Aaron was good at Lithia, but they are still worthwhile plugging in part numbers to see what they are like.
They are expensive on shipping, so Amayama or NST might be cheaper in that regard, but in the case of us AW11 guys, they have a lot of USDM stock that they can move for cheaper than Japanese based companies can, so you might be surprised.
For instance, their engine overhaul gasket kit is over $100 cheaper than Amayama, so even with shipping Lithia comes out much cheaper.
What I find Lithia is also good for, is when you have a part number from your favorite online EPC site, go to Lithia and plug that number in, frequently the part has been superseded and the new part will be in stock for cheaper. You can then compare that part number with Amayama.
Amayama will give you the correct part number, but you need to place the enquiry first and wait for the reponse before finding out any difference in price. Makes it a lot easier if you have the correct, up to date part number to begin with, everyone gets a fair opportunity to quote you cheaper.
Where possible when prices are similar, I would recommend using Amayama. They have a presence in Australia and are committed to offering us Australians genuine parts for cheaper, even with local stock levels of common service items, so we should support them so they can continue to do so!