New, Genuine Volvo distributor cap.

[bob12]

I have noticed since the buyout of Europarts and their sister company CarPart4Less by LKQ that there is now often a big difference on prices between the pricing of the two online when you can collect online orders from both at a local LKQ Europarts counter.

Whilst the online headers for EPs often suggest large discounts they now appear very limited and often many parts are at full price. They do not appear to offer block discount codes across a wide range of items.

Currently the system of discount codes is still a feature of CP4Less.

As an example if you order a Beru rotor via CP4Less with the current discount of 24% (SALE24) the rotor comes down by £6.24 from £25.99 to a more acceptable £19.75. That's is my guideline price when looking at the firms I might buy from.

Bob

[Forrest]

Just as a potentially interesting aside, I have recently ordered in the US an original Volvo Penta distributor cap and rotor arm, similar to the one linked by Baggy. It will be a while before they get here. They are both being sent by different suppliers to a reshipping service which will consolidate them into a single package for export.

Now, I know there is a cost for this service (I have used similar in several countries) and I know I shall get stung for at least VAT by UK Customs. However, what I find amazing is the comparable cost of parts in the US.

Distributor Cap $37.99 (£30.30) plus $9.99 domestic shipping.
Rotor Arm $20.65 (£16.47) including domestic shipping.

Remember these are genuine OEM albeit old stock. Bosch via Autodoc are £96.85 and £19.45 plus delivery in the UK, and I've seen them a lot more elsewhere. So I don't anticipate I'll be over-paying by too much. Rip-off Britain is alive and kicking!

For those not already aware Penta is Volvo's marine brand and the redblocks were sold as marine engines by Volvo. Some (but not all) parts are interchangeable and the marine stuff tends to be pretty decent quality.

I wouldn't recommend the approach I'm taking to anyone as using a reshipping agent is slow, expensive and means you're unlikely to be able to return anything that arrives faulty or broken. However, another tip for anyone stupid enough to try this is that sales tax (the US equivalent of VAT) varies by state and some states don't have it at all. You obviously want your agent to be based in one of these to be able to buy tax-free online in the US. There might be potential currency issues and costs involved too depending on how you pay. I use a dollar account, so don't have to contend with that.

[360beast]

Originally Posted by Forrest

Just as a potentially interesting aside, I have recently ordered in the US an original Volvo Penta distributor cap and rotor arm, similar to the one linked by Baggy. It will be a while before they get here. They are both being sent by different suppliers to a reshipping service which will consolidate them into a single package for export.

Now, I know there is a cost for this service (I have used similar in several countries) and I know I shall get stung for at least VAT by UK Customs. However, what I find amazing is the comparable cost of parts in the US.

Distributor Cap $37.99 (£30.30) plus $9.99 domestic shipping.
Rotor Arm $20.65 (£16.47) including domestic shipping.

Remember these are genuine OEM albeit old stock. Bosch via Autodoc are £96.85 and £19.45 plus delivery in the UK, and I've seen them a lot more elsewhere. So I don't anticipate I'll be over-paying by too much. Rip-off Britain is alive and kicking!

For those not already aware Penta is Volvo's marine brand and the redblocks were sold as marine engines by Volvo. Some (but not all) parts are interchangeable and the marine stuff tends to be pretty decent quality.

I wouldn't recommend the approach I'm taking to anyone as using a reshipping agent is slow, expensive and means you're unlikely to be able to return anything that arrives faulty or broken. However, another tip for anyone stupid enough to try this is that sales tax (the US equivalent of VAT) varies by state and some states don't have it at all. You obviously want your agent to be based in one of these to be able to buy tax-free online in the US. There might be potential currency issues and costs involved too depending on how you pay. I use a dollar account, so don't have to contend with that.

Hi Forrest, I ordered just under $100 of parts from FCP Euro last year and I didn't get any customs charges/VAT added on when it arrived so you should be fine.

[Chris1Roll]

I ordered my exhaust manifold studs from Penta, as they were quite a bit cheaper than from Volvo.
Usually anything with a boat involved would get a massive premium attached, so...

Haven't quite worked up the courage to get the old ones off yet though!

[Forrest]

Originally Posted by 360beast

I ordered just under $100 of parts from FCP Euro last year and I didn't get any customs charges/VAT added on when it arrived so you should be fine.

The way VAT is handled on imports changed with Brexit. Ironically, the UK started applying a European style approach to imports from the rest of the world.

Shipments that are worth under £135 sent by overseas sellers do not incur import VAT, but the overseas seller must be VAT-registered in the UK, and must pay the VAT to HMRC. This is why since Brexit a lot of foreign companies have stopped selling to retail customers in the UK.

For shipments over £135 VAT and import duty, if applicable, is collected by the courier.

IPD are aware of this and make reference to it in their shipping policy. It doesn’t look as though FCP Euro are yet. Closer to home, Skandix get it right on low value orders but I have had problems with VAT being charged twice on higher value stuff.

Whilst it is tempting to make hay while the sun shines with companies that aren’t up to date on this rule change such joy may be short-lived. HMRC will catch up with them eventually potentially causing them to stop trading with the UK or maybe even altogether if they owe a lot of back tax.