Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:15:45 -0400
Reply-To: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject: Re: Mechanics using customer supplied parts.. Was bars leaks
In-Reply-To: <4AB19AC9.5010008@charter.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Obviously I sell a lot of parts to people who provide them to their
mechanics. Often it is because the mechanic either cannot find the part, or
is paying way too much for it. A non-mechanically-inclined friend of mine
once paid almost $50 plus labor for a tailpipe for her Bus. I drove over to
the mechanic, intending to give him a piece of my mind, given that at that
time the going wholesale rate for a Bus tailpipe through the large warehouse
distributors was about $8. That is, until he showed me the receipt from the
local FLAPS with whom he had a wholesale account. He had paid almost $35 for
the tailpipe, and felt that his 30% markup wasn't unreasonable (which, in
the auto repair industry, it isn't). The FLAPS probably bought it from a
middleman themselves and had paid too much for it. By the time my friend
paid $50 for it, the $8 tailpipe had probably been marked up by 3 or 4
different middlemen. It would have been cheaper for her to buy it from me
(or my competitors), even if she also had to reimburse her mechanic the $15
that he would have made marking it up.
So, as this example illustrates, one argument for supplying your own parts
is cost. Another is quality. A mechanic who may be very capable, but not
familiar with Vanagon parts, may not think to check on the brand of country
of origin of the brake parts he orders in for your Vanagon. Or he may not
know what brands to look for or beware of. Especially since some major U.S.
auto part brands that the mechanic knows and trusts when it comes to, say,
Ford parts, simply re-label (and mark up) offshore suppliers' low-end parts
when it comes to Vanagon applications. As a result, not only only will you
probably pay more for the parts, but for more money you may end up with
Chinese or Indian wheel cylinders instead of German, aftermarket brake pads
instead of OE, etc. By providing your own parts, you can not just save
money but also ensure quality.
Those mechanics who will not allow the use of customer supplied parts
usually have one of two arguments - that they can't guarantee their work
when using a part that they did not supply, or that they are being robbed of
the markup on the part. Both arguments are valid to a point. Regarding
warranty issues, it is fair to say that if the mechanic does not supply the
part, he cannot be expected to provide free labor if it turns out to be
defective. (Of course it is reasonable for him to still warranty HIS work,
if there is an issue with misdiagnosis, improper installation, etc.) I have
no problem allowing a mechanic to write on my workorder that in the event of
a defective customer-supplied part he is not responsible for the cost of
removal and reinstallation. Given that out-of-the-box defects on new Vanagon
parts (if of quality manufacture) are extremely rare, it's a chance worth
taking in order to save mondo bucks on the part.
The argument regarding the mechanic's profit is also valid to a point. The
mechanic's business model involves profiting on the parts as well as the
labor. If everyone provided their own parts, he would have to charge more
for labor to achieve the same net profit. I have had some customers whose
mechanics added a surcharge if the customer provided their own parts. While
not all do this, I can't say it's entirely unreasonable. In the end, since
the customer saved so much money on the part, they still came out ahead. I
have had other cases where the customer asked the mechanic to order the
parts from us if we were cheaper than his usual supplier for like quality,
and gave him our URL and phone number.
Of course, the best cost-saving option is to find a mechanic who will simply
allow you to supply parts. And as these vehicles get more rare, that is
increasingly an option. The mechanic would rather not spend an hour calling
around looking for an obscure Vanagon part. The profit he makes on the part
is eaten up by the time he spends locating it. From that standpoint you are
doing him a favor, and you both win.
- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot, Inc.
www.busdepot.com
(215) 234-VWVW
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