Keeping up your guard buying OEM parts at a new car dealership

Doesn’t sound like there is any convincing you. It would be easy for an OEM to just pay cost to a dealer or maybe cost + 10 or 20.

Not sure why I would be making up that they are paying over

I don’t really have any reason to get multiple internal documents uploaded to convince you

Bottom line is yes. They are paying over cost and paying over msrp and or what your link is showing available to the public. There is no money being lost for warranty work
 
It’s hard for me to understand how many of you are treated by dealerships. Just talking parts. My local Toyota dealership is terrible. No discount at all. None. My next closest (25 miles away) gives me a 25% discount. The online dealership in NC gives me great deals. Discounts vary but I gotta drive to pick them up as shipping is a lot and my time cheap.

I just bought a front bumper for my ‘98 LS 400 for $480 from my Lexus Dealer (retail $788). Oct 18th
Getting my baby up to snuff.

I really feel sorry so many of you are getting hosed.

With my job, I do have flexibility that many of you may not. This does give me a little advantage over some of you.

I am servicing 9 Toyotas/Lexi and 1 Honda. So I am a regular first name basis customer.
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MattPersman said:
Doesn’t sound like there is any convincing you. It would be easy for an OEM to just pay cost to a dealer or maybe cost + 10 or 20.

Not sure why I would be making up that they are paying over

I don’t really have any reason to get multiple internal documents uploaded to convince you

Bottom line is yes. They are paying over cost and paying over msrp and or what your link is showing available to the public. There is no money being lost for warranty work
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Numerous people claim to have seen Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. I don't believe in Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or that Stellantis is paying your dealership an 80 percent over cost markup (your provided number) on parts used for warranty claims. You stated this markup, not me- but you decided not to provided invoices to Stellantis for warranty work to validate what you posted. What you did provide shows you don't know what you are talking about.
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GON said:
Programming the keys- which I had no issue with. Issue was the excessive charge over MSRP for the keys.
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Sometimes a local locksmith or Ace Hardware or Batteries Plus or...etc. will be able to make keys for cars, too. Often for A LOT less than an OEM. Years ago Honda dealer wanted $100+ for a new key for my Civic and the local locksmith charged me $20 and took him 10 minutes to code the chip. He did say sometimes it doesn't work and they can be finicky but said he wouldn't charge me anything if it didn't work. Seemed like a deal to me.
 
Complain to an OEM about a dealer, and they'll quickly remind you that dealers are fundamentally independent franchisees that do have the latittude to operate their businesses in the manner they see fit, short of misconduct or gross incompetenence. Their "get out of jail free card" excuse, so to speak.

Practically speaking, most owners will never question what they see on a service invoice, never mind trying to determine if the dealer is adhereing to MSRP guidelines, or how many hours +/- book they're allocating to the job. That's what the job cost, it's done, my car no longer makes funny noises, and here's my credit card. The same could be said for may other services.

Should no be no surprise if there is padding involved.

I used to have an old dealer who was a BG dealer, and liked to include add a can of 44K, which has never been cheap, to every maintenance service. It used to be known as the most powerful FI cleaner, so that might justify the price premium…

…except when I got charged for it, but never received it. That was during the days when locking fuel doors weren't common, and locking gas caps were the norm. Asked the service writer how they could have put the product in the tank when I didn't provide the gas cap key, and they simply went and retrieved a can and handed it over like it was a regular occurrence and routine.

Caveat emptor and all that.
 
Carmudgeon said:
Complain to an OEM about a dealer, and they'll quickly remind you that dealers are fundamentally independent franchisees that do have the latittude to operate their businesses in the manner they see fit, short of misconduct or gross incompetenence. Their "get out of jail free card" excuse, so to speak.

Practically speaking, most owners will never question what they see on a service invoice, never mind trying to determine if the dealer is adhereing to MSRP guidelines, or how many hours +/- book they're allocating to the job. That's what the job cost, it's done, my car no longer makes funny noises, and here's my credit card. The same could be said for may other services.

Should no be no surprise if there is padding involved.

I used to have an old dealer who was a BG dealer, and liked to include add a can of 44K, which has never been cheap, to every maintenance service. It used to be known as the most powerful FI cleaner, so that might justify the price premium…

…except when I got charged for it, but never received it. That was during the days when locking fuel doors weren't common, and locking gas caps were the norm. Asked the service writer how they could have put the product in the tank when I didn't provide the gas cap key, and they simply went and retrieved a can and handed it over like it was a regular occurrence and routine.

Caveat emptor and all that.
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No complaints from me- just think it is beneficial to share what I observed at numerous franchise new car dealers in metropolitan areas; these dealers are typically part of a so-called dealership group.

I think it is a reasonable expectation to pay MSRP for a part at a franchise dealer. Not illegal with charging above MSRP, but I suspect if their customers knew this, a hefty percent of customers would have a significant issue with it. The paperwork from the dealer suggests the price is MSRP, substituting MSRP with the word list. I suspect some State Attorney Generals might find this business practice to be in violation of certain state trade laws, but I have not and am not going to research that.

Maybe a new car dealer should remove the manufacturer sticker on a new vehicle, and print their own sticker, with whatever prices they want to display? I do in fact believe that practice is illegal in many states. Maybe it shouldn't be......

I find the practice of charging above MSRP for parts personally dirty, but not illegal. I don't appreciate the perception that the part is being sold at MSRP.

In closing, yes the dealers can do what they want. And consumers can share their experiences, and make recommendations to support some dealers, and to avoid some dealers. With the consolidation of both the automotive industry and dealer networks, consumers will likely have less choices to avoid what I think may be questionable business practices. I know some in this thread think very differently and think these type of business practices are simply good/ savvy business practices.
 
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Just bought a gallon of Honda type 2 coolant at a dealer for $25. Online search tells me MSRP is closer to $16 or $17. I'm fine paying $25 to get it same day and it's a wash with shipping, but in my case a 30% price "gouge" only equates to $8 which is a lot different than on an invoice exceeding $500.
 
tbm5690 said:
Just bought a gallon of Honda type 2 coolant at a dealer for $25. Online search tells me MSRP is closer to $16 or $17. I'm fine paying $25 to get it same day and it's a wash with shipping, but in my case a 30% price "gouge" only equates to $8 which is a lot different than on an invoice exceeding $500.
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Yup the MSRP is $21.75 for Honda's blue coolant. What happened to you is exactly what I mentioned earlier about one Honda dealer jacking up the price above MSRP that I used to go to, not anymore. As mentioned before the dealer is free to charge what they want and I, as a customer, am also free to spend my money elsewhere.
 
researcher said:
Yup the MSRP is $21.75 for Honda's blue coolant. What happened to you is exactly what I mentioned earlier about one Honda dealer jacking up the price above MSRP that I used to go to, not anymore. As mentioned before the dealer is free to charge what they want and I, as a customer, am also free to spend my money elsewhere.
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I saw that I could get Zerex Asian blue for $20 on sale at AutoZone, so I figured I'll pay $5 more for the OE mix.
 
CKN said:
What should they charge? Seriously.....
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The cost of doing business is what keeps accountants in business - every day.

One hidden cost most don't think about is some dealerships are "owned" by shareholders. Shareholders demand profits or they pull their investment.

Some dealership models have "different" organizations within the dealership itself - a local example is a Chrysler dealership with a "body shop" owned and operated by a separate legal entity, but on the same premises and not overtly marked as such.

Since this is separate entity, it must be a profit center or it will fail to sustain itself.

It seems that the days are gone where an organization would have separate profit centers making up for the losses of other departments. This all started in the late 1980's (think back to movies like "Pretty Woman" and "Tommy Boy" where an outsider would come in and "break up" a company, selling off the profitable parts and scraping the rest).

So, to answer the question, the local part is not that hard to figure out. It is the variable cost of ownership associated with the model they operate under that becomes the issue. And that is why a small operation charges less as there are "fewer mouths to feed", so to speak.

On a side note; Think about the cost of the "rent your lift and work on your own car" places. How much do the ones still in business charge for any empty lift, insurance, lights, taxes, etc.

Here's a few examples where it didn't work out:

stewsgarage.com

Car Lift Rental | Stew's Garage - Rent A Bay DIY Auto Repair

We rent garage bays with car lifts! We also include tools, equipment, expert advice and more! Great for DIY auto repair of all kinds. Rent a bay today!
stewsgarage.com stewsgarage.com

Back when opened charged 47.00 per hour to use lift back in 2020:

web.archive.org

Services

We Rent Bays With Lifts! Every bay includes a professional grade tool set, a lift, and much more! Read below to learn more. Lift Rental $ 47 /Hour Every Bay Has a Lift 400+ Piece Tool Set Expe…
web.archive.org web.archive.org

www.garageyourself.com

Rent an Automotive Lift by the Hour in South Florida

Do you need a place to work on cars? Maybe you're a moonlighting mechanic or a D.I.Y. project warrior. Garage Yourself is the only place in Miami where you can rent a lift and turn your own wrenches.
www.garageyourself.com www.garageyourself.com

These types of places failed because a lot of DIYers are DIY because they can't/won't pay those type of rates. The "sell" was to emotion, but the failure was related to true cost of the shop equipment (there is a thread somewhere on this site about it).

web.archive.org

Lift and Tool Rental Rates at Garage Yourself, Miami, FL

Rent tools and lifts by the hour, day or week. We've pretty much got it all, from welding machines and fabrication tools to lifts and tire machines.
web.archive.org web.archive.org

Anyway, if you need 47.00 per hour for "lift space", and 35.00 per hour for direct labor, that is at 82.00 just to have a lift and a tech. Now add in all the other non-profit producing space you are paying for (think about parking spaces for the parts counter, awaiting pickup, drive-in lanes - cost of land, taxes, etc.) and it makes more sense for the prices charged. Oh, and don't forget about the service manager, service adviser, etc. They all want to be paid too.

And you are the one paying for it.
 
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