I agree that many or most shops will want to buy the parts themselves for all the previously stated reasons.
I have to believe, however, that there are some shops out there who will accept a job using the customer’s parts. Those jobs will have higher labor rates and no warranty to protect the shop.
I don’t know is shops in NY can have different labor rates for different customers. I do know that every one I have ever been to has their labor rate posted on the wall.
I’m pretty sure that would be illegal. Same in NH. Labor rates are suppose to be posted so everyone can see them.
The only thing I have ever seen posted was the per hour labor rate. Who’s to say a part brought in would not require more time to install?
Who’s to say it would? I’m hard pressed to think of a part brought in by customer that would take more time then a part the mechanic bought?
Lots of cheap Ebay parts do not fit as well as good quality parts.
Surfaces not properly flat, holes not drilled correctly, electrical parts that are close but not exact.
And of course… the LED bulbs, performance intakes, clutches dampers wings, ect.
Usually if you get an estimate, you have no idea what that estimate is based on. So how would anyone know if an extra half hour of labor was included in an estimate with owner supplied parts? I think I have only done it a couple times, once when they had trouble getting the part themselves and I tracked it down, and the other where I had planned on doing the work myself and then chickened out. They were all the correct parts and labeled and have no idea what the final bill was based on which was reasonable. I guess the other time was with a Rock water pump that I had to take to the dealer. When they put it on they claimed it leaked so put their own on. That also seemed reasonable and it was only a $35 part. They did the work twice but only charged for once.
However long this discussion has been going on, I’m probably repeating myself.
how about these scenarios . . .
customer brings in a used part, which needs cleaning up and the mechanic needs to electrically test it first . . .
customer brings in a part of unknown quality, and the mechanic wants to examine it first, before installing it
customer brings in a cheapo aftermarket radiator, and it’s hard to get the electric fan(s) to bolt up to the radiator
I know for a fact that some of those cheapo radiators don’t fit very well
And if I’m installing a used part . . . I probably wouldn’t do that in the first place if I had my own shop . . . I want to spend a few minutes making sure it’s in decent shape and has a reasonable chance of functioning correctly
Used part I can understand.
OK…I’ll give you those. I guess I’m use to buying quality aftermarket parts. I’ve NEVER had a problem installing an aftermarket part. Only exception is if I’m making a modification. Things like water-pumps, shocks, belt tensioners, calipers, brake pads…etc…bolt up EXACTLY the same way as OEM. And since I trust the parts I get from my local parts chain I don’t spend much time inspecting.
There is so much involved in repairs that the customer is unaware of that some shops take advantage of. The most blatant example that I recall was a Ford 302 getting a new timing chain. Of course the water pump must be removed and then the timing cover and as a rule I strongly suggest that the water pump be replaced as part of the job. But I saw the invoice and heard the customer who had the work done at a dealership and was amazed that the job was quoted with parts and labor for just the timing gear but the customer was called when the engine was torn down and informed that the pump was failing as were 2 hoses and belts which were, of course removed as part of getting to the chain. When the bill was written up it showed labor for replacing the timing chain and also labor for replacing the water pump which was a real zinger for me because using a new pump eliminated the need to scrape the gasket off the old pump.
We had a recall on my wife’s 1996 Accord to replace the cam-seal. The car was due for a timing belt and I asked them how much extra to replace the timing belt. Their price was EXACTLY the same if they didn’t have to replace cam seal. I asked them why…You have to remove the timing belt anyways. The idiots response was “We have a special too that can remove the cam seal without touching the timing belt.” He was a little surprised when I told him I didn’t want them to touch my car and I’ll replace the cam seal ad timing belt myself.
@MikeInNH . I had a different experience at my local Toyota dealer. The water pump in the 2011 Sienna got noisy and needed to be replaced. The Toyota service writer gave me a price of around $1400 because he said the engine needed to be lifted. I have the go ahead. A couple of hours later, the dealer called me and said the cost would only be $978. I was told that the technician had a way around pulling the engine. I really appreciated the honesty. A week after the repair, I was checking the oil in the Sienna and found a nice box end ratchet wrench in the engine compartment. I returned the wrench to the dealer.
A couple of months later, my wife slipped on the ice and broke her ankle. I was driving her around in the Sienna and ignored the 4Runner which she drives. She had been released by her physician to drive, so I went out to check the 4Runner. The battery was too low to crank the engine. I hooked the charger to the battery just long enough to get the battery charged up enough to start the engine. I then drove it to the Toyota dealer for an electrical system check. I was told that all was fine, even though the battery was four years old and just take the 4Runner for a 15 mile run out on the interstate. There was no charge. I felt a little guilty for drinking a couple cups of coffee and eating half a dozen cookies while in the waiting room.
As far as parts go, if I do the repair myself, I obviously buy the part. If a shop does the repair, it’s the shop’s job to obtain the part. Sometimes chasing down a part is time consuming. My time is valuable. To me, a price markup for obtaining the part or the expense of tying up money to keep a part in inventory is reasonable.
The factory service manual for your vehicle with the 2GR-FE V-6 was eventually changed to reflect the fact that the water pump could be replaced without removing the engine from the engine bay
This was accomplished by removing some of the various motor mount hardware and jacking that engine sky high, and at an angle . . .
But it’s still quite a bit of work
Replacing the alternator on that engine is also a rather involved procedure . . .
@db4690 I think that the technician followed the new factory repair manual and that is why I paid the lower cost.
It also paid off for the Toyota dealer. We had discussed selling the 2011 to our son. My wife was with me when we picked up our 2011 Sienna. We went into the showroom on our way out the door. My wife asked if the 2018 Siennas were in stock. The salesman said that they hadn’t arrived yet–this was in October of 2017. He said though that they had deep discounts on the 2017 Siennas. The price was so good we left with two Siennas.
How are the ball joints and bushings holding y on the Mevotech supreme line control arms?
Thinking about the Mevotech supreme line control arms for the 01 Grand Prix.
Then instead the shop could quote double the hours.
There’s this thing called the “Flat Rate” manual. It’s also on-line. The flat rate determines what to charge the customer. It’s a fair system. The mechanic may take longer then what the flat-rate says, but you are still only charged the flat-rate. If the mechanic does the work in less time…you are still charged the flat-rate. I prefer this system over a mechanic who just charges the exact time they are working on the vehicle. I don’t want to pay for them learning on the job.
about the flat rate system . . .
When I worked at the dealership, this is what my service writer would do . . .
If a guy was lightning fast and got the job done in 3 hours, instead of the 8 he was getting paid . . . which happened more frequently that some people might imagine . . . he held off on calling the customer for awhile
From his own experience, he didn’t want to deal with a customer who felt they were being cheated, because they’d paid for 8 hours of labor, when in fact the mechanic only took 3 hours
Those are just my recollections
I’m not offering a judgment at this time
Just yesterday we had a Nissan Sentra with complaint of heat doesn’t work, found a bad blower motor. It’s a 6 hour job, complete dash pull. I told the service writer not to promise it out until Monday. The tech had it done at 4:15 Friday. Service writer called the customer and said “You can have your car back for the weekend. We got it done on budget and ahead of schedule, with no additional charge for the speedy service!”
That service writer deserves every dollar of his salary.