No shocker, but a rip-off story...

[KGMtech]

Last week we had a snow storm, it caught our Ford Flex without the snow tires mounted..totally my fault. Youngest son slid on a low speed turn and hit a curb, no damage to the alloy rim, but the wheel hub is now making a resonant humming at 80 km/hr of more. Normally I would repair myself, but I have other work issues and a plumbing project going on, so my wife offered to take to local muffler / suspension chain that is close to where we live. I've used this shop before for other jobs that I don't have the tools or time to perform. It's a Canadian chain, pretty small, but has a good reputation.

The manager of the store called me and said the RF wheel bearing needs to be replaced, $387 CAD for the Moog part, and 1.5 hours labour, plus shop supplies & taxes = $ 590 CAD. I declined an alignment.

I asked the manager why the Moog part was so expensive? I told him I did all the wheel hubs myself within the last year, in fact the 2 rear hubs were done in July using Moog parts sourced from Rock Auto, and I paid $ 125 CAD for each Moog wheel hub. $ 387 per each is over 3x the selling price of RA !!

His response: "well, Rock Auto is just putting junk Chinese parts in Moog boxes and shipping them out" "ours come with a 3 year warranty" I said that so do the Moog parts that RA supplies, in fact 1 of the front wheel hubs that I installed failed early, and RA paid for my return shipping and gave me a full refund. He had no answer.

I could accept that this chain would mark up their parts 80-100 % but 300% higher than RA or Amazon.ca is insane! And RA and Amazon.ca are also making money on their selling prices.

I am doing the repair myself, I accept it won't be convenient, I have other things I would prefer to do, but enough is enough. I ordered the Moog hub from Amazon.ca for $144 CAD and it will be delivered by 9pm Tuesday. RA wanted $120 CAD plus $21 CAD shipping, but it would have been 3-4 days at least.


Rant over.

 

[spavel6]

I'd check how much that part is at the local NAPA or other auto part supplier. That is where the repair shop is likely sourcing it.

If it's $300 from them, the rest is mark up.

Repair shops can't order and wait for parts to arrive 3 days later. They need them in stock locally. Therefore they pay more money for parts and pass that onto the customer.

Not defending the shop, just saying they pay premium for available parts that are delivered within the hour, not a day or week..

 

[Mr Nice]

Shops are in business and need to mark up everything..... lots of overhead.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted by spavel6
I'd check how much that part is at the local NAPA or other auto part supplier. That is where the repair shop is likely sourcing it.

If it's $300 from them, the rest is mark up.

Repair shops can't order and wait for parts to arrive 3 days later. They need them in stock locally. Therefore they pay more money for parts and pass that onto the customer.

Not defending the shop, just saying they pay premium for available parts that are delivered within the hour, not a day or week..


This is exactly true. There might be times when a shop will use RA or Amazon, but that would be when they have advance notice. Most people want the car done same day, so you pay for it.

 

[edwardh1]

why did a reeplacement hub fail early? what failed?

 

[Pelican]

Originally Posted by spavel6
Repair shops can't order and wait for parts to arrive 3 days later. They need them in stock locally. Therefore they pay more money for parts and pass that onto the customer.
Not defending the shop, just saying they pay premium for available parts that are delivered within the hour, not a day or week..


Well said and true!

 

[01rangerxl]

Yes, what spavel6 said...the shop isn't getting it on Rock Auto.

Fun fact, GM sells some parts on Amazon for less than dealer cost.

 

[maxdustington]

I just bought some parts today for my Tercel. I needed 4 struts and two wheel bearings and the price was $287 for the rear struts and the bearings. I think the fronts are around $110 each so like $135 tax in each. $557 all together roughly and the front struts will be ready to be picked up tomorrow.

The same order would be around $400 with tax and shipping at RA including express DHL shipping that would arrive by Friday. I checked today but chose OE Spectrums instead of the Gabriel Ultras I had chosen on RA. All of the parts happened to be in Canadian warehouses so that made buying from RA feasible.

Not bad, and if they gave me something wrong they are 20 mins away. 35% mark up for local parts chain (Hot Spot) over RA.

 

[rekit]

I get my Tacomas timing belt, water pump, idlers, etc done every 100k (300K coming up!), and I want Toyota parts. The last place did an ok job (found a few non-critical) missing bolts, etc.) but they would not warranty the work unless they used their parts. I could kinda see that, but I took them Toyota parts to put on. figured I'd take a chance. Is this the normal routine?

 

[01rangerxl]

Yes, typically shops don't want to warranty labor on anything they didn't source as there is no recourse for them to be reimbursed at all, and they didn't make any mark up selling you the part. If it's beyond a doubt installer error, hopefully they would make it right, but it's easier to avoid sticky situations by just saying no warranty on customer supplied parts.

 

[KGMtech]

Originally Posted by edwardh1
why did a reeplacement hub fail early? what failed?


The Moog hub developed play and noise, all within 27,000 km of installation (about 15 months of use), I ordered the replacement from RA, removed the bad part, packed it into the new box and returned to RA. I waited 1 week for RA to confirm they accepted the claim and I got full credit for the part, plus my shipping charges. Very impressed by the smoothness of this claim process.

I did not get any detailed report of why the part failed, I would hope it was sent back to Moog for analysis, but that might be too optimistic?

 

[Driz]

The way they stock these days I buy just about all my parts online. I can wait no problem. When you live in the country you learn patience. As it turns out most parts aren't in stock around here anyways. I punch off an order it's no more than 3 day and I've got it and don't even have to chase back and forth. I figure it saves me 25% or more in the bargain.

 

[dishdude]

This is not a rip-off story. Consider that the shop also has to warranty this repair.

 

[geeman789]

Originally Posted by spavel6


I'd check how much that part is at the local NAPA or other auto part supplier. That is where the repair shop is likely sourcing it.

I


Napa is THE MOST EXPENSIVE parts supplier around these parts. Typically 2 - 3 x what RA sells stuff for.

Mazda2 stuff ...

KYB struts at Napa : $ 340.00. RA : $ 115.00

Akebono brake pads : Napa : $ 167.00 . RA : $ 52.00

Subaru stuff ...

Exedy clutch kit : $ Napa : $ 735.00 . RA : $ 228.00


And so on ...

 

[domer10]

I have personal friends who own shops....and trust me the mark up on their end is bogus and they will be first to admit it. If they need a part they call Napa, the same Napa that me or that exact person could go to and pick up said part. The shop then adds a additional 40 percent mark up on a part that got delivered from a store a mile away. Shops make their bones on unsuspecting customers. Overhead or not, they charge 100 dollars a hr some shops. On a employee that makes less than 25hr. There is no justification for marking up a part 40 percent and then claim overhead. Shops are all about gouging unknowing customers.

 

[spasm3]

The shop has lights power and rent to pay. Employees to pay. Insurance has to be kept. There is equipment and tools that are bought. The owners need to make a profit, they are not in business for free. Factor in taxes and complying with osha, and epa. I can understand why its marked up.

 

[mattd]

Originally Posted by spasm3
The shop has lights power and rent to pay. Employees to pay. Insurance has to be kept. There is equipment and tools that are bought. The owners need to make a profit, they are not in business for free. Factor in taxes and complying with osha, and epa. I can understand why its marked up.


This sums it up.

This same thought can be applied to plumbers, HVAC mechanical , electricians , etc.

Everything is always cheaper to buy and do yourself.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by dishdude
This is not a rip-off story. Consider that the shop also has to warranty this repair.

Yeah I needed camber bolts and an alignment once and asked why the part was so expensive, I said I could get it for half that via RA. The guy said a couple things..a) we don't install owner supplied parts b) we (the shop) not only guarantees the parts but the labour and c) you (speaking to me) want it done today, right? I looked behind me and saw a couple of people in line wanting to get their car worked on...I said eff' it, just do it and call me when it's ready.

 

[PimTac]

This reminds me of a sign in a mechanics garage I saw many moons ago.

A guy walks into the shop with spark plugs and asks the mechanic if he will install them for him.

On the same sign the guy walks into a restaurant with a steak and some eggs and asks the cook to fry them up for him.


With the focus on liability , why would a mechanic install a part that he has no idea where it is from? If the part fails and a accident and or injury happens then he might be called on the carpet. Especially with online sales where we really don't know the history or origin of some of these parts.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted by domer10
Shops make their bones on unsuspecting customers. Overhead or not, they charge 100 dollars a hr some shops. On a employee that makes less than 25hr. There is no justification for marking up a part 40 percent and then claim overhead. Shops are all about gouging unknowing customers.


Open one up then. If it's just easy money made from ripping people off, it should be easy right? Everyone wants something for nothing.