Transitpartsuk wrote:It seems it is always our fault though, mechanics and poor fitting are never to blame.
I can appreciate that statement, the amount of badly fitted/bodge jobs out there is scary - but, certainly in my experience, some of the parts TPUK have sold in the past were very much sub-standard and the second the parts were in the post TPUK absolved themselves of any responsibility. One example which happened to me was a propshaft bearing that failed after less than 200 miles and TPUK response was "We have had no other problems" (or words to that effect) - despite others having reported the same faults at similar mileages, and refusing any returns. Propshaft balance and UJ wear was blamed - which is hard to justify when TPUK had not seen the propshaft, and the existing (original) bearings were only being changed because the grease had escaped and they were running dry. Bearings from another supplier lasted much longer (I do not recall changing the other supplier's bearings), fitted in exactly the same way . Other parts I bought before that point were also obviously cheap (poor casting or rubbers not feeling right, having to be fettled to fit etc) but I cannot remember specific examples. However - this was about 10 years ago. A lot of other people at the time were also saying that aftersales was extremely poor - and in many cases plain rude.
TPUK do not have a good reputation, certainly in my (mostly smiley van) circles, I hear far more bad than good. But... complaints are a lot less frequent than it used to be and that is an indication that the parts being sent out must be far better than they used to be? Its also worth bearing in mind that it only takes one or 2 vocal people with negative experiences to bring the negativity back to the limelight again, whereas 100's or 1000's may be happy with what they received. It also doesn't help that nowadays the first place a lot of people complain is social media - rather than taking it up with the supplier to resolve.
I have to say, once bitten, twice shy... but I have bought 2 or 3 things, but only non safety critical parts, from TPUK recently (but only when there was no viable alternative due to cost/shipping times/availability etc) and I have had no issues. But, do I feel confident to fit TPUK parts to customer vehicles (where I know the labour will come out of my pocket if there is a problem) when a viable alternative exists?… no. From the owner of a Transit specialist workshop (albeit a small one) that's not a great place for TPUK to be.
What I have noticed that TPUK has been VERY good at is getting parts to market which are not available elsewhere in the aftermarket, or are obsolete. The range of stock is also impressive - but thats only useful if the parts are of a suitable quality and the after sales support is good. Its also clear to me, that from my recent experiences and James' involvement here, that there has been a drive for improvement. It looks like this has been achieved over the years, but seeing posts like this say to me there is still a little way to go. As I said earlier, I have recently been using TPUK for parts occasionally and not had issues... but this will have to continue for a while for my confidence in the products to be built up before they can become a "go too" supplier.
*this is just my opinion - im sure others will disagree!*
James, in the Land Rover World parts available in the aftermarket made by the OEM supplier have a part number with a G prefix maybe something like that could be introduced to give customers a "quality option". E.g. lets say ford would supply brake disc with a number 1234567, and you supply one from the actual OEM manufacturer (lets for argument sake say its Ferodo) you could advertise as 1234567G, whereas one from another supplier (e.g. Mintex/Juratek etc) part would just be 1234567? Britpart are the biggest Land Rover parts supplier in the UK and work on this basis, with other suppliers following.
by tilly » Fri Sep 18, 2020 12:34 pm 
