Parts guy

Status
Not open for further replies.
Originally Posted By: pburchett
Rat--- Explain this to me, as this happened at my local ford dealer the other day. I wondered if it was the dealership or the parts guy being greedy:

My daughters car (focus) needed an engine mount. Found an OEM one online from a Ford dealer for $96 shipped to me. Aftermarket is $36 but didn’t want that. Fords list price is $130 at ford.com. Called the local dealer which is 30 miles away. They want $150 plus tax.
Parts guy acts as if he is letting me have a great deal. I tell him it list for $130 and I expected to pay less than list as I would be paying cash. I also tell him all my vehicles came from that particular dealership. Parts guy tells me if I had a business account with them I could get a discount and it would be 20% off. Told the guy I wanted to keep my money local and would even drive to get the part but I was not paying that price.

He tells me if I want it I will pay the $150 plus tax. I thank him for his time and hang up. I order the part online and 10 minutes later the parts guy calls me and ask if I want the part or not. I ask how much and he tells me $150. PI$$ED me off to no end. I tell him no as I just placed the online order and he hangs up on me. I still have not visited the dealership or bought anything from them.

I figured if one dealership could sell it to me below Fords list price another could. I wasn’t asking for the $96 price just something below the $130 list price to make me feel good and keep my money local. It wasn’t like the $96 dealership was below any other stores price as it was an average price. I bought from them because they were close and had good ratings. I figured it was better to make a little money than none.

So who was greedy here; The Dealership or the Parts Guy?


You mean well, but it's really getting pointless nowadays to try to keep your money local.

Bluntly put, they could care less about you (as you experienced) and that money is just as useful to an online seller.

I take it back; there's a few places I've gotten special treatment at because my father has been a ~30 year customer of theirs. I try to go to those places whenever possible. The local Kubota dealer for example.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: pburchett
Rat--- Explain this to me, as this happened at my local ford dealer the other day. I wondered if it was the dealership or the parts guy being greedy:

My daughters car (focus) needed an engine mount. Found an OEM one online from a Ford dealer for $96 shipped to me. Aftermarket is $36 but didn’t want that. Fords list price is $130 at ford.com. Called the local dealer which is 30 miles away. They want $150 plus tax.
Parts guy acts as if he is letting me have a great deal. I tell him it list for $130 and I expected to pay less than list as I would be paying cash. I also tell him all my vehicles came from that particular dealership. Parts guy tells me if I had a business account with them I could get a discount and it would be 20% off. Told the guy I wanted to keep my money local and would even drive to get the part but I was not paying that price.

He tells me if I want it I will pay the $150 plus tax. I thank him for his time and hang up. I order the part online and 10 minutes later the parts guy calls me and ask if I want the part or not. I ask how much and he tells me $150. PI$$ED me off to no end. I tell him no as I just placed the online order and he hangs up on me. I still have not visited the dealership or bought anything from them.

I figured if one dealership could sell it to me below Fords list price another could. I wasn’t asking for the $96 price just something below the $130 list price to make me feel good and keep my money local. It wasn’t like the $96 dealership was below any other stores price as it was an average price. I bought from them because they were close and had good ratings. I figured it was better to make a little money than none.

So who was greedy here; The Dealership or the Parts Guy?




Could be both that were greedy. Depending on the pay plan of the person you spoke to, or the monthly sales/gross quota of the department itself as set by upper management. We have to maintain a certain gross, while offsetting creative accounting being expensed to our department and the wholesale market that we are forced to cater to and in many cases lose money on. Then there is the manufacturer that decides what you will keep in inventory. All the backorders that we have no control over that result in lost sales, so we have to find a way to offset that...
Then the revolving door of personnel, especially management and continually increasing sales goals and corresponding pay plans.. I could go on all day.
 
Not necessarily greedy on anyone's part. The dealership pays a shipper/receiver, a counter person, insurance, they deal with obsolescence due to returns, they pay for a building, utilities, taxes, expense of stocking inventory, etc. Most online retailers do not even handle the parts, they just forward the orders to a supplier for a fee. They incur none of these expenses. The dealer NEEDS to make more. Not saying there aren't some unscrupulous dealers out there, but painting a general picture of dealers being overly greedy is unfair. This happens with almost ANY product that can be ordered online.
Why do you think Toys-r-us, along with many other national retailers, is gone ?
 
PR1955,

Don't forget a $25 an hour employee is more like $50 an hour to a company when you factor in retirement benefits, medical/dental insurance, vacations, paid holidays, paid personal business, etc...

If OP is burned out maybe a career change would be a good thing for him to consider.
 
Agreed. I have been in the business since mid 1970's, and although it isn't as much fun as it used to be, I still enjoy what I am doing. It is what you make it. If you focus on the positives and don't let the negatives get to you, you win.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top