Recently had a spark plug wire that became worn out. I took it to dealer and they said it would be 157.00 to replace. Asked for just the wire and it was 110.00. Didn't do it because thoughtthey were crazy. Went to my uncle that works at a auto parts place and got the wire for 12.00, installed myself with ease. When old was removed they were idential, both made by Bosch. Only difference was there wasn't a mercedes symbol printed on it with ink. Hope this saves you some bucks.

 

Hi ala59654,

Wow, that is quite a price difference. Now normally the dealer will be higher in price, and there are several reasons for this. They're not entirely crazy; there are additional costs associated with being a dealer. They include "premium quality control", which in the case of the wire,may involved actually testing it at the factory. Non-contract parts sometimes get sample inspected, 10 pcs out of 1000, or not at all. Also there is the Mercedes specialist/expert to make sure it is the correctpart. He's specialized,makes a decent wage, and will be there when you need him to find info "nobody else" can find.Then there is that fancy facility. Basically, you're paying for premium product, premium service, and premium facilty; it's not a discount store.
But in this case, you saved $98.00! for a little shopping and do-it-yourself.
That's hard to resist!

Blue

 

You are wrong about "premium product".

I did a lot of work at several automotive parts suppliers in Germany including Bosch (installing manufacturing equipment), and the only difference in these parts is the Mercedes logo (or BMW, or Audi, or whatever). There are no additional quality checks, tighter specs, better materials, better machines, better operators, none of that.

It's the same product with a Mercedes logo printed on it.

Berrie

 

I hear what you are saying, and it is a very controversial issue.
And it's probably impossible to make a definitive statement either way, because weboth could potentially get good or bad parts where we shop.

But working in a factory as we have, I know you are aware of the statistical bell curve and its appearance during any production run, regardless of Six Sigma, SPC, or ISO. Now on a basic business level, which channel is going to get the seconds, the short shots, the blems, the pulls, the reworks, and the mismatches? The major client or the discount line?

 

Yes, it is a controversial issue.

And yes, I am aware of bell curves, Six Sigma (or six standard deviations of the median), but keep in mind how production runs:

There is not a single factory that produces the same item, then performs a quality check on each item, and, based on the outcome of the check, determines whether it will get a Mercedes emblem or not.

The product is produced without the emblem until the no-name demand or sales order has been filled.
Then the emblem printer is switched on, and the next 10,000 pieces that Mercedes ordered are produced and get the emblem. Right?
At least, that is how things are done at Bosch, SKF, Mann & Hummel, and all the others I worked with.

Now granted, Mercedes may perform it's own QC checks, and CLAIM tighter specs, but all that means is that their rejection specs are tighter than the no-name, and not that the no-name brand is manufactered with wider specs.
I.e. Mercedes may require 6 sigma, whereas the no-name requires only 5 sigma. Since the product is made identical on the same machines, both products are identical in quality and manufacturing specs, even though one of them has tighter QC specs.

Berrie

 

Generally, I'm aware of at least three Bosch markets, one being discount auto stores, two being German, non-authorized dealers, and three the authorized "authentic" MB channel.

Packaging being irrelevant, the products I have seen and purchased at the discount stores are clearly and visually different in a number of ways including color and size of wire, quality and shape of the rubber boots, and product service life, and are generally sold under the one-size-size-fits-all per model theory.

The products at the local German non-authorized dealers appear to be identical, minus the MB symbol, but I have encountered little problems such as two #5 wires in a box instead of a #5 and a #6 for example,or other occasional little things like missing screws. But if you know a guy like ala's uncle, you're in good shape.

Always without exception, when I get parts from the dealer, they are specific to any in-production run changes of the car, are always in excellent condition, sealed and untampered with, to prevent them from being used as a shop test-part, which is a concern when buying electronic components, and always a perfect fit. But you will pay extra for the part pampering.

I have been made aware of a US court case involving this issue, and will try to get a copy of the case to see what the judge thought about the arguement. I'm sure we all have our own experiences, and preference for savings vs service, and I would like to hear some other opinions on this issue as well.