the dealers would rather overprice the parts and labor in lieu of a competitive price and get more volume. Even with bays empty the delaer will not negotiate price to fill them
You are a mind reader. I suspect most dealers wiould rather have additional volume at the same profit level. However the real deciding factor is like everyone else, it is the net profit.
Dealers generally are not going to bargan over parts prices. It is just not a way for them to increase or even maintain their net profit.
Just because one business charges more than another doesn’t mean they are “ripping you off”. It may be they just want to make more money, so charge accordingly. If they can convince enough customers that they add value, then they’ll stay in business, otherwise, they won’t. It’s your responsibility as a consumer to spend your money where you think you get the best value. Posting your complaints on an Internet forum will change nothing. If the replies you get say the dealer has to charge more because “he has more overhead”, that’s just saying the dealer’s business is less efficient.
If you think the repair experience is identical, just take your business to the non-dealer.
Moderator, I think it’s about time to can Brian, whose sole purpose in life it appears is to stir up trouble.
The moderator should be aware that I’m not the one flagging those posts because frankly, I don’t care.
Thanks to the internet, someone can mouth off and act like a tough guy while hiding from the world and having nothing more to worry about than spilling tofu on the keyboard.
There are many things that make this board work as well as it does. One key point is there are lots of regulars who take the time to contribute their knowledge and who learn from other contributors.
These contributors have built up an enormous amount of respect on this board. When someone comes in and begins attacking them, their posts speak for themselves.
I have not flagged any posts in this thread. However, one of mine was flagged and removed.
If you can find a GOOD independent mechanic the cost will probably be cheaper AND it will be done AS good or BETTER then the dealer. And just because it’s a independent doesn’t mean they use inferior parts. Many will use OEM. And there are MANY aftermarket parts that are BETTER then OEM parts.
As for the dealers being crooks. Most probably aren’t. But there are a few. There are also crooked independents. But there’s a preception that the dealer will ALWAYS try to do the right thing. Maybe…Maybe not.
One thing I HATE about dealers…is they will ALWAYS replace with a NEW part. There are a couple problems with this approach.
. This doesn’t make sense for a car that’s 10 years old. Especially when the part costs more then what the car is worth. I’ve yet to find a dealer that will do a repair/cost analysis for you. To them…it’s ALWAYS better to fix it to NEW condition or buy a new car…period.
. There are also MANY rebuilt parts I’ve seen over the years that FIX OEM design flaws. If a part needs to be replaced the dealer will replace it with the same design flawed part that they’re replacing. Many times the Rebuilt or Aftermarket solution is far superior then OEM.
I still don’t know what’s so hard to understand about the grass mowing analogy.
The kid next door who mows your yard has overhead that only consists of the gas required and the slight amount of wear/tear on the mower.
The pro lawn care service will be paying for a truck, trailer, all of that equipment in the back, gas/oil, and office/office expenses, along with business licenses and insurance/bonding expenses.
Add to that wages for the crew along with workers comp, etc.
(For what it’s worth, my daughter actually does this type of work and she spends a small fortune every year on workers comp, matching SS taxes, etc. along with the continual expense of tools/equipment.)
Call one of the latter and offer them 20 bucks to mow your yard, even a small yard, and see what happens.
I agree with most of what you are saying, I have a very good independent shop that does most of my work. They are usually about the same cost (or a little more expensive) than the dealer, but they do excellent work. They know me and I trust them (which is the real reason I use them). Personally, I use OEM parts unless I have a very good reason (not just cost) to use after-market. There are a few cases where after-market/rebuilt parts will give better performance, and a good independent will know this (I just had a non-OEM alternator installed in one car based on their advice, we’ll see how it does).
The best part is they usually know what I want done without asking, they are not going to bug me to ask permission to spend a few extra dollars to fix something correctly. They understand that “fix it” means that I want it to operate perfectly when they are done, and I’m not going to complain about the cost if it’s done correctly. They will also stay late to finish something if they have promised to have it done. They are only able to do this because the owner is able to make decisions for himself. I doubt many dealer service departments are able to work like that.
Sometimes, I think we should ask the opposite question: Why do independents charge so little? I’ve seen independent shops that didn’t make it. These are usually a one or two man operation. These mechanics love their work, are very good at it, and really want to please their customers. However, they don’t charge enough for their work to meet expenses. I’ve had mechanics at independent shops diagonose a problem, make an adjustment that takes care of the problem and then say,“Oh, I didn’t do anything. I can’t charge you for this”. I have had them look over a used car that I am thinking about buying and when I try to pay them, they say, “You’re a good customer. We can’t charge you for this”.
Well, one certainly pays for an office call to see a doctor, no matter how minor a problem. If I take a small appliance to be repaired, there is a bench charge to tell me that “it’s broken”. I expect to pay for a mechanic’s time to examine my car. I used to do my own automobile maintenance and most of the repairs. My time is too valuable and it takes me too long to do the work on my car. I expect to pay a fair price for someone else to do this for me.
My point is that I have seen exellent mechanics who lose out because they aren’t good businessmen–they are too obsessed with repairing cars. I don’t like to be overcharged, but I don’t like being charged too little-- I feel that I am stealing something–a person’s time.
From sometime in the mid-1920’s until 1970, Popular Science magazine had a fictional mechanic, Gus Wilson, who ran the Model Garage. An epsiode appeared in every monthly issue. Gus was always solving a problem that nobody else could solve, and then would make out a “modest bill” or not charge anything. I used to wonder how Gus Wilson stayed in business.
Just because you’re a good mechanic doesn’t mean you know anything about how to run a business. MOST mechanic shops FAIL. The ones you see around are the ones that learned how to run a business…usually the hard way. One mechanic I knew was an excellent mechanic…But he really didn’t know much about running a business…After a year he was out of business and bankrupt…Two years later he met this girl and they got married…he started up another garage…and his new wife ran the business while he just fixed the cars…She had a head for business and he knew it. After 35 years he finially closed the shop for good and he and his wife retired in Florida.
Actually, I hadn’t intended to suggest that that part was a 100% markup, only that it was far more expensive than the aftermarket unit will be when that becomes available. Dealer parts typically are.
Interestingly enough, the hatch operates so much better with the new strut that I’ve realized that the strut was probably faulty from the beginning, but the internals just didn;t blow until recently.
OEM is defined in 2 different ways.
One is OEM by the factory that built the car and the other is OEM by any company that makes the part.
I’m involved with antique Harley Davidson motorcycles and OEM is meant among the enthusiasts as a genuine, from Harley Davidson part. However, some aftermarket providers sell reproduction parts and also claim them as “OEM”.
Not.
I don’t know of many, or any, independent shops who use the dealers as the first stop for parts, unless it’s a dealer-only item.
Why would someone go to the dealer and buy a part for a 100 bucks if they can get the aftermarket part from NAPA for 50?
I don’t know of many, or any, independent shops who use the dealers as the first stop for parts, unless it’s a dealer-only item.
Why would someone go to the dealer and buy a part for a 100 bucks if they can get the aftermarket part from NAPA for 50?
My indy goes to the dealer for critical parts because that’s what I ask him to do. In some cases he goes to worldpac for “real” OEM parts, if they are available.
One reason I go to the dealer is that they will get me whatever I need for my 25 year old cars with no hassle, usually within one day.
re OEM parts, I think you are right there. Some parts are low-stress or low-use and aftermarket parts are just fine.
But on my Jeep Cherokees, the original OEM u-joints last 120,000 km or more, whereas the cheap aftermarket ones I replace them with myself sometimes don’t make it through 40,000km. They look pretty much the same, but they are not, and finally I have come to the conclusion that OEM u-joints are a better deal.
rankjo
A shop must set its flat rate and parts mark-up based on its costs and target market. Negotiating prices with “shoppers” is counter productive for many reasons. Dealing with wannabe mechanics is very cost prohibitive for many reasons and to be avoided.