The damper thread sparked an interest so did a bit of digging. Here is the result for a couple of items. Airsprings front and rear.

Rimmers Bros. Genuine original equipment airsprings.

REB101740 front. £206.44 Each incl vat.
RKB101460 rear. £205.24 Each incl vat.

Total for full set £823.36.

Rimmers after market. (No manufacturer stated).

REB101740P front. £98.48 Each incl vat.
RKB101460P rear. £98.48 Each incl vat.

Total for full set £393.92.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Island 4x4 air springs. (Manufactured by Dunlop).

Individual airspring £59.99 Each incl vat Front or rear.

Pair front or rear £115.00 incl vat.

Full set £224.99 incl vat.


Who in their right mind would fit original equipment at those prices, when you consider that Dunlop are more than likely an OEM supplier?

Mornin Wammers..my wrists are aching from the last "Debate"!!!!!
The originals were Dunlop (Made in Coventry).
I replaced my springs with a set from Island 4x4 a couple of years ago and from memory, I am sure they came in Britpart boxes !!!!!.....however, the spring clips came in a LR bag.
:behindsofa:

Irishrover said:

Mornin Wammers..my wrists are aching from the last "Debate"!!!!!
The originals were Dunlop (Made in Coventry).
I replaced my springs with a set from Island 4x4 a couple of years ago and from memory, I am sure they came in Britpart boxes !!!!!.....however, the spring clips came in a LR bag.
:behindsofa:

Click to expand...

May well have been in Britpart boxes. But the stated manufacturer is indeed Dunlop. So it would seem the obsevations reference markup by dealers do have some merit at least. As would the same part same production line, one for them, one for us statements. Live long and prosper. Or should it be choose carefully and don't get stung?

It sometimes pays to haggle with RB, I got £30 off the cost of a new radiator for my P38 when I pointed out I could get it cheaper elsewhere, they didn't match the best price but came a lot closer.

Ian

I've just bought replacement ball joints for the front axle on the P38. Given what a pig of a job it is, I bought OEM parts rather than pattern as I dont want to have to do it again.

I think each job in turn and its difficulty has a lot to do with parts bought. I mean you wouldnt bother buying OEM brake pads necessarily just becasuse they lasted an extra 5000 miles but cost 3 times the price

this is just part of the issue, can those Rimmer Bros un-badged springs be relied on to last much beyond their warranty period, or even to the end of the road - it's a lottery.

However the point i was making in that other thread is that Britpart are infamous for supplying vast amounts of "products" which are clearly not fit for purpose - whereas other companies have a far better reputation for supplying unbadged products that ARE fit for purpose.

The only advantage of buying LR "official" products is that they will have been built to a specification, rather than to a price.

The Island4x4 airbags do come as Dunlops, and they are OEM, they just don't have 'Land-Rover' written on them like Genuine Parts do.

lanmjdun said:

The Island4x4 airbags do come as Dunlops, and they are OEM, they just don't have 'Land-Rover' written on them like Genuine Parts do.

Click to expand...

that's good, you'll have saved a few pounds - but it's the parts where the manufacturer is not known that cause the real problems

Sean said:

this is just part of the issue, can those Rimmer Bros un-badged springs be relied on to last much beyond their warranty period, or even to the end of the road - it's a lottery.

However the point i was making in that other thread is that Britpart are infamous for supplying vast amounts of "products" which are clearly not fit for purpose - whereas other companies have a far better reputation for supplying unbadged products that ARE fit for purpose.

The only advantage of buying LR "official" products is that they will have been built to a specification, rather than to a price.

Click to expand...

Must have been lucky with Britpart then can't really complain about them. Quinten Hazel is another company who supply good parts, in the past at least they did. Lets face it you could not own and maintain even a BMC Mini without Quinten Hazel years ago. The BMC parts were ridiculously priced even then. Used to be able to go the motor factors and get 20% to 40% trade on items. At the factors now you get the same as joe public they are open to all. Years ago before the eastern movement of manufacturing the pattern parts you got were of good quality in the main. Now it's a bloody lottery, because even what you think are genuine Girling pads maybe made in a shed in Zhuzang provence China or a back yard in Mumbi. The problem is, at least in the old days cheap stuff was cheap stuff, you took your choice, now the counterfeiters have got smart, selling cheap stuff dear, creating the "it's expensive it must be right" mentality. They have even gotten good enough to have their crap mixed in with the genuine. It really is a bad scene at the moment. When you can have counterfeit bolts in aircraft manufacturers stores it really is a BIG problem.

iani said:

It sometimes pays to haggle with RB, I got £30 off the cost of a new radiator for my P38 when I pointed out I could get it cheaper elsewhere, they didn't match the best price but came a lot closer.

Ian

Click to expand...

Try haggling them down to £224.99 for a set of OEM Dunlop airsprings from the £823.36 they charge for the same thing.