Repco has bought Rare Spares.

[csv8]

"THE brand behind countless projects, parts and Street Machine feature cars has been sold.

Rare Spares has been purchased by GPC Asia Pacific, owners of automotive brands including Repco, Napa Auto Parts and Sparesbox. The move will see GPC complete the purchase of 100 per cent of Rare Spares shares by mid-year. The move won’t affect Rare Spares stores or staff but will enable customer access to Rare Spares parts though Repco’s national network, as well as quicker-to-market product development.

MORESurvivor - The Rare Spares Story – video
“There is only upside to this,” Rare Spares Managing Director, Lance Corby, told Street Machine. “You won’t really see a change in the Rare Spares brand at all. Rare Spares will still be Rare Spares. It will still be run by the team running it now, I will still be the general manager, and my support leadership team will still be in place. All of our staff will be retained at our Campbellfield head office, doing what we do best.”

Customers will still be able to shop at their local Rare Spares, including a recent new flagship store at Slacks Creek, Queensland, but will also be able to special order parts from Repco outlets. Corby, who started working at Rare Spares at its first store in Brunswick as a 19-year-old, is passionate about the brand remaining independent.

“The last thing I’d want is for our iconic national brand to be broken up and just absorbed into a large pool of stores without the expertise that we bring to market at the shopfront,” Corby said. “What we cater for in the marketplace that others don’t are the bits and pieces – the major parts – that cost a fair amount of money to tool-up and make, such as tail-light assemblies and full panels.

“Repco/GPC has a lot of tools that we can piggy-back off to help our development and supply faster to market – product sourcing, shipping and so on. There are so many synergies with the two companies working together.” https://www.whichcar.com.au/news/rare-spares-sold

[xb74_black]

This is terrible news. I hate Repco and the **** service I used to receive from them.

[Trevor 57]

Repco is always my last resort, I drive past Repco to go to Supercheap - Bursons is always my first choice - the tradies spare parts provider, and they are the closest to my home

I have bought 2 products from Rare Spares and both have been ****

Repco and Rare Spares deserve deserve each other

[Citroënbender]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

Repco and Rare Spares deserve deserve each other

Took the words from my mouth!

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

Repco is always my last resort, I drive past Repco to go to Supercheap - Bursons is always my first choice - the tradies spare parts provider, and they are the closest to my home

I have bought 2 products from Rare Spares and both have been ****

Repco and Rare Spares deserve deserve each other

Spose I better start stocking up on X series parts now before they disappear for ever. Partcularly door handles.

[FroudeyBrand]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

Repco is always my last resort, I drive past Repco to go to Supercheap - Bursons is always my first choice - the tradies spare parts provider, and they are the closest to my home

I have bought 2 products from Rare Spares and both have been ****

Repco and Rare Spares deserve deserve each other

Agreed when Supercheap have a AUII V8 Serp Belt from $36 to $65 depending on brand,
Autobarn has one for $40
and Repco has one on the shelf for $83 (with Ignition member stuff applied)
(yet to check Bursons or Regional Auto Supplies as it's Sunday)
Like seriously they are the name sake of the V8 Supercars you'd think they would lower prices.

The only thing i've brought from Repco was a garage creeper for $26 they are the last resort 100%

[Trevor 57]

An old panel beater mate of mine said the reason why they break is because the little bushes in hinges are the issue, they wear out and make the doors hard to open

[LG17]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

An old panel beater mate of mine said the reason why they break is because the little bushes in hinges are the issue, they wear out and make the doors hard to open

That's 100% correct.
I reckon I'd be a millionaire if I had a dollar for every one I've replaced.


The biggest problem was customers wouldn't believe you and think you were just trying to get more money out of them.


They'd come back and complain we'd done something wrong when they broke again.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

An old panel beater mate of mine said the reason why they break is because the little bushes in hinges are the issue, they wear out and make the doors hard to open

Yes, watched this blokes interesting vid on repairing the locking mech so as not to keep replacing the handles.
Noticed the other day there's a hairline crack on the passenger door handle atm, lucky I only have 2 doors and not 4.

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

An old panel beater mate of mine said the reason why they break is because the little bushes in hinges are the issue, they wear out and make the doors hard to open

Yeah,the reason is because the hinges wear and let the door sag.People then use the handle to lift the door to,open.If the hinges are adjusted properly the door unlocks easily and handles don’t get broken.I also used to weld a piece of steel between the 2 ends of the handle to strenthen them and help spread the load

[Yellow_Festiva]

Repco needs to do something with the website search function...

Search 'engine flush'... and you get... "Showing 1 - 20 of 6417 products"

Autobarn has the same problem. Search returns trailer hitch locks and steering bushes...

They also both have an issue with listing results based on price. Makes me not bother with their online platform.

Supercheap at least has that simple function working properly.

[Franco Cozzo]

Watch what will happen - GPCs accountants will get involved and they'll cull the slow moving product lines at Rare Spares.

Which is everything hence the name 'Rare Spares'

It doesn't make sense at all to bring Rare Spares under the fold of GPC Asia Pacific, they just acquired a competitor and that's probably about it.

Both BAPCOR (Burson) and GPC Asia Pacific are buying all the independent auto parts companies in Australia and bringing them into their corporate group.

Look at their websites and look at all the auto suppliers they own in Australia, there's hardly anyone left who is outside these two groups - it's becoming like Woolies Safeway and Coles

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Search 'engine flush'... and you get... "Showing 1 - 20 of 6417 products"

You're probably getting a query for "engine" and for "flush"

Try using quotes for the full term "engine flush"
or even just flush

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

You're probably getting a query for "engine" and for "flush"

Try using quotes for the full term "engine flush"
or even just flush

Irrelevant, my thoughts are their search engine looks at the item description not only the product name.

If Supercheap can get it right so can Repco. It shouldn't be that hard.

Oh... Repco sells 6417 items of "engine flush".

And 6832 items for just flush - the first being a roof rack of course.

As I said... an obvious glitch.

[FroudeyBrand]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Irrelevant, my thoughts are their search engine looks at the item description not only the product name.

If Supercheap can get it right so can Repco. It shouldn't be that hard.

Oh... Repco sells 6417 items of "engine flush".

And 6832 items for just flush - the first being a roof rack of course.

As I said... an obvious glitch.

Meanwhile @ Autobarn Online / Website

Enter Rego. Nekminute
Registration Search

Sorry, we couldn't find the vehicle you were looking for.

Please check your details and try again. Or, you can use the Manual Search option below.

I think by manual search they mean manually sift through pages of rubbish and hopefully you already know the part number etc.

[foxtrot3]

Hi. Rare spares are more than a “rare” spares company, they make a large range of fast moving parts like oil filters and bulk heater hose under the “RSP” name. Been supplying Autobarn for years. Cheers MD

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by foxtrot3

Hi. Rare spares are more than a “rare” spares company, they make a large range of fast moving parts like oil filters and bulk heater hose under the “RSP” name. Been supplying Autobarn for years. Cheers MD

Watch how quickly that stops as GPC Asia Pacific isn't interested in supplying and or purchasing from their major competitor BAPCOR

There was a big spat that happened there recently on one of their product lines being sourced from them.

[prktkljokr]

So Rare spares stores will now be staffed with pimply faced teenagers that have no clue what you are talking about as well, let alone know what a Ford or Holden is without the aid of a computer.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by prktkljokr

So Rare spares stores will now be staffed with pimply faced teenagers that have no clue what you are talking about as well, let alone know what a Ford or Holden is without the aid of a computer.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by prktkljokr

So Rare spares stores will now be staffed with pimply faced teenagers that have no clue what you are talking about as well, let alone know what a Ford or Holden is without the aid of a computer.

They made the decision a while back to invest more in cataloguing and pay less on wages - so what they do is no more ex auto tradies in parts roles anymore and more pimply faced kids on Maccas money who go 'year make and model' and read from the screen - SCA was the first that went down this path but Repco is following big time, I deal with SCA/Repco/Burson and their other lesser known brands on a daily basis.

Even dealerships doing the same thing - you can see it in one of the latest MCM clips where they try buy genuine parts from a Honda dealership but the guy won't do anything without a VIN.

If the search tool they use won't do anything without a VIN then you go to carsales, find a car for sale that your customer is chasing parts for, use the rego search function of your local road authority to get the VIN and then use that to satisfy the computer but Mr Honda spare parts guy obviously can't think outside the box

The whole industry is ****ed, its being consolidated between two huge corporate groups, its also losing all its experienced people who are being replaced with pimply teenage kids which is causing downward pressure on wages, I'm trying to get out.

The other side of it that you might not see from a consumer perspective is the companies supplying these monsters end up with dealing an oligopsony which is a whole other issue.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

They made the decision a while back to invest more in cataloguing and pay less on wages - so what they do is no more ex auto tradies in parts roles anymore and more pimply faced kids on Maccas money who go 'year make and model' and read from the screen - SCA was the first that went down this path but Repco is following big time, I deal with SCA/Repco/Burson and their other lesser known brands on a daily basis.

Even dealerships doing the same thing - you can see it in one of the latest MCM clips where they try buy genuine parts from a Honda dealership but the guy won't do anything without a VIN.

If the search tool they use won't do anything without a VIN then you go to carsales, find a car for sale that your customer is chasing parts for, use the rego search function of your local road authority to get the VIN and then use that to satisfy the computer but Mr Honda spare parts guy obviously can't think outside the box

The whole industry is ****ed, its losing all its experienced people, I'm trying to get out.

It gets worse if you have a model in a crossover year. If its not on the shelf and you have to ask the parts desk, they ask me for my rego plate. It comes up as 2008 ford falc. Its a 2008 bf fairmont ghia. Then the kid says fg? I say bf. Then theres the life wasting conversation as the system says fg, but i know my car is a bf. So then it turns into look up 2007 ford falcon. Then it turns into am i sure. Then it eventually turns into me purchasing the correct part for my car thats not an fg. Im sure when the time comes for parts my brother will have the same issue with his 2002 au. Theyle probably say ba?

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

It gets worse if you have a model in a crossover year. If its not on the shelf and you have to ask the parts desk, they ask me for my rego plate. It comes up as 2008 ford falc. Its a 2008 bf fairmont ghia. Then the kid says fg? I say bf. Then theres the life wasting conversation as the system says fg, but i know my car is a bf. So then it turns into look up 2007 ford falcon. Then it turns into am i sure. Then it eventually turns into me purchasing the correct part for my car thats not an fg. Im sure when the time comes for parts my brother will have the same issue with his 2002 au. Theyle probably say ba?

The easiest way to manage them is do the research before you get to the store and just give them part numbers from the companies products they distribute.

Some places have a vehicle application catalogue on their website which will list their part number for part for a specific car - if Repco/Burson etc is the distributor of their product you can just go into the branch and say to the kid behind the counter - price and availability on part number XYZ from supplier ABC and they'll tap away on the computer and tell you, or they will call ABC and go 'price and availability on part number XYZ' in front of you

There's a good chance that the average person on AFF knows more about their own car than either the salesman who sold them new or the kid behind the counter at a corporate parts monster.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

It gets worse if you have a model in a crossover year.

I get a chuckle out of them all whenever they tell me, Ford never made an XF in 1993. Even after informing them its a panel van. No that will be a XG.

Never been back to Repco after they burned me with an expensive clutch and pressure plate sale to suit the wrong Ford Trader (with a petrol engine) which was never sold here.
I had bought it as a spare for later use. 2 Years down the track when it was time to use it, WTF it doesn't fit.
Of course this was after the new ownership and they wouldn't honour changing the part after this time even considering I had the (faded) receipt and they had the right part number on the wrong parts box.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

I get a chuckle out of them all whenever they tell me, Ford never made an XF in 1993. Even after informing them its a panel van. No that will be a XG.

Never been back to Repco after they burned me with an expensive clutch and pressure plate sale to suit the wrong Ford Trader (with a petrol engine) which was never sold here.
I had bought it as a spare for later use. 2 Years down the track when it was time to use it, WTF it doesn't fit.
Of course this was after the new ownership and they wouldn't honour changing the part after this time even considering I had the (faded) receipt and they had the right part number on the wrong parts box.

That sounds like entertainment value buying an air filter for the xf.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

I get a chuckle out of them all whenever they tell me, Ford never made an XF in 1993. Even after informing them its a panel van. No that will be a XG.

Never been back to Repco after they burned me with an expensive clutch and pressure plate sale to suit the wrong Ford Trader (with a petrol engine) which was never sold here.
I had bought it as a spare for later use. 2 Years down the track when it was time to use it, WTF it doesn't fit.
Of course this was after the new ownership and they wouldn't honour changing the part after this time even considering I had the (faded) receipt and they had the right part number on the wrong parts box.

The Repco in Benella has a lady whose been in the game for a long time, she knows her stuff.

If she's still around I haven't spoken to her for a while now.

The regional Repco branches tend to have that old bloke (or lass) whose been around the traps for decades compared to the suburban branches where it's the army of pimply faced children.

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Even dealerships doing the same thing - you can see it in one of the latest MCM clips where they try buy genuine parts from a Honda dealership but the guy won't do anything without a VIN.

What is wrong with that?

Dad has been in spares for 30+ years and always uses the VIN. Only way to be 100% accurate is to use the VIN.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Nikked

What is wrong with that?

Dad has been in spares for 30+ years and always uses the VIN. Only way to be 100% accurate is to use the VIN.

Because they are doing an engine conversion from one car into another so the VIN is useless but they need parts for the conversion engine and from various other Civics.

If you are chasing parts for a factory car then yes VIN is perfectly fine - but you should still be able to determine information by knowing what engines are in what cars and work backwards.

[xb74_black]

Ive got cars with engines not meant for them, try convincing pimple popper at repco that there's a 351w in the xf and you need part x.


Then ask for a part to suit a 74 Leyland thats identical to a part from any of the big 3 from the same era.



VIN is one tool, not the best.

Originally Posted by Nikked

What is wrong with that?

Dad has been in spares for 30+ years and always uses the VIN. Only way to be 100% accurate is to use the VIN.

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

They made the decision a while back to invest more in cataloguing and pay less on wages - so what they do is no more ex auto tradies in parts roles anymore and more pimply faced kids on Maccas money who go 'year make and model' and read from the screen - SCA was the first that went down this path but Repco is following big time, I deal with SCA/Repco/Burson and their other lesser known brands on a daily basis.

Even dealerships doing the same thing - you can see it in one of the latest MCM clips where they try buy genuine parts from a Honda dealership but the guy won't do anything without a VIN.

If the search tool they use won't do anything without a VIN then you go to carsales, find a car for sale that your customer is chasing parts for, use the rego search function of your local road authority to get the VIN and then use that to satisfy the computer but Mr Honda spare parts guy obviously can't think outside the box

The whole industry is ****ed, its being consolidated between two huge corporate groups, its also losing all its experienced people who are being replaced with pimply teenage kids which is causing downward pressure on wages, I'm trying to get out.

The other side of it that you might not see from a consumer perspective is the companies supplying these monsters end up with dealing an oligopsony which is a whole other issue.

when SuperCheap starting getting traction is when I saw a change in Repco, they started copying what SuperCheap was doing

[Citroënbender]

Franco, what’s the ideal (goal) timeframe for responding to an initial customer email re product/service in your side of the business? What about for the GPC/Bapcor type conglomerates?

Just curious, no agenda as such.