Ford Parts Dept. Markups
10-09-2016, 01:59 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,149
Ford Parts Dept. Markups
Ford Parts Dept. Markups
About the only complaint have have with Ford is the markup "they allow Dealer's Parts Departments" to charge to, I believe rip of the auto insurance companies. On some items I have seen 400 to 450% markup on items like Ford wheels, etc. Get in an accident & need a Ford Wheel & good luck! Example: I needed a very small Ecoboost Badge & Ford wanted $78.00 plus tax! I bought the original badge on Ebay for $12.00 delivered! I checked the price for 4 wheels of a the 2015 Anniversary Mustang. The price was over $4200. "wheels only"! The manufacturer charges about $1300. full retail! IT GIVES FORD THE REPUTATION OF CROOKS WHEN IT ALLOWS ITS PARTS DEPARTMENTS TO RIP OFF CUSTOMERS!! Many people won't go near a Ford Service Dept. unless it is an in warranty issue & this is a big part of the reason!
I had work done on a Ford Truck & told the manager I was going for a great taco. He said he loved Tacos! I brought him back a big taco with no "deal" in mind. When he gave me my bill it was really high so I said, "Any chance you just charge me for the "hours" of labor the mechanic actually used to do the work plus the cost of the parts... & no extra labor for the shop? The bill showed 4.5 hours of labor & I was gone about 1.5 hours & the truck was done ready to be picked up! He laughed & reduced the bill two hours! Another Ford Dealer wanted 2.4 hours to put on some Ford mirrors! I went home & directed my completely unmechanical wife that never picks up a screwdriver, & it took her 24 minutes to do the job! Yes, I know some mechanics are faster & have an investment in tools to save time..... but come on! Most of us just want fairness! Yes, most other manufacturers over charge too! In all fairness I have had mechanics do something very simple without writing it up! My current Ford dealer is a thief in the Parts Dept., but I've bought two cars this year because sales & service is very fair.... but a pox on the Parts Dept.!
Hope someone from Ford reads this!
About the only complaint have have with Ford is the markup "they allow Dealer's Parts Departments" to charge to, I believe rip of the auto insurance companies. On some items I have seen 400 to 450% markup on items like Ford wheels, etc. Get in an accident & need a Ford Wheel & good luck! Example: I needed a very small Ecoboost Badge & Ford wanted $78.00 plus tax! I bought the original badge on Ebay for $12.00 delivered! I checked the price for 4 wheels of a the 2015 Anniversary Mustang. The price was over $4200. "wheels only"! The manufacturer charges about $1300. full retail! IT GIVES FORD THE REPUTATION OF CROOKS WHEN IT ALLOWS ITS PARTS DEPARTMENTS TO RIP OFF CUSTOMERS!! Many people won't go near a Ford Service Dept. unless it is an in warranty issue & this is a big part of the reason!
I had work done on a Ford Truck & told the manager I was going for a great taco. He said he loved Tacos! I brought him back a big taco with no "deal" in mind. When he gave me my bill it was really high so I said, "Any chance you just charge me for the "hours" of labor the mechanic actually used to do the work plus the cost of the parts... & no extra labor for the shop? The bill showed 4.5 hours of labor & I was gone about 1.5 hours & the truck was done ready to be picked up! He laughed & reduced the bill two hours! Another Ford Dealer wanted 2.4 hours to put on some Ford mirrors! I went home & directed my completely unmechanical wife that never picks up a screwdriver, & it took her 24 minutes to do the job! Yes, I know some mechanics are faster & have an investment in tools to save time..... but come on! Most of us just want fairness! Yes, most other manufacturers over charge too! In all fairness I have had mechanics do something very simple without writing it up! My current Ford dealer is a thief in the Parts Dept., but I've bought two cars this year because sales & service is very fair.... but a pox on the Parts Dept.!
Hope someone from Ford reads this!
10-09-2016, 07:59 AM
#2
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Michigan again!
Posts: 8,577
The book rates for time to do the work are pretty much the industry standard. And any decent mechanic can do the work in less time than the book rates call for on any given job. I had a client that made an extremely good living because he did the work in much less time than the book rate and made good bonuses for doing so.
On parts, get to know the parts guy at the dealership. They have a lot of leeway on how much to charge. If I order a part now he always says "well, it says $X but I can get it for you at $M" He probably could do better if I pushed for it I suspect.
On parts, get to know the parts guy at the dealership. They have a lot of leeway on how much to charge. If I order a part now he always says "well, it says $X but I can get it for you at $M" He probably could do better if I pushed for it I suspect.
10-12-2016, 02:44 AM
#3
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,149
The book rates for time to do the work are pretty much the industry standard. And any decent mechanic can do the work in less time than the book rates call for on any given job. I had a client that made an extremely good living because he did the work in much less time than the book rate and made good bonuses for doing so.
On parts, get to know the parts guy at the dealership. They have a lot of leeway on how much to charge. If I order a part now he always says "well, it says $X but I can get it for you at $M" He probably could do better if I pushed for it I suspect.
On parts, get to know the parts guy at the dealership. They have a lot of leeway on how much to charge. If I order a part now he always says "well, it says $X but I can get it for you at $M" He probably could do better if I pushed for it I suspect.
10-12-2016, 02:13 PM
#5
Gentleman's Relish
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: AZ
Posts: 13,090
I just buy the Ford/Motorcraft parts either on E-bay, Rockauto, or from Fordparts.com
E-bay you will usually get really competitive prices on stuff from various dealers, clearance houses, or lot purchases. Sometimes someone will have a one-off at a great price of exactly what you need. Recently I picked up a replacement fan setup for our 06 Escape. Everyone and their brother wanted $240+ for a new OEM setup (shroud, two fans, and two motors) Found a listing for $110 and free shipping. It was genuine and brand new.
Rock Auto does pretty well on most OEM parts for Ford, sometimes only charging half of what the dealers want.
Ford Parts - I use them to look up the OEM part for our vehicles then I do some price comparison between various dealers (nice function that fordparts offers) There are a couple of dealers I favor heavily as the are generally 30-40 % less than other dealers. Price are sometimes as good as Rock Auto but in instances where Rock Auto doesn't have the part I need, I rely on either E-bay or Ford Parts.
As for the mechanic, there's something else you have to consider too. I'm not sure if dealer service centers are the same but most of the shops I've worked with in the past, mechanics generally get paid on a couple of different items -
One is what kind of certifications they hold
Second is how many hours they flag. Flagged hours are based on the jobs they do (by the book)
The shop charges a labor rate of lets say $100 an hour.
The Mechanic lets say only holds a couple ASE or other specialty certs so he's a Tech Level 1
Tech level one might only flag $15 a book hour.
Another Tech has more certs and/or experience so he's a Tech level two that flags $20 a book hour.
An ASE Master tech may book up to $45 to $50 an hour or more
The shop has to cover its overhead for the bays, the lifts, insurance, and any other things the shop is responsible to cover.
So, generally speaking and again, depending on the shop, they pay their Mechanics based on teh book hours they do. If you charge less for a job because in reality it takes less time than what the book says, one of two things will happen, A) the Mechanic loses some of the book hours as well because of the discount, or B) the shop eats the entire discount. I highly doubt a shop will eat the discount by itself, It will probably cut the job for the mechanic as well.
None of that applies to Salaried mechanics of course but as a shop owner that wouldn't make much sense to me because then there's no incentive to get cars cranked out with minimal returns. Returns usually means the mechanic is working for free to fix the problem they caused or overlooked cos they were in a rush.
E-bay you will usually get really competitive prices on stuff from various dealers, clearance houses, or lot purchases. Sometimes someone will have a one-off at a great price of exactly what you need. Recently I picked up a replacement fan setup for our 06 Escape. Everyone and their brother wanted $240+ for a new OEM setup (shroud, two fans, and two motors) Found a listing for $110 and free shipping. It was genuine and brand new.
Rock Auto does pretty well on most OEM parts for Ford, sometimes only charging half of what the dealers want.
Ford Parts - I use them to look up the OEM part for our vehicles then I do some price comparison between various dealers (nice function that fordparts offers) There are a couple of dealers I favor heavily as the are generally 30-40 % less than other dealers. Price are sometimes as good as Rock Auto but in instances where Rock Auto doesn't have the part I need, I rely on either E-bay or Ford Parts.
As for the mechanic, there's something else you have to consider too. I'm not sure if dealer service centers are the same but most of the shops I've worked with in the past, mechanics generally get paid on a couple of different items -
One is what kind of certifications they hold
Second is how many hours they flag. Flagged hours are based on the jobs they do (by the book)
The shop charges a labor rate of lets say $100 an hour.
The Mechanic lets say only holds a couple ASE or other specialty certs so he's a Tech Level 1
Tech level one might only flag $15 a book hour.
Another Tech has more certs and/or experience so he's a Tech level two that flags $20 a book hour.
An ASE Master tech may book up to $45 to $50 an hour or more
The shop has to cover its overhead for the bays, the lifts, insurance, and any other things the shop is responsible to cover.
So, generally speaking and again, depending on the shop, they pay their Mechanics based on teh book hours they do. If you charge less for a job because in reality it takes less time than what the book says, one of two things will happen, A) the Mechanic loses some of the book hours as well because of the discount, or B) the shop eats the entire discount. I highly doubt a shop will eat the discount by itself, It will probably cut the job for the mechanic as well.
None of that applies to Salaried mechanics of course but as a shop owner that wouldn't make much sense to me because then there's no incentive to get cars cranked out with minimal returns. Returns usually means the mechanic is working for free to fix the problem they caused or overlooked cos they were in a rush.
10-12-2016, 05:21 PM
#6
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: MT
Posts: 276
I never buy parts at the local dealer. I have talked to them at length and they say it is policy to charge list. Unfortunately, I have no loyalty to the dealer, especially this dealer. I even get a better deal with out of state dealers when traveling. Try Auto Nation Ford of White Bear Lake. They sell lots of parts online.
10-15-2016, 04:22 AM
#7
4th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,149
You would think Ford Dealers & the others makers would see ripping off customers is not in their long term best interest! They don't make most of their money selling cars, but in service & parts! If most Ford buyers avoid the dealership after buying a car... how is that not short sighted, dumb business! I use a good shop even it it costs just as much because likely I can talk directly to the mechanic before & after the repair & build a relationship! I also go to a small private pharmacy because they recognize me & know about my needs! Most people just want to be treated fairly! I made a lot of money with a second business selling carpet & flooring! I simply was completely honest & tried to do a the best job & give the best price I could to the customer! That's all reasonable people want! When people treat me well I'm a walking, talking advertisement for them because they deserve my support!
10-15-2016, 08:05 AM
#8
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: wisconsin
Posts: 2,260
its called a free market, if you dont like the prices go to another dealer that charges less. its not a "rip off", you were quoted a price for work to be done, then because the technician got it done faster , (in no small part due to his training, experience, and $50k worth of tools all designed to help him work efficiently), you want to get charged less than book time/what was quoted? the stupid is strong in this thread
10-17-2016, 08:15 PM
#9
4th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,149
its called a free market, if you dont like the prices go to another dealer that charges less. its not a "rip off", you were quoted a price for work to be done, then because the technician got it done faster , (in no small part due to his training, experience, and $50k worth of tools all designed to help him work efficiently), you want to get charged less than book time/what was quoted? the stupid is strong in this thread
10-18-2016, 08:20 AM
#10
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: wisconsin
Posts: 2,260
Your comment on "labor prices" makes me think you didn't read my posts carefully! Many parts have to come from Ford & you are stuck with the pricesAll I want is "reasonable" markups! Bank of America & Wells Fargo & many others have been proven to have defrauded their customers! How many times can you change banks to find an honest one?? At last we have a Federal Agency designed to protect consumers... UNLESS Trump gets elected... & then it will be gone!