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Pam W



Member Since: 25 Oct 2011
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 1169

England 1998 Defender 90 Td5 SW Auto Oslo Blue
Maxtrax
How's this for quick and efficient service, at a decent price?

Got a pair of Maxtrax from Devon 4x4 earlier this year. Didn't buy the mounting pin kit as wasn't sure how we wanted to mount them - and £42 per kit quite expensive for something we may not use.

Well, now decided we do need the mounting pins so double checked the price with Devon, who knocked a bit off, but couldn't do them for less than £36 plus post. Need 2 kits so going to be £72 plus post....

So emailed Maxtrax direct on evening of 15th July to get a price from them for 2 sets, including international tracked airmail post. Price came back on the 16th (bearing in mind time zones), Total cost AUD$93. Works out at around £54. Ordered online, despatched on 17th July (their teatime), at Australia Post for despatch on morning of 18th, arrived with me, here in the UK, today at 11.55 am, via our regular postie.

Saved myself about £25 ordering direct, and very quick turnaround, from Down Under.

Well impressed. Bow down

If anyone wants a pair of Maxtrax I would certainly recommend getting a price for buying direct, as the UK price are a tad on the high side. Not having a go at D4x4 as such (as they need to cover costs and make a profit), but a lesson in its worth checking the deal is the best you can get! Exchange rate for AUD is reasonably favourable to us at the moment.

Happy with 2 gorgeous purple Maxtrax and can't wait to see what they look like fitted (probably across the bonnet is current plan) Thumbs Up

Might buy another pair when we get to Australia!


Click image to enlarge


Click image to enlarge
 Our blog - http://landytravels.com/

Yorkshire Off Road Club - http://www.yorkshireoffroadclub.net
Post #252963 22nd Jul 2013 11:27am
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walfy



Member Since: 29 Aug 2007
Location: Frome
Posts: 2658

 
Not maxtrax but the same principle. I was after a rebuild kit for my ARB compressor. Rung arund the UK and the cheapest I could find was best part of £50. Spoke to an ARB dealer in the States and managed to get the parts for £6 plus P&P. It's no wonder this country is struggling when there is such a mark up on parts. I'm more than happy to support UK business but not when it's going to hit my pocket that much 110 D250 SE HT
110 USW SOLD
RRE HSE Dynamic Gone, wife killed it
VOLVO XC60 R Dynamic with some toys

Polaris RZR 900XP SOLD
Post #252967 22nd Jul 2013 11:38am
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Pam W



Member Since: 25 Oct 2011
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 1169

England 1998 Defender 90 Td5 SW Auto Oslo Blue
There are some good deals to be had - Paddocks offer keen prices on things like shock absorbers, for example, compared to other UK stockists. Craddocks also do the best prices on some tyres (eg Coopers - considereing they are imports from the US, we pay about the same for one as they do IN the US, but on the other hand in Australia they pay almost TWICE as much as our price!!).

Certainly pays to shop around. Our blog - http://landytravels.com/

Yorkshire Off Road Club - http://www.yorkshireoffroadclub.net
Post #252972 22nd Jul 2013 11:45am
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Go Beyond



Member Since: 30 Jan 2012
Location: Headcorn, Kent
Posts: 6678

United Kingdom 
Were you charged import duty ?
Post #252981 22nd Jul 2013 12:07pm
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Pam W



Member Since: 25 Oct 2011
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 1169

England 1998 Defender 90 Td5 SW Auto Oslo Blue
No, no import duty charged.

We get quite a few bits and bobs from overseas and generally if it is fairly low value then there is no duty charged - presumably because HMRC waive it due to costs incurred in collecting would be more than the amount..

Maxtrax put a value on the package, which presumably was less than the amount that Customs consider worth bothering with.

In addition, I didn't have to pay the full advertised price of AUD$26.99 per unit, as they don't need to charge GST to overseas customers - so that was another $2.45 per unit off.

Only other cost might be on my VISA bill as they sometimes charge a small fee for foreign currency transactions - but still won't be much. Our blog - http://landytravels.com/

Yorkshire Off Road Club - http://www.yorkshireoffroadclub.net


Last edited by Pam W on 22nd Jul 2013 1:01pm. Edited 1 time in total
Post #253002 22nd Jul 2013 12:50pm
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Go Beyond



Member Since: 30 Jan 2012
Location: Headcorn, Kent
Posts: 6678

United Kingdom 
That's why the likes of D44 are dearer of course, because they have to pay the import duty (based on the cost of the item and the carriage charge) and then the VAT on top of that
Post #253005 22nd Jul 2013 1:00pm
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walfy



Member Since: 29 Aug 2007
Location: Frome
Posts: 2658

 
But that doesn't explain why ARB spares from the US are £6 and the same parts in the UK are £50. That is either a mega import duty or people being greedy. Over £40 difference on a few O rings and gaskets. That's not cricket in my books 110 D250 SE HT
110 USW SOLD
RRE HSE Dynamic Gone, wife killed it
VOLVO XC60 R Dynamic with some toys

Polaris RZR 900XP SOLD
Post #253008 22nd Jul 2013 1:09pm
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Pam W



Member Since: 25 Oct 2011
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 1169

England 1998 Defender 90 Td5 SW Auto Oslo Blue
As I said in my first post - I understand they need to make a profit and cover costs. If there are several companies in the UK that sell a specific product then they will need to set their prices depending on those costs, their target profit margin, plus any tweaking to stay competitive.

In my case, as Devon are the only UK seller of this particular product, when I did ask them to check the price and they reduced it by £6 I was reasonably happy and was going to go ahead order from them.

I really only emailed Maxtrax as a second thought, on spec, as I expected the postage etc to make it too expensive, but then it turned out that I was saving around 30% - even if I did have import duty to pay - it was a no-brainer!

Not only did I save money, but the goods were turned around really quickly - so overall a good deal. So I just wanted to say so, and give other people the heads-up! Our blog - http://landytravels.com/

Yorkshire Off Road Club - http://www.yorkshireoffroadclub.net
Post #253009 22nd Jul 2013 1:11pm
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SGH



Member Since: 27 Sep 2010
Location: Hellingly-Sussex
Posts: 1527

United Kingdom 
walfy wrote:
But that doesn't explain why ARB spares from the US are £6 and the same parts in the UK are £50. That is either a mega import duty or people being greedy. Over £40 difference on a few O rings and gaskets. That's not cricket in my books


Or it might be that Arbil ARB importer in UK want to make more profit than their US counterpart.
Post #253019 22nd Jul 2013 1:41pm
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bpman



Member Since: 21 May 2008
Location: Oslo
Posts: 8069

2008 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 SVX Station Wagon Santorini Black
Why did you now wait until you were in Aus to buy them ?
Post #253025 22nd Jul 2013 2:05pm
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Pam W



Member Since: 25 Oct 2011
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 1169

England 1998 Defender 90 Td5 SW Auto Oslo Blue
.... Because they need to be attached to the Land Rover before we go ideally.... It takes ages to work out where everything fits nicely, where it isn't going to get in the way, easy to get to, etc.

Also, making holes in the Land Rover at this end is easier - have all the tools to hand, whereas in Australia it would be more difficult. Last time we went in the 100" there were lots of things needing finishing as we ran out of time before it went into the container. It was a right pain having to do all those bits with limited time and equipment, as we went along. We ended up with a multitude of tools and boxes of screws and bits of wire in our carry-on and hold luggage.... its a wonder we didn't get pulled up at Immigration for arriving equipped to work!

This time we want it all sorted wayyyy in advance! Thumbs Up

Now the pins have arrived, we can work out where the best fitting place is, for both those and the last 2 'outside' items - the dig and dump spade and the spare tyre. Tyre going on the roof, with some bars we'll get P&P to make up for us, spade not yet decided and Maxtrax on the bonnet, with the 2nd set of pins in the spares kit and a 2nd mounting location already worked out in advance for if the need arises.

PS. With the Maxtrax they stack really neatly and the mounting pins can be used for 1 or 2 pairs.... so we have paid for 1 pair here, at more cost, but if we decide to get another pair when we in Oz, we will be ready to go, just adding them to the others. Our blog - http://landytravels.com/

Yorkshire Off Road Club - http://www.yorkshireoffroadclub.net
Post #253032 22nd Jul 2013 2:46pm
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bpman



Member Since: 21 May 2008
Location: Oslo
Posts: 8069

2008 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 SVX Station Wagon Santorini Black
fair points Pam, good luck with the prep. Thumbs Up
Post #253086 22nd Jul 2013 8:11pm
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