Ford, Jaguar and Land Rover charge most among imported car brands in Korea for parts replacement with some items tripling the average cost of foreign car-makers, according to a study by the Maeil Business Newspaper.

American carmaker Ford charges four times more expenses for their parts than Korean brands in the same class and two to three times more compared with other imported brands and even more than some luxury cars. For mid-sized sedans with engine displacement of 2,000㏄, Ford’s Mondeo costs 1,441,100 won ($1,297) for replacing a front bumper, higher than Jaguar XE’s 1,150,600 won, Mercedes-Benz C-200d’s 868,100 won and Lexus ES300h’s 636,400 won, Audi A4’s 625,300 won and BMW 320d’s 535,000 won. Ford’s Mondeo sells about 10 million won cheaper than BMW 3 Series, but its bumper component is 2.7 times more expensive. In contrast, Hyundai’s mid-sized sedan, the Sonata LF, requires 442,300 won for the replacement of a front bumper, less than one third for the replacement for the Mondeo.

The Mondeo’s back bumper replacement costs 1,181,400 won. It is nearly three times higher compared with Mercedes-Benz C-Class whose back bumper replacement costs 460,000 won. In addition, the Mondeo was the most expensive model in terms of the price of side-view mirror and head lamp parts among the top six imported car brands.

Ford Korea is also the only imported car brand in Korea that charges more than 1 million won for replacing a back bumper and a side-view mirror for the Explore, its best-selling model in Korea.

“We admit that our car parts are relatively expensive. They are expensive because of higher fixed costs to maintain after-sales service centers in major sales despite lower sales than top three German carmakers,” said a Ford Korea official.

Jaguar and Land Rover Group, which is rapidly expanding its presence in Korea, also demand higher after-sales service charges. Range Rover’s Evoque is notoriously the most expensive sport utility vehicle in part replacement as it costs 1,239,400 won for replacing a front bumper and 2,856,600 won for replacing head lamps.

An official of Korean operation claimed that the components cost is high because more than 70 percent of the car body is made of expensive aluminum materials.

An imported car official who requires anonymity said the imported car industry makes efforts to lower after-sales service prices and deliver flat prices, but some brands and dealers maintain past profiteering practice. “Consumers need to be shrewd as some dealers cut car prices on promotional events but they try to make up for the discount by charging high for replacements,” the official advised.

By Chun Beom-joo

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]