The coolant leak on my SAAB has been resolved - it was the water coolant by-pass valve. If I'd had the time to perform a diagnosis, I could probably have effected the repair myself. However, I left it to our local garage to do the job, not having enough time to devote to searching the internet for reasonably cheap parts. Given there was a rip on the top intercooler hose, I got them to order the necessary hose for that too.
What a shock! In a reversal of all logic, the rather complex by-pass valve was £35 plus VAT, which I thought quite reasonable, but the lump of rubber hose, which isn't at all complex, was £65 plus VAT. I looked up both parts on eBay and found the by-pass valve for £26, including postage (not a great difference) and the hose for £38, including postage (a massive difference).
All parts were sourced from Simply SAAB in Bristol - a rather handy facility for parts for a car that is no longer manufactured but is, nevertheless, essentially a Vauxhall under the bonnet.
How is it possible that a simple hose is so expensive when a much more complex by-pass valve is so cheap? You'd think that hoses, being more susceptible to wear and tear damage, would be in higher demand than a by-pass valve and therefore relatively cheaper.
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