Blower/ Heater resistor OEM part Scam?

Slightly Kwackers · 01-10-2023 12:10pm #1

I have a Seat Ibiza, not NCT'd yet, so fairly new.

The heater resistor module went.

My part is not done by independents, those that do list it have no stock.

OEM part is 82 euro

This is for what boils down to a tapped wirewound resistor of around 2 Ohms, with what I would estimate as a dissipation of 30W. The entire thing is a ceramic former, wound with nichrome topped off with a thermal fuse. The only other component is a small plastic moulding to hold the connections which are shaped to become flat male connecting pins in order to mate with a four pin socket.

Amazon prices start at £5-00 for what is effectively the same configuration with a different plastic moulding. This is used in I think an Octavia, but these are in nearly every car.

The mean price seems to be around £14-00 which for a fuse and resistor is a bit steep.

Independents list my part at £37-00

So what's the game? The device is not designed with reliability in mind I would think as I only had one ever go before was in a Focus that had done over 100K miles.

The tolerances are pretty wide I would say as the moulding is needed for every one of these units and is determined by the mating connector and mechanical mounting.

Fair play to them it seems Seat have decided to supply me with a replacement part FOC, but it is of concern that such a price spread exists.

Does anyone know how such a spread is justified? Seat seem reluctant to go into detail :-)

Sir Galahad · 01-10-2023 3:02pm

BMW motorcycle coil pack is €200 from BMW . . . . . . and £28 stg from motoelectrical.co.uk 😏

Slightly Kwackers · 01-10-2023 3:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121181066#Comment_121181066

You can understand a high end motor going that bit extra for quality control. The only problem is that there is a limited amount you can do to add value to a resistor or coil.

Paying a premium for a part that failed within a short space of time goes against the grain in no small way because the original one was "Seat approved" too.

I used to replace mains dropper resistors in my youth when power was something to "lose" with gay abandon. A failure would see that companies replacement component by passed for future purchases.

antodeco · 02-10-2023 12:54pm

Wipers are about €80 fitted in a main dealers versus €20 for the exact same ones online. I wouldn't say it's a scam, but there is a reason they're called Main Stealers..

kirving · 02-10-2023 1:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058316278/blower-heater-resistor-oem-part-scam

Apparently the Opel Zafira fires were caused by faulty (possibly aftermarket) resistor packs.

https://www.in-car-advancements.co.uk/blog/vauxhall-zafira-fires.html

Funny you should mention the Focus, the resistor pack faulted on my Dads Focus some years ago. Caused melted wires up by the fan switch, and luckily avoided a fire IMO.

As to the price, some of it will be markup, but some will be to do with the fact it's tested against a manufacturer specification as opposed to being the Cheapest part that the Amazon seller could source from China.

Slightly Kwackers · 02-10-2023 3:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121184552#Comment_121184552

I understand but as for the spec, there is no problem producing the item to any practical specification. I could easily manufacture the equivalent component myself and the laws of physics define the heat generated. It would not look as neat as the original though.

I would think that maybe in case of a cheap copy a small saving could be made with a lot of risk added if the fuse was too high a rating.

It's a horrible design anyway, resistors just waste power.

kirving · 02-10-2023 3:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121185242#Comment_121185242

Oh yeah I know, they're simple enough alright, and €80 is mental considering that VAG buy them for wayyyy less than that.

But look at it another way, they dealer likely keeps stock or can have it tomorrow, for your VIN, for the next 15 years, to an approved spec, and warranty it. They're charging a premium for that absolutely, but that supply chain has huge cost behind it too.

Slightly Kwackers · 02-10-2023 4:04pm

Thanks,

Sometimes things are not as simple as one first thought.

I cant fault them on the brake disks which are very competitive incidentally,

XsApollo · 02-10-2023 4:19pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121184489#Comment_121184489

Can you point me to where I can get VAG OEM wipers for 20 euro?

thanks

antodeco · 02-10-2023 11:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121185500#Comment_121185500

I never specifically said VAG OEM. Each car is different. For me that's what the cost was and it's not a VAG.

mk7r · 03-10-2023 12:44am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121187083#Comment_121187083

I think the point is that the quality of wipers bought online or in the motorfactors (Bosch etc) are not the same as the ones from the dealer (even if Bosch etc make them for the manufacturer). Are they worth 4x the price though... probably not

Bass Reeves · 03-10-2023 1:04am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121187319#Comment_121187319

I would not accept that. Many aftermarket parts like wipers, tyres, alloy rims can be of a much higher standard than similar OEM parts

mk7r · 03-10-2023 1:13am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121187329#Comment_121187329

Generally speaking this is not actually true. In some cases yes for sure but many people think that just because Bosch supply the OEM then Bosch wipers bought online must be the same but the reality is 2 different product lines, different materials and different tolerances

Blower/ Heater resistor OEM part Scam?

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