>>>>So I gave TPS Croydon a ring and they had a VAG approved exchange unit for £123:00 plus vat.<<<<<

Hi Peter,

This is the a good illustration of how the dealers are screwing us. On stuff they have managed to lock out the independent by forcing the component manufacturers to make certain items unavailable to the aftermarket, And the stuff they can't really make it stick on they reduce their retails and still give us very little discount a lot of the time.

More than ever now we have to keep our eyes on dealer RRP and trades prices in order to ensure we are getting good prices from the factors.

We can no longer assume the factor is going to be cheaper.

Which brings us to another question, Who decides if we are overcharging for parts? ie if you have a 30% mark up policy and the dealer only gives you 5%, do you charge dealer retail or add your standard mark up? And would trading standards have a case to reprimand you if you did charge your markup? And what if you purchase from factor at a higher price than dealer retail and then add a markup?

Mike