Yes beyond belief Iana, what people will risk for a so called bargain.

I have spent some time on the Diesel heater Facebook site, looking at the furnaces with holes in them (straight out of the box), reading the problems that are discussed daily, looking at pictures of the huge pile of discarded chinese heaters, etc etc.

I was in Tassie at Gordon when a guy came in, got chatting. His job for tomorrow was to replace his chinese heater again (3rd time), He gets them replaced under warranty??? Said he can change them now very quickly!! He carries 2 spare glow plugs with him.

No value or safety in any of it. Get what you pay for.

(i have a gas one).

Cheers.

 

-- Edited by The Travelling Dillberries on Wednesday 10th of July 2019 02:17:57 PM

yobarr wrote:

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Could I point out that there is no such thing as a Cheap Price.....the price costs nothing.It is the goods (or service) that are cheap or expensive...NOT the price.The price can be high,low,or in between,but the price COSTS NOTHING.My Diesel heater (air and water)cost $2000,but,as Chris says,you get what you pay for.Cheers

 

-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 10th of July 2019 04:09:20 PM

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 I am interested in the comment that "price costs nothing". Unfortunately when you buy something you have to part with $$'s unless the item has been given to you. In every purchase there is a cost, your time and the exchange of consideration.

Umpie1 wrote:

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yobarr wrote:

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Could I point out that there is no such thing as a Cheap Price.....the price costs nothing.It is the goods (or service) that are cheap or expensive...NOT the price.The price can be high,low,or in between,but the price COSTS NOTHING.My Diesel heater (air and water)cost $2000,but,as Chris says,you get what you pay for.Cheers

 -- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 10th of July 2019 04:09:20 PM

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 I am interested in the comment that "price costs nothing". Unfortunately when you buy something you have to part with $$'s unless the item has been given to you. In every purchase there is a cost, your time and the exchange of consideration.

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Hi Geoff...I reiterate that it is the GOODS or the SERVICE you are purchasing that is cheap,NOT the price.The price costs nothing.....you cannot buy a price. Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 10th of July 2019 05:19:20 PM

Don't be surprised at anything,,, my mate used to import Toyota packaged hydraulic brake parts direct from overseas,,, many proved to be porous castings,, go figure.

It is common knowledge that companies now inspect goods for QA in country of origin before buying.

My nephew spent almost 4-6 months each year inspecting QA in South Korea for GMH until they stopped producing in SA,,,, that says it all eh.

I didn't put up the thread to rubbish the heaters, or compare diesel against gas, but its about the price, $185 is probably an hours labor here, just the cost of a fuel pump would be $100 from Europe. These kits are quite comprehensive, so adding up of each part, the price seems amazing, and it can be sold for $185, and the re-seller in Aus can still make a profit, and somebody had to pay freight.

What it is doing is sending other manufacturing businesses broke, because they don't have a hope of competing against that. Perhaps this is all part of the grand plan?

Check the mark up on genuine parts !!

Price doesnt mean anything at times either ., We made turbo manifolds . Both exactly the same . Cost us $150 to buy the steam pipe flange . We sold the black ones for $1550 and the silver for $850 . On seperate sites and names on eBay . We sold twice as many of the $1550 black manifolds. Often we would re paint the silver manifolds. If we run out . Sold 4 to 6 a week .

-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Thursday 11th of July 2019 09:07:56 AM

Not much is built to quality these days though ? Just enough to pass safely standards . Look at one of common caravans ? Slapped together and defects fixed by the dealer !! Yet not a cheap purchase !! Check Mercedes Benz warranty issues ? One of the most expensive vehicles !!

Yes that reminds me of seeing a factory in China (on TV) making Apple Iphones during the day, and at night the exact production line was turning out copies.

Aus-Kiwi wrote:

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Check the mark up on genuine parts !!

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Parts prices went sky high in early 90's when the viability of the car industry was about 800,000 or so units a year, but reality was well below that somewhere about 500,000 if I recall.

The difference was made up in parts prices to ensure viability. No one disagreed with this at the time, except consumers.

It didn't work but parts remain sky high.

blissonwheels wrote:

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Gooday,

There is an old saying-:

"The Bitterness of Poor Quality

Remains Long after the Sweetness 

Of Cut Price is Forgotten."

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Yes, a good truism about 'value'. However the key lies in how you determine quality and value. In many (not all) cases low price indicates low quality, but a high price does not necessarily assure high quality and better value. How you determine an item's quality involves understanding how it differs from a cheap item that may look similar. Price alone is not a reliable guide to value.

"A bit like a $2 tee shirt from K Mart. We truly dont need a slave labour shi..y $2 tee shirt! There must be a cut off point between the right price and downright potential dangerous.". Im informed kmart pays about 20cents each.

oldbloke wrote:

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"A bit like a $2 tee shirt from K Mart. We truly dont need a slave labour shi..y $2 tee shirt! There must be a cut off point between the right price and downright potential dangerous.". Im informed kmart pays about 20cents each.

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 $2!!!   I only buy 'quality' at $6 from BigW.  LOL

The heaters are down to $149 for the complete kit, Aussie seller too, can be even less if you buy from overseas but you must factor in the GST.
I've had both a brand name and a chinese side by side on the bench and it is hard to see any difference in the quality, yes some bits like tanks, plastic mouldings, exhaust pipe etc are possibly of slightly lesser quality but they do the job and continue to do so for years.
Spare parts for the brand name are an outrageous cost locally, spare parts for the chinese ones are much cheaper and in many cases will fit both.
One thing that has been found is that the rubber fuel line joiners supplied with many of the cheaper heaters are suspect over time so replacing them with locally sourced fuel line cut up into appropriate pieces is reccomended.
A lot of the problems stem from running the heaters on low settings for extended periods which leads to carbon buildup in the heating chamber and eventual failure. If you have a habit of running the heater on low settings for extended periods it should be pulled apart and cleaned out at least annually.
The problem often occurs because people buy a 5kw version as they are often the cheapest and then run it at less than full bore for extended periods as the heater is actually too big a capacity for the van or motorhome.