Parts suppliers to avoid -- GSF

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Parts suppliers to avoid -- GSF

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I bought a new door lock for our Seat Leon which failed after 14 years and 100K miles of use. After 5 weeks the new lock failed. After asking for a replacement I was told no, buy a new one and we will send the old one back for testing. At £88 for the lock this is totally unacceptable.

Further investigation shows the lock supplied was an off side lock for a left hand drive car and this is almost certainly why it does not work as it should according to the dealer who supplied the car.

After listening to a load of cobblers trying to tell me the car's ecu is at fault I will be pursing my loss through the courts.

An £88 lock should last more than 5 weeks. If the B thing still worked it would still be on the car!!!

I suggest you DO NOT USE GSF CAR PARTS as their warranty is worthless and service disgusting.
 
Good point. I tried that but with no sucess. Small print.....

In fairness I had another go at GSF and a new Manager in the same shop did provide a refund. SO to a significant extent I withdraw my comments. It should have been refunded straight away. The door locks on VAG cars are handed and GSF supplied a slave lock of a left hand drive speification. The correct lock from Seat retified the fault, restrored central locking, window openoing and interior light and has worked perfectly ever since. I should have bought manufacturer parts in the first place. The lock is now guaranteed to work for two years including any parts and labout needed should it fail. MOral is, you get exactly what you pay for. I tried a £15 lock off ebay and that was useless too and went into the dustbin. Fater fitting the lock and removing it about 5 times I have re learned why I buy the proper parts and generally use the dealers. In many many miles I have not had to take anything thus supplied bacl.
 
Where ever possible I only use genuine parts,yes they do cost more for a good reason as you have already found out,but I look at it this way if your old part has lasted 14 years there's a good chance your new one will last 14 year's too and with genuine parts they fit first time, before rushing out to the main dealer take a look on e bay as a lot of main dealers also have an e bay shop where they sell the same genuine parts but much cheaper as there is more competition.
 
We are at a disadvantage being a RHD country, unless you need parts for Japanese or Korean cars, as they also drive on the left.
To produce aftermarket parts is expensive, so anything that is specific to RHD has a significantly smaller demand. Unless that demand is high, parts are likely to be for LHD cars. That's why my large mirrors on the Panda are actually LHD ones, so are on the limit of adjustment. Bearable.
Some 'aftermarket' stuff is sourced from the OE manufacturer, so will be correct, but needs research before buying.
I worked for many years for a major aftermarket parts supplier. Part of my job was to ensure the buyers and marketing people only sourced stuff that was applicable for our market. Sometimes a bit of a fight when the price looked very profitable.
A significant moment was when a group of senior people went on a buying mission to Taiwan. Their market contains a lot of American spec cars, which use the same names as European models, but on a different car altogether. Like the 5.7l V8 Ford Escort. NO. The radiator will not fit a European Escort.

Sorry for the long scribble. Moral is, handed parts need careful consideration.
GSF should have refunded as soon as it was identified as LHD spec.
 
The person you spoke to at GSF should have refunded the faulty part straight away.
Glad you received a refund eventually.
Sorry you had a bad experience with GSF.
I use GSF often and have found them very good.
 
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