Clair Parts

[David Head]

Even though Linda @ Carlsen has retired, Didi is great - when I punched out my
oil pan last week she told me what depot they were in and then said to get it
faster order it via the V8 program through the local dealer as long as it was
before 2:00pm. Even though that didn't work out and I eventually ordered it
through Mac @ Clair, the fact that she would spend close to 10 min on the phone
with me then urge me to not get the part through her impressed me deeply!!!
One thing Carlsen will do that Clair will not is source through other vendors
than VAG - which is why they can discount even more...

Brett Dikeman wrote:

> At 5:41 PM -0400 10/25/01, Christopher Ritchie wrote:
>
> >I live near Clair, and buy parts there frequently.  If you go to the
> >Clair Audi (and Porsche and Honda) Parts Dept., you will pay
> >whatever Audi list is.  They used to sometimes give you an "Internet
> >discount" there if you asked, but they never really liked to.
>
> If you talk to Mac, he gives you the discount.  I always say, "Hi
> Mac, it's Brett Dikeman from the audifans list" etc.  When I get the
> invoice, there's a note in one of the columns that says "internet
> discount", I believe.  I'd have to check.
>
> >That part of Clair is called Clair Parts Express.  It is separate
> >from the retail-over-the-counter selling of parts.  This is where
> >your mechanic goes to get his parts.  I'm not sure if they would
> >give you much help in looking through catalogs for part numbers.
> >   But I have ordered common stuff there by description without part
> >numbers.  This is where Mac is.
>
> Yup, and he really goes the mile.  He always calls me back, always is
> happy to look up stuff, etc.  I once faxed him a list of parts about
> 12 items long, for various trim pieces and stuff.  I stressed "no
> rush, this is just to sort of fix up things that have broken or don't
> look pretty anymore."
>
> Next morning(I sent him the fax around 4pm) I had a voicemail from
> him and a fax of a complete quote waiting for me complete with a few
> scribbled little notes next to some of the PN's.    He also once went
> on a mission to find a part number for the Porsche bypass valve
> that's supposedly a good replacement for the 20vt one.  Called me
> back, said he wandered around the Porsche service area, found a tech,
> talked to him etc.
>
> The one goof up was when I ordered a replacement crankcase breather
> hose, and picked it up the next morning.  The guy(not Mac) handed it
> to me, and it was some sort of valve.  "Nope, this isn't it."  "You
> sure?"  "Umm...yeah.  Crankcase breather hose. This is a valve"  Guy
> laughed.."yeah, that's certainly not a hose.  One sec."  He tracked
> down the right part number within a few minutes, and explained that
> someone had slapped the wrong label on the plastic bag so when
> someone pulled the part for mac, I got the wrong one.  Whoops!
>
> >   If you email them, they will respond very quickly-within hours.
> >
> >I'm sure there are certain places on certain days selling certain
> >things that beat Clair on price.  But if they do, it's not by much.
> >The discount you will get at Clair Parts Express is about the best
> >you will ever get.
>
> Agreed, I've always been happy with Clair pricing.
>
> >  I doubt they are open nights, but I think they have some Saturday hours.
>
> Yup, they do.  They will also leave items with the front desk
> attendant if the dealership is open and you're in a bind; try to pay
> in advance, don't use it all the time, etc(be nice.)
>
> Now that Linda's gone, should we make Mac our new list bud?  Of
> course, we probably had a hand in driving Linda into retirement,
> mentally :-)  If they were on commission(I wouldn't think so), we
> probably drove her to retirement financially rather quickly :-)
>
> B
> --
> ----
> "They that give up essential liberty to obtain temporary
> safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
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