Dealer Parts Dept. Rant
- Thread starter Delta
- Start date
I had my truck in for a heater core replacement. I had changed out the CAF a few days prior.
The service advisor calls me “we noticed your CAF is very dirty and should be replaced. Since we’re already in there doing the heater core we won’t charge you any labour to replace the CAF, just $50 for the filter.
I complimented them on being so kind as to not charge me labour but said I was surprised it would be so dirty as it was less than a week old…. They went quiet and then said they would have another look, maybe it wasn’t as bad as they thought…
Matrix pricing strikes again, I have some success and asking for MSRP prices.
My BMW dealer gives 10% off MSRP, so I use them if I'm in the area. A couple of online dealers can beat their pricing so I"m using them more and more- especially since I'm able to use my BMW MC rewards. Jeep just started offering a similar card, but I'd really like to see M-B offer one.
If I walk in to the local Chevy dealer and ask for parts at the parts counter they want ridiculous pricing for them. Go on their own website and order it for in store pickup and it's MSRP (so, like half of what they want in store). What a joke!
I had the local Kia parts guy actually tell me to order it on line from them and come back tomorrow since he didn't have it stock anyway. I did see him reading the volunteer fire dept stuff on my shirt prior.
It's a sad snowball IMO and goes for many places like AZ and AAP also by me like dealers. The more they charge, the less people go so they need to charge more to cover overhead etc. AZ wanted $40 for sway bar end link for my sons car, RockAuto was $22 shipped. Sometimes you need to pay the convenience fee but it hurts. At the same time if they were not there, many couldn't afford vehicle downtime so they need support to stay in business also.
Genuine part prices are already higher than OEM or aftermarket, but when matrix is applied on top, it can get ridiculous.
But sometimes, you need a specific part quickly, and a dealer is the only option.
I try to go in prepared, knowing exactly what I need and with the part numbers so the counter person doesn't need to look anything up. That, and just simply being nice has resulted in being given a break more than a few times, or in the case of very small, common stuff, like a plug gasket, they'll just gift them and not log anything into the system at all.
Some guys are just plain unhelpful, or won't be receptive to anything, but it's not the counter guys who set the prices, or determine the supply chain, so giving them attitude isn't going to help anyone.
Those are items I would never buy from a dealer. Aftermarket parts work for me. I only will buy a part from a dealer which isn't availabe in the aftermarket world.
We have a Honda dealer here in Louisville that charges retail plus on parts...I drive a few miles and save at another Honda dealer....example....1 quart of Honda dual pump fluid is 23 dollars at the dealer while about a 5 mile drive to another honda dealer is 13.00 a quart....
This guy was less than pleasant to work with, I didn't even try. Wanted to be done with the guy ASAP
Did you have this conversation with the parts guy or just with us online?
My Honda dealer tries crap like this - until you pull up a competing dealer’s website. Typically once they know you’re not a mark they take the sale at MSRP.
Commission-based sales counter guys have boat payments too...and the dealership model seeks to turn every opportunity into a revenue stream. Their parts dept is a means to support their repair department (and add $$$ to repair bills) and not for your convenience. Plan ahead for maintenance/repairs and order OEM parts elsewhere.
Every time I've discussed I always ask if they will "discount to MSRP" and the reply is no. So if it matters I shop elsewhere at well below MSRP. Seems like >5 years ago they would be willing to adjust prices, but more recently our Toyota, Mazda, and FCA dealers are all "rake you over the coals" mentality.
Oh, a factory new brake caliper for $320 and it's two days out, and then a return trip to return the core? No thanks, $160 online, one additional day wait, and no core return. Pfft. I gave you a chance. I won't bother next time.
Every time I've discussed I always ask if they will "discount to MSRP" and the reply is no. So if it matters I shop elsewhere at well below MSRP. Seems like >5 years ago they would be willing to adjust prices, but more recently our Toyota, Mazda, and FCA dealers are all "rake you over the coals" mentality.
Oh, a factory new brake caliper for $320 and it's two days out, and then a return trip to return the core? No thanks, $160 online, one additional day wait, and no core return. Pfft. I gave you a chance. I won't bother next time.
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I initially tried, but could tell the conversation would go nowhere...
I think the dealer is trying to go all upscale and bougie in an area that really isn't.
So, most dealers have decided that offering parts to walk-in diyer's at competitive prices is not a potential revenue stream. Got it. A handful of dealers have decided that doing mail order at competitive prices IS a revenue stream - they are out there if you do a good internet search.
We just need to accept this, but these threads will continue to pop up annually. Everyone deserves to have a good rant now and then.
I saw your post right after I got done typing mine.
"Less than pleasant" describes most dealer employees unfortunately.
I think many dealers don't have much interest in selling parts. Even at matrix pricing or beyond, volume is low so profits are minimal compared to the service dept or selling entire cars.
If you want to sell parts at a higher volume, it requires a different physical layout (my Ford/Toyota dealer rarely has a place to park), more shelf space, more people (payroll) manning the counter and more $ tied up in inventory -- assuming heavy-handed manufacturer overlord policies even allow this.
I dunno, ALL of my local dealers make it clear they don't really care about selling parts. My Subaru dealer even has a borderline-ludicrous cutoff time of 10:30 for getting something on tomorrow's shipment. So, if you decide you need something at 10:40a, you'll get it day-after-tomorrow, best case.
But I learned long ago to not get frustrated. With capitalism if someone doesn't want your business there's someone else who does.
But don't EVER come at me with talk about "keeping your money local" for the benefit of local businesses or tax coffers.
If you want to sell parts at a higher volume, it requires a different physical layout (my Ford/Toyota dealer rarely has a place to park), more shelf space, more people (payroll) manning the counter and more $ tied up in inventory -- assuming heavy-handed manufacturer overlord policies even allow this.
I dunno, ALL of my local dealers make it clear they don't really care about selling parts. My Subaru dealer even has a borderline-ludicrous cutoff time of 10:30 for getting something on tomorrow's shipment. So, if you decide you need something at 10:40a, you'll get it day-after-tomorrow, best case.
But I learned long ago to not get frustrated. With capitalism if someone doesn't want your business there's someone else who does.
But don't EVER come at me with talk about "keeping your money local" for the benefit of local businesses or tax coffers.
This is no surprise to me, but clearly is/was to the OP. Some dealerships have decided that it is worthwhile to have a mail-order income stream based on competitive pricing. Others have decided it isn't worth their effort.
Ultimately the OEMs have decided to allow dealerships to price parts at their discretion. I would think that this undermines brand loyalty. The customer pays a premium for the car and then gets raked over the coals when the car needs repairs or tries to do maintenance. I'm not saying they should loose money on parts but a brand could establish a reputation for helping to control the cost of long term ownership. Toyota has at times done this by offering kits to address known problems at well less than the price of the individual parts. 2GR-FE upgraded water pump kit or oil cooler upgraded pipe kit, for example...but then they're counting on the dealer to pass that savings along rather than seizing the opportunity for extra markup.
My Mazda oil filters were a good buy at $3 but then the dealer went to $8 and I found another brand.
Last time I visited a parts counter there was a lady getting quoted $$$ for various TRD floor mats and seat covers to include with her new truck. I can only imagine they were getting rolled into the financing and marked up accordingly.
Sounds about right when they don't even have a drain plug in stock
I got out of working as a service advisor/manager at a Subaru dealership in November 2021 because the dealership I worked at was an absolute dumpster fire for fixed operations. Our parts department was the worst of the worst because we had a completely incompetent and inept parts manager. The only reason he was able to keep his job is because we could not find anyone better to replace him because that dealership was so hard up to not only retain the employees they had but attempt to hire new people which they struggled with so greatly that they would literally hire just about anyone off the street that had a willingness to work for them.
I immediately thought of this when I saw the thread title and then read the OP. It may not be some software issue but simply the parts department and/or management that is dropping the ball in terms of parts availability.
I'll give you an example of just how bad it was, one time I had a customer who ordered a new set of tires from me and came in for their appointment to have them installed. The parts department, unbeknownst to me until long after the fact, gave the wrong set of tires to the technician to install. So a week later the customer comes back absolutely furious because the set of the tires they ordered was not installed, in fact they had not even been ordered by the parts department. I had to apologize on behalf of everyone (a large part of my job at that place) and then go above and beyond and out of my way to babysit all parties involved in acquiring and installing the correct tires. I had a few dozen people I was responsible for and I did not have time to babysit every single person and ensure that every single little last thing they did was done as expected. Unfortunately that's what that job effectively required because if anything went wrong I was the complaint department for everyone and that is why I ended up leaving ultimately.
