>
> No, and I'll tell you why. Availability and cost notwithstanding (it can
> get
> very expensive by the time importation and a weak dollar are factored in),
> buying these sorts of South African products can be a risky business.
> Sourcing from South Africa is nothing like sourcing from Germany. Many
> South
> African parts are pretty much sold by their exporters as-is/where-is. No
> warranty at all, and often no way to be completely sure of the history of
> the part. (Was it dealer overstock? Defective? Factory-second?
> Reconditioned? Customer return?)
>

Indeed, when it comes to VWSA parts now that they no longer make the T3,
there's no real guarantee of anything. According to Groschi who runs <
southafrica-parts.de>, VWSA isn't in the business of exporting anything, so
the only way to get parts is to go to SA in person and say "hi, I need a new
bell housing for my Volksiebus". Like in the US, they have to supply parts
for 10 years after the last vehicle is sold, but they have no interest in
making any more spares than they need to supply domestic replacement
requirement. Groshi goes down there every three months and hits the VWSA
parts counters, picking up whatever he has orders for. Frequently things he
needs are on long-term backorder and it may be two or three trips before he
gets 'em. I don't envy anyone trying to run a parts import business that
way.

--
John Bange
'90 Vanagon - "Geldsauger"