Halfords Trade Card

goldspanners

TiTheRev wrote: »

I am a lowly parts advisor im afraid, so cant offer technical advise other than that which Ive gleaned from common jobs and stuff that ive done myself. The filter is only cheaper at Halfords if you are comparing Halfords trade price to Seat RETAIL price. If you are a genuine trader you should get at least 15% off that £4, and im sure if you compared the other prices of the air and fuel filter etc you would see that you would not be so impressed with the Halfords prices.

Going back to the point about genuine versus Halfords filters...it's like saying a shoe is a shoe. Granted they all cover your feet, they all fit and do the job they were created to do. But the difference comes when you see the quality of the materials used, the care in construction and the longevity of the product. VAG filters are now designed to last 20,000miles or 2years (maybe longer if the mileage is kind to the engine!), and plugs 40,000miles or 4years. I would not trust a Halfords product to last that long and still be as efficient.

a lot of parts,just like everything else we consume is made in the same factory,with the same ingredients,just different labels put on them.im not saying halfords filters are made in the same factory as genuine VW ones,but they might be,infact there is quite a high chancethey are. i see this everyday in lots of different factories.

steveo3002

i must admit im very fussy about oil filters , ive ran vw's for 15 yrs and heard a few storys where people had tappety engines with a non oem filter and once swapped to a vw one its silent

not saying halfords ones are good or bad , but some brands dont have the anti drain back valve inside

given the choice id chose genuine or mann brand whenever i could

its a shame halfords go to such lengths to cover up who makes their items

molerat

steveo3002 wrote: »

i must admit im very fussy about oil filters , ive ran vw's for 15 yrs and heard a few storys where people had tappety engines with a non oem filter and once swapped to a vw one its silent

not saying halfords ones are good or bad , but some brands dont have the anti drain back valve inside

given the choice id chose genuine or mann brand whenever i could

its a shame halfords go to such lengths to cover up who makes their items

How do they go to great lengths to cover up the manufacturer. Ask at the parts desk and they will tell you. It is Sogefi by the way, who make Fram, Coopers and Fiamm products, one of the largest manufacturers of oem filtration and other car parts in Europe. And who manufactures the oil filter module for the VW TDi engines !!

steveo3002

ive asked who made the part when purchasing several items, the goon behind the counter couldnt answer me

the box or parts that ive had dont show any makers i.d or part number

imo its just nice to know what brand the stuff is

northern_munky

I was also told by my Halfords parts man, that they are made by Fram. I have used Fram filters for years and never had a problem with them. Recently bought a filter from Halfords and it was fitted with the anti drain valve so can't see a problem with them.

As someone else said, most car manufacturers don't make their own filters, they are just rebranded and put in an expensive maind dealer box, I can only think of Ford and GM who do their own (or who used to).

TiTheRev

goldspanners wrote: »

a lot of parts,just like everything else we consume is made in the same factory,with the same ingredients,just different labels put on them.im not saying halfords filters are made in the same factory as genuine VW ones,but they might be,infact there is quite a high chancethey are. i see this everyday in lots of different factories.

I too have been informed of procedure in these factories, and having been both sides of the 'parts' fence (factor and dealer), I have been lead to believe that although the filters are made technically 'in the same factory' (as is stated by so many non-gen manufacturers) that the filters themselves are still not made of the same materials and sometimes not even on the same machines. A coopers filter and bosch/fram etc filter may be the same but in a different box but the genuine filter has a different process and different materials.

I was told many times by different filter rep's to say that they are made in the same factory *cough* but not the same filters are in genuine and aftermarket boxes *cough* so I think this is an urban legend about all filters being the same...

goldspanners

i think if you fit a fliter made by a reputable company,like fram or mann then i doubt you would go wrong.
i work on vw engine,its mann filters we get,oh and they come in vw boxes,but say mann and vw on the actual filter canister.

TiTheRev

goldspanners wrote: »

i think if you fit a fliter made by a reputable company,like fram or mann then i doubt you would go wrong.
i work on vw engine,its mann filters we get,oh and they come in vw boxes,but say mann and vw on the actual filter canister.

Im not denying they are labelled the same but have been reliably informed that they are made from different materials and with different specifications. In the example of the Seat above, you would save money getting a genuine one compared to Halfords 'trade' so why not go genuine!?

anewman

TiTheRev wrote: »

Im not denying they are labelled the same but have been reliably informed that they are made from different materials and with different specifications. In the example of the Seat above, you would save money getting a genuine one compared to Halfords 'trade' so why not go genuine!?

Trouble is it's easier to get a Halford's trade card than it is to get a trade discount at a dealers.

TiTheRev

anewman wrote: »

Trouble is it's easier to get a Halford's trade card than it is to get a trade discount at a dealers.

So trade does not mean trade in Halfords?!?

We have a 'trade' discount cash account that we use for those guys who work at local garages or are 'in the trade'. If you can get a trade card in Halfords just by going in there a few times then you probably wont get discount at the dealer