Facebook does have a positive side. It gets corrupt car dealers moving.

[mmpsteve]

I still don’t understand the shortage. I work in a small industrial park in sellersburg, there’s a set of railroad tracks at the entrance to the park, every single day there are at least a half dozen miles long trains with nothing but car haulers FULL of new Fords heading north. Where are all of those vehicles going?

I don't know about those ones, but this guy discovered 40,000 Super Duties parked at a Kentucky Speedway in the out parking lots, waiting on various parts supposedly.. Real good video with his drone, one of my favorite youtubers.



.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Those car dealers...

You should see what they do to protect their daughters! It starts in chapter two

Amazon product ASIN 1958603031

 

[thunderchicken]

I don't know about those ones, but this guy discovered 40,000 Super Duties parked at a Kentucky Speedway in the out parking lots, waiting on various parts supposedly.. Real good video with his drone, one of my favorite youtubers.

At this point I believe the chip and parts shortages are still effecting new car supply.
We've had several vehicles that we had to park and wait for parts. Sometimes for months or had to order parts and limp the cars along because there's not even an estimated release date for the parts. This is going on both in the OEM side and aftermarket. It's a crap shoot what is available. The performance side is even worse.
As for dealers, I've lost trust in about all of them. Don Hinds service dept is as bad or worse than any I've ever dealt with or heard of in regard to poor service. Sent a cop car for warranty repair once and after a month the cop had to go get a couple items out of the trunk. When he arrived he discovered the technician was using the car to store floor tiles for his bathroom floor in it. Sent one for a trans leak and was told the case was cracked and had to be replaced. Checked it when it returned, original case was in the car. After a couple calls the service mgr found the new trans case (tax payers bought) under the technicians work bench. The trans was still leaking so it went back to be properly repaired. Good help is hard to find and integrity is even harder to find.

I had a good experience with Capital City Ford though. Don't have anything bad to say about them. But, haven't dealt with them as much as others yet.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

Take a look at Steve Lehto's youtube channel. Specifically, watch the one about why his mother bought an import.

Caution: your BP may rise.

 

[Brandon]

Dellen in Greenfield treated me well back in the early 00s.

Family went to buy a car there a couple of years ago and weren't acknowledged when they walked in the showroom.

 

[STAGE 2]

Tom wood Subaru refused to work on my car because I brought in my own parts despite having done this for several years without issue. I’m not talking about anything from NAPA either but factory Subaru parts. They said they weren’t making any money if they couldn’t charge me for parts. So I told them I’d buy the parts from them since it sounded like they weren’t charging labor. He wasn’t amused but neither was I. But hey their house their rules. I didn’t get a reply after I emailed them the receipts from the next repair I had from another shop, but I’m confident the point was made.

 

[Tactically Fat]

We "ordered" a van at two different dealerships back in January of this year - knowing that our '09 van may not make it until the inventory shortages are over and we could literally take our pick of dealerships / vehicles based on myriad factors.

When we started, only Beck Toyota and O'Brien Toyota were the only area Toyota dealerships we inquired of who weren't adding in market adjustments to new vehicles. In between then and now, Beck did start adding in a fee so some kind, I don't know if O'Brien is or not.

Our previous experience at Beck led us to shop there again this time 'round. And how nicely I've been treated at the service department at O'Brien led me to inquire there this time 'round.

Between you, me, and my friends here - I wish O'Brien would've been able to source the vehicle before Beck because I preferred communicating with that salesperson moreso than the other.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Andy, blossom, not sure about skillman. I would never tske a car to skillman for repairs. Neveeeeer nevvver never ever never. I quit taking my work truck there because of their shenanigans.

Yeah. On my old car TPS was throwing errors on the dash, but not logging a code.

3x I was told by skillman there was nothing they could do without a code.
on the 4th go it was taken in at 95K for one more stab while still under warranty. Same hesitant story when dropping it off.

But while I was waiting for my ride, she came and got me and told me the electronics warranty was only good for 75k. "But since its no longer under warranty, they were POSITIVE they could get to the bottom of it by changing some parts. " EXCUSE ME?!! I chewed her out over the fact that when THEY were paying, there was NOTHING they could do. But now that its MY money on the table, they'd happily spend it. I took my keys and left.

Bastards.

 

[Cameramonkey]

In the future, work directly with the Finance Arm and not the dealer. The dealer is just a broker looking for a cut at that point. It's the finance arm that owns the vehicle and has the agreement with you, whether a lease or a captive loan.

They'll literally say your balance is x, you'll send x and within a couple of weeks your paperwork and title show up. No additional fees or runaround. Dealerships suck, even more so right now.

Couldnt. Finance called me to start the process and see what my plans were about 2 months out. I was happy to deal direct since it was just sending them the money for the residual. She checked and said in Indiana you must go through a dealer.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

Tom wood Subaru refused to work on my car because I brought in my own parts despite having done this for several years without issue. I’m not talking about anything from NAPA either but factory Subaru parts. They said they weren’t making any money if they couldn’t charge me for parts. So I told them I’d buy the parts from them since it sounded like they weren’t charging labor. He wasn’t amused but neither was I. But hey their house their rules. I didn’t get a reply after I emailed them the receipts from the next repair I had from another shop, but I’m confident the point was made.

Heck the local mechanic I use when it's something I don't want to or can't do recommended I order the parts. He told me it would be much cheaper for me to go online and have them delivered then bring them and the vehicle in then for him to get them from the local store. He even had me come to the office and pointed out which one to get on his computer. He said this one costs more but it would be cheaper because labor costs would be lower. It was for an exhaust on a minivan. He said the one would bolt right up and while the other was supposed to he would have to cut and weld it to get it to fit right.

 

[Rookie]

Couldnt. Finance called me to start the process and see what my plans were about 2 months out. I was happy to deal direct since it was just sending them the money for the residual. She checked and said in Indiana you must go through a dealer.

Somebody lied to you. I just bought out my lease earlier this year. The stealership wanted $4,000 for title fees, processing, and whatever other ******** they came up with. My wife called Chrysler Capital up and they said they didn't care who the check came from as long as they got $××,×××. We went to our bank, got the loan, and they sent the check to Chrysler Capital.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Somebody lied to you. I just bought out my lease earlier this year. The stealership wanted $4,000 for title fees, processing, and whatever other ******** they came up with. My wife called Chrysler Capital up and they said they didn't care who the check came from as long as they got $××,×××. We went to our bank, got the loan, and they sent the check to Chrysler Capital.

no, it was somebody with a bad list at Kia Finanace. It was the lease holder that called me, not the dealer. She wanted to do the deal but said she couldnt.

 

[yeti rider]

Tom wood Subaru refused to work on my car because I brought in my own parts despite having done this for several years without issue. I’m not talking about anything from NAPA either but factory Subaru parts. They said they weren’t making any money if they couldn’t charge me for parts. So I told them I’d buy the parts from them since it sounded like they weren’t charging labor. He wasn’t amused but neither was I. But hey their house their rules. I didn’t get a reply after I emailed them the receipts from the next repair I had from another shop, but I’m confident the point was made.

As a repair shop owner, I'm gonna say that is pretty standard practice. Everyone knows you need to make money to stay in business, and the percentage they make on the parts that they sell is no different. I would liken it to taking your own food in to a dining establishment.

Edited to add-There is a repair shop that is local to me that has a sign on the wall that reads, "If you are smart enough to order your own parts, you are smart enough to put them on".

 

[STAGE 2]

As a repair shop owner, I'm gonna say that is pretty standard practice. Everyone knows you need to make money to stay in business, and the percentage they make on the parts that they sell is no different. I would liken it to taking your own food in to a dining establishment.

Edited to add-There is a repair shop that is local to me that has a sign on the wall that reads, "If you are smart enough to order your own parts, you are smart enough to put them on".

I disagree completely. In decades of doing this I’ve never had a shop, dealer or otherwise refuse to install OEM parts that I have supplied. That’s both here in Indiana as well as all over Southern California. Even Tom Wood had no problem with it in the 2 years I brought my vehicle to them before the pandemic hit. That’s why I was so peeved. They only changed their tune because their service department had to make up for the loss of revenue in the sales department.

What Really bothers me is that it’s a knee jerk decision that isn’t founded in intelligence. Nowadays the number of people who bring their own parts into a dealership is statistically insignificant compared to the total number of cars serviced. So by insisting on this stupid policy they have actually lost more revenue then if they would have just kept letting me bring in my own parts.

Same with the dunce who is running your local repair shop. Again, his house his rules, but all he is doing is turning away business from a group that could be terribly beneficial. People who supply their own parts are usually very mechanically inclined, so it’s not a lack of knowledge but a lack of time, garage space or a lift that is forcing them to go to a shop. If I were him I’d do everything I could to earn a reputation with those people as being know as a good mechanic among car guys is what can keep customers coming not for years but generations.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Is this where I'm supposed to complain that the thread didnt stay on topic?

 

[Ingomike]

Is this where I'm supposed to complain that the thread didnt stay on topic?

Did you get your check?

 

[Hoosierdood]

I disagree completely. In decades of doing this I’ve never had a shop, dealer or otherwise refuse to install OEM parts that I have supplied. That’s both here in Indiana as well as all over Southern California. Even Tom Wood had no problem with it in the 2 years I brought my vehicle to them before the pandemic hit. That’s why I was so peeved. They only changed their tune because their service department had to make up for the loss of revenue in the sales department.

What Really bothers me is that it’s a knee jerk decision that isn’t founded in intelligence. Nowadays the number of people who bring their own parts into a dealership is statistically insignificant compared to the total number of cars serviced. So by insisting on this stupid policy they have actually lost more revenue then if they would have just kept letting me bring in my own parts.

Same with the dunce who is running your local repair shop. Again, his house his rules, but all he is doing is turning away business from a group that could be terribly beneficial. People who supply their own parts are usually very mechanically inclined, so it’s not a lack of knowledge but a lack of time, garage space or a lift that is forcing them to go to a shop. If I were him I’d do everything I could to earn a reputation with those people as being know as a good mechanic among car guys is what can keep customers coming not for years but generations.

Those shops aren’t losing any money. They likely have repairs scheduled for weeks out. They have plenty of business where they make money from both parts and service. They don’t need your money to keep them in business. They have enough business from others.

FYI, I work at a John Deere dealership and we very seldom have people bring in their own parts, but we will take the work if it’s OEM parts. Haven’t turned anyone away yet, but we definitely aren’t hurting for the business.

 

[eric001]

I'll be sticking with O'Brien Toyota from here on out. Their service dept. is top notch and I will NOT take a vehicle to any other dealership for service any more. They don't play games or shenanigans of any kind at O'Brien.

Oh, and as of last month, they're not doing market mark-ups either--the downside of that is they have a longer wait list for new vehicles due to the higher number of orders they're putting in vs. other dealerships that are upcharging like crazy.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Edited to add-There is a repair shop that is local to me that has a sign on the wall that reads, "If you are smart enough to order your own parts, you are smart enough to put them on".

I used to go to a guy that had a sign up saying something to the effect of, "Labor = $50/hr. If you watch, $60/hr. If you help, $75/hr."

 

[Frosty]

I used to go to a guy that had a sign up saying something to the effect of, "Labor = $50/hr. If you watch, $60/hr. If you help, $75/hr."

I saw one similar, I think it said “if you tried to fix it first $100/hr”