Surcharge on new parts?

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Thu 14 Jun 2001 17:03
Surcharge on new parts? - Dave N
Go to buy a new radiator from Toyota for my Landcruiser, and on top of the already steep £520 is a £50 surcharge, repayable when I bring in my old unit.

"If you do service exchange units" I say, "I'll take one of those instead". "No, we don't do service exchange" he says. "So what do you want my old one for then?". "Toyota policy" he says.

I reckon they do this to stop people like Serck getting hold of them and undercutting them. A good way to control the market, I think. Problem is, I don't have the old one as it is with Serck after they tried to repair it 4 times, and they want to send it back to their supplier of cores and gaskets to claim on warranty.
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Thu 14 Jun 2001 23:59
Re: Surcharge on new parts? - David Lacey
Yes Dave I think this is the ploy here - it's a crafty way of retaining their displaced parts I guess and, therefore protecting their parts business!
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Fri 15 Jun 2001 07:48
Re: Surcharge on new parts? - Malcolm
How have they the right to force a customer to sell something to them that rightfully belongs to the customer?. I'm sure the Trading Standards Department would frown on this "policy". Any legal gurus out there with a view ?
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Fri 15 Jun 2001 22:56
Re: Surcharge on new parts? - Andrew Tarr
Being charitable, one might hope that the companies retain failed parts and examine them to find the cause of failure ?
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Mon 18 Jun 2001 09:23
Re: Surcharge on new parts? - John Kenyon
Andrew Tarr wrote:
>
> Being charitable, one might hope that the companies retain
> failed parts and examine them to find the cause of failure ?

So they can perfect the technique of producing parts which fail
exactly one month after warranty expiry?

/John
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Fri 15 Jun 2001 09:19
Re: Surcharge on new parts? - John Slaughter
Dave

Yes, worth checking with trading standards. Sounds like sharp practice.

The risk is that they will either
(a) State they are selling exchange units
(b) Push up the price and offer a discount for exchange

Regards

John
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Fri 15 Jun 2001 13:23
Re: Surcharge on new parts? - Dave N
I lodged a complaint with Toyota, and they came back to me today, saying that they actually offer a discount if you bring the old one back. I told her that the garage quite clearly had a list price, followed by a letter (A-Z). This letter is a surcharge code that they look up on a seperate sheet. I told her I thought it was sharp practice, but they wouldn't budge. So I mailed trading standards.
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Fri 15 Jun 2001 13:41
Re: Surcharge on new parts? - John Slaughter
Toyota's statement that there is a list price with a discount for return of the old item isn't a problem (except that you don't have the old unit). Could even be considered environmentally responsible if they recycle old units.

But in your original post it sounds like you were charged extra over the list for not having an old item - which is completely different. Confusion or sharp practice at the garage - difficult to say. Get Toyota to confirm their practice and the list price in writing, and if you've been 'had' then Trading Standards can take action.

regards

John
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