I wanted to preface this post by saying I don’t know the guy personally. I am not calling him a scammer, but this is my experience from ordering with him.
When I had newly purchased my car, I wasn’t really sure where else I could get parts, so I was forced to go with him. I primarily needed a radiator, since mine came busted. He was able to find me a radiator, for what I would consider to be a fair price. He told me it was aftermarket, but it would fit. I purchased the radiator (with some other parts) and they came as expected (customs damaged a trim piece but I don’t blame him for that).
Radiator went in just fine, but when I tried putting the fan back in, it simply would not fit. When I told him my issue, his response was, “That radiator is thick . Might be you need to trim a bit fan shroud. Or get another fan and shroud is more thin”. Not once previously had he ever mentioned fitment issues with the radiator, and when I had originally asked him if it was a direct fit he said yes. In my opinion, it is pretty scummy to mention AFTER the purchase that a new fan/shroud would be necessary. In my opinion, this was done intentionally to try and get another order out of me.
Since I obviously need a working fan, I was getting ready to make a second order. My car also badly needs brakes, so asked him for prices. Once he got back to me with prices, I got really fed up.
Here’s what he quoted me,
“1. New rotor $120
2. New front pads Bendix $60
3. New rear pads Brembo $50
4. DHL Shipping $170”
Those prices are absolutely ridiculous. A single no-name rotor $120, when I can purchase 2 BREMBO rotors from the UK, including shipping for cheaper. $60 for Bendix pads, when I can easily find quality pads for the same price including shipping.
I was also interested in buying Shopee parts from him. I have the Shopee app on my phone, and an account, so I know how much things cost him to his door. I specifically asked for this product (https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fshopee.com.my%2FSTICKER-COMPLETE-SET-L502-i.110189149.15614765723%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR39RPeZ6SHRfsgkWbZItvhliugFHerSFG_eNP1-k5AzLBItOjAokNWqSSk_aem_vhkyy7UG7xxFKCyt70Ae-A&h=AT2n5qdoFfshfmuzYm14hFsnNtrHEDs4Z_5lgFUF1F6wG1CbyupcdOPcLXLE0tkp6-A9UJDgFLEc4hX2VoZ6klJNur5ENNCU_MwmjbbdfXqfQUvVx4IdUWMSSOFym9ho9l61kTq5Kx_KeXY). I know it costs him about $12 USD (53 RYM). Postage on the item is free, or at most 5RYM ($1 USD). His response to me was, “Got after postage and tax, complete set any colour $30”. A Malaysian proxy service would charge me less for this item; I understand upcharging a couple dollars, but over double the initial cost is ridiculous.
While I do understand he has a business to run and needs to make some type of profit, I think the markup he charges on most of his items are pretty insane. RYM is a lot weaker than USD, there is no reason to have such a significant upcharge.
Why does everyone keep recommending people to order parts off of him, instead of showing people how to directly find parts themselves?
These are four websites I have been using to source parts/part numbers. I believe they mostly ship worldwide (for certain US). As a community, I feel like we should be helping each other save money/build better cars. I personally have tried making lists with part numbers, but I am not 100% confident in my findings.
Having to import almost all parts is already deterring a lot of potential buyers from owning Mira’s in foreign markets. Having parts being upcharged more than what domestic car parts cost not including shipping on a car that is relatively unknown here absolutely destroys the market/community for them here.
TLDR; Try to find part numbers yourself for what you need; it’ll likely be a lot cheaper than a quote he has given you.
