Buying Parts Through the Repair Shop

Very true. For some it's a large part of their business, with a whole fleet of delivery vehicles.
I never thought that dealerships catered to independent repair shops but turns out they do and yes, they deliver to those shops routinely. The local Honda specialist shop only uses Honda OEM parts (at least when feasible) and I always wondered how many trips a day he makes to the local Honda dealers until he told me that nope, they deliver to him a couple times a day. I've seen dealer vehicles that say "Parts Dept" on them and actually thought they were going to other dealers to get parts they needed that another dealer had in stock.

It also seems like it's only been recent years that stores like Autozone, O'Reilly, etc added delivery options but I could be wrong. I always though repair shops bought from places like NAPA or the other shops that seemed to be more "wholesale" focused. Around here, those have all been bought up by KOI or Fisher or something.
 
I never thought that dealerships catered to independent repair shops but turns out they do and yes, they deliver to those shops routinely. The local Honda specialist shop only uses Honda OEM parts (at least when feasible) and I always wondered how many trips a day he makes to the local Honda dealers until he told me that nope, they deliver to him a couple times a day. I've seen dealer vehicles that say "Parts Dept" on them and actually thought they were going to other dealers to get parts they needed that another dealer had in stock.
Dealers only make 1 run a day here. WORLDPAC and others make 5 runs or are on-call. That is a big factor for some shops.

Also, dealers sell to independent shops but it isn’t their bread/butter and they would probably prefer not to.
 
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It also seems like it's only been recent years that stores like Autozone, O'Reilly, etc added delivery options but I could be wrong. I always though repair shops bought from places like NAPA or the other shops that seemed to be more "wholesale" focused. Around here, those have all been bought up by KOI or Fisher or something.
They always did that. It's a way to lock in business, you go to a shop and the guy figures out what parts you need and they get delivered the same day so he can stay busy working in his shop while waiting for the parts to show up. They paid the guy delivering parts minimum wage. Plus if those guys have a shop account, they can put the list price on the part and then give the shop a discount on the part and it's on account so they don't need to pay up til the end of the month.
 
What I mean is, and maybe it varies by areas, those shops didn't used to have recognizable delivery vehicles. Today they do.
 
When "reputable" repair shops buy parts from a dealer, they get them at a discount and then charge you the retail price (what the dealer would charge you if you walked in and bought them). A dishonest crooked one will try to rape you on parts markup. Watch your back.
Not really. Repair shops have to handle deal with acquiring part and also sometimes warranty the part/labor themselves. They also eat the time for acquiring/returns and typically reinstall if wrong or broken part which happens.

Car repairs are a service and typically you are given an estimate that you choose to authorize on a repair. In my life I have yet to meet a wealthy auto repair owner. They make a living out of it.
 
What I mean is, and maybe it varies by areas, those shops didn't used to have recognizable delivery vehicles. Today they do.
I guess recognizable is relative. For decades my local Checker (then O'Reilly) and AutoZone has had a couple blah white trucks --typically Rangers or Frontiers -- with the "safety stickers" on the tailgate of call 800-xxx-xxxx if my driving sucks

I tend to notice such things so they were recognizable to me
 
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Car repairs are a service and typically you are given an estimate that you choose to authorize on a repair.In my life I have yet to meet a wealthy auto repair owner.They make a living out of it.

I've noticed this, too. As much as it's fun for the consumer to think every shop is ripping them off, I've never seen the local independent repair shop owner(s) cruising around in his stretch Hummer with hookers and blow, jet-setting to the latest Fyre Festival each weekend.....
 
I've noticed this, too. As much as it's fun for the consumer to think every shop is ripping them off, I've never seen the local independent repair shop owner(s) cruising around in his stretch Hummer with hookers and blow, jet-setting to the latest Fyre Festival each weekend.....
You should see some of the people in the Euro tech group. Clearly, that is still the lucrative side of the business…
 
Not really. Repair shops have to handle deal with acquiring part and also sometimes warranty the part/labor themselves. They also eat the time for acquiring/returns and typically reinstall if wrong or broken part which happens.

Car repairs are a service and typically you are given an estimate that you choose to authorize on a repair. In my life I have yet to meet a wealthy auto repair owner. They make a living out of it.
All they do is call the auto parts store and have the delivery chickadee drive one over to them from a few blocks away. Warranty repairs are just an unfortunate pita side effect of anything that involves mechanical logistics. They're still paid by the parts manufacturer or car manufacturer for warranty work. Granted they can't put a little more icing on the repair costs because whichever co is reimbursing them for the repair will only pay a fair flat rate.
 
I've noticed this, too. As much as it's fun for the consumer to think every shop is ripping them off, I've never seen the local independent repair shop owner(s) cruising around in his stretch Hummer with hookers and blow, jet-setting to the latest Fyre Festival each weekend.....
It used to be a very lucrative business to be in. My family growing up knew a lot of pretty well off shop owners. You'd of thought they were doctors or attorneys. It's just a sign of the times that it's not a lucrative business like it once was. The blame there can be put on the automotive industry along with the modern economic status.
 
You should see some of the people in the Euro tech group. Clearly, that is still the lucrative side of the business…
I like the shops that advertise heavy about how awesome they are, and you see the owners driving around in big money rides. Yet they are 120+ days past due and scoff at the audacity for us to stop selling them parts until they get current.
 
You should see some of the people in the Euro tech group. Clearly, that is still the lucrative side of the business…
There's some Euro specialty shops around here and I think they give too much info on their website at times. The owner's bio talk about how he spends his spare time working on his Porsche and traveling the country racing it or the service advisor (or technician or office manager) enjoy restoring their older EU vehicles. On the other hand, I'll be the first to say if his customers are keeping him busy and he's making plenty of profit, good for him. That's capitalism !
 
There's some Euro specialty shops around here and I think they give too much info on their website at times. The owner's bio talk about how he spends his spare time working on his Porsche and traveling the country racing it or the service advisor (or technician or office manager) enjoy restoring their older EU vehicles. On the other hand, I'll be the first to say if his customers are keeping him busy and he's making plenty of profit, good for him. That's capitalism !
If someone can make a great living, that's awesome and more power to them. They are obviously being paid their worth. I just get annoyed when we extend a charge account based on their references, sell them a part, they obviously get paid to do the work, and then they get mad when we want to get paid for said part. Happens quite a lot in the collision industry.
 
Never understood this extending credit thing. If a shop doesn't have the money to by the part, they shouldn't be in business. And why do you deliver parts for free? I'd rather get a discount for picking up my own parts.
 
Never understood this extending credit thing. If a shop doesn't have the money to by the part, they shouldn't be in business. And why do you deliver parts for free? I'd rather get a discount for picking up my own parts.
Most shops want parts delivered. At $140-180/hr stopping working to get in your own vehicle and drive to wherever has the part, is lost money.
 
Never understood this extending credit thing. If a shop doesn't have the money to by the part
Who says they don't have the money ? It's no different than net 30 (or 5 or 15 or 60) payment terms or putting it on a company credit card that gets paid off monthly. For a lot of small to mid-size shops, I doubt they have a full-time bookkeeper so this is one less thing the workers or owner has to worry about on a daily basis.
 
Who says they don't have the money ? It's no different than net 30 (or 5 or 15 or 60) payment terms or putting it on a company credit card that gets paid off monthly. For a lot of small to mid-size shops, I doubt they have a full-time bookkeeper so this is one less thing the workers or owner has to worry about on a daily basis.
Yup, way more convenient to do a once a month check, than multiple checks throughout the month. Same with us. We send out a statement with all of the invoices on it. Usually around this time of the month I get calls or emails from different bookkeepers asking for copies of invoices, then a check shows up a few days later.
 
I like the shops that advertise heavy about how awesome they are, and you see the owners driving around in big money rides. Yet they are 120+ days past due and scoff at the audacity for us to stop selling them parts until they get current.
I was wondering about that, too....I mean just because a guy makes an attempt to look loaded doesn't mean he's not massively over-leveraged with creditors knocking daily.

Hard to say I guess. If some guys are truly doing really well more power to them.
 
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