Quality spares providers?

Crossthreaded

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Apr 16, 2019
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Ok folks. Now it's so difficult to order parts from TPS I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a source of quality (maybe even genuine parts) service parts - Air filter, oil filter, etc.
Thanks for any offerings.
 

Legojon

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Ok folks. Now it's so difficult to order parts from TPS I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a source of quality (maybe even genuine parts) service parts - Air filter, oil filter, etc.
Thanks for any offerings.

I got my first set of service filters from a Seat dealer (and paid the price for it). Much to my surprise they were just Mann filters which I could have (and now do) get from ECP for 1/3 of the price.
 

Crossthreaded

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I'm a little surprised at the "deafening silence" here. My other passion is for small Fiats and I contribute regularly to The Fiat Forum. When I posed the same question there (probably some 3 years ago) I was literally snowed under with recommendations. Many recommended Shop4parts, who operate out of Bradford selling genuine and pattern parts. I've now had 4 orders with them for both service and more major parts and I'm delighted with the quality of goods and service they give. Perhaps naive of me, but I thought a post on here would produce the same result for me.

So anyone like to pitch in here and help me find a reliable supplier of quality parts at a good price? Thanks to anyone who can.
Regards - and happy new year to all
 
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RUM4MO

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Sorry for not posting to this thread, if you look around, you will find a couple of SEAT dealerships parts departments that linked to this forum/site, they tend to give some discount which should easily cover postage costs if you smart, obviously some large cheap parts will not always end up being cheaper, the comments about VW Group using Mann for oil, air and pollen filters saves even more cash. VW Group also tend to use NGK plugs.

Edit:- Listers SEAT is what I've used for years and years for Audi, VW and SEAT parts.

I don't tend to look into this section much I'm afraid.

Another Edit:- one place to avoid generally is ebay etc, traders in VW Group spare parts seem to rely on people assuming "always cheaper than main dealer" - so jack the prices up, my latest case in question is the prices of replacement parts for the driver's side mirror on my wife's 2015 Polo - main dealer prices for the 4 parts required bought all together were cheaper when buying from my local VW dealer without any discount (mirror cap, housing assembly, LED Indicator assembly and spray paint twin pack.
 
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Crossthreaded

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Thanks for that chaps, much appreciated. Auto doc did me very good prices on Gates timing belts/water pump kits for our Panda and my boy's Punto I've had a few lesser parts from Mister auto too and they were fine. Having bought from TPS in the past I've become "comfortable" buying genuine suspension, engine and similar parts for the SEATs and Skodas in my life. Maybe I just need to come to grips with buying "big name" OE quality parts from the factors like I do for the other non VAG vehicles in the "family fleet"

A wee PS: I agree with you regarding ebay RUM4MO. I've had many good quality bargains off them, timing tool kits, undertray clips, etc, but you do need to be careful and look into the site that's selling.
 

Crossthreaded

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Just thought it might be of interest to some to know I'm going with Opie oils as my service parts supplier. I've been buying oils from them, for the other vehicles in the "family fleet", for a number of years now and found their service to be first class. I've never looked at the other items they supply and I've just been doing that. They supply Mahle filters (and other good quality makes) but Mahle is what I've been using for years on the other cars so that will do nicely for the Ibiza. I've just got to decide whether to go with the SEAT recommended Castrol Titanium 5w-30 LL (in a 4 litre container which I don't like) or Fuchs Pro C3 5w-30 - both of which are VAG 504/507 certified. I use Fuchs oils in the other family cars and am pleased with many aspects of the product (and it comes in 5 litre containers) I've nothing against the excellent Castrol product but you pay a premium price for it and I have faith in Fuchs, especially as I know they supply the Quantum branded range of oils sold through TPS. So, it's decision time! Still not quite sure what I will do when mechanical parts are needed but hopefully that will be no time soon. By then the car will be older so I'll have stopped being quite so "precious" about it?
 

Mr Pig

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Jun 17, 2015
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So is anyone managing to get stuff from TPS? I've been going there for years now and I'll be gutted if I can't get served any more.
 

Crossthreaded

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Apr 16, 2019
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So is anyone managing to get stuff from TPS? I've been going there for years now and I'll be gutted if I can't get served any more.
Hi "Mr Pig". Sorry for the late come back, I've been rather busy this week.

Yes I got quite a shock over this. I used to buy most of the VAG spares from them (at that time for my '99 1.9 tdi Cordoba Vario with the old VE engine - a great car which I miss a lot - and a couple of Skoda Fabias - 1.9 PD and then a 1.6 CR which my boy owned. The PD was another great car but I don't miss the CR at all!) Then my boy got fed up with the CR, which was very troublesome, and bought a Kia and I sold the Cordoba replacing it with an Ibiza ST with the little 1.0 3 cyl 95hp engine. So with both cars under warranty I hadn't needed bits for some 3 years. When I went to buy a part for my friends Fabia I was told "strictly trade only, you have to open a trade account" I mentioned that I'd been buying from them in the past to which the reply was, well that must have been a long time ago, trade only now mate! On reflection I think they were previously being "nice" to me because they sold to me on the strength of my IMI membership and I paid cash. Now though it seems to be accounts only and my Ibiza is now out of warranty.

I was feeling very lost as my friend who owned Edinburgh Motor Factors sadly got ill and the business closed. He sold me very high quality after market brands at excellent prices. I changed to a local factor - SRS - who were very friendly and did me good prices but dealt with brands I didn't know - like Com Line and Trade Tec etc. I started using them for the "bangers" in the "family fleet" and had no problems, but was defaulting to the main dealer for the newer cars for critical parts like oil filters and safety related parts but at a price. However very recently SRS have become part of Group Auto (or so I understand) and I discovered just this week that they can now supply me with brands, like Mahle, which I know of old and trust. So, literally within the last few days, I've decided I'll be going this route for my service parts. Oil is still a bit of a problem in my mind. The Trade Tec stuff they supply has been working fine in "the bangers" and I'd be happy to use it in anything with a N/A engine but for turbos I like to use a really high end product so I think it'll be Opie - possibly Castrol edge - for the Ibiza's oil (and the Kia once it's warranty expires, If I live that long). Quite tempted by the Fuchs brand. Comments anyone?
 
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Connor H

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I recently tried to order from TPS and they told me no trade account = no sales

I then tried 3 times to get in contact or some form of response from Horton Seat and got literally f*ck all back.

They owed me a call back, which i never got. I emailed them twice with the part number i was after..nothing. If i was into giving reviews it would have been as low as possible lol.
 

Crossthreaded

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I recently tried to order from TPS and they told me no trade account = no sales

I then tried 3 times to get in contact or some form of response from Horton Seat and got literally f*ck all back.

They owed me a call back, which i never got. I emailed them twice with the part number i was after..nothing. If i was into giving reviews it would have been as low as possible lol.
Strange isn't it? Can't be just us few being affected by this? Almost as if they don't want the money. I don't know of any other factoring organization around me that behaves in this way. Oh, well there is Dingbro, where you have to act "Oh so humble" and wear your dirtiest overalls if you are to be taken seriously. Never mind, soon we won't be able to do anything very much to our cars once the manufacturers have got the electronics/diagnostics access issues all sown up to their benefit. There's a lot about it in the latest - January - issue of Professional Motor Mechanic magazine. Big problems ahead for all us home mechanics I think.
 
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Mr Pig

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There's a lot about it in the latest - January - issue of Professional Motor Mechanic magazine. Big problems ahead for all us home mechanics I think.

Can you elaborate?

It's not just about the quality and prices of the parts. I liked buying from TPS because you then had a pile of receipts from an approved VAG parts supplier when you came to sell the car.
 

Crossthreaded

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Can you elaborate?

It's not just about the quality and prices of the parts. I liked buying from TPS because you then had a pile of receipts from an approved VAG parts supplier when you came to sell the car.
Can I elaborate? Maybe, anyway I'll try, but I'm only really in the earliest stages of understanding the implications. I first read the editor's comments inside the front cover where he talks about Block Exemption Regulations after 2023, when it's all up for renegotiation. Apparently the vehicle manufacturer's are not making it easy to re-secure BER. Of course if this fails the independent aftermarket will change out of all recognition. The current proposal is, so he goes on to say, "The Extended Vehicle Concept". No, I never heard of it before either! This is explored in much greater detail on page 26 - which I haven't got my head round yet - but the editorial goes on to precis it as essentially the remote monitoring of the individual vehicles health, possibly in realtime, by the manufacturer. If this kicks in then the manufacturer will be in control of the vehicles data so can arbitrarily decide who is going to be allowed to access that data. Diagnostic links through the manufacturer on certain systems are already a reality as I discovered recently. Wee guys like us or even independent workshops are not likely to be at the front of the queue and the equipment and licence fees will likely be prohibitive.

At the end of his editorial he says that whatever approach you might choose to diagnostics it's apparent that the repair market landscape has already changed with more twists and turns to come in the next decade. Goodness only knows what complications Brexit will throw into the mix.

I'm off to page 26 to try to get my head round some of it. Not sure if it's worth it for me as this 73 year old brain is overheating already, but I'm going to give it a go!
 
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Mr Pig

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I certainly don't like the way things are going and getting worse by the day. My only hope is that nonsense like this will get slowed down by invasion of privacy laws etc but I'm not hopeful.
 
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Crossthreaded

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I certainly don't like the way things are going and getting worse by the day. My only hope is that nonsense like this will get slowed down by invasion of privacy laws etc but I'm not hopeful.
Well I've just finished reading page 26 (and 27 - it is quite a lengthy tome) It's very involved and uncertain as many aspects are not yet known but mainly seems to be rooted in two areas; Vehicle technological advances and legislation. He points out that as more automated systems are introduced by manufacturers wireless software updating will be necessary for it to work. "connected car" technology is already in limited use and this remote access to in vehicle data is already being used to implement "predictive services" (to suggest service and repairs directly to the driver via dashboard display). The article goes on to say that with this level of remote connectivity cyber security then becomes a very big issue, including hacking (I seem to remember reading recently something about hackers being able to take control of EPS, fly by wire throttle management and other ECU functions remotely). Apparently this is all being considered by the UN in Geneva (because type approval submission is being considered) Apparently the current thinking is to control or block completely all non - authorised access to such vehicles. The question then becomes who is "authorised" (or for that matter definitively "non-authorised") and what data will be controlled under these regs?

I'm only half way through the first page here and already I'm in total despair! One wee ray of light though - OBD emissions related data is likely to still be available unless new, as yet unknown, regs prohibit it. However if that's all that's available to us "driveway grease monkeys" life is going to get frustratingly boring.

Actually I think that's enough of this insanity so I'm going to stop here before I convince myself to go and jump off the North Bridge through the, newly refurbished, roof of the Waverley station. For "non Edinburgh" people this is a "popular" spot for suicides in our fair city.
 
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Crossthreaded

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Just to get this thread back on subject, My local factor supplied me with Mahle OE quality oil, air and cabin filters for £25.37 plus VAT. I'm very pleased that I'm able to buy this brand and with the price he charged me. Now just got to decide on the oil and then I'll have no excuse for not doing the service! So far I've had the air filter casing off - to see what state the filter element is in (wasn't too bad actually) and the cabin filter (which is absolutely "Minging"). The cabin filter fixings were a very pleasant surprise, just two slider clips and the whole thing pulls down and out very easily. No dashboard bits, glove box, or anything to dismantle. Well done on that one VAG, one of the easiest I've ever done! Looks like the oil filter will be "doable" without dropping the front tray too. Not quite sure on that one, I'll find out when I do it. Always nervous about doing the sump plug in ally sumps - especially the first time on any given vehicle. Hope the technician (not mechanics any more these days?) used a torque wrench on it. How many people renew the sump plug (built in washer) every time as suggested? I'm going to buy a new one this time but it will be interesting to see what the one that comes out looks like.

Ps I think I'll be renewing the cabin filter much more frequently as I think it important to maintain good flow to save the heater resistor pack from burning out.
 

Mr Pig

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How many people renew the sump plug (built in washer) every time as suggested?

I don't. I've reused the washer several times with no issues. You get a new washer with an OEM filter but not with an aftermarket one.

I'm very careful about the oil I use these days. With cars having so many filters, sensors and being so generally tightly specced I don't think it's worth risking an oil that might not be right.
 
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Crossthreaded

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I don't. I've reused the washer several times with no issues. You get a new washer with an OEM filter but not with an aftermarket one.

I'm very careful about the oil I use these days. With cars having so many filters, sensors and being so generally tightly specced I don't think it's worth risking an oil that might not be right.
I asked about the sump plug because I think it's the same as on the old PD my boy had a few years ago. The washer is captive in the plug. Impossible to get it over the threads.

Completely agree with your attitude towards oils these days - for both engines and gearboxes. I'm going to use a 504 spec'd oil and I'm more or less decided to use Castro Edge Titanium 5w-30 LL. However I'm allowing Fuchs Titan GT1 Pro C-3 XTL 5w-30 to "flirt" with my better judgement as I've used Fuchs a number of times in various vehicles - in fact a couple of the "family Fleet" vehicles are running on it right now.
 

Crossthreaded

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A wee update folks. I rang the main dealer stores department this morning to ask about the sealing washer for the sump plug. He took my reg no and came back with "not available separately it's integral with the plug" So do you keep them in stock? "Oh yes, it's the standard plug which fits many VAG applications." Do you have a few of them? If I just walk in the door will I be able to just pick one up? "Oh yes" said he, "I'm showing quite a few in stock as we fit a new one ourselves at every service". I've got a spare left over from when my older boy had his PD engined Fabia - wouldn't be surprised to find it's the same plug. At a little under £4.00 it's a bit pricey for what it is but I think I'll just pick one up anyway. Probably Opie do them too, I'll ask when I order the oil. By the way, I've been "seduced" by the "allure" of the Fuchs product so, at last, my indecision is at an end! Just need to pray for a nice day now to get the deed done. I'm also going to be "brave" and try to reset the service indicator with my VCDS. I've never had to do this before as all the cars I've had could be reset using the buttons on the dash. Yes I know I can do that with the new car too, but I really must get to grips with the VCDS procedure.
 
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