# B584 high level brake light replacement rip off!!



## Dennisdog (Dec 21, 2013)

After consulting with hambilton's in Preston about a water leak around the area of the rear window ('kitchen' area), I checked the high level brake light, as this was said to be a very common source of leaks.. Sure enough the lens was cracked in several places ( likely years of UV damage as not in a situation prone to physical damage). I was shocked to be charged £150 inc VAT for a replacement, as it's a simple plastic holder/lens assembly, with one connector. Charge was payable at time of ordering from Lowdham's in Huddersfield ( imported from Hymer in Germany), and non -refundable! I paid it as I wanted to be sure it would be correct size etc, and fit properly. On arrival, I can confirm that it is a 'Hella' light, and an IDENTICAL Hella light can be sourced on eBay for around £28 inc free delivery!!
My advice is not to buy via Hymer, at 500% the cost for the SAME item. Seems excessive mark up for the privilege of buying standard industry parts from Hymer!! NOT IMPRESSED!!


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## premiermotorhomes (Feb 13, 2008)

Good evening Dennisdog, 

It is not Hymer that set the retail price of the part, this is the dealer and will vary between them; Hymer only control the dealers purchase price which they will then use to generate the retail price based on the profit margin they wish to make.

Other factors to take in to account are that alternative retailers may be direct account holders with Hella therefore you only have Hella and then the retailer in the chain. When purchasing through your Hymer dealer, they are purchasing from Hymer who are purchasing from Hella so this extra link in the chain will increase the ultimate retail price as each link in the chain will make a profit.

Additionally Hymer do not charge carriage for delivery to their dealers, however carriage is not free and will always form part of the cost whether it is hidden or not.

As a Hymer dealer I must add that the price you have purchased one item for is not a reflection on Hymer as a whole, and Hymer have just as many good prices; many items I can purchase from them are cheaper than my UK suppliers but again there are those parts that I know I can source somewhere other than Hymer who are too expensive but all manufacturers have the same good and bad pricing structures. It then relies on the experience and knowledge of whomever looks after your parts enquiry to be able to source the part at a good price for you; however this is not always possible due to lack of knowledge or insufficient information to enable them to do so.

If you can PM me your VIN or serial number I would be interested to see what the Hymer parts system does show for your motorhome and I will post the details for you.

Regards,
Chris


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## Charisma (Apr 17, 2008)

Another helpful post from Chris (out of working hours) :thumbup: 

Dave


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

Hello and welcome to MHF dennisdog. 

As Chris has said, you are at the mercy of the dealers if you choose to go that route for a part which MAY be obtainable elsewhere. It's probably a lesson learned, but it's always worth looking at components like that to see what manufacturers' marks there are on the old one and then doing a search on line etc, as you obviously did after the event !


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

Whichever way you look at it Hymer price is extortionate. I have a Hella 7 segment one, Hella part 2DA 008 136 017 in front of me which is standard fitting on a Rapido. It was manufactured in 2014 and cost £22.50 with free P&P from Caravan Components of Hull caravan-components.co.uk

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Leve...ervan_Caravan_Accessories&hash=item3a9d18dc84


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

Agreed it's a rip off,an extortionate mark up by any standards.It's not only Hymer though it's an industry wide practice and most manufacturers do the same which is why it is best to take the advice on here and try and source the part elsewhere.

Chris at premiere has attempted to explain why Hymer rip us off but the bottom line is it's an absolute rip off :x Hymer have no need to charge carriage when they are making a 500% mark up.

If anyone wants a spare part it's advisable to put a question on here rather than go direct to the dealer and usually someone can point you in the right direction and save a lot of money.

For all those that are dissatisfied with the current state of this forum and wavering about renewing their subscription I would ask them to look at this thread,the OP would have saved over £100 if he had subscribed and posted the query on here first.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

One also has to take into account that, say, Hymer will have laid in stocks of these spare parts just in case the OEM, say, Hella discontinues them. 

Those spares will need to be held for many years in order to provide good back-up service but may never sell!

Not that I am defending such a huge mark-up!


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## premiermotorhomes (Feb 13, 2008)

Good morning,

Hymer are not applying a 500% mark up as this is a comparison of a dealer set retail price against an alternative supplier who purchases direct from Hella which takes one link out of the chain and keeps the price lower, I also expect that Caravan Components are working on a low profit margin which again will keep the price lower will have an impact on any comparison made.

If you buy an item from Amazon or any other online retailer who offers free carriage, the carriage is not free and the retailer either absorbs that cost against the profit made in that sale and the retail price may be adjusted to accommodate this, alternatively another retailer may offer a cheaper price but they may then charge carriage but the end result is the same and in the same light where Hymer offer free carriage to their dealers they must account for this by accommodating this within the pricing structures of their parts the same as any other retailer who offers free carriage does.

I have not received a response from the OP, however please find details below taken from a 2006 B584 which I hope will act as a good reference vehicle.










Position 5 High level brake light PN1017243
The Hymer SSP €82.45 although I would offer this for €74.33
At an exchange rate of 1.26589 this equates to £70.46inc VAT

I agree that this is still expensive, but this figure should be more appropriate to use as a comparison against the price offered by Caravan Components and that provided by the OP assuming this is the same part.

The point I would like to make in these cases is that it is always assumed to be the manufacturer that has set the retail price paid by the consumer when this is not the case. All dealers pay the same price to purchase from Hymer so please consider that Hymer have no control over the retail price set by the dealer and this can and does vary considerably. I must also reiterate that this one example is not representative of the pricing of all Hymer parts, or those of other manufacturers and as can be attested by other members I have sourced parts cheaper through Hymer than they were able to source them.

Ultimately as already pointed out by other members its worth contacting several dealers and suppliers and requesting the assistance of members on MHF to locate the best price.

Regards,
Chris


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

We must console ourselves with the thought that it's not only Hymer or their dealers who mark up to such an extent. It's what the market will bear in many cases and has nothing to do with the price they buy in at.

Till recently we had a Frankia. I needed a replacement wing mirror, two lenses, top part electrically operated. Frankia wanted over €1,000 for it. I was an Arcol mirror, and though I ended up repairing it as I couldn't locate the exact model other similar Arcol mirrors could be bought for under €250. Similarly I needed a simple round stop/tail light. Frankia wanted €150 for that. It was made by Hella and had the part number printed on the back of it. I bought one on Ebay for under £10.

It's always wise to investigate before buying parts, there are plenty of ripoff merchants out there, Alan.


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

The important thing to always bear in mind is that manufacturers of MH's, caravans, cars etc DONT make all of the components themselves, its simply cheaper and easier to buy the vast majority of them in from speciialist companies (such as all of the vehicles lighting equipment, fridges, cookers, water heaters, interior fittngs etc etc.) If the dealer supplies you he has had to purchase it and THEN add on his profit margin which can, on occasions, be vast!!

ALWAYS see if you can find a manufacturers name and serial number on any component BEFORE even enquiring with a dealer. 

This thread clearly shows the advantage of doing so.


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## premiermotorhomes (Feb 13, 2008)

Good afternoon, 

Please consider that many appliance manufacturers primarily sell to their appointed wholesalers whom the retailers purchase their stock from so there are just as many links in the chain, although there are a few exclusions to this which include Dometic spare parts where a limited number of dealers myself included have direct access to their parts system or as correctly pointed out for complete appliances such as fridges, ovens, hobs & sinks do have direct accounts with better trading terms which is why specialists such as O'Brien, CAK etc offer very good prices; but this then forms a large part of their business.

My advice although this may sound biased would be not to exclude dealers from your search, but support them and use them for prices too as their manufacturers and suppliers can still offer very good prices, and if you have a knowledgeable and enthusiastic parts team they will extend their search to other suppliers to offer you the best price they can. Do not judge one poor price as a representative of the pricing of all other parts.

On a side note I had a request from a customer yesterday looking for a rear light for a Chausson; I knew purchasing from Chausson would be too expensive relative to what it was and he was looking for one quickly, so I directed him to LSD who offered a much better price so I could still assist my customer with offering the best advice even if it was not in my best interest to do so it was in theirs.

Regards,
Chris


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

> premiermotorhomes said:
> 
> 
> > My advice although this may sound biased would be not to exclude dealers from your search, but support them and use them for prices too as their manufacturers and suppliers can still offer very good prices, and if you have a knowledgeable and enthusiastic parts team they will extend their search to other suppliers to offer you the best price they can. Do not judge one poor price as a representative of the pricing of all other parts.
> ...


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## Dennisdog (Dec 21, 2013)

premiermotorhomes said:


> Good evening Dennisdog,
> 
> It is not Hymer that set the retail price of the part, this is the dealer and will vary between them; Hymer only control the dealers purchase price which they will then use to generate the retail price based on the profit margin they wish to make.
> 
> ...


[align=left]

Hi Chris, thanks for your prompt comments. 
I must say I had not intended to rant (maybe just a little!), more to warn others in the same situation, which I understand to be commonplace. 
Interesting to hear that Hymer dealers' pricing is not set by Hymer, but is at the discretion of their own mark-up!
I appreciate your comments about alternative retailers perhaps being direct account holders with eg Hella, therefore bypassing another tier of mark-up, but 500%???
Regarding delivery costs, presumably the eBay retailer also incurred shipping costs in his purchase, and absorbed further shipping costs when he supplied me, with free shipping!, so not sure that's a very valid point.
I should say that my instinct was to remove the old item first, in order to get a part number perhaps (to try to source an alternative), but so much Sikaflex around it (thanks to the previous owner) confirmed it would only come out in poor shape, and I didn't want to be left with a leaking hole in the panel, waiting for Lowdham's to source to part from Germany (took 2weeks). So I had to have the part in hand before removing the old one. 
I guess I paid extra for the surety of knowing it would fit!!
In honesty, I have previously obtained other Hymer parts from the dealer, at what seemed reasonable prices, so maybe this is rather an exception.
If my post helps someone else save £120, it will have been worthwhile.
I will take up your kind offer of info ref. Hymer parts via PM
Kind Regards,
Graham


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## premiermotorhomes (Feb 13, 2008)

Good evening Graham, 

Thank you for your PM to which I have now provided a response.

Regards,
Chris


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