Supplying parts to the mechanic

Trhiggy83

I am thinking of getting a bit of work done to my car and have a quote from the mechanics which comes to about 800 euro. The labour rates seem reasonable but i was thinking of buying the parts myself to save a few quid. Is this common practice by customers or would it be frowned upon by the garage. Im sure they would not bee entirely happy but do plenty of people do it??

biko

It depends on the mechanic/garage. Most will want to supply own parts that they trust in case there's an issue later (was it the part or the install that failed scenarios) but smaller garages usually don't mind if you ask first.

You'll save f all on the parts unless you get discount where you buy them, mechanic will charge you retail for them, if the factors charge you retail too (which they probably will) then you save nothing. Also it is frowned upon as they make some money on the difference between retail and what they are charged.

mullingar

Most MF's sell at a pre-agreed fixed discount to mechanics/ indy garages who have accounts with them which might be a 25% discount

Then the garage/mechanics adds this known 25% to the parts bill, so this 25% is profit for them.

So there is no savings to be made on buying the parts yourself (not unless you know the MF and ask nicely for a trade price;))

iphone4g

Why do people think this is ok to do when getting your car serviced??

Would you bring your raw food into the restaurant and ask them to cook it for you and sit there and eat it ?I dont think they would be very accommoditing do you?

Its not very nice,and hard enough to make a few bob.

Trhiggy83

iphone4g wrote: »

Why do people think this is ok to do when getting your car serviced??

Would you bring your raw food into the restaurant and ask them to cook it for you and sit there and eat it ?I dont think they would be very accommoditing do you?

Its not very nice,and hard enough to make a few bob.

If you buy the parts yourself at least you know the quality of the parts you have put into the car. Just looking for opinions on it. I know a lot of people will disagree as they may have a vested interest in the motor trade on here but for the normal joe soap who wants to save a few quid - thats why i am asking the question.

also in order to make a few bob, should you not just charge this through labour costs anyway instead of adding onto the price of parts.

Anan1

iphone4g wrote: »

Why do people think this is ok to do when getting your car serviced??

Would you bring your raw food into the restaurant and ask them to cook it for you and sit there and eat it ?I dont think they would be very accommoditing do you?

Its not very nice,and hard enough to make a few bob.

Restauraunts don't charge separately for sourcing & cooking the ingredients. There should be no problem asking, but bear in mind that the garage may have both practical and financial reasons for refusing. As always, shop around.

Glencarraig

isnt it the case that if you buy the parts yourself you pay the top rate of VAT, if the mechanic supplies and fits you pay the lower rate?

Trhiggy83

Anan1 wrote: »

Restauraunts don't charge separately for sourcing & cooking the ingredients. There should be no problem asking, but bear in mind that the garage may have both practical and financial reasons for refusing. As always, shop around.

Also when going to a restuarant if you did bring your own food and explained to the chef that the quality of your food is of the highest order but i would like you to cook it because i believe you can do a better job than me at cooking it

pcardin

iphone4g wrote: »

Why do people think this is ok to do when getting your car serviced??

Would you bring your raw food into the restaurant and ask them to cook it for you and sit there and eat it ?I dont think they would be very accommoditing do you?

Its not very nice,and hard enough to make a few bob.

Well it's not really the same. Don't forget they charge labour and it's not cheap in Ireland + prices they charge for parts a loads of time are higher then if you would source yourself. I used to drive Lancia Kappa which was an obsulutely rarity here and I could only bring the car to garage if parts were sourced by myself. I was buying most of parts in Germany or ebay as even after P&P they were around 30% cheaper.
Btw, I still source the parts for my cars myself.

iphone4g

Anan1 wrote: »

Restauraunts don't charge separately for sourcing & cooking the ingredients.

They still have a markup on the food,and most have a service charge aswell

djimi

iphone4g wrote: »

They still have a markup on the food,and most have a service charge aswell

Restaurants are a luxury item. Most people could buy the food and cook it themselves, however they choose to go to a resteraunt to eat knowing that they will pay more than if they eat at home.

Most people would see car servicing as a necessity rather than a luxury, and therefore are not as understanding of being charged over the odds for the parts involved. Its an expensive enough job to get done as it is, but if people know they can get the parts cheaper themselves then its understandable that they feel agrieved if they are being charged more by the garage for the same parts as part of a service. Whether its right or not thats how people think, especially when money is tighter.

Generally I reckon its mostly main dealers who are guilty of overcharging for parts in a service as they tend to use genuine parts which are way overpriced. Local garages seem to be much more reasonable.

gingerGiant

djimi wrote: »

Generally I reckon its mostly main dealers who are guilty of overcharging for parts in a service as they tend to use genuine parts which are way overpriced. Local garages seem to be much more reasonable.

I agree with this haven't gone near a main dealer ever for a service, my mechanic passes on his discount on parts to me and he works very cheap, got timing belt done last year with pulleys replaced for €135 for the whole lot, and before anybody says he didn't really do the work, I have the receipt for the new parts plus the old parts in my shed and I called up when he was half way through the job to see how he was getting on and seen the new pulleys attached to the engine.

I some times feel guilty paying him so little for his work as he is very reliable and I've never had an issue he even brings it to his work place and tests emissions, suspension and brakes before n.c.t for me for free, but if he's happy to work for that I won't complain.

He doesn't even do all my work the timing belt is only thing i get him to do, everything else i do myself.

Tasmanian Devil

Trhiggy83 wrote: »

The labour rates seem reasonable but i was thinking of buying the parts myself to save a few quid. [/QUOTE

How much is are the parts?
How much is the labour?

irisheddie85

the labour rate may change f you supply the parts or maybe the parts you source will take longer than expected to fit.
Talk to the mechanic before you try sourcing parts yourself

Rovi

gingerGiant wrote: »

I some times feel guilty paying him so little for his work as he is very reliable and I've never had an issue he even brings it to his work place and tests emissions, suspension and brakes before n.c.t for me for free, but if he's happy to work for that I won't complain.

It sounds like you've found the Automotive Mechanics division of the St. Vincent de Paul.

How does "his work place" charge you for the use and depreciation on their test equipment?

PaulKK

I think this analogy of going to a restaurant and bringing your own food is way off.

I always bring my own parts to my mechanic and he has no problem at all with it.

Why? Because I get my stuff from eurocarparts, and I can the OEM parts cheaper than my mechanic.

All most mechanics do is go to the local factors, they all have accounts with them so they don't shop around or anything, and you don't know what parts they are going to pick up from the factors.

So as soon as you drop off the car, the mechanic can start on it straight away because he has all the stuff he needs, instead of having to go and get the stuff.

Of course you have to be careful, you don't want to bring him the wrong part or you'll look a right gobshite.

IMO if a mechanic has a problem with you bringing your own parts he can get stuffed.
Its your car, you should be able to supply whatever you want for it, he is paid to do the work on it,
not supply the parts, so its tough if he wants to profit from you on the parts too.

crosshair1

How would you guys who supply your own parts expect to get on
in the case of a new part supplied by you failing in service,
say water pump causing tbelt failure, faulty clutch requiring removal?

I think most workshops that allow a customer supply parts also have a loading
factor on the labour

Esel

crosshair1 wrote: »

How would you guys who supply your own parts expect to get on
in the case of a new part supplied by you failing in service,
say water pump causing tbelt failure, faulty clutch requiring removal?

I would expect to have to pay for the extra labour, and it would be my responsibility to seek redress from my supplier. This is a risk you take when supplying your own parts. Luckily, I haven't had this happen (yet).