Spares Rip-offs Beyond A Joke
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday December 8, 1990
Last week I received a shock when I went to buy a replacement indicator control box for a certain motorcycle. The part had been destroyed when it detached itself from the frame and got caught up in the rear wheel.
I went through the usual routine at the spares counter - microfiche, stock list then price list ... $250 please. I almost fell through the floor: a small plastic-encased electrical component about the size of two matchboxes with a few transistors and wires inside - $250?
I didn't buy the part. I went to a car wrecker's and bought one from a car that suited the bike. It cost $10.
This is just an example of the gross rip-off that is the motorcycle spare parts trade.
A few years ago, there was an inquiry into car spares that called to public attention the pricing activities in that industry. Let me tell you, the car spare parts trade has nothing on the bike spare parts and accessories trade. This is unquestionably one of the main causes for distress and disenchantment among motorcycle owners - being ripped off for spares.
It has wider ramifications too - insurance companies write off accident-damaged bikes with relatively minor damage which, in turn, causes premiums to go up.
Even accessories prices are over the top.
What is needed is some containment of spares prices. It is all very well to slice thousands off new bike prices, but distributors and dealers should resist the temptation to subsidise the price-cuts through the parts counter -it has an absolutely negative effect.
© 1990 Sydney Morning Herald
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