Try John Deere parts!
Parts prices.
- Thread starter Trav
- Start date
Probably most of the vehicles that take the FL-1A are old enough that they aren't serviced with dealer parts. Something like my 1988 Mustang GT, the FL-1A is probably the only part that Ford hasn't discontinued for it (well, it may not be that bad, but you get the point)..and I can get that filter elsewhere.
What modern vehicle calls for that filter ? I'm going to (confidently) guess it was a standard filter on Ford engines in the 70s and 80s and has slowly been replaced by something else. How many people with an 89 F-150 bring their truck to the dealer for an oil change ? Probably not too many.... You can buy Motorcraft filters at every auto parts store nowadays too as well as Walmart. For a lot of people, going to those places vs a dealer is simply a matter of convenience (location, hours, etc).
Part of the good pricing is you are getting the online price coupled to local delivery. The auto parts places are under a different model especially if delivering part that day via runners.
When I owned Subaru 2005-2018 another local to me dealer had really discounted parts available with a free ship option of pickup.
When I owned Subaru 2005-2018 another local to me dealer had really discounted parts available with a free ship option of pickup.
Also it went up in price drastically. The MSRP is $14.09 now. The last use I see in my catalog for one is a 2001 Explorer and Mountaineer with a 4.0 SOHC. The last use for a car was a 1995 Mustang GT. The 12 I sold for the racecar, its a BMW with a remote kit.
So funny, maybe not, story about parts that never sell. We are also a Mazda dealer and a few weeks ago we had probably one of the few still running Mazda Millenia S come in for an oil change. We literally hadn't sold that oil filter in probably 5-6 years with the last movement in the system being my old boss scrapping the ones still in stock back in 2019. This used to be a popular number, because it fit a lot of the older Mazdas. Well when something doesn't sell for that long, it doesn't get re-ordered. I think we ended up using the crossing Motorcraft FL-816 which we only stock for when people bring in Hondas and Nissans for oil changes here. I think that one also fits the Australian built Mercury Capris, which I actually saw one on the road a few weeks ago.
Even in the aftermarket world its not a mover anymore. I reorder at zero and my reorder quantity is two. In the last 12 months I have sold 2 and one of them was for my ranger. I have sold 72 FL910S, 14 FL500s in that time. FL910S, 15400-PLM-A02 and PF48 are my top 3 oil filters. Not that long ago FL400s and PF47 would have been my top. I have sold 2 FL400s and and 7 PF47s in 12 months
The price is likely why. That filter is now $9 at Advance Auto. And it's not that great of a filter, unless you just have to have a filter with a Ford logo.
For me its that the cars dont come in the door anymore. Im a repair shop, not a parts vendor. If those cars were coming in for service they would be getting those filters. We call those numbers dead numbers because at one time they were A movers that have since died off.
Chances are they are now mostly owned by people that do their own oil changes. The information on Opticat doesn't lie--the Fram PH8A is still an "A in terms of sales. Something like the Fram PH3980 which only fits older GM vehicles is a "C".
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
@bdcardinal, of those 4000+/- filters you sold how many went across the counter and how many went to service do you think?
Same with every Toyota, Honda, and Subaru I've owned. Cheaper or about the same as crappy aftermarket.
I'll throw in my guess before he answers.... 85% were for his service department.
And 14% were for people who think they need to use the OEM oil filter to keep their warranty.
I used Motorcraft filters years ago, when they were sold at Wal-Mart for $3.87 each, and cheaper than a comparable Fram.
With their current pricing, forget it. They also don't seem to be available at Wal-Mart anymore.
Very long story but I think it fits.
Long ago I had a Jeep WJ with the 4.7 V8. Had a strange thermostat setup in the T-stat was in the bottom hose. Weird huh? The OEM thermostat fit like a regular one but the spring itself was enclosed in a sort of brass housing. Anyway I figured it needed a thermostat because the gauge was moving around.
Went to advance and bought one for like 5 bucks - it looked like a regular stat. They said it would fit - and it did, but it made it worse. Took it back, got another on warranty. Still worse.
Figured I needed better brand. Went to Napa - paid like 10 bucks. Same problem.
Guess I need the special dealer one. Drove to the dealer, paid like 40 bucks. They had to order it. Came in, and looked like the regular style. I asked the guy, he said it was right. Installed, same problem.
Finally went to flea bay. Found a NOS one in a crushed box, only pic was the box. Arrived and BINGO - it was the special one - installed - problem fixed. No more moving around of the gauge needle.
I was cleaning the work bench and all the above t-stats were on it. I noticed one had a strange die impression in the outer ring - like the stamping die had been repaired. I work in Manufacturing and have worked with stamping sometimes so I notice such things. I looked at the other 2 - same die mark. All 3 stats - $5, $10, and $40 - housing stamped by the same die. Very likely the entire thing was made by the same supplier.
Long ago I had a Jeep WJ with the 4.7 V8. Had a strange thermostat setup in the T-stat was in the bottom hose. Weird huh? The OEM thermostat fit like a regular one but the spring itself was enclosed in a sort of brass housing. Anyway I figured it needed a thermostat because the gauge was moving around.
Went to advance and bought one for like 5 bucks - it looked like a regular stat. They said it would fit - and it did, but it made it worse. Took it back, got another on warranty. Still worse.
Figured I needed better brand. Went to Napa - paid like 10 bucks. Same problem.
Guess I need the special dealer one. Drove to the dealer, paid like 40 bucks. They had to order it. Came in, and looked like the regular style. I asked the guy, he said it was right. Installed, same problem.
Finally went to flea bay. Found a NOS one in a crushed box, only pic was the box. Arrived and BINGO - it was the special one - installed - problem fixed. No more moving around of the gauge needle.
I was cleaning the work bench and all the above t-stats were on it. I noticed one had a strange die impression in the outer ring - like the stamping die had been repaired. I work in Manufacturing and have worked with stamping sometimes so I notice such things. I looked at the other 2 - same die mark. All 3 stats - $5, $10, and $40 - housing stamped by the same die. Very likely the entire thing was made by the same supplier.
If I were to guess.... 98% to the shop. I sell maybe 5 or so oil filters over the retail counter a month. We sell more to fleets who order cases at a time.
So I've had people complain about me to higher management because they say they want an oil filter for such and such a car and I just grab it and put it on the counter. They think I should get all of their info and look it up. Just so you know I have been doing back counter, so the tech counter, at a Ford/Mazda for 15+ years. Time is money for us and I literally have so many of the application charts memorized. One of the times someone complained to my then PM he asked them "well is it the right part?" To which they said "ya but he didn't look it up." To which he answered "that's why he works with the techs and makes good money." I love the shops that call and say something like "hey I'm doing all the shifter guts on a 01 F-150, send me what I need."
Yup John Deere parts are ridiculous. You can pretty much just add on another zero to the price in comparison to aftermarket.
Look at them, grin, tap your head with your finger (3) times, and tell 'em, "I did look it up"
✓
I bet the US branch of the manufacturer uses computer algorithms to determine which parts the dealer carries. It save the dealer money and space. Now, I own a bimmer. A lot of parts aren't carried at the dealer, but are stored in regional warehouses. So parts that are NA at the dealer will be at the dealer in a couple of days. Also, Lufthansa flies a 747 freighter full of BMW parts from Munich to JFK 355/6 days a year.
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