Total Cost of Ownership

[fivebob]

Suppose you needed to buy a part for your project and you had three options.

• Option 1 was the cheapest (~$500), but had a poor reputation for quality, came with little or no warranty, fails without warning, no parts backup, and has a short life expectancy of around 10,000kms.
  
• Option 2 was twice the price of Option 1(~$1000), was getting mixed reviews (some people loved it and said it was a good as the market leader, some hated it and said it was not much better than Option 1). It came with a 6 month warranty, but reports were it was a lot of hassle to get the item repaired/replaced. Gives a little warning of impending failure, has parts backup but can take a while to get them, and has a life expectancy of around 30,000kms
  
• Option 3 was four times the price of Option 1(~$2000), it's a brand name product with excellent reviews, a one year warranty with a reputation for good service under warranty, failing parts are easy to detect before they cause major problems, most parts are readily available, and it has a life expectancy of over 100,000kms.

Would your choice change if you knew a failure had a 20% chance of destroying your engine?

What if installing the part took a long time or cost $$$?

Would your choice be the same the second time around, assuming you achieved the predicted life expectancy?

[Adamal]

When I FINALLY get round to it I'll build using quality parts. I want to make sure everything is done right and is strongly built.
Oh, and theres not really many options when it comes to the twin screw supercharger market

[1I1]

I'm one who would rather build it right first time than eventually.

Quality over quantity

[Mr Revhead]

i urge everyone to be HONEST
as from my dealings with TSer's theres a huge amount who always shop with price in mind over anything else

[Adamal]

On a daily driver, I wouldn't go spending huge amounts of money. That said, I'd only really buy genuine replacement parts, because I'd be keeping it stock anyway.

[Alex B]

Def a conservative shopper. I can't say Ive modded the hell out of any of my cars, but with audio gear etc, ill usually go with a low model of a high rated brand if price is an issue rather than the other way around.

[DeeCee]

I fall between conservative shopper and top of the line.
Its mainly down to what the piece of equipment is with, price and what the alternative is and what the function is.

eg: 3" downpipe: For the Sillycar, I could get an Aussie downpipe @ a cost of $445Aus or try a cheap $150 chinese built pipe for $150NZ. After research and knowing that aussie downpipes can crack, I chose to get the cheap job as it's a part that can be replaced easily and is available if imported from Aus. Another alternative is that I get something custom made for my application.

eg: vernier cam gears: I bought Jun cam gears from Mac @ 41 over something like the Fidenza because it is a rotating part. I bought the high end because I didn't want to have any issues down the track.

eg: gearbox repair: I spent nearly 3k with Miles Udy gearbox specialists in Lower Hutt because a) the workshop has a reputation of racing and excellent work b) do it once, do it right.

I got them to replace my cracked syncro hub and replace all the syncros through the box. Normally people would change syncros 2 and maybe 3 in the box and be done with it, but I just went the extra mile because I wanted a box I wouldn't have problems with.

They subsequently lost my shift fork, so wasn't overly happy with that situation, but I wouldn't hesitate to put the money where it is important because I don't have the knowledge or experience to repair a box. I imagine that will change when I take apart my st205 box that sits out the back.

When it comes to upgrades in the future, I am quite prepared to pay for the top notch or buy second hand top notch based on serviceability, replacement parts etc. Like the Holset turbos I'm eyeing up.

Numerous discussions with the boys have lead to looking seriously at Holsets because a) they are readily available b) you can buy seal kits easily c) there are dealers all over the place d) I can buy a secondhand one and can rebuild it back to new with easy parts availability.

Its one of the reasons I am building my car up myself with help from friends. Because I know that the quality will be there while gaining experience. If I don't have the knowledge or experience, I'm quite prepared to outsource and drop the coin on paying for the workmanship that will meet my standards.

[Lurkin]

depends on a range of variables.

income
'criticalness' and consequences of the parts
availability of parts
ignorance/ availability to get help/ info


as > $500 is quite a bit of money it would warrant research (i.e. reading the recent debate) and would be more likely to spend more...

but then I've never owned a turbo car/ blown one up before either....

[Mad Murphy]

If it's cars it really depends, take my old Corona GTR, I bought it on the proviso that it would last me a year without any major problems. It lasted me about 18 months so I won. By time I sold it it had no wof or reg, a stuffed clutch, leaked everything bar brake fluid, syncros all but gone on 2nd and 3rd, 2 near bald tyres and shabby paintwork. The car meant nothing to me so I didn't care about fixing things (other than the brakes and tyres when I first bought it for obvious safety reasons). It even survived having the engine bay set alight during the time I owned it! I still sold it for $550.

As for my MR2, I looked at cars for a year before choosing this one, nearly 4 years later its in better condition than when I bought it. I'm glad I put the effort into finding a good one and still got it at a fair price.

My mid range option was my first Corona which cost $1800 for and got 50,000 ks out of with nothing but a new cam belt, some tyres and regular oil changes. I had it for about 3 years and would probably still be driving it now if I hadn't dented the door and sill in. Sold it to a mate for $300 and his old man fixed it up pretty nicely, he still uses it every day though it did recently need a new engine mount.

If I was to buy another daily driver now it'd have to fit the no hassles, reasonable quality bracket, I don't see the point in spending more than 2 grand on a car for commuting, anything nice is only going to get ruined by being parked in car parks and out in the elements all day. I wouldn't buy another car like the GTR Corona though, shabby old cars get pulled over a lot.

[Distrb]

Buy the part that is the best fit for the purpose, whatever the cost.

[MAGN1T]

I'm the ultimate cheapskate, I buy quality second hand things that are cheap because they're broken, then fix them myself.

I'm still watching a 33 inch CRT panasonic TV that I paid $50 for about 10 years ago because it didn't go, well it took a whole half hour to fix.
Same goes for cars. All the cars I've bought in the last 9 years have arrived home on a trailer.

Steve

[mjrstar]

I am also a cheap arse, but i tend o go for a better quality 2nd hand item than a new lower quality item.

I am more interested in the quality of the item rather than name brand etc..

some things you just have to buy new decent quality, like fuel pressure regs' and fuel pumps if you are planning on pushing the motor a bit.

[Bling]

Buy the part that is the best fit for the purpose, whatever the cost.

Yeah I like this idea. Depends on what the part is too. Spending the big bucks for every item you ever buy for a car will not always be economical for the gains to be had. Last project got new clutch, starter motor, plugs, leads, oils, thermostat, pretty much every part I bought was for the long term gain. Sold that at a loss, so sometimes its best to go the best bang for buck route.

If I want to have something last me a long time i'll spend the money. If I only care about it lasting a couple years then middle of the road.

[pc]

I voted, then read the post.

I think I would probably buy the $2000 part... but normally i'm willing to give the cheap option a go.

I find a lot of times the cheap options are good enough, and not often going to cost lots of money or time if they fail. It's more a matter of choosing carefully and weighing up the overall cost and hastle if the part fails etc.

[Mad Murphy]

Buy the part that is the best fit for the purpose, whatever the cost.

I'd agree with this too, I've got no issue spending a lot of money computer and camera gear, I'd also rather buy decent quality car parts, particularly if safety is involved.

[jakesae101]

i myself like alot of others am a tight arse i like to shop for good branded second hand stuff ive even got cheap stuff that has been brand new that was marketed as second hand for me its the fact that i cant afford the stuff that i want new as i dont make a hell of a lot as im in a jr position

[Leon]

When it comes to cars I always run a basically standard vehicle, so luckily most of the stuff I buy is fairly low cost because it isn't bling. But if I had a $5000 engine build that might be kept nice and intact by spending more on something like a good turbo.

It is a matter of perceived risk.

For example, I've had a rim fail on me at Manfeild, so I won't use anything but good rims on the track. For autocross stuff where I'm doing maybe 70k in a grass paddock I will accept a less than perfect wheel.

[samlloyd]

If i could, i would buy good quality 2nd hand before avg quality new

[thegreatestben]

I'm picking quality alot more lately, however there's not always one price for a quality Item. I'll spend a bit of time making sure I'm getting the best deal I can wrangle.

[fivebob]

I hadn't considered the secondhand option, but that's not really what this poll was about.

I suspect that a lot of people didn't read the original post and just voted without understanding the question, which was directed at a particular scenario.

Funny thing is the results don't tally with a lot of the posts I see on Toyspeed. Maybe the cheapskates aren't voting because they're too busy fixing things that have gone wrong with their latest purchase

BTW if you read the question and take note of the quoted life expectancies which do you think is really the cheapest option over the life of the vehicle