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Date:         Tue, 6 Apr 2010 10:12:07 -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: Radiators/Parts Sources
In-Reply-To:  <20100405150346.GC9CJ.1019828.imail@eastrmwml49>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

> I have generally found that the price I pay a mechanic for a > part is about the same as I would pay if I bought it myself > online. .. Most mechanics refuse to install customer supplied parts, > or they charge extra for labor if they do. Really can't blame them, > since parts markup is a part of their business, too.

Mechanics' parts pricing can be all over the place. Often it's less a matter of exhorbitant markup than a matter of how good a deal they get on the part to begin with. Your mechanic doesn't have much time to shop around for a part; usually he has a close relationship with one or two suppliers and they are his automatic "go-to" for any part. Problem is, sometimes the same part is twice the price at one wholesaler than another. As a parts specialist we shop around (a lot!), but the typical mechanic won't. So whether you pay $75 or $150 for a water pump (and whether it is German, Italian, or something else) largely depends on which supplier your mechanic happens to have a close relationship with. Volume purchasing can also be a factor; I buy more water pumps in a week than many mechanics buy in a year.

There's certainly an advantage to letting your mechanic supply the part if the price is about the same, as indeed it makes him fully responsible should any issues arise. But it pays to shop around. Maybe the price will be about the same, maybe it will be double or triple. In those cases, you can ask to supply the part. If your mechanic balks, you can offer to pay him a labor surcharge to offset his lost markup (which will still net you a lower price). Or give him our number and suggest that he buy the part from us himself and then mark it up. A markup on our price may still net you a much lower end cost than a markup on what he usually pays. This saves you a chunk of money, possibly nets you a better part, and keeps the responsibility in your mechanic's hands. We often get calls from customers' mechanics, skeptical at first that our part is just as good for half the price ... but once they learn it's a brand they already know and trust, they're happy to order it for less and save our mutual customer some dough.

> Most places will get the VW specific parts > at a VW dealer and then mark them up.

That depends on the place. Mechanics usually get a small shop discount from the dealer and then mark up to dealer retail or higher. We get a larger discount (since we do a lot of volume) and typically sell dealer-only parts for 10-15% cheaper than the dealer. (Search the dealer part number on our site for pricing.) The downside, of course, is the wait. It takes us about a week to get a dealer-only part, whereas your local mechanic can sometimes have it next day. But before you even consider those options, see if the part really is dealer-only. Your mechanic may be getting bad information from his supplier. We stock hundreds if not thousands of Vanagon parts that the large wholesalers can't get and designate as "dealer parts" - but we get them directly from the suppliers to VW, and bypass VW's substantial markup.

- Ron Salmon The Bus Depot, Inc. www.busdepot.com (215) 234-VWVW

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


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