TPS wont sell to private customer anymore?

[Ripstop]

Just rang my local TPS and they refused to sell parts to me and told me to go through a dealer or third party supplier... is this correct? I was only after a Rev G Cut off valve and Rev R PCV. Is this true? Are they being hard nosed about trade only accounts?

Disappointed if thats the case 
Rip.

[bobby_fodge]

Same here. Went in to my local TPS last Friday and got told they were no longer selling to the public. Been going to that one for ages. 

[richtung]

TPS Stockport and Trafford are still selling to the public - got some bits two weeks ago from the Trafford branch...

Rich

[bobby_fodge]

TPS Stockport and Trafford are still selling to the public - got some bits two weeks ago from the Trafford branch...

Rich

It was Trafford I went to last Friday.

[Dan_FR]

Same old thing.... They're not supposed to, and every couple of years they make a big fuss, clamping down on the issue..... But depending on the branch and people working there, many will serve you.

Worst case, go in there quoting the name of a local garage and state you want to make a quick cash purchase...

It's worth noting that unless you're friendly with the staff and they give you a discount, the prices are pretty much the same as what your local parts department at the dealership will charge

[gixerben]

My local TPS stopped serving to the public a while ago, I do have a friend with an trade account and they even rang him to confirm they knew me!
Apparently the chap serving me told me that somebody had gone in and booked out parts against a garage but he didn't work for them, so free parts for him, cheeky bugger..

I now go via the main dealer, which I have a friend who works there, so still get a little bit of discount.

Personally, I just hate the showroom visit for parts. The service isn't the best as they wish to sell new cars not random bits for a 10 year old GTI.

[Ripstop]

I also find VW parts sales at my closest VW very slow but friendly enough. In this case I went to the ubiquitous fleabay and sourced some OEM parts (Skoda garage) cheaper than the quoted price of £72-48 for a Rev G or Rev D DV and £44-33 for a PCV. At first he tried to sell me a Rev D for my Eddy as that "supercedes" the Rev G  He didn't know anything about the piston style vs the diaphragm style. I know you can also get them from Awesome and AKS but any saving is a good thing.

[amanda]

Just phoned my Tps dealer that I have been using for years to query this!
As of 1st March this year no Tps will be providing parts to anyone that isn’t in the trade

[willni]

My local said they're happy to make accounts for people if you bring in a letter headed piece of paper with a fake business name and then your address.

[pudding]

It's all a bit silly really.  My TPS is right behind my dealer     

Dealer raises an order on the central catalogue, TPS deliver them, dealer sells them to me.  I don't get the point of such a middle man operation personally, but I guess VW found it to be cheaper than managing it themselves.

One advantage of TPS is the ability for my dealer to order off brand parts.  Dealers were blocked from ordering in Audi, SEAT et al bits years ago, so this is a good loop hole to use.

[amanda]

It's all a bit silly really.  My TPS is right behind my dealer  :grin

So is mine and my dealer knows I use Tps so they give me the same discount.............they also (my dealer) give me old girl rates which now makes my dealers rates almost as good as an indie but I get the perks of a dealership like 2 yrs warranty on both parts and labor plus a courtesy car
Win win in my book

[flufgti]

They can't sell to public anymore because apparently the dealers were loosing out on parts sales.

[Ripstop]

This is slightly ridiculous because as @Pudding says it was obviously cheaper to outsource the operation for cost savings but then as the dealers usually add some on top for "handling" the customer loses out on the saving. I see this as another way for dealers to claw back more profit. Its the same product and genuine but dealers are getting greedy. I would prefer genuine parts but the dealer service is poor in some cases and expensive.

I guess finding the OE manufacturer like Lemforder or Febi for some parts on the bay or elsewhere is still a full time hobby 

Rip.

[richtung]

TPS Stockport and Trafford are still selling to the public - got some bits two weeks ago from the Trafford branch...

Rich

It was Trafford I went to last Friday.

Really gutted about this - I rang up and they confirmed that they could no longer sell to the public.
As a way of a consolation,  RPS Online are selling genuine VAG parts at very good prices  - delivered. I asked them to quote for two new front wings and they quoted £243 delivered. Local dealers were charging £312.

Hope this helps

Rich

[bobby_fodge]

TPS Stockport and Trafford are still selling to the public - got some bits two weeks ago from the Trafford branch...

Rich

It was Trafford I went to last Friday.

Really gutted about this - I rang up and they confirmed that they could no longer sell to the public.
As a way of a consolation,  RPS Online are selling genuine VAG parts at very good prices  - delivered. I asked them to quote for two new front wings and they quoted £243 delivered. Local dealers were charging £312.

Hope this helps

Rich

I'll give them a try, thanks Rich