Buying Spare parts

The spare parts market has become very bouyant and very competitive, with what can only be called a minefield of so called Mini specialists.
Most Mini enthusiasts will look through the advertisements looking for the best price, an alternative if available, and then who the company is. Are they as good as their advert states? do they have stock? And usually in that order. The type of dispatch or delivery if you're not collecting, will usually be your last thought.
Since the arrival of Mini World magazine, with its cheap advertising and its sole dedication to the Mini, it has become increasingly easy for Mini O\ivners to source their parts, or so its seems.
If you are a novice Mini owner, it is far more difficult to decide who to buy your parts from. The long term owners have usually worked this out by having already bought many parts. The biggest problem facing the novice purchaser is the major
differences in price and quality of the part and whether the company is indeed reputable. If prices do vary a great deal there is usually a very good reason, so query the price if you think you are being overcharged. Ask about the country of origin of the part and quality or grade of material used. Fast moving parts such as servicing or rebuild kits are usually cheaper as they are competitively priced by the manufacturers.
The quality of parts is important, but in varying degrees: To highlight this I can use the examples of chrome plated goods which are not safety critical, as opposed to suspension/wheels and steering which are all very safety critical. In the case of chromed goods they are available in various grades, but it is the finishing, preparation and standard of tooling that dictate price and life expectancy, so you take your choice as it is only cosmetic. When it comes to safety critical parts however, such as steering orientated components, a completely different perspective must be taken. Firstly try and use genuine Rover/Unipart parts. All reputable manufacturers will make every effort to ensure the part has been fully tested and covered by a worldwide product liability insurance. Some of the importers bringing in parts from Tawain, India, Italy and China don't have such insurance and their products are often not up to any kind of standard, which is another reason why we only have parts manufactured in Britain, where we have greater control over tolerances and quality.
Only we and our parts suppliers can sift out the good manufacturers in this country, and ensure that the product is good enough to be covered by a product liability insurance. Many companies buying or selling parts have only a public liability, which a few years ago did loosely cover products. But such are the changes in the insurance world that a true claim would not be covered, especially from Japan or USA. Rover/Unipart mark their products with the country of manufacture, as many more parts are re-sourced overseas. therefore, we know the origin of most of our parts. All Heritage specialists should have this real product liability insurance, but owing to the cost and terminology from insurance companies, it is hard
to enforce. To this end I took on the task of finding out exactly how good the cover we had would be, if any of our safety critical parts failed, leading to a fatality in say, the USA, where such legislation throws insurance companies into panic. After months of questioning and enquiring, I realised that our present insurance was not legally watertight and the cover was totally inadequate.
Mini Spares now has a 5 million pounds - per single claim - worldwide product liability, since early last year, but even with a lifetime's no claims bonus, our insurance is still ten thousand pounds per year - way beyond the finances of most companies supplying Mini parts. The only company I know of to date with this cover is the Moss group.
On our part, Mini Spares as a company, have strived to supply the highest quality parts, at the most competitive prices. With gross profits of only 28-30% for the entire operation of retailing, wholesaling, and profitable manufacturing, the
company has to be run very lean and cost-effective, to remain competitive. Without getting into needless price wars, we will always match any competitor's price if possible, even though the likelihood is that our part will be of higher quality, and made in Britain to the highest standards.
A good example of this would be our one-piece rod end jOinted lower arms or our negative camber arms, which are individualiy crack tested before sale. Our wheels are another case in point. They are being tested for JWL approval in Japan, and TUV in Germany. There are cheap wheels on the market that would never pass these safety standard tests, which cost us nearly £3,000 per wheel.
All these extra improvements and tests are financed by the manufacturing profits. We are also having our parts constantly tested by various safetyinstitutions, as well as our race cars and nominated test cars, which give us immediate feedback.
With any part we make, we always strive to upgrade the material to cope with the greater loads and stresses that they will endure. Cars now go a lot faster than were originally designed to!
As an example, upgrading the mechanical properties of the original EN16T to the superior EN24W is not always appreciated by the purchaser. Needless to say, any problem part is immediately deleted from our range, regardless of who makes it. To hold our position as world market leaders in Mini spares, we have, over the last 18 months, changed trading style and staff, to ensure that we offer our customers more help, remain courteous, resist knocking competitors, and generally provide a better all round service.
We will accept back for refund any part sold, less carriage, if it is returned unused and undamaged within 7 days of purchase. It is the customers responsibility to ensure that returned goods reach us intact and undamaged.
A lot of these changes have been made to mark our progress and steady growth as a company. We decided not to move to larger premises, but to improve the existing one. This has helped us, unlike others, to maintain our family feeling. We still have the back up of an industrial unit warehouse locally, and we have opened a Trade Centre in Harrogate, near Leeds, where any of our parts can be purchased. This was prompted by many enquiries from disgruntled northem customers, who preferred to examine and collect our Mini parts personally. Our quality Mini spares are now available in the north!
For the Mini owner who has just acquired a car, or has no knowledge of the parts market, I would like to offer the following help:-
Without detriment to any newly formed company, the first step is to look for a company that has regularly advertised, and been around for more than ten years. Although in some cases this may not be a guarantee that the company are selling good parts, to have survived this long, they should at least know the business well, and give you some security that they will still be around to settle any grievance or claim, so as to maintain their reputation.
Next join a good motor club such as the Cooper Register, Mini Cooper or Mini Owners club, or any local group that has been active a few years. At the very least, seek advice from any long standing Mini club member. They will 7 have bought parts before, and be able to advise you, from experience, who is regarded as being good and who, unfortunately, is bad. Listen carefully to other members before you form an opinion, particularly those owning original Cooper and Cooper S's - they will have had more experience in buying parts, because of the unique nature of their cars. Pay attention and make note of all experiences, but beware of anyone who bad mouths a company based on a single experience.
One bad experience does not make a bad company, but a number of grievances from a selection of people probably does. Any COMPANY that bad mouths another is probably hiding their own inadequacies, so beware!
Doing your own research, in not time you will have amassed a list of quality, prices, helpfulness, stock availability, delivery promiSes, etc., and will they refund your money if you are not satisfied? The law is on the consumer's side these days, but resist trying to weild it too heavily. Companies have been known to react by being unhelpful, knowing that it will cost you lots of time and money to pursue them legally. Let them know that you are aware of the law - that's usually sufficient.
Visit the company's premises and see if they look orderly and capable of living up to their claims. This should ease your worries and help you make up your mind. Look at the quality of parts and value for money. If comparing competitors products, make sure it is a genuine comparison. Also enquire whether the parts are new, genuine, or reconditioned. Some companies have jumped on the bandwagon and only offer surplus stocks or accessories, while at the other end of the scale, some companies live off their name only, which is hardly a justification for their overpriced parts. I can offer no guide to dealing with these companies other than to proceed with caution. It's your car and your money, so you takes your choice. Lets hope it's the right one.
Keith Dodd

Importation rules regarding vehicles are very specific: Only those over 25 years in age may be brought in to the USA without compilance to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).