Stuart Newby

Hi there all you Subaru Enthusiasts - just seeking a bit of advice.

I run the motorsport side of Town End Garage - we supply the Subaru Unbreakable Dog Gear Kit made by MRT - we have been approached by Brett Middleton of MRT Performance Parts to supply and stock parts for them to become a main agent in the UK for all the fast road parts etc.

This is a huge undertaking as you can understand and I would like to know from you the Subaru buyers what your opinions and ideas are as regards this. Is there a market for these fast road products as we mainly deal in rally parts and second hand spares.

I have to make a decision for the Autosport show on the 10th-13th January as he is spending the four days on our stand 8112 and bringing some of his parts to display and answer any questions anyone has - I need to give him an answer but would like your input - please.

You are the Subaru market what do you want????

Many thanks for your time and look forward to your replies,

Stuart Newby.
www.townendgarage.co.uk

Phil

I purchased the Sti Light covers from Brett a month ago

Great product would be nice to be able to by there products in this country

phil

RT

I wouldn't get it for a road car as:
1. no syncromesh
2. straight cut gears = very very noisy

If I were building a rally car then I'd be interested.
Hope this helps.

Doogsy

Thought you already did their stuff
Always be a market for well made and WELL PRICED performance parts for Scoobies
Go for it Stuart and good luck
Doug

Sam Elassar

MRT products are highly rated in here. i have had a lot of their products over the last couple of years. even ordering from OZ the stuff came with in one week which is a lot better than a lot of the UK companies i have dealt with.

the dog box may not have a market in here due to the reasons mentioned above.

products that may generate interest are FMIC, waterspray kits as they are the flavour of the last few months. that is if they arw priced correctly ( ie compared to the APS, HKS, PACE versions )and you have them in stock. ie if i have to wait for you to get them from oz i may as well get them myself. this may not be the way you operate but unfortuanately a lot of the UK companies do that which is a bit pointless as they can never give you a delivery date etc...

one thing to bear in mind though, scoobymania have been selling all MRT products over the last 18months ? check their website



i hope this helps


sam

[Edited by Sam Elassar - 12/30/2001 6:04:21 PM]

Rikki 95WRX

Stuart

I am after some new rear anti-roll bar links for my 95 WRX.

Brett Middleton returned my call (from Ozzie on his mob!) on friday night to give me a price. Very nice chap. He recommended that I would be better off getting them from one of the 3 UK agents for MRT listed on his site, of which you are one.

I called you saturday to get a price and spoke to a guy called Paul and he said you were away on rally business till wednesday (although your message is dated saturday?). Anyhow could you give me a call on 07711 924115 with a price just in case you don't get the message from Paul.

I think the MRT website is great and they seem very friendly, so I think it would be a positive move.

Thanks
Rikki

Stuart Newby

Rikki,
I got your message off Paul - we are dealing with rally business but from home as we are sorting out the autosport show package we will be taking to the show. Also we have been attending the two day event at Park Hall, Charnock Richard, a good fun rally over Christmas!

We only have the front links in stock at the moment but the rear ones will probably be here on Wednesday as I know there are some in the Autosport pack sent from Brett. The man above is right when he says if we have to start shipping the parts when you order them you might as well do it yourself - we totally agree but this is why we need to know the demand for the parts so we can get a good stock sorted out and do this properly.

We need more views on this please.
Thanks,

Stuart.

IMPREZA BABE

Hi Stuart,

If you go into this venture with the same enthusiasm and expertize as you have the rally side then off course it will be a success.

In my opinion you will have an advantage if you decide to go ahead due to the fact you have so much knowledge of the Subaru. You will not only be able to supply the parts but fit them aswell which is what alot of people are looking for. I know from past experience that you are allways very helpfull and willing to give advice - and let's face it with the rally knowledge you have I can see a few extra tweeks being performed on these road cars. You can see why Brett is pushing you to become a number one dealer in the UK as you can supply a full service. My GEMS management system you fit was the best thing I have ever done and I would recommend it to anyone who has a Version 5 Sti.

I wish you every success with this and think you should go ahead - Happy New Year and thanks for all the help and time you have taken to explain things to me with my car in 2001 - being female and owning a Subaru doesn't allways mix!!! We're meant to drive Metro's you know!

Good Luck once again,

Georgia - Impreza Babe.

Rikki 95WRX

OK thanks Stuart. If you could give me a call or mail me: rlovelock23@aol.com with the price at your conveniance that would be appreciated.

Many thanks and good luck with whatever you decide. (he who dares Rodders....)

Rikki

IMPREZA BABE

Stuart,

I can't believe no one is giving any comments on this - let's hope they all reply today as I have been looking into some of the MRT products myself and there are a couple of things I would be interested in - so I would like you to take this on as there is no one interested in the imported Subarus in our area - as well you know. Our local Subaru dealer won't supply anything unless you give them a chassis number and when you mention import he refuses to sell me anything hence why I came to you in the first place.

Speak to you in the new year.


Impreza Babe.

EvilBevel

I'll throw in a few thoughts ...

MRT seems to have fine products, and a few bits are hanging on my car as well. What really pleasantly surprised me is how helpful they are if you have a few questions, even when I specifically stated that I might not buy the item from them.

Ben Taylor (sp?) is the person I have dealt with via email, and he deserves a medal for being helpful & patient. You would in some way have to be able to do the same, and judging from what Impreza babe says, you might do well in this department. Mind you, it may be *very* time consuming though.

I'm sure you know this already, but selling to a group of car enthousiasts is a different thing from selling to rally teams etc... I didn't know my dog box from a synchromesh when I asked them about the "unbreakable" gear set (I had just trashed my standard gearbox). I didn't buy the gear set (the synchro one, not the straight cut) in the end because it would take 7 weeks shipping to Belgium, but I would have bought it if it would have been 1 week or so.

If you can do stock, and you have the patience to answer inquiries from people like me that only have half a clue, I'd say go for it.

I do think however it's fair to say that quite a few companies I know of already have been selling their products for a while now, so you will have to think about your "USP" (if you don't mind me using such a daft terminology) ScoobyMania was mentioned, I think Powerstation sell some stuff, I'm sure there are many others.

Your presence on this BBS would of course also be appreciated, if only to put the products on sale in their right perspective - which means explaining the compromise they sometimes are (!) rather than just plugging them. There *is* a big difference between putting bits on a road car, and prepping a rally car (again, I'm sure you know this already).

Oh, and the webmaster might contact you for a banner ad

Anyway, just a few thoughts, nothing negative intented.

Theo

Stuart Newby

What's happened to all the replies to say 324 people have had a look at this where are all your opinions - come on don't be shy I need some serious input as the investment I need to put in is huge. Are MRT Products not up your street? too expensive? take too long to get here? Come on what, where and why?

Thanks,

Stuart.

Little Miss WRX

At the moment I have not got enough money to spend on extras , if I had though I would consider several of the MRT products

Cheers,

Michelle.

EvilBevel

Erm...

Stuart, thanks for your reply.

Theo

Davvers

my current scoob is heavily modded, the MRT products seem well supported in Oz and I have a number of them on my wish list - there seems to be a dearth of performance products for the subaru in the UK, big wheels and airfilters excepted ;-)

AlanG

Hi Stuart

Having been a member for a number of years (longer than this name), IMO most owners start off buying parts which are easily changed with std components, in other words bolt on mods. These tend to be exhausts and air filters, a market you will find will be bread and butter to you along with alternative discs and pads for the brakes.

From this point on, preferences vary, some people prefer to leave the engine at that and concentrate on better brakes and handling (styling?), whilst others go for ECU's and turbos. There are of course, the lucky buggers who can afford to do everything possible.....

Regards ECU's, there are those that prefer the supplier to map their cars for them and again when additional mods are done but conversely there are those that are interested in the technicalities of them and prefer to have the supplier map their car for them initially then alter the map themselves as and when they mod other parts of their engines.

To those that go the power route, you will find that the bug has bitten and want more power, so start looking into front mount intercoolers and possible internal mods to their engines but cost of rebuilding Subaru engines can put paid to that route. Also, a good reputation of rebuilding them can mean a lot before people will let you loose on their pride and joys.

Commenting on Theo's reply, there is room for other suppliers, but pricing of components, availability and customer service should be upermost in your mind, since this board IMO can make or break you. Give good service along with products which are priced competitively and word will spread quickly, look at BRDevelopments or Scoobysport. Fine companies that know what customers are looking for and also provide the personal touch by responding to members questions on this board.

I have only recently heard about your company and have purchased from you recently, as has another owner and can say that service received from you guys was spot on. Goods ordered were received within a day or so, despite the run up to xmas. Having said that i have sent back a faulty unit, i suspect caused by the courier, so expect the same level of service with my problem.

To recap, if I were in your shoes invest in the exhausts / filters / brakes. make sure there in stock.
Intercoolers / turbos....ensure they are available in a short period of time....like a week. If i were told it would take 5 or 6 weeks for a part then i would probably look elsewhere.

Hope this helps.
To the members, this is my opinion, there is more than one way to skin a cat and whatever you decide to do with your cars is fine by me as long as we all appreciate what fine machines these are.

A

firefox

I dealt with Brett a few years back.. and spent several K with him..

The products seem ok, but I was disappointed with his service and attititude.

When I requested factual data and results from him/MRT he couldnt supply any. I've heard mixed results from people about MRT products both from the UK and from Oz, those people read this board, so if they want to respond they will.

Things might have changed now, as they have grown in popularity, I dont know. I havent dealt with them in a year or so.

If you are going to sell MRT products, please ensure you have the knowledge to back them up, and dont just become a box shifter.

I realise you are involved in rallying, so hopefully you've got the technical aspect covered

J.

teknopete

Stuart,

1st things 1st, Happy new year

IMHO u can do a lot worse than stocking MRT products. My current WRX has had a load of their uprated parts fitted over the last year - 18 months including swaybar links, anti-roll bars & anti-lift/dive kit 2 name a few that come to mind straight away. Haven`t had any probs with any of their parts & the way the cars driven i`d know v quickly if they were not up2 the job
Was scoping some of their other gear earlier as it`s time 4 another round of "upgrades" (wallet trembles in fear)
If the parts can be supplied qwick & at the right price as every1 has said then u`r on2 a winner.
As has also been said a bit of product knowledge, ontop of good customer service is what drives most of us on this board.
I`d spoken to Brett b4 about a dogbox as me n std boxes don`t get on 2gether, but no-one i know of has 1 that i could checkout b4 shelling out the notes so went no further with that.

Tell u what though if u r serious i`m in the market for an FMIC early this month i.e. next week or 2 at the L8st. What can u do 4 me ? It`s a 94 WRX with air-con. The main cometition 4 my £ jnow is the Pace FMIC & race radiator kit. Lemme know offlist what u can do ASAP as the order will be placed within the next week
The mota has 2 b ready for our nxt RR day 13th Jan.
There`s a challange for u if u r up4 it (jus look at it as a test of customer service). Mail me an lemme know.
BTW good luck with the dealership

Thanks
Pete

Stuart Newby

First of all thanks guys for the replies.

Pete, Regarding the FMIC you can't go wrong with the PACE, we have done alot of testing with this intercooler that we have fitted to one of our hire cars. I can honestly say it works very well and if you go onto our motorsport page and click on hire cars you will see the system fitted to the white Subaru. We have since this picture altered the pipe lengths as we run 2 bar of boost on that car and found we could only achieve that by modifying the system. But if you fit the standard system with no changes you can easily reach 1.7 bar no problem.

There are no problems getting one before the Autosport but I am meeting PACE at the show to get a more competitive price to supply this system. I will e-mail you tomorrow with the best price before and after the show.

As for the MRT Products I still need more feed back as I am still unsure what would be the best sellers to stock - do you want key rings and sunglasses or are you more interested in the more serious parts that I tend to use of my cars and workshop modifications for customers.

Thanks & Happy New Year - look forward to your replies,


Stuart Newby.