Quote:
Originally posted by stevebfl
Back to mark-up. A new BMW radiator for a 540 or 740 costs 185 dollars from the dealer if he sells it at suggested list price. Now if you work for parts companies that sell that radiator for 220 and suggest a retail price of $600 you may see what goes on in small, know nothing, shops.
Take that radiator for your 89 300e, I just looked on my suppliers site and MB list is $184, my cost is 147 for a Behr and 132 for a Nissens (which is the better radiator - thicker reinforced plastic). I don't have a calculator but looks like I don't get my average on that one. Looks like radiators aren't such a money maker, I just looked at fastlane (same source with same options). Looks like you save 1.84 of list price. I'm not BSing you, BS don't walk on the internet. Check me out.
No one that knows what they are doing on MBs is selling that radiator for $528 (300% on the Nissens). Your, buy it locally, know nothing specific, shop might do that if he has the wrong general supplier.
The point here is local parts suppliers apply some sort of BS list to whatever they have for sale and you get some nice guy who says he doesn't need to charge list and gives you a break by only charging 428 for that 184 dollar radiator.
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I was willing to get quiet and observe the "Code of Silence" for the auto repair industry until I read this. Granted the carefully selected examples make my point seem false but I have the figures to back up my claim. These prices are from invoices that I have in my hands at the moment. They are from an
OEM FRANCHISE THAT SELLS TO DEALERS, not some 'fly by night' parts house:
Application: component list cost
96 'full size sedan' A/C compressor $626 $253.33
95 'pickup' A/C compressor $476.94 $149.36
98-2000 sedan radiator $311.32 $119.10
97 SUV A/C pressure hose $129.30 $44.32
95-03 mid size car radiator $181.50 $109.00
95-01 mid size car radiator $207.94 $108.75
I don't have a problem with shops charging what they SAY they will charge. Just be honest and up front. By the time you charge $? per hour and then double or triple your money on parts then you have the
appearance
of being dishonest.
To all of you who don't believe this, get a quote on a repair. After you get the quote tell them you have your own parts already. See what happens.