New Car Dealers: Can they offer the total package?

“Call the dealer,” is often the mantra at shops when apart could not be found. At one shop where I worked, it often meant that we would send Jimmy, our parts driver, out to get the part. Jimmy drove like an old lady or a complete bastard, which meant that your part was either late or in the police impounded.
But, there were some dealers that who stocked stuff that could not be found through aftermarket channels, like the one Dodge dealer who had the best stock of Dana 4x4 hub and axle parts. This article by Mitch Scneider, from AftermarketNews.com and COUNTERMAN makes some good points about the situations many shops find themselves in…

GETTING HOSED
By Mitch Schneider
mschneider@babcox.com

“We were working on a fairly large job that required the replacement of one last molded heater hose for completion. The person who orders the parts found it at a local dealership — the only problem was that it couldn’t be delivered until the following afternoon. The technician working on the vehicle was focused on completing the job on-time and ran over to the local parts house. Without looking at the invoice, he picked up the aftermarket equivalent heater hose and installed it. Soon thereafter, the original equipment part arrived from the dealership. The aftermarket part was $38.89 net. The dealership part was $8.89. That’s right: $38.89 versus $8.89 — a $30.00 price differential.”

Admittedly, there was a difference in the two hoses. The aftermarket hose was slightly longer…not $30 longer, but longer, nonetheless!

Read the rest at Counterman/Aftermarketnews Website