The Cost of Parts Made in the UK

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Most of us take it for granted that we will always be able to find the parts we need for our favorite British car, even parts which are no longer in production. The reality is that an increasing number of people are competing for a decreasing number of original parts, and rising production costs in the UK and worldwide translate to rising prices of reproduction parts. We all feel the pinch at the gas pumps recently, and fuel price increases directly impact the cost of transporting goods, whether short-distance UPS rates to your door or the large airfreight shipments Mini Mania receives from the UK. Add to this the increasing costs of labor and worker's comp insurance, loan interest rates, and raw materials - steel costs have risen 60% in the past six months alone - and you begin to see why it is getting more difficult and more expensive to keep your Mini in top shape. Even if prices of goods manufactured in the UK were stable, there is one more factor adding to rising costs: the international currency exchange rate. The value of the US dollar has been decreasing compared to the UK pound, meaning it costs more dollars to buy the same item. As the chart here indicates, the Pound-to-Dollar exchange rate has increased by 16% in the past 12 months, and 28% in the past two years. In real terms, this means that an item priced at £25 two years ago would have cost $35.75 when the exchange rate was $1.43 per pound sterling. In early February 2004, the same £25 item would have cost $46.00 when the exchange rate was $1.84 - assuming the UK price of the item had stayed the same! Mini Mania's purchasing agents deal with these situations on a daily basis. The price we pay for an item can change significantly each time we place an order! We appreciate your understanding as we continue to work to bring you the best parts at the best prices possible. UPDATE - December 15, 2004 The Dollar continues its slide and is currently around the 1.95 to 1 exchange rate.  All the estimates are that it will reach and maintain a 2:1 rate, meaning that our costs are rising dramatically. Although Mini Mania has started to export some of our new MINI product to the UK, it cannot offset the tremendous increase in the cost of our imported products.  Effective in January 2005, there will be an exchange rate-based price increase for ALL imported parts.  This will be the first such increase since the rate was below 1.5! The 33% increase we have seen since then will be shared equally between Mini Mania and our customers, and thus a 15% increase in retail prices is anticipated.

Article Date: Mar 03, 2004
Car Accociations: MINI,NEW_MINI,MOKE,MORRIS,SPRITE,
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