Real story: :X-:
My maternal grandpa's corolla LE broke down, go to mech and found out the engine oil pump timing gear is worn out, can't spin anymore, so my cousins bring him go chop shop find parts, but they either wont' sell them seperately from the engine or they won't fit.
so, i bring him go to UMW's center to find the part. The guy at the counter say they don't have any stock, saying that the little gear will cost near RM140. Due to them not having any stock, they will need to ship it either from KL or if KL dun have any stock, will have to ship them from japan. All shipping fee will be charged 25% of the price of the item :shocked:, costing a total of rm170++. The guy say ship from KL will take 3 days and if from Japan, it will take 3 weeks, and i have to go copy the whole chasis code and the engine code so there is no mistake.
Because its Hari Gawai celebration here, so they wont' work until next week. So we decide to hunt for the parts at those small part dealer.
The first shop we find say they don't have any stock, and say the gear i show him (i bring the broken gear along) is not engine oil pump gear, its from "somewhere down there" and its not broken. i'm like :confused_smile:, screw him, just go away.
Second shop i visit just plainly tell me there's no stock. So move on to the third part shop.
The boss there is really friendly. He saw the gear, know what it is for, and notice the mounting there had worn out. He say he never got this part shipped to his shop before, and tell me where to look. He recomend another part shop not far from his, saying that the other shop is a toyota part dealer, direct deal with toyota japan or something.
so i went there. First impresion was.. :shocked: god damn so many toyota parts. the boss there is a young chap in his late 20s or something, so busy looking, with a bluetooth headset on one ear and the fix line phone on the other ear. I show him the gear, he ask me what car, i say EE80, he say "oh, got.. but i busy now, wait for me for a while"
so i wait, took 10 minutes plus :Not_Impressed: before he got time to entertain me. He's still on the phone when he look for the part for me. I didn't ask him if he really deals directly with toyota japan or not, but he did tell me one thing: "I used to be a toyota mech, and i only sell toyota parts here. UMW over there (the one quote me rm170+ for the gear just now, 15 min drive from the shop) always get parts from me when they don't have stock".
Okay, cool, i thought, can save up the 25% charge from UMW, pay rm130+ is always better than rm170+. The gear's box is genuine toyota's, come with all those labels and he had to record the serial number or something before i buy them.
So i ask him how much that thing cost. He said: "RM75, after discount rm64, no more nego, genuine part's price is more or less fix". I'm like :retarded:x1000. Then worried abit it mike be a fake "genuine" part. It did look abit different from the one i had in my pocket. Then he said, "Toyota improve their old product from time to time if there's any complain, so its normal they look abit different". He then measure the gear for me, same size everything, just look different. Then i worry it might not fit, then he say "you just take it to your mechanic, if it wont' fit, bring it back i give you full refund, just bring the receipt along. This is metal part, won't break easily, you return to me i can sell it again". Well, RM64, genuine part, won't fit can bring back for refund, and i don't even have to go copy the chasis/engine code. what do i have to lose?
so bought it, bring back to mech, try it on, perfect fit!!! :shades_smile:
so.. the problem is. HOW MUCH IS UMW EARNING???!! Thats a damn 100% markup. The guy at part shop say UMW Kuching here take parts from them. Then UMW no stock now, they can just take the part from teh shop i go for rm70, then sell to me for rm170++ and tell me they ship it from KL where it is only like 3km away!! damn wan con me rm100 just like that??!!:baring_teeth:
ps: we use the "money saved" to go drink tea and eat char siu pao at coffee shop :_:
My maternal grandpa's corolla LE broke down, go to mech and found out the engine oil pump timing gear is worn out, can't spin anymore, so my cousins bring him go chop shop find parts, but they either wont' sell them seperately from the engine or they won't fit.
so, i bring him go to UMW's center to find the part. The guy at the counter say they don't have any stock, saying that the little gear will cost near RM140. Due to them not having any stock, they will need to ship it either from KL or if KL dun have any stock, will have to ship them from japan. All shipping fee will be charged 25% of the price of the item :shocked:, costing a total of rm170++. The guy say ship from KL will take 3 days and if from Japan, it will take 3 weeks, and i have to go copy the whole chasis code and the engine code so there is no mistake.
Because its Hari Gawai celebration here, so they wont' work until next week. So we decide to hunt for the parts at those small part dealer.
The first shop we find say they don't have any stock, and say the gear i show him (i bring the broken gear along) is not engine oil pump gear, its from "somewhere down there" and its not broken. i'm like :confused_smile:, screw him, just go away.
Second shop i visit just plainly tell me there's no stock. So move on to the third part shop.
The boss there is really friendly. He saw the gear, know what it is for, and notice the mounting there had worn out. He say he never got this part shipped to his shop before, and tell me where to look. He recomend another part shop not far from his, saying that the other shop is a toyota part dealer, direct deal with toyota japan or something.
so i went there. First impresion was.. :shocked: god damn so many toyota parts. the boss there is a young chap in his late 20s or something, so busy looking, with a bluetooth headset on one ear and the fix line phone on the other ear. I show him the gear, he ask me what car, i say EE80, he say "oh, got.. but i busy now, wait for me for a while"
so i wait, took 10 minutes plus :Not_Impressed: before he got time to entertain me. He's still on the phone when he look for the part for me. I didn't ask him if he really deals directly with toyota japan or not, but he did tell me one thing: "I used to be a toyota mech, and i only sell toyota parts here. UMW over there (the one quote me rm170+ for the gear just now, 15 min drive from the shop) always get parts from me when they don't have stock".
Okay, cool, i thought, can save up the 25% charge from UMW, pay rm130+ is always better than rm170+. The gear's box is genuine toyota's, come with all those labels and he had to record the serial number or something before i buy them.
So i ask him how much that thing cost. He said: "RM75, after discount rm64, no more nego, genuine part's price is more or less fix". I'm like :retarded:x1000. Then worried abit it mike be a fake "genuine" part. It did look abit different from the one i had in my pocket. Then he said, "Toyota improve their old product from time to time if there's any complain, so its normal they look abit different". He then measure the gear for me, same size everything, just look different. Then i worry it might not fit, then he say "you just take it to your mechanic, if it wont' fit, bring it back i give you full refund, just bring the receipt along. This is metal part, won't break easily, you return to me i can sell it again". Well, RM64, genuine part, won't fit can bring back for refund, and i don't even have to go copy the chasis/engine code. what do i have to lose?
so bought it, bring back to mech, try it on, perfect fit!!! :shades_smile:
so.. the problem is. HOW MUCH IS UMW EARNING???!! Thats a damn 100% markup. The guy at part shop say UMW Kuching here take parts from them. Then UMW no stock now, they can just take the part from teh shop i go for rm70, then sell to me for rm170++ and tell me they ship it from KL where it is only like 3km away!! damn wan con me rm100 just like that??!!:baring_teeth:
ps: we use the "money saved" to go drink tea and eat char siu pao at coffee shop :_:
