Importing APR products from the US

[Preen59]

Everyone needs to put food on the table and I'm sure you can all understand that. At the risk of making assumptions here, I'm sure a number of customers make a larger annual salary than the guys they are buying the aftermarket equipment off.. So before you start complaining about prices, you may want to take a level headed look at what's on offer and why it costs what it does.

Just my thoughts, but I feel some people go for the throat long before doing their research.

Aus/Euro ECUs are generally different to the ones found in US cars so its not as simple as above.

Not to mention we also have different fuel and air to the USA.. Combine that with a lower sales volume and the price has to be higher.

APR USA (and others) can afford to have a lower margin, because they sell more tunes.

[VW Convert]

So before you start complaining about prices, you may want to take a level headed look at what's on offer and why it costs what it does.

Just my thoughts, but I feel some people go for the throat long before doing their research.

Have to agree Chris, whenever I read threads like this I ask myself do people have any idea of the costs involved in running a business, all of which have to be paid out of the gross profit. The answer of course is no.

I've been in the spare parts business for decades and whilst profit margins appear high, the bottom line tends to be quite thin. There are a raft of overheads, levies, taxes and other expenses that quickly erode what might appear on the surface to be huge profit margins. I'm not suggesting that there are no rip offs but one needs to look at all the factors involved.

Cheers

George

[Ideo]

I think the issue is a little bit more complex than that.

Take the VWR intake. Rennenhaus used to sell them. APR now sells them. For substantially more.

[Tim]

The risk of making assumptions here, I'm sure a number of customers make a larger annual salary than the guys they are buying the aftermarket equipment off..

You dont get rich by paying RRP!

[gecko2k]

Even though you can use mail/parcel forwarding services to post restricted items to Australia, it would be to funny to find a thread one day going:

'Engine dead after APR-US flash. HELP'

or

'How to get US-spec tune running. HELP'

or just

'HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP'

[Guy_H]

I think the issue is a little bit more complex than that.

Take the VWR intake. Rennenhaus used to sell them. APR now sells them. For substantially more.

Why is it complex?

Rennenhaus - One man operation, (part time I understand - he has a full time job as well), no business premises, no staff - insurance? Overheads? advertising?

Nothing against that at all, but not all performance product importers get to work on the same basis in Australia.

The VWR intake in question was $850 from Ian, it is currently $975 from APR - that's a 14% difference - we carry them in stock, they are made in the UK & attract 15% duty over other US made products. The next batch has arrived today & currently being shipped out to our dealers for fitting on customers cars.

[gareth_oau]

a bit off topic, but Porsche australia we recently defending their pricing, stating that in the cost of a $390k Porsche (as an example) there was $170k in Australia taxesn including import durties, GST, luxury car tax etc.

I somehow don't think comparing US prices to australian prices is always a level playing field

[Fodpuck]

Also, if you buysomething from US and something goes wrong - where do you go. I had my Pirelli APR Stage 1 tuned at Harding Performance and they have been excellent to deal with and helped immensley with my enquiries when my battery died. I thought the cost was quite reasonable considering they vast improvement it made to the performance and the after sale support I have received.

[Ideo]

Why is it complex?

Rennenhaus - One man operation, (part time I understand - he has a full time job as well), no business premises, no staff - insurance? Overheads? advertising?

Nothing against that at all, but not all performance product importers get to work on the same basis in Australia.

The VWR intake in question was $850 from Ian, it is currently $975 from APR - that's a 14% difference - we carry them in stock, they are made in the UK & attract 15% duty over other US made products. The next batch has arrived today & currently being shipped out to our dealers for fitting on customers cars.

Fair enough.

Just as long as the consumer knows that they are paying more than what they were previously available for.

And that buying in bulk apparently has no cost savings.

Cheers for the update.

[DNA Tuning]

I'm sure a number of customers make a larger annual salary than the guys they are buying the aftermarket equipment off..

This is true; and this is why APR can somehow even sell some exhaust systems at $4k. Let's not kid ourselves, the price set for these pricey parts is based on market research on the demographic.

Let's look at their Porsche 911 Turbo products as a comparison... $5900 for a catback and $2995 for an exhaust header. Sure there are some funny twists and bends in the Porsche's exhaust layout, but it is less piping and certainly not that much more expensive to manufacture.

Similarly, their plain ECU remap is $3795... the point is, they will price it not based on their bottom line but on what the target demographic is willing to pay.

All tuners, including myself, are to some extent guilty of this; in my case it is around the $1500 mark for a 911 Turbo remap so that is double what my VW Golf customers pay for a similar service.