Re: grand theft auto(repair)was Clutch Replacement 90CQ

[vw-audisport@att.net]

As a shop owner for the past 17 years, I can see some 
valid points on both sides of the discussion. We do 
normally charge the same for labor whether we supply the 
parts or not, the very occasional exception being when 
someone's parts are not right for whatever reason. Once 
the car & parts are dropped off, the customer seems to 
expect us to deal with his supplier to correct the 
problem with his parts, this takes our time to correct 
something we were not responsible for & should recieve 
some sort of compensation for. Most of the time, this is 
not the case luckily, it seems to happen more with the 
local parts house (generic parts store) as opposed to the 
specialty suppliers. Mike S. said the customer assumed 
dealing with any future problems as far as warranty 
claims-our policy exactly.
  As far as repair shops parts prices being much more 
than other sources, it is tough to compete with some of 
the large supppliers who buy at a better price due to a 
much larger volume. We certainly do rely on the 
profit from parts to help with the cost associated with 
running the business-labor costs certainly cover a large 
portion of the overhead, but there are other costs as 
well. We offer the best quality parts at a fair price to 
our customers, if they want to try spend time to save 
some money & are willing to assume some of the risks as 
well, that is fine. 
   In closing, as  Stephen said, it is a free 
marketplace, find someone who is willing to work with 
your parts. If you feel like a trip to California, we 
will gladly install your parts for you !
Ron Wood-VW Specialties