Discussions

Is it bad form to purchase vehicle parts somewhere else and ask a mechanic from a shop to put them in?

You would have to ask the mechanic. Best place to purchase parts online is www.rockauto.com ,

The sales and profit from repair parts is part of the total income to the mechanic or the shop. So yes, in general, it is bad form. The profit margin on parts can be 50% or more.  
 
I know of one shop that charges a surcharge if the customer provides his own parts.  
 
Some exceptions may be if the car or replacement part are particularly rare and the shop was not likely to be able to find it, or it would have been an unreasonable amount of time to get the part.  
 
If you had purchased the parts with the intention of installing them yourself, then found that the job was too big or you are unable to do it for some reason, then be up-front with your shop and see what they say.

I live in a small town and have one place in town that does repairs, and I believe they really take advantage of it.

Woz said "I live in a small town and have one place in town that does repairs, and I believe they really take advantage of it. "

Most mechanics and any dealership I've dealt with have always taken outside auto parts. Also if you live close (even if you don't) to the US border take advantage of US auto parts they are so much cheaper then buying anything in Canada.

I agree that the mark up on prices helps to keep a shop going but shops do get stuff at different price to start with. My suggestion is get a quote on the parts from the shop before going ahead with the work, then you can check out what you can get them for. Depending how busy the shop is they may be competitive on the parts if things aren't real busy, or they may just tell you to take a hike. No harm in trying.

yes like cmp its bad form and the shop in your small town marks up the parts very little, i have sen their parts bill, its great if you can learn the diy skills as labour cost a lot but they have tools, wages building to pay for too plus they are not in it for nothing  
 
i think getting a quote then seeing if you can find replacement parts for less would be good but make sure you are comparing apples to apples as all parts are not created equal

Woz said "Is it bad form to purchase vehicle parts somewhere else and ask a mechanic from a shop to put them in? "

Residing in a small town where everybody knows everybody is at times a blessing as well as a curse.  
They say shop locally, but at times it is hard to do that when costs are so high. You as a consumer have every right to take your business wherever you want. Supplying parts for your vehicle is a choice you have, asking a business to install them to me is not a big thing as you are still bringing business to them.  
The way I look at it if you are treated with respect by a business that business will be seeing me more often, if they are not to keen on doing that for you....do you really want them to have your business?  
Hope that all makes sense.

have you people heard of overhead costs? last I checked, hydro isn't free, gas isn't free. insurances aren't free. if they don't get parts at a cheaper rate and mark them up, the business closes. do you take you raw steak to a restaurant and ask them to cook it because you can buy it cheaper elsewhere?

I'll make this short, wholesale, retail, shop rate. Sometimes people who run shops wonder why they lose customers, but if you start taking advantage of people with mark up on parts, people soon get wise because there are enough people out there that know where to get parts,and the cost, that word gets around, same goes for shop rates.  
 
Running a business is tough, and never should be looked at as a gold mine.

Primechoiceautoparts.ca,out of Ottawa,ive saved a bundle on parts,and free shipping within 4-5 days,always on time, and theres lots of mechanics who will install,just ask around,you say you have one shop where you live,you might have 6 mechanics who do side work,just ask around

Reasonable mark up is one thing. Bending people over because we are Canadian is another. I needed parts for a safety on a 2002 duramax the best local price I could get was 1500$ for parts. For the same quality or better I got the parts shipping and duty included for 700$ from rock auto. If local parts suppliers need over double my money to stay in business then they should close there doors they are ripping people off.

In my experience, even if a local mechanic does install parts that you have supplied they will likely charge you a higher rate (granted it may be hidden as an extra hours labour) because they are losing out on the parts commission.  
Also it is unlikely that you will receive any kind of guarantee because you have supplied your own parts. If the part fails two weeks after installation then you'll be on your own with most mechanics and they will make that clear up front.

Woz said "I live in a small town and have one place in town that does repairs, and I believe they really take advantage of it. "

Since I figure you are referring to our garage Woz, I'm going to point out a few of things to you. First off- we do allow customers to use their own parts- with no added fee's! We've had customers strapped for cash- we sometimes can find used parts in our "junk pile" to help out.Secondly we charge flat rate labor time- all repair shops follow these guidelines! We also "finance" people that can not afford to pay all at once- try and find any other garages that would allow you to take vehicle before it's paid for. I have been taken advantage by doing "financing" We also do quotes, so you would know exactly how much a repair would cost you before repair is done. Also our labor rate is one of the lower ones in the area-and we have have huge overhead costs of maintaining our garage and keeping our employee's employed. Our technicians are also Red Seal Journeymen!! I might add we pick up and deliver vehicles as well, an added convenience for our customers!! Lastly, we maybe the only garage in town, but if we were not here-how inconvenient it would be to have to go to another town for service and repair!!

Great reply, but you left out one thing, and after reading your reply I would have to think that some of those reading it are wondering the name of your shop. Sounds like you do go the extra mile when dealing with your customers.

It may be 'bad form' to include your picture when you are complaining about a small town garage when there is only one

Thank you Don Brown....I don't normally respond to threads, but felt the need to reply. We do strive to do our best, after all,we see our customers on the street, grocery store etc!!! They wouldn't return if we were taking advantage of them. We want them to come back!! P.S- we are located in Deloraine  
 
Puffwad- that made me chuckle! He's my neighbor to boot! I still would happily do a free quote for him

Ladybug71 said "    Woz said "I live in a small town and have one place in town that does repairs, and I believe they really take advantage of it. " Since I figure you are referring to our garage Woz, I'm going to point out a few of things to you. First off- we do allow customers to use their own parts- with no added fee's! We've had customers strapped for cash- we sometimes can find used parts in our "junk pile" to help out.Secondly we charge flat rate labor time- all repair shops follow these guidelines! We also "finance" people that can not afford to pay all at once- try and find any other garages that would allow you to take vehicle before it's paid for. I have been taken advantage by doing "financing" We also do quotes, so you would know exactly how much a repair would cost you before repair is done. Also our labor rate is one of the lower ones in the area-and we have have huge overhead costs of maintaining our garage and keeping our employee's employed. Our technicians are also Red Seal Journeymen!! I might add we pick up and deliver vehicles as well, an added convenience for our customers!! Lastly, we maybe the only garage in town, but if we were not here-how inconvenient it would be to have to go to another town for service and repair!! "

today you sir, won the internet!  
good for you

I do know the name of the shop and knew woz was their neighbor too lol  
 
i agree they do all the what owner said and more, they go the extra mile and dont rip people off either! they have always shown me the bill if i had any questions. Really they are the only shop we trust and we are mechanically inclined enough to know, the owner will lay it on the line for you if they dont feel you should go with the cheaper part or fix what not, we are paying not only for their service but their expertise and consulting as well  
 
Kowal auto is a great shop in deloraine id recommend them to anyone  

It is always important though to shop around for pricing. I am needing my brakes done and from the dealership they are quoted double what a service garage is. I deal with one shop and it is by the hour not by the book price. Makes a huge difference. Plus if I wanted I could bring in my own parts. Having seen what costing is for parts and what is billed out it is pretty amazing. I am glad the place I use is very reasonable in part markup.

While I can certainly understand frustration if you are truly being gouged, but expect you might have to pay a bit more if you go local. If you are in a town with only one garage, or any other retail/service center, and you don't support it, then you won't have ANY service eventually because that business will not be able to stay afloat.

Parts bought elsewhere will somehow magically result in a labour cost increase equal to the money you saved on the parts.

I'm not saying the garage is ripping me off. I know there is a price mark up for some profit. And I'm just saying by having one garage there is no competition to deal with. I'd rather have Kowals work on my vehicle than any back yard mechanic. Robert and the guys are great to deal with, and they did let me make payments on the work I did get done. My sole question was more, " am I insulting my garage by bringing my own parts". Cuz I'd hate to do that. I do have a large family, so I appreciate the financing, but if didn't have to do that I'd rather not have rely on financing. Which, I blame of course my male pride, which In turn I blame on how long it took for me to bring my vehicle out the first time! And I knew the risk of my neighbour reading this which is why I hoped I had worded my words and concern properly, which I'm guessin I didn't.

I guess in a way you were sort of asking a question wondering if what you were doing was acceptable, sort of like asking if it is proper to keep ones shoeson in someone else's house. I guess most of us would feel a bit uncomfortable even suggesting that a garage use the parts that we had found, the nice thing about this is we got an answer to this question, and maybe learned that sometimes people are fair and honest, which I and likely most other people consider important in business.  
 
I always enjoy it when people come on and are honest about their business practices, at times it can be a real eye opener on how far some owners do go to help out a customer.

Any shop that is not using book time for labor you do not want working on your vehicle. If they can not do the repair in book time they are not good tech's. In saying that if they have to rely on selling parts to keep their doors open and pay the bills they should close the doors. Take you vehicle and parts to the shop and get it repaired most small town shops have good people working for them. I know the shop you are talking about and have had repairs done there and could not ask for better quality work or treatment as a customer. I love the small shops way better than the big dealerships.

Woz said "I live in a small town and have one place in town that does repairs, and I believe they really take advantage of it. "

If I misinterpreted this as you feeling ripped off.

My comment about taking advantage of being the only garage in town is poorly worded. With no competition in town I have nothing to compare it to. Which I would like to have done if there was another garage in town. But thanks for trying to stir the pot!

Woz said "My comment about taking advantage of being the only garage in town is poorly worded. With no competition in town I have nothing to compare it to. Which I would like to have done if there was another garage in town. But thanks for trying to stir the pot! "

If you honestly think me highlighting your comment that you state was poorly worded and providing you the opportunity to clarify was stirring the pot, you have clearly never seen me try to stir the pot. Nice deflection btw. That last part was stirring the pot.

I agree with the OP....is $1970 for a starter sound right? I'm not a mechanic but seemed a bit steep..and no, I wasn't told ahead of time it'd be $1970 and yes, they did give me time to pay it...that's the one and only time I used these guys...