Beware...parts vendors

[treilley_at_BANKMARK@conseco.com (treilley)]

     Ok, I consider myself a relatively intelligent person.  Boy did I get 
     raked for some Strut bearings.  A few months ago I bought 2 strut 
     bearings from AutoSport in Vermont.  Guess how much I was charged?  
     $20ea?...$30ea?  How about $39 each!  That is almost $100 for 2 strut 
     bearings with shipping!  Well I recently found that strut bearing go 
     for anywhere between $12 and $20 each.  I called AutoSport and they 
     said "Oh, well we did not have any in stock so we bought them from a 
     local dealer for you and shipped them".  I checked with dealers and 
     their price is less than $39ea.  So Autosport did me a great favor.  
     They bought parts at a dealer, marked them up and shipped them to me 
     without any kind of idea what they did.  I have 2 dealers here in NJ 
     within 20 mintues.  I could have bought these cheaper at a dealer 
     including transportation than what Autosport sold them to me for.
     
     And you guys/gals think dealer prices are high!
     
     For a couple of bucks, these people have lost my business forever.  
     The lesson here is call more than one vendor;  give them all a chance 
     to rip you off.
     
     
     Tim NJ 90CQ, 77Spitfire