As some of you are aware, Quaife no longer sells directly to the US, and
expects all of us to buy through their authorized US distributor, Quaife
America.
Unfortunately, the prices of Quaife America, as compared to the catalog
list price of Quaife parts in the UK, is horribly excessive. I have
priced a diff from Quaife which I wanted, through their current catalog
at the most recent exchange rate, at $652.50, plus shipping. Quaife
America's price, for the same item, is almost double, $1195 plus
shipping.
I have tried to prevail upon Quaife to alter their policies about direct
shipment from the UK, and have gone so far as to tell them the American
distributor's price is excessive, that I won't buy from their American
supplier, and they are losing sales... to no good effect.
I believe that the only way to obtain the parts at a reasonable price is
to arrange a group buy, in person, across the counter in the UK. I and
at least one other person are intent on buying a Quaife diff in the near
future, so, by my calculations, if we could get six more people involved
in a group buy, $135 would cover the air fare, excess baggage charges
and the US ground shipment (to the individual buyer) required to pick
the parts up in the UK at catalog costs. The shipping costs, of course,
would go down from that amount with additional participants. For a TR4,
GT6, TR7 or Spitfire diff, that would mean a total cost, with shipping,
of about $800, as opposed to about $1250-1275 from the US source,
depending upon the amount of VAT refund at port of exit.
If anyone has been contemplating a Quaife diff or any other Quaife parts
for their Triumph or other Brit car, and have hesitated because of
pricing, or because of uncertainty about the American supplier, please
let me know, and I'll try to work it out if enough people are
interested.
Cheers, all.
--
Michael D. Porter
Roswell, NM
[mailto: mporter@zianet.com]
`70 GT6+ (being refurbished, slowly)
`71 GT6 Mk. III (organ donor)
`72 GT6 Mk. III (daily driver)
`64 TR4 (awaiting intensive care)
`80 TR7 (3.8 liter Buick-powered)
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