Eurocarparts Pricing Anomaly
 

When I bought my car it was advertised as having 12 months MOT, but when I checked the paperwork it turned out to be only two months, so as a condition of sale I got the dealer to have a full ticket put on it. It passed fine but had an advisory about the rear discs (worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened). So at some point between now and the next MOT date in April I intend to replace these, and while I'm at it I'll do the front ones and handbrake shoes as well.

Although it will be March/April before I have this done I do like a bit of forward planning so I've just been looking around online to get an idea on pricing. I chose Pagid as a reasonable quality but not overly expensive option and discovered the following:

Eurocarparts (ECP)

Front Discs x2 £83.98
Front Pad Set £31.99
Rear Discs x2 £62.98
Rear Pad Set £32.99
Handbrake Shoes £25.49

A grand total of £237.43 before discount, the highest available at the moment being 30% (code WEEKEND30). That brings it down to £166.20.

I then had a bit more of a hunt round and found that you can order direct from ECP via eBay. Here you have an option to buy 'kits' - a pair of discs and associated pads - whereas if ordered on the ECP site it seems everything has to be bought individually. On eBay there are two versions of Pagid discs available, ATE system and Teves system - no idea what the difference is, maybe someone can enlighten me.

ATE
Front Disc & Pad Set £59.95
Rear Disc & Pad Set £61.99
Handbrake Shoes £19.12

Teves
Front Disc & Pad Set £72.30
Rear Disc & Pad Set £62.69
Handbrake Shoes £19.12

Even though ECP discount codes aren't valid when buying through eBay, the Teves system is still £12.09 cheaper at £154.11 and at £141.06 the ATE system is £25.14 cheaper.

I've only looked at brakes so I've no idea if prices on other parts will show a similar anomaly but I suggest that when using ECP check whether it's possible to find the same thing, direct from them, cheaper on the bay - even without a discount code.

Andrew

I have noticed this as well, with Castrol oil. Far cheaper on ebay with carparts4less (which is ECP!)

To muddy the waters even more - CarParts4Less. You can get the same products, same product codes, but much cheaper but usually no discount codes.

If you leave a product in the basket for a day or so they send you 5% off as well - although they are doing 12% off today.

I bought some oil & filter for me and my girlfriends car - to get the best price I had to make three separate orders, 2 at ECP with different discount codes, one at CarParts4Less. Madness.

Yep I got a Front disc and pad Pagid set from ECP ebay. Was way cheaper than their main site. Was shipped from the same warehouse though.

The discs and pads I find excellent for braking and I have done 10k on them now with no issues.........except the pads produce loads of brake dust.

Commercial shrewdness. They have a 'captive' audience here, so offer attractive discounts like 30%. But 30% off the list price might still be much higher than the lower profit prices listed on ebay. There's much more competition in the open market and a vast buyer base so that's where you'll get the best prices. But you have to tread carefully. There's a lot of rubbish too. Basically shop around and assume nobody is doing you any favours.

TC

Kits are always going to be cheaper than buying individually, in effect you are bulking buying which is always cheaper.

ECP discount code offer is 30% at the moment. At 25%, which is the discount offered to members here in the absence of a higher one open to all on the ECP website, it would still be cheaper through eBay even if items were bought separately. Maybe only by a £1, but it's the priciple that counts. :xmas-smiley-008:

Right, well companies do sell things at different prices. Not really sure i see the issue tbh. At least you know where to go to get the cheapest stuff :xmas-smiley-008: