Well, that brings up the point about fair and reasonable. What is a reasonable markup on parts? Even if they are the same exact part, they have to employ someone to manage those parts acquisitions (looking up, ordering, receiving, inventory/distributing etc) and they have to have accountants manage the supplier payments and so on. Those people need a living wage too. So there are significant costs associated with the parts aspect of the business that are completely separated from the mechanic labor portion of the business. So while it may feel like youāre giving it away, it is going to pay for these support services to obtain those parts. I feel the same as you do when Iām confronted with costs I am not used to paying since I do all my own work. But when I do pay them, I want them to be fair and reasonableā¦
The fact they wanted your business enough to match the parts costs could indicate a couple of things. One, they are not 100% loaded and needed a job to fill the gap. Just about any business would rather have a small profit rather than no profit or worse yet, zero income.
Understood. My thinking is the place where I wouldāve ordered the parts for less has to pay for overhead to manage the parts, stock, take orders, etc.too. Their overhead must be less, or less per part sold. I get that you sometimes get what you pay for and I wouldnāt advise buying cheap parts and having whoever charges the lowest rate do the work. But itās hard for me to wrap my mind around paying substantially more for the exact same thing (the parts), just because a shop needs more money to cover their overheadā¦? Maybe their overhead is too high? Not my problem, though. And I donāt mean to imply Iām singling any poster here out saying their overhead is too high. Not my intent.
Another previous incident. My wife hit a damn goose of all things with that Toyota when it was about 2 years old (the car, no idea how old the goose was). She mustāve been flying! Anyway, it cracked the grill. So, I looked for an oem grill and found it online at the Toyota volume parts dealer. I believe it was around $200, free shipping. I then called the closest Toyota dealer and the part was $300. They asked if I wanted to order it and I told them no thank you. Of course they asked why, and I told them. āWould you buy from us if we matched that price?ā Well sure. So thatās what we did. This was before the catalytic converter replacement. So the local dealer must mark the price of parts up 30%. And I really donāt care, if itās just a few bucks and getting it locally is more convenient. But when the part is expensive and the markup is $100 and up, thatās a little more relevant. Especially when they didnāt have it in stock and would have to order it too.
Thatās my last example, I promise. Iāve never bothered the local Toyota place again, except for WS trans fluid. I just buy the oem parts online. I hate for them to see me coming in and say, āOhā¦itās that guy againā.
Yep, the latter I would assume. Volume makes a big difference.
Hey, Iām with you. Iām not big on paying hefty premiums on parts either. Thatās one reason why I prefer to do my own work.
Your examples are great and enjoyed reading them. Just goes to show it doesnāt hurt to ask. Especially if youāre nice about it. I wouldnāt sweat going back there. In fact they likely appreciate your business. They wouldnāt offer the discount if they couldnāt afford it and are thankful to have your business!
Yes, sometimes you get a break on parts by shopping around. The same happened last week to a friend.
He wanted a center stand for his MC. He emailed the local shop and checked Revzilla (same factory part). He sent a return email explaining the price was $100 less and the local dealer dropped their price by $90ā¦ so he bought local. We prefer buying local.
On the NAPA parts, as I recall, they were phasing out the discount for delivery orders. Itās still a deal for the shopā¦ loose a little on big parts, but no hassles when they need an oil filter delivered.
Do people expect The appliance repair man to sell them the parts they install at their cost? Or the plumber, or contractor ? Why is everyone rlse allowed to buy at wholesale and sell at retail except the auto shop.
Actually, yes. They do expect appliance repairs at cost, but Average Joe canāt figure what is broken. With plumbers and contractors, āeveryone knows they are crooks and con-menā. (Not my opinion in quotes.)
Appliance repair has really high markups, but decent hourly rates, IMHO. Fortunately, an encoded map is under the lid with maybe 3 parts that can cause problems.
I can actually sympathize with both sides. I would expect to pay retail and maybe a little more for parts provided by mechanics, HVAC folks, etc., but I do think the mark-up should be reasonable. Maybe not the cheapest bottom line that you buy on line for the same brand, but at least reasonable. I had a damper motor replaced a couple years ago and seems to me the price was about double what I could order the part for so I ordered a couple to replace myself. Then again I had the fan motor replaced last year and it was just a little higher than retail. Now assuming that the parts were the same brand and quality, Iām thinking $300 for a guy to buy at retail prices compared to being charged $500 at the shop, is a little on the stiff side. I could see maybe $350-400 for the same quality but assuming the shop pays wholesale, there would already be a good mark-up to normal retail without adding an additional premium on top of that. Sure I can see a $20 part that included delivery ending up at the $35 level but a bunch of parts with one delivery would not have the same overhead.
HVAC is an excellent example, which Iāve encountered. Buy online, same system, for under $2000. One HVAC guy shows up, spends 10 hours replacing the system, plus $200 for duct work adapters (retail cost). Final bill, $7800. They have you over a barrel, so you pay $600 bucks an hour. You get 0 warranty if not installed by a registered dealer.
So, 7 years later the compressor dies on a 25 year āwarrantyā when some 20 y.o. service kid dumps in more Freon than the system needs. Call the company and the manufacturer. Sorry, that company is no longer installing home systems. No warranty for you! Same deal on roofingā¦ out $3K for defective materials, plus installation. āThat company cannot prove you bought the roofing material. Your receipt is not proof.ā
Then people complain b/c a mech wants $300 more for parts. Simple choiceā¦ go back to tech school then do it yourself.
I canāt say that Iām at all unhappy with our HVAC folks, but we had a crack in our heat exchanger. The furnace was still under warranty so a new furnace was provided no charge. Problem is it cost $800 to install the new one. Now it did take two guys at least a day to re-do the sheet metal to accommodate a shorter unit but still it was kind of expensive. Sort of like a warranty on a muffler that doesnāt include installation. Still it only cost $3500 last year to replace the whole AC system so I really canāt complain, just donāt like to pay for it.
This was a heat pumpā¦ can hook up both forced air and AC for
the same price. So now I just use the heat strips in the cold.
$200 a year extra electricity takes a long time to pay off $8500
(the new unit quote). Iām thinking hard on installing a zone
HPsā¦ something I can do.
Any way, same deal some people think when they buy parts. I don't
argue, āSure. Good idea. When will you be installing it?ā
They do around here. And when I lived in Syracuse and Watertown NY. Iām amazed itās not all over.
Appliances are not that difficult to work on. The trickiest part usually is opening them. Each manufacturer has their own quirk. But can usually find a video on Youtube. A few years ago I needed a new heating element for my Samsung dryer. Prices ranged from $35 to $300 for the exact same part. This was an extremely simple partā¦might have cost the manufacturer $2 to make. And thatās when you find out how most appliances are really the same. That exact heating element was used in dryers made by GE, Westinghouse, Kenmore, Maytag, LG, Samsung and a slew of others.
As for HVACā¦Companies like Carrier are much easier to deal with. Not everyone is allowed to installed Carrier systems. So find an installer whoās been installing Carrier systems for a while. Iāve seen Carrier stop allowing certain shops install their products because of numerous complaints.
Columbia Gas is starting the process of replacing a few thousand furnaces in the Lawrence and Andover MA area after last years over pressurizing of their line which cause numerous explosions and fires and one death and several injuries. They repaired their furnaces last year, now they are putting in new furnaces, hot water tanks and other gas appliances costing them MILLIONS.
In my case, Iād already priced the part. Then the dealership (who had to order the part just like me, and maybe even from the same location) priced the part quite a bit higher ($600 vs $900). I donāt mind a little markup, but I donāt like the idea of paying a guy $300 to order a part, in essence.
I mean, I know theyāve got to pay the bills. If it had been $50 more or something, I wouldnāt have batted an eye. But $300?
I agree, 50% is high, but you canāt put it all on the dealer. In many cases they are paying more for parts than you. They are a franchise and required to purchase factory parts. You can buy cheaper than the dealer. Not installing customer supplied parts may not be a dealershipās decision.
An example, the only decent tires for my truck are Firestone. I can buy them cheaper than the Firestone dealer is paying Firestone. Another was my '80 Chevy diesel. 1980 GM dealer pricing was $24 for an oil filter, $48 for air. I asked the counter dude and he suggested I try Isuzu. Their counter price was lower than he got them from GM. Same part, same box.
Even Ford has gotten into the game, selling genuine parts competitive to knock off brands.
Itās the odd wheel/tire sizeā¦ 14" rims. If I put on the 15ās from an Explorer or 4WD there was a variety. Today Cooper offers 2 in my size, but when I bought Hankook, Kumho and some Chinese company were the only other choices. The ride is harsher and performance was poor to lousy. If Cooper had made these 5 years ago, Iād have checked them out.
I made a mistake on brandā¦ BF Goodrich, sold by the Firestone dealer.
Iām not necessarily putting it all on anyone, other than myself. If the markup is high enough, Iāll just buy elsewhere. If the markup is tolerable and the shop (dealer or otherwise) wants to do the work, Iām in favor. But if the labor rate is competitive, and youāre charging me a huge markup on parts, and I canāt buy parts from anyone but you, Iām going elsewhere or doing it myself.
My thinking is, Iām paying you for your labor and expertise. Iām not paying you to source and order parts. I can do that myself. If you canāt make enough off of the hourly labor rate, maybe itās set too low. Or maybe the overhead is too high. I donāt know which. But a comment was made many posts back that consumers donāt understand the cost of doing business, hence shops markup parts. To be contrite, the costs of doing business are not really my concern. Every business faces that, right? So if youāre charging a large markup on parts, youāre basically backdoor charging more for the labor to cover your costs anyway. Youāre posting an hourly labor rate with the caveat that you must buy parts from us, and weāre selling them at the opposite of a discount.
Sorry, I wasnāt thinking of you, John. Itās natural to want the best deal. Besides, doing it myself, even if it runs just as much, is rather fun. My friend Mike took it a bit further. He bought a BMW. The computer for the tranny went out. He ended up buying a lift for his garage to work on the car. But now he has the tools.
Looking for a silver, I found one reason to buy from the dealer. My carās mileage dropped. I put on a locking cap and, amazingly, the MPG went back to normal. (Midnight shoppers.) After months, the cap stopped locking and was surprised to learn the part is covered under the factory warranty.
I have a small side business building and repairing computers. I donāt mark up parts. Granted Iām buying at retail. And itās not how I make my livelihood.
But now he has the tools.