Am I Being Taken for a Ride?

Sir,
As the owner of a Volvo 164E I am finding, to my regret, that although generally it is difficult to fault the car, one item does stick out like the proverbial sore thumb, namely the Bosch injectors fitted to this vehicle, and the exorbitant cost of replacements.

Leaking fuel injectors spraying petrol all over the engine, with the consequent risk of an engine fire has been my experience several times during the last three years with this car.

The worst shock was finding that the injectors are not an exchange service item, as are diesel injectors, but are scrap, and so one is forced to purchase new injectors. Now comes the crunch. Bosch injectors purchased from Volvo agents are currently priced at £21.74 each, a staggering sum of £130.44 plus VAT for six off.

The same item purchased from Mercedes agents are priced at, £12.17 each, a total of £73.02 plus VAT (still quite expensive). I have been informed from a very reliable source, that Volvo agents are in agreement with Volvo concessionaires to buy all Volvo spares from them (this presumably includes Bosch injectors). I fail to see quite how the distributor for one make of foreign car can justify the difference of 44% increase in the price of what is apparently the identical article supplied for another foreign car, especially when both articles are manufactured by the same company.

I think you will agree that the above figures indicate that one of the two car manufacturers concerned should adjust his prices quickly before going into liquidation for one of the two obvious reasons.

Eynsford, Kent. J.W.H. Wells