and Apex Honda.

This binds us to get our cars maintained by them only and should be illegal. In the states I believe there was a suit filed for the same and the consumers won and now Honda sells these fluid OTC but they cannot be exported out of the U.S.

I wonder if we would have to file a case for the same or is there a law to protect us.
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Old 15th April 2009, 02:44   #6
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Yeah. Maruti has a similar such nice lovely showroom in Gurgaon. Else most spares can be sold OTC if you have the car there.
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Old 15th April 2009, 02:46   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greenhorn View Post
I think tata sells most of their stuff over the counter. there is a tata authorized spares shop from which I buy most of the parts for my indicab from.
What is Tata A.S.S.'s policy on "over the counter" sale of spares ?

IMO, there is two different problems here:
- Brands like Mercedes, BWM, Skoda - where parts are not easy to find outside of the A.S.S's (unless sourced from outside India)
- Brands like Maruti - where genuine spares are available from authorized spares shops but can not be bought over the counter from the A.S.S's.

Maruti spares (MGPs) could earlier be purchased over the counter from its A.S.S.'s but they stopped doing this about an year ago. Going all the way to JC Road to procure a small part isn't always sensible - hence the car goes to the A.S.S.'s for relatively minor things now.

As an example - costs of fixing a broken door handle for a M800
a) Rs 50 if I buy the MGP and do it myself
b) Rs 70-80 if I buy the MGP and get it done at the friendly neighborhood mechanic
c) Rs 170 for getting it done at the dealer's A.S.S.'s - and they'll try to con me into getting a dozen other things that I don't need.

Now, this is a simple job (*not* rocket science) that I have done in the past and it takes all of ten minutes. So option (a) was the clear choice. Ahh! the happy days when the A.S.S. sold parts over the counter.

After Maruti's "policy" change - the cost of driving down to JC Road to get the door handle comes into the picture. Fuel costs alone (min Rs150) mean that option (a) and (b) are no longer viable. So the A.S.S.'s get more business.

If this doesn't qualify as a "restrictive trade practice" then what does?
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Old 15th April 2009, 02:52   #8
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I could be wrong here, but I believe the reason Hyundai doesn't normally sell spares over the counter is to ensure that spurious parts don't get into the market.
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Old 15th April 2009, 02:56   #9
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I've bought some things for my Xeta over the counter. Having good relations with a few people at the dealership works wonders.

I've also got a clutch assembly over the counter for Wolfinstein for his lancer. The guys had refused to sell the parts alone to him when he took his car there for a diagnosis. Few days later I walked into the workshop (while wolfie waited further down the road in the car) and was given the spares without any fuss at all. Got the printed proper bill too.
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Old 15th April 2009, 03:52   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greenhorn View Post
I think tata sells most of their stuff over the counter. there is a tata authorized spares shop from which I buy most of the parts for my indicab from.
And so does Maruti,infact surprisingly one of the dealers is situated at the Motor Market,and he usually has almost all the spares or provides them asap.We easily get esteem and 800's spares from there,however on casually enquiring I found one has to wait for atleast a couple of days to get Baleno's spares,but I guess same is the case at MASS as well.
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Old 15th April 2009, 06:59   #11
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Tata spares can be bought OTC from the TASC - Concorde, for example, also acts as a distributor to the smaller TASPs who don't want a large inventory. There is no compulsion to get anything done at the TASC / TASP.
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Old 15th April 2009, 07:44   #12
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Can not comment on policy of all manufacturers but most A.S.S. are there to give service by trained staff.

For DIY or non-A.S.S. service O.E. spare should be available from parts dealers. No manufacturer can put a condition that they will not sell parts/consumables to customers.

The last seems clear case for MRTP.

Personally have almost always got O.E. spares of MSIL/M&M/Hyundai from A.S.S. or market. Some time genuine O.E. parts from market were cheaper too.
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Old 15th April 2009, 07:55   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sudev View Post

Personally have almost always got O.E. spares of MSIL/M&M/Hyundai from A.S.S. or market. Some time genuine O.E. parts from market were cheaper too.
Yes,I too have experienced that the spares are considerably cheaper if u source them from the market.Sometimes the price difference being as much as 40%.Its mainly because they have a large business to run as compared to the small shops selling the spares at cheaper prices.However,there are many non-genuine parts in the market and unless you look really hard its tough to tell if they really are fake or not.And primarily that is the reason most of us would rather take the car to authorized service centres,just for that peace of mind that the new disc pads they have in their car are genuine and thus wont compromise on their and their family's safety.
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Old 15th April 2009, 08:00   #14
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I dunno why. But i remember getting by Zen spares (including a fender,grille and bumper) from a Hyundai dealership. this was when the original '99 Zen grille was not available even at a MASS in 2006.
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Old 15th April 2009, 08:04   #15
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I dunno why. But i remember getting by Zen spares (including a fender,grille and bumper) from a Hyundai dealership. this was when the original '99 Zen grille was not available even at a MASS in 2006.
Maruti Zen's spares from arch rival's dealership?
You sure if it was an authorized hyundai dealer? Did not you find why they had zen's spares with them?
Were they genuine spares and not used ones?
This really sounds very strange.I am surprised,though good for you that you got the spares for your car.

Cheers!!
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