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Q - can 'we' reduce the costs of hi-po vw components through collaboration??
VWENVY - July 28th, 2005 at 10:20 AM

Im not a purist by any stretch, but i love the idea of a hi-po VW based engine! Problem is component costs are high, and more advanced engines are availabel - hence the large number of engine conversions! (not that theres anything wrong with that!)

Reading a few threads of hi-po VW's being built and the huge costs, got me thinking! With all the interest in VW's, why not collaboratively produce or purchase a base set of hi-po engine components for aircooled VW's! The reason costs are so high is the production runs are limited!

Why not collaboratively order large numbers from current suppliers to dramatically reduce prices!

Just think of the cost benefits of purchasing one new engice case, compared to 1000 or 5000 direct from the manufacturer! With all the interest in VW's in Australia, i believe this is quite achievable - same with other components!

The problem would be the big range in what people want, but a base set of components could easily be agreed upon i would think!? The reality is - if your ordering large numbers from a supplier, parts could vary easliy! But i would think concerntrating on 2 base engine sizes would be the go i.e. 1916 & mid 2's !?

...Why not use the common interest to the users benefit!?

...its just an idea and im interested in some constructive input!nn[ Edited on 28-7-2005 by VWENVY ]

barls - July 28th, 2005 at 10:22 AM

id think about it depending on the parts

Che Castro - July 28th, 2005 at 01:28 PM

I think the problem is that we don't have enough people here. How many new VW Type 1 engine cases are sold anually in Australia for example?

VWENVY - July 28th, 2005 at 01:48 PM

I agree the market is limited - but the cost of new cases now would be contributing to this!

Id say the question is 3 fold - how many engines built/rebuilt; how many new complete engines purchased; and how many engine conversions done for the cost benefit!? Add those up!

Id say a lot more people would build a hi-po vw based donk if it was cost effective!nn[ Edited on 28-7-2005 by VWENVY ]

jvl054 - July 28th, 2005 at 01:56 PM

Maybe some VW shops are overlly hungary!!!!$$$$...eg.T4 2.8 Australian $15000+ :o American T4 2.8 $5295 from Bernie Bergmann:thumb. I know our dollar rate is different! but $10000+more for a T4:jesus. VWENVY great debate but to me its a hornets nest.JVLRacing

mnsKmobi - July 28th, 2005 at 02:31 PM

Collaborative purchases of components have been done before on AVD (IIRC) and on overseas sites. The two big problems I can see are getting enough people in Oz interested in the same item(s) and coordinating the purchase. The second point is important b/c you will need to separate serious buyers from wannabes to make sure you've got enough people to go ahead and not waste everyone's time.

pete wood - July 28th, 2005 at 02:51 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Che Castro
I think the problem is that we don't have enough people here.


This is entirely the problem. My other sad addiction is music, same deal there. In the US or europe you can get bass guitar strings for $15.00 a set!, Over here the cheapest is $30, and that means unknown brands. This has nothing to do with the price of the dollar.

In Europe or America there are at least twice the amount of people doing any given thing as there are here. Now we have the advantage of cheaper labour costs than most of the 1st world countries, but we just can't compete in a mass buying economy.

If you really want things to cheaper in OZ, find a local supplier who can supply a similar item for a similar price as over seas and get the whole market to support them. Then the mass buying power will drop the price. It can be done, but people have to support it. The other advantage being that then Aussies have jobs and Aussies get to keep the money, not the multi-nationals.

Unfortunately, we all want to be different (ie, copy some one else) and have a real custom VW (ie, do want the yanks do) so there is almost no solidarity in the scene and everyone works against eachother.