I know Scotty doesn't think customers shouldn't do this and I get why mechanics would prefer not to (warranty/liability issues), but do you think it is disrespectful for a customer just to ask this as long as they accept a "no, we don't do that" and not try to have a conversation about it?
I've been trying to find an independent mechanic and I've been finding that many are quoting parts prices that are higher (sometimes substantially higher) than retail/dealership price. One shop added a significant surcharge to parts, which they said was part of how they cover overhead costs (they were at least upfront about it). I can usually source genuine OEM parts for 20-30% below retail price, so the cost difference can be substantial.
When getting quotes from different mechanics I have been asking if I can provide OEM parts and the answer is usually no for liability reasons and I will politely say "ok, I understand" and leave it at that. Some haven't seem bothered by me asking, but some have seem annoyed by the question. I suppose some could see it as the customer trying to cheap out and "shortcut" their business? Are parts often a part of a shop's profit source? Am I being unreasonable/disrespectful to ask?
I don't think it's disrespectful at all. You just need to find a mechanic who will work with you for your business.
Thanks. This is proving hard than I had hoped. Several shops I've tried said they used to allow customer provided parts, but I guess there were too many occurrences of parts failing and the customer trying to blame the mechanic's work. Just not worth the hassle I guess (understandable).
Scotty has made a few videos on this subject. What he basically says is, he can guarantee his work of installing the part, but he can’t offer any guarantees on whether the part which he didn’t source will work right or not.
So I guess to answer your question, the shops shouldn’t have any qualms about just installing the part, if they don’t trust the quality of the parts you provide them.
But as @carlos mentioned, the big chain shops may be set up to actually sell everything in-house & won’t allow foreign parts. Kind of like restaurants not allowing you to bring your own food.
I've had it happen plenty of times. Is it disrespectful? Well, I never took it that way.
I basically do what @InThrustWeTrust said: I warranty my shop's work, but you have to use the manufacturer's warranty on the part itself. If you supply a bad part, and it breaks, I am not going to replace it for you for free. Most customers seem to think that's fair. I also charge a minimum of 1 hour labor to try and avoid the quick 10 minute DIY things as much as possible. I don't like to tie up my tech with a windshield wiper replacement and wiper fluid refill.
I am honest with customers about it, and many appreciate it. About the only time I will not install customer parts is if I see an issue with the part physically (it's from a junkyard and has bad bushings, its cracked, etc.) when they bring it in. Some say, "Oh it's fine. Go ahead and use it." But I apologize and tell them because it is not safe to use, I can not install it. They'll usually ask me for a cost to replace the part with a new one, which is of course much more expensive than what they just paid for the broken part and they'll pitch a fit about it at which point I'll tell them if they can find a quality part that isn't damaged, come back and we will install it.
You would be amazed how many people come in with unusable junkyard parts and get extremely angry when being told the part is no good and we can't use it. For the shop, it's a safety liability.
TL;DR: It is not disrespectful to being in good parts to have installed, but know that the shop won't warranty the part...just their labor and worksmanship.
Thanks. This all seems completely fair to me. I totally understand and accept that there wouldn't be a warranty on the work if the customer provides the parts and personally I would only provide brand new OEM or OEM-equivalent parts to avoid the possiblity of the parts not fitting and wasting the shop's time.
I also posted this question on reddit and I got quite a few comments saying that most shops make some profit from parts sales, i.e. they would get parts at wholesale prices but charge the customer a higher price and profit the difference. If parts sales is part of the profit base, then I completely understand why a shop woudn't want to allow customer-provided parts. However, many shops *claim* to not make any profit on parts and only charge the customer what it costs the shop. In such cases, I think the consideration is a little difference because technically the shop wouldn't be losing any money on customer-provided parts (of course the other factors still apply).
Well I do make money on parts. I mean, I have to keep the lights on and if there's no profit, there's no business. The difference is how high your markups are and what is fair to the customer. The cars I deal in are either high end (Ferrrari, Rolls, Lambo, etc.) or performance cars (Shelby, Classic Muscle, SRT) so parts are naturally expensive by nature. The markup just depends on the part and availability. Say you come in with a Challenger SRT and you need a new hood. Those are fairly easy for me to source, so the markup isn't going to be very high. I make the profit on painting it and installing it, but the part itself doesn't really bring money. Now, if you come in needing a new rim for your Ferrari F50 and I have to get it sourced straight from Maranello Italy, well...there's going to be a markup on that because I'm about to spend a small fortune to acquire one. So it depends. But you are talking about pretty normal parts on average cars, so a good shop shouldn't hit you over the head on parts cost. Nor should they complain if you bring in your own for them to use, especially if you are bringing in new parts like you talked about. I'd welcome that.
Many electronic billing systems do not allow exemptions.
It is impossible for the cashier to write-up, "ball joint installation" without ordering the ball joint.
The independent mechanics I use here in south Georgia are totally fine with it. One is so busy that they seem to like not having to get the part themselves!
I have a 2015 SS with the magnetic ride struts. The dealership and some repair shops have tried to charge me $1000 per strut. I buy them from a GM parts store for $500. That kind of mark up is not acceptable. I understand they're running a business and should be able to turn a profit but I can't justify that big of a mark up.
