WHY do I hate Britpart parts?

And to add, Paddocks look at you like you are crazy when you say "can I have x unless it is britpart". I was pretty annoyed last time I went

Seems to be a very clear story of some bad some good, I have used a swivel kit by them and a few other bits, but I'm not a very good test for parts I only do very small mileage in my defender, it might be a different story for people who rely on their vehicle every day, one comment I would make is it's easy to understand why people resort to lower cost parts when you see the eye watering prices of the official dealers.
Maybe a more positive way forward would be a rating system here where people could share their experience, and help others avoid the bad while taking advantage of the lower priced parts which are found to be OK.

Anything that is hard to do or drivetrain I use OE or OEM, then the scale goes:
- Allmakes (usually Premium range if I can get it)
- Bearmach
- Whittle it out of wood
- Use blu-tac
- Britpart

A Crappy mechanic is a Crappy mechanic.
I have had my share of issues with Britpart, but I also know that many garages (dare I say most) fit them. There is a lot to be said for the mechanic. If you are learning you bugger things up, don't do it right, don't grease it ... or in some cases grease it.... overtighten or under-tighten all of which can knacker a part.

Been on paddocks website recently and they list britpart and non britpart options on most parts ,if you dont want britpart stuff and can pay the extra then dont buy it

If they dont have the quality alternative in stock then theyve lost a sale and maybe learnt a lesson ?

ER1C said:

A Crappy mechanic is a Crappy mechanic.
I have had my share of issues with Britpart, but I also know that many garages (dare I say most) fit them. There is a lot to be said for the mechanic. If you are learning you bugger things up, don't do it right, don't grease it ... or in some cases grease it.... overtighten or under-tighten all of which can knacker a part.

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If a mechanic completes the job and fails to correctly fit any part from any manufacturer then yes a premature failure in likely, Britpart or genuine LR.

chrisstdt said:

Been on paddocks website recently and they list britpart and non britpart options on most parts ,if you dont want britpart stuff and can pay the extra then dont buy it

If they dont have the quality alternative in stock then theyve lost a sale and maybe learnt a lesson ?

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That is exactly how I feel I will no longer purchase any Britpart parts no matter what.
I know that is a bold statement and if my vehicle is none operational due to a worn out genuine LR part and the only part available to get me home is Britpart I would have to reconsider my statement. Unless we are talking something like a brake master cylinder then it stays none operational and it gets trucked home, I am not risking my life on a is it a good one or not.

It would be interesting to know what the mark up for the dealer is on Britpart parts comparison with other brands including genuine LR.
I do get a generous discount from my regular main dealer on parts I purchase from them but the price is still higher than other makes where I have never been offered any discount but I suppose the price is already low and that's why no discount is offered.

I only have limited experience with britpart but i feel the bad name they have is only part deserved ,i recently ordered some 300 tdi crank oil seals and when they came in the blue bag i was filled with horror due to the stories you hear but to be fair to brit part the seals look to be good quality

If you have a part fail then return it and ask for a refund ,if people dont do this then how do the company supplying said parts know theres a problem ?

chrisstdt said:

I only have limited experience with britpart but i feel the bad name they have is only part deserved ,i recently ordered some 300 tdi crank oil seals and when they came in the blue bag i was filled with horror due to the stories you hear but to be fair to brit part the seals look to be good quality

If you have a part fail then return it and ask for a refund ,if people dont do this then how do the company supplying said parts know theres a problem ?

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I have worked in an engineering environment for many years I have checked, inspected passed fit for purpose and also rejected parts not fit for purpose.
How do you by looking at an oil seal determine that it is of good quality?
I am sorry if that sounds harsh but it cannot be done just by looking at an oil seal, it must be checked out properly and for most of us who do not have the facilities and or knowhow to complete the task then fitting and waiting to see how long I lasts is the only measure we have.
When a component would come into an inspection area a standing joke would be holding the component in your hand (if you could) we would say well its looks the correct colour and shape but lets see just how good it is. That when the inspection gets underway and dependent on the part determines the methods employed.

Ive not tested the seals and nor am i going to but im parts manager at a large agricultural dealership and id say the seals look good (they are uniform in shape, roundness and are smooth where they should be) they look of similar quality to the genuine oem oil seals we supply for our machines and if they werent in a blue bag id have no problems fitting them

In the same way its not realy fair to say a part isnt fit for purpose because of whats written on the bag

Many things could cause a seal to fail from not using the right tool to install or the shaft its on being pitted

Britpart are a wholesaler and I've had parts from them that are OEM and even Land Rover branded sometimes. It's their budget own-brand stuff that's likely to be a bit iffy. When I'm in Mid Wales, I see quite a few Britpart vans criss crossing the countryside delivering to small independent garages in towns and villages, because Britpart Central is nearby at Craven Arms. What seems to keep them going is that there's a strong demand in all these places for very low priced components, and lots of garages whose customers would baulk at having to pay premium prices for parts. If you are able to plan your maintenance in advance and have a few days to order something with a G suffix instead, it's not a problem.

Garages are jumping on the bandwagon buying Defenders then sprucing them up using Britpart stuff, and selling on for a big profit.

I think the other key factor is that Britpart have a very aggressive distribution network and get stuff out to garages and spares dealers very quickly. I asked my friend in Wales why he was allowing a garage to put Britpart stuff on his car when there were better things to be had, and it turned out that Britpart items could be got the same day whereas other stuff involved a wait of several days. It's only an SY postcode but as far as waiting for deliveries goes you might as well be in the north of Scotland.

Brown said:

I think the other key factor is that Britpart have a very aggressive distribution network and get stuff out to garages and spares dealers very quickly. I asked my friend in Wales why he was allowing a garage to put Britpart stuff on his car when there were better things to be had, and it turned out that Britpart items could be got the same day whereas other stuff involved a wait of several days. It's only an SY postcode but as far as waiting for deliveries goes you might as well be in the north of Scotland.

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the others offer the same terms , which is next day for all of them unless your local,,britpart wholesale a range retailers choose the cheapest as most customers are driven by such

jamesmartin said:

the others offer the same terms , which is next day for all of them unless your local,,britpart wholesale a range retailers choose the cheapest as most customers are driven by such

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Maybe it's similar in Louth , but this is Powys where Britpart's local and everybody else is miles away. It's not so much the suppliers, but the couriers. The Britpart vans seem to know where they're going whereas all the other delivery firms can't find the addresses and the drivers can't pronounce them anyway. Not just trade deliveries either. Amazon Prime next day delivery takes about a week too!

Ahh, Wales... Dolly ga loo isn't spelt like that.
Anywhoo, stuck 4 off britpart +40 pistons in mine, can't remember how much they were but were loads cheaper than paddocks possibly £24 each, paddocks were £36 ?
Done 10 k so far and no problems.
Complete with pin and rings for 200tdi.
I have had britpart problems though, wiper drive cable was just made incorrectly , glow plugs and wiper blades are wamk, ...

The only britpart item on my Land Rover are the pedal rubbers as I was given them for free even they seem crap and are wearing fast.

I only use genuine lr or oem parts on my 21 year old defender and yes the parts are expensive but its all been fit and forget I haven't had to do a single job twice and have no doubt that after reading threads like this I'm not out of pocket.

12 months for an exhaust on any car is terrible regardless of mileage or type of journey etc.

If you buy cheap you buy twice all markets are the same the gap between genuine descents parts and cheap entry stuff has increased I bough some stainless steel bolts of eBay and once delivered didn't fit them the heads looked more tired and miss shaped then the ones I took off and doubt the stainless quality isn't there.

Also to put a twist on things garages will like to fit a **** item twice and cash in on the extra labour

If everyone on here avoided britpart and engaged with them they would either die or improve much like Adrian flux insurance

jamesmartin said:

the others offer the same terms , which is next day for all of them unless your local,,britpart wholesale a range retailers choose the cheapest as most customers are driven by such

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What I am thinking is when I have a repair completed at a garage I would expect a warranty on the work completed, if the repair subsequently fails during the warranty period I would return to the garage and expect the vehicle to be put right free of any charges (I know there could be exceptions when another part fails which has an effect on the repair which was out of the control of the garage).
Now the customer has asked for Bripart parts to be used and the garage fits them as requested, the repair fails after a short time the garage will be able to claim a refund on the failed part but not the labour used to fit it. If this is more frequent with Britpart parts (and other none genuine parts will come into this category) the garage will be out of pocket and if frequently happens out of business.
As a professional when fitting none genuine parts to a customer's vehicle is there any allowance made when costing the job using none genuine parts? I understand the difference in parts prices will cause a difference or will it be a warranty difference?

raywin said:

I see so many threads like this, and just wondered if anyone presses them on their two year warranty?
This is well advertised and I wonder if people were to keep on claiming that this would put them in a position of either do something about the quality or take the financial hammer.

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if you don't feed back to them they'll never change. The only influence you can have is to cost them money to replace failed parts.