The present Economic Crisis, like most downturns at this stage, is working very much against Drivers and Consumers interests just now

In my field of Automotive after-market for example, every time an automotive manufacturer feels he’s produced a car with consumables that are locked into him, the prices for those parts go crazy. In a normal financial situation, this tendency is thwarted by the less well known suppliers developing alternatives at much more reasonable prices. This time around, however, the boot is well and truly on the foot of the Multi-Nationals, and from what I’ve seen and heard, they are, to put it extremely mildly, taking full advantage of the situation.

This has mainly happened because so much of our manufacturing has switched from fairly local production to China and other parts of the Far East. These long distances to the consumer, mean that any-one wanting to compete against the big boys has to buy very large quantities per order. On top of that, it’s always been the case that orders placed in that part of the world have to be paid for at the time of ordering. In the new difficult economic times, fewer small to medium companies are prepared or able to do that. This is critically depressing the competition

A friend of mine drives a people carrier made by one of the leading automotive makers. He needed new Car Wiper Blades, and the Wiper Blades on his car were 2 different lengths.

He visited the main dealer who quoted him an outrageous price for traditional metal-framed Wiper Blades with rubber blades, however the outrageous price wasn’t the end of the abuse. They then told him that they only sold Wiper Blades in packs of 2 of the same length. He got the same story at the Big Brand Original Equipment Wiper Blade Manufacturer, and more surprisingly from one of the UK’s leading Wiper Blade retailers.

So, to get a pair of original Wiper Blades for his car, he would need to buy 2 pairs! That looks bad enough already, but consider, rubber Wiper Blades degrade without even being used. That’s why the makers warn you that you’ll have to change them within 6 – 12 months. So it’s extremely likely that the “spare” Wiper Blades would be little better than the first set when they wore out.

I managed to sort out my friend with a pair of Silicone Retrofit Flat Wiper Blades for a lot less than he would have paid for the dealers old fashioned metal framed rubber bladed Wiper Blades. Typically, Silicone Wiper Blades come with a 12 month warranty and in reality they last 3 – 5 times longer than rubber Wiper Blades. Silicone Wiper Blades are the Best Wiper Blades for performance and longlife, but they often cost less than the OEM items. On top of all that, the supplier was more than happy to sell 1 wiper blade of each size. In fact that’s the only way he sold them.

So the lesson is: Shop around the Financial Crisis is pushing out smaller competitors and the big brands are already Financial Crisisseizing the opportunity.