Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (September 2009, week 3)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
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

_____________________________________________ Toll-Free for Orders by PART # : 1-866-BUS-DEPOT


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!


Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com


The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.

Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.