time to de-list bad vendors

[QSHIPQ at aol.com]

As the ascribed punter, comments inserted:
In a message dated 9/15/02 3:27:01 PM Central Daylight Time, BriceW at webtv.net
writes:

>In reply to Scotts posts.
>Most of the Audi mechanics I have dealt with don't know where to find
>parts at even a slightly reasonable price.

What is a "slightly reasonable price"  Suggested retail?  What right do you
have to get better than that?  Suggested retail is always where I put my
customers first, AFTER a relationship I may discount off list, not up from
cost.    Sounds to me like an independent has no right to charge what a
dealer does.   Me, I give as much of my business to my local suppliers, so
that IF there is a problem, I can get it resolved with someone I know and
knows me.  That costs me more than many of the wholesale B&T, but it doesn't
cost my customers anymore than retail.  The value of my business is in the
SERVICE, not in*your* price break on parts.

>Sure a 20% markup is fine if the mechanic knows how to buy it reasonably
>in the first place.

A mechanic is there to fix your car, not shop *your* price.  Every shop has a
right to charge list, you develop a relationship you can *ask* for a
discount, or take your business to someone that does.  Good luck.

>Try $700.00 for a hydraulic pump when I can get an OEM one for $300.00.
>Or $500.00 for a radiator when I can get one for $250.00.
>Or a $140.00 for a speedo sensor switch when I can get one for $75.00.

So does the 20% markup cover the overhead of a shop or just yours?  Be
careful what you demand.  Parts and labor is a shop's business.  Squeeze the
parts out of the deal, you might just get what you ask for.  Take the parts
markup out of the equation, labor goes up.  Try running a business, not
regurgitating prices.

>Any of you want to add to this list?
>Most mechanics and shops are either ignorant of where to buy Audi parts
>or lazy or are just gouging the hell out of Audi owners.

Blanket statement standing outside the shop.  Come inside, figure out how the
heck you are going to make any money on audi book time for every quattro AND
make 15% on a parts bill, and have your car on the lift for the 3 days it
takes to get your discounted parts from a warehouse that may or may not have
it.

>Sure a reasonable profit is fair on parts but generally it is so
>ridiculously high that the average Audi owner cant afford to keep the
>car. That is why may of us have had to learn to be our own mechanics in
>the first place.

Reasonable PROFIT?  I don't ever figure markup on parts to be profitable, cuz
that's not my business.  My business is to get the frickin part (the right
one from a dependable supplier, so that I don't do the same job twice), and
get your car fixed.  If you can't afford to keep the car, that's not any
mechanic's fault, they didn't break your car, nor did they design your car.
Audi  did.  HELLO

>Also, a lot of times the mechanic is too lazy or dumb to keep up with
>simple repairs. Like the jumping speedometer and OK check system which
>is an easy fix with soldering. Oh you need a new cluster for $2,000.00

As I said before, find a good mechanic and develop a relationship.  I look at
the above, and think you are feeling ripped off.  I urge those with this "I
have a right" attitude to consider this:  There are hundreds of thousands of
audi owners that go to the dealer service network, pay full boat retail for
all parts and labor, and come away happy, keep buying audis, and could care
less what "markup" is.  Why?  Because price isn't value.

Think hard on that for a second

These lists sometimes crack me up.

Scott Justusson