toystry

Updated Post:

I've been on the RCF pages now for about 2 weeks now that I'm an proud RCF owner. During my internet searches for RCF products I stumbled across BP Auto's page. While I have to say they do have some nice items available on their page, I have to admit I was "sticker shocked" by the price of some of the items they offered, more specifically their LED light bulbs for the cargo trunk ($80 a piece) and their faux carbon fiber decals priced around ($600). Now don't get me wrong, I'm a realist and understand that some items are naturely going to be more expensive since they are made in Japan and shipped to the United States, which adds significant cost...

After about a week of this post being listed on this forum, BP Auto reached out to me via PM regarding what I originally posted (which was very similar to this, but modified based on the good dialogue we had) and refocused to speak in general about ALL AFTERMARKET COMPANIES. They explained to me how their pricing works, which made sense to a certain extent and I respect their input, but at the end of the day, each company controls the prices they set based on their initial cost from the vendor and the markup they desire to make. With that, I as a customer also have the choice to shop elsewhere if there is a better deal to be had which in the case of LED bulbs, there was a better deal to be had which I pursued.

So here are final thoughts regarding aftermarket pricing, which ARE NOT directed at BP Auto specifically, but to all companies who make aftermarket parts for RCF.....

STOP WITH THE HUGE MARKUPS ON AFTERMARKET PARTS SIMPLY BECAUSE IT'S A MORE EXPENSIVE CAR!

Now based on my interaction with BP Auto, will I purchase from them in the future? If I were to answer this question based on customer service alone, the answer would be yes, as I was impressed by the dialogue and professionalism shared, but if it was based on pricing alone, I'd purchase from them (as I would any other company) based on competitive pricing. If you can find a company that offers both, even better and I'd be willing to give BP Auto a shot at earning some of my business if they can provide both in the future.

Hope this helps some of you make future decisions on your aftermarket purchases.

JCtx

Holy crap! 80 for an LED bulb? By the way, the best LED bulb value to replace the only 5 incandescent bulbs on the RC-F is the Superbright LEDs p/n WLED-WHP6 (cool white) for $7.95 each. Locations are trunk (1), lower doors (2), foot lighting (2).

Damn, I liked their carbon-look trunk 'L' emblem, and the front fender 'F' ones. But even though they're fake, if they charge $80 for an LED, can't imagine how much it'd be for those. Will call anyway, since I debadged the rest. It's just the 'L' and the 2 fender 'F's. Thanks for the link.

Meraki Autoworks

iTrader: (8)

They are expensive products, you are getting what you pay for. The prices do seem a little high though from what I've seen through Mod in Japan.

johnnyreb

On top of that it usually takes 1.5-2 months to get it that's one of the things i really hate about ordering most things for this car is it takes forever to get it on Top of the Prices of some of these Pieces Good thing it was simple to put my intake on cause ALL of the instructions were in Japanese (i guess the US is the Only Country that prints out How to instructions in other languages).

toystry

Ya that's why I was laughing because I replaced all incandescent lights in my old Lexus for less than $80. As for those carbon-faux emblems, the full kit was $600 someone was saying ( )

toystry

Sorry, but there is no such thing as an $80 light bulb. Granted, there were 5 pages of crap they were selling but that item alone made me say "WTF".......they are very over-priced, but they don't care because someone will be dumb enough to buy that crap.

As someone mentioned, it takes forever to get items from them and that's because it's all produced overseas and there are huge fees (shipping, customs, etc) to get over-sized items to/from Japan/USA. I do a lot of business with China and most of my over 35% of my cost on products is shipping related.

juvi22003

iTrader: (2)

They are on clublexus as a vendor so im sure they will see this but i also agree that some of their prices are way too high and i'm not going by what people say i'm going from quotes i got from them and the website. So i buy from fizz autosports in chicago or directly from japan or you can also check with ravspec.

you guys need to do research and not jump at the first vendor that offer you a quote

juvi22003

iTrader: (2)

Another place you can find parts, and wont be 3-4 months wait just be ready to pay that shipping cost

http://www.bidjdm.com/bidding/search...=a&mt=all&is=1

toystry

Oh I don't jump at anything, I research for days/weeks before I buy as I know how it is. Oh, and I hope they see my post. They need a reality check on their prices, that crap is absurd.

Good gouge. We need to start a thread listing links to RCF parts IMO. My GOOGLE searches have been pretty sparse to be honest since this car is outside of a lot of folks budget, so I'm guessing there isn't a huge aftermarket industry for the vehicle.

johnnyreb

Am i missing something here or is everything in Japanese (also prices don't seem too much different from the other vendors)? The thing about these cars is there's Not very many vendors that even carry parts for the RCF's.

johnnyreb

Unless i Missed Something, what all does Fizz carry for the RCF? I Didn't see MUCH

DougHII

2 months??? That is crazy! Screw that. Why would anyone give their money to a vendor with horrid service like that. They must be drop shoppers with nothing in stock. One can only imagine how bad service would be if you had to return something.

All, and I mean all, vendors I have worked with extensible for upgrades to Ferraris, Porsches and Lotus were super quick and reliable. I even have stuff overnighted when in dire need for upcoming track events.

F1nALMSfan

I am in full agreement that their prices are very high, and the wait times can be excruciating. To give them the benefit of the doubt on some if it though, a lot of these Japanese companies deal on a make to order basis. I believe the Novel, Varis, Aimgain and other companies will only start making the products once they are paid for, so there really is no stock available.

Hopefully that changes as there become more owners and a wider potential market to sell to. I'd love to get some of stuff from Varis or Novel, but that 2-3 month wait is hard to swallow....

Nigel-JDMParts

iTrader: (74)

We can get JDM parts from Japan as well.

Carnevino

This^^^^. Guys I have a lot of experience in the JDM aftermarket world. Dealing with these made to order bits can be excruciating for those that aren't familiar with how it works. My wheels took 6 months, Aimgain kit took almost as long. The quality is worth the wait IMO and I'm just use to it. Bulletproof has been around a LONG time and Id go as far to say they are one of the more knowledgable sellers of high end JDM parts. The only two I can think are larger would be Vivid and then Evassive Motorsports. Just for example, do a Google search on Varis. You'd be surprised to learn they are a TINY company that's does all in house development and production. I wish it was as easy as buying aftermarket parts for a M or Porsche, but it just isn't. It's just the nature of the beast for JDM bling bling.