Theres been a lot of talk on Dennis' and Nick's Dodgy heaters from China recently so heres another on Cheap imports.
Whilst investigating a replacement IAC valve for the 4.3mpi I eventually found out that a direct and identical replacement
non Merc stamped part was £150 vs $20 USD, with shipping from the US it came in at about £35-40 A BIG saving on the
merc part and the Seirra branded alternative at £88. As these things seem to be almost a service part for regular
replacement it makes sense to carry one if nothing else, esp as my on going fault alarm could be a faulty or
intermittent failure of the IAC.
Thats for another day but I also need a trim sensor pack for the Alpha G2 during my investigations the usual suppliers
ranged from £100 ish to £80 for after market Repower parts. Hmmm then to eBay, and I found the Chinese alternative,
by photo they are exact matches to the Repower part certainly a direct match for the UK based eBay sellers at £55.
I paid £33 free delivery which took 1 week exactly from the land of fried rice. BARGAIN. they look and feel good
quality inside and out. Of course the stainless may not be (from experience) and the wiring may not be salt proof
but then neither is the Merc part which has failed from salt water immersion (the common failure)
Then I found that the same seller is offering a complete drive service kit, Gimbal Bearing, bellows, seals and
gaskets. for £55 posted. Would you be brave enough? even the bearing is £80+ the cheapest Ive seen.
I've had kits of bellows over the years and they have all been pants, half didnt fit, some hard rubber or fall off (as I have now).
I assume my Bearing is OK when I get that far but if not am I brave enough to go Chinese on such a part?
Im not sure yet until the debit card comes out.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Transom-Repa ... yhHesC62Nw