Auto Parts Markup?

Thank you. It is interesting to note that the repair shop did state that they paid less for the parts than listed online. I am just trying to get my hands around this warranty thing…

All parts are marked up for resale reletive to what what the SHOP paid for them. You did not buy your parts from napa , they did. And if they paid to napa the same price you could have they still will mark it up. Basic business practice.
Ford parts are marked up to reflect a 40% Retained Gross Profit and when outside parts are procured they are marked up only 30% r.g.p.

I don’t know what business you’re in nor how you make profit for your paycheck, but even if the dollars spent are high, no one stays in business at 0% retained profit.

DO NOT attempt to rebut that you could have got them for less elsewhere. You didn’t ! If that’s where you wish to get your car repaired then go there, it’s a free enterprise country. At the end of the day , mechanics cannot go to the grocery store nor pay their rent with a hand shake and a pat on the back.

The way it worked some 30+ years ago was…A independent would buy the part from NAPA (or who-ever) at a DISCOUNTED price you and I could NOT get. Then they’d mark up the price and the final price usually was close to what you and I would pay if we walked in off the street to buy. I know many independents still get this discount…but from what I’ve seen recently in this forum…either

A) The discount is no where near what it use to be…OR
B) Some independents are now marking up the price some 50 to 100%…

Many independents will let you supply the parts. They won’t guarantee the part, but they’ll guarantee the labor.

Thank you all for your replies. I must not have been very clear in my question and apologize for that, but I was really just trying to understand the warranty vs ‘list price’ vs ‘over the counter’ statement.

Based on what you said, the parts warranty is there, per the NAPA site. If there is a parts issue, then you may need to remind the mechanic that the warranty is still in effect, to gain the needed warranty satisfaction. The labor warranty is whatever the shop’s policy is. Sometimes it varies; some offer a strict 90 day warranty on all their repairs; others offer longer terms.

just had new rotors and ceramic brake pads installed.
last week.the markup was 20%.
this paticular mechanic usually charges 30% mark up.he

Last mechanic I used marked up the parts around 75%. Along with the $90/hr labor rate, I was paying him over $200/hr. I solved this problem by buying tools and a repair manual.

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That’s what I do when I have to have work done that is beyond my skill level. I’ve always had suspicion that some shops use cheap/inferior parts whenever they can and then mark them up to make a few extra bucks. My reasoning for this is that I’ve noticed that several shops that friends and family take their cars to for service will use no-name/genetic oil filters, plug wires, etc. Yet charge higher-than-you-might expect prices for them. On one invoice, a recall seeing a $7.95 charge for an oil filter (some generic brand) for a Crown Vic. At the time an OEM Motorcraft oil filter was going for around $3.50 at most parts stores before any discount.

Realize on an oil filter charge it is all sort of made up for an oil change. Most places charge $24-$40 for an oil change. No matter what way you look at it, if the car is in for an oil change only the shop is not making any money. However they are getting a great opportunity to check vehicle and get potential work hopefully for mutual benefit.

I think a mechanic is going to be a job that has the potential to make a lot of money in…When I was growing up…there were very very few kids I grew up with who didn’t know how to do a brake job, or even change a spark-plug and oil…Nowadays…MOST kids barely know how to open the hood…whats going to happen when they become adults???

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I’m not debating that at all. All I’m saying that some shops seem to use the cheapest parts they can find, but mark them up so much that they charge as much for higher quality parts that the customer could’ve bought himself. I had my Mustang in the shop to have some emissions part replaced, I forget what it was, but it was about 6 or 7 inches in length and mounted vertically in the engine, anyway it was pain to get to so I decided to have the Ford place handle it. At the time the car had about 75k on the clock so I decided to have them change the spark plugs while they were at it. The spark plugs on the 4.6L in a Mustang are nigh impossible to get to. I asked the service advisor how much extra it would be, he said that it would be $129.95 with the price of the plugs included. I already had the spark plugs with me, since my car has a supercharger and I need to use a colder spark plug for better drivability. I told him I already had the plugs, the price then dropped to $89.95 for the labor only. I don’t think a set of OEM Motorcraft spark plugs costs a Ford dealer $40. I know for a fact I can get a set of 8 at Advance Auto for about $25.

Their profit that they pay for their meals and rent comes from labor, not from jacking up prices on parts. If I noticed a company doing this to me, and they have tried, I get them to lower it to something reasonable, or I pay the price and then send in a price gouging report to the state attorney general and any profit they would have thought they could make, would be spent on defending themselves from stealing from customers.

Before you go on about the free market system and the American way, remember the American way is through a court room as well.

Exactly Chris Truck I quoted out 3 shops for struts all the way around and front rotors and pads at no less that $1898 for my car last week, I went and picked up everything myself at Advanced auto with lifetime warranty installed everything myself in less than 3 hours total shopping and installing time for less than $450 total. Paying someone else $1500 to do something for 3 hours any idiot with a basic tool set can do is idiotic.

@basicbosch, 1) Why in the world did you respond to a 7 year old post?

  1. More importantly do not insult folks on this forum with your baseless statements. If you want to have a mature and friendly discussion you are most welcome, but do not start with insults, you do not want to go down that road with us.

  2. Business do mark up the products they buy and resell, they are not charities. They have costs they have to cover and they have to make a profit to continue providing the service they do provide. The beauty of the free market system is you can negotiate prices and if you do not like a price you can go down the street, or if you have the skill set you can do the work your self. There are many things I fix on my car myself, many that I pay the shop to do. Same with they house. I do not expect the service shops to give me the parts or do the work for free.

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Over the years more than one would be customer thought I should install parts and charge my cost plus labor and the conversation was always short as I would invite him/her to shop around and find a different mechanic.

It’s amazing that people who would never consider investing even $1,000 in hand tools and a shop manual to repair and maintain their cars thinks they have the right to tell a shop owner/mechanic how to manage their business. But it takes all kinds.

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I have saved a fortune on brakes by doing my own work. I saved about $600 on my 02 GMC full size 4WD but I wouldn’t have bothered if I saved only $300. Overhead and disposal regulations have driven prices up quite a bit and we who must drive must also pay more than the obvious price of the job. Some shops charge over $100 an hour for labor. I don’t want to know the markup on parts that those places charge! No, I don’t think the original poster got ripped off.

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I’ve had people approach me over the years with various requests or comments about furnishing their own parts, not marking them up, or whatever.

@basicbosch, if you approached me with that attitude I would politely inform you that it ain’t gonna happen.
If you became argumentative then my attitude would be a bit harsher while telling you to get bent.

You apparently have no idea how a shop works or of the plethora of expenses that a shop is faced with.
If the shop doesn’t mark parts up then odds are they will soon be heading for the bankruptcy court.
The fact that you’re comparing the cost of a DIY repair against the cost of a job done in-shop shows your lack of understanding in these matters.

If YOU were a shop owner with several employees and had to sit down at the end of every month and start cutting a pile of checks then odds are you might see things a bit differently.

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Oh this again? Auto shops just buy things and sell things. I buy a mechanic’s labor for $25/hr and sell it to you for $96/hr. No one complains. I buy a part for $25 and sell it to you for $50 and suddenly it’s a rip-off.

I think the real breach of ethics happened years ago when auto parts stores decided that they should sell a part to a walk-in customer for the same price they sell to a commercial customer.

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Rent, Gas, Electricity, Phone, Liability Insurance, Workmans Comp, Specialty Tools, Service Manuals, Subscriptions, for that matter, type in any 4 letters, and that’s probably an arm of the government that wants money.
I have often heard that some employees make more than the owners, and can sleep quite well at night, with no worries of meeting payroll or that bank note looming on the horizon.
Granted, a DIY can do a job cheaper; that’s a DUH. But for a business to stay in business, they need to make a profit somewhere. And, to cover the possibility that a part may need replaced during the warranty period, there has to be a couple points markup. And on, and on.
For those that need a service shop, they are usually OK with the fact that there is some profit in the transaction, thus ensuring that this shop will still be there the next time they need help.

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