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Is it normal for auto shops to charge more for parts ? I need a v-belt put on & the auto shop said it will cost 20-30 dollars when I know they only pay 10.00 or more for the belt. I know where they buy their parts in town. Also what is your opinion on adjustable V-belts for cars ?
First they are allowed to make a profit. We don't know what it cost them to keep that belt on site or what there overhead is. If it is that much of a deal maybe you should see if you supply the part will they put it on?
Secondly, although you could get a belt for $10 we do not know for sure if you are paying for the same belt or a different one. When I buy for myself I look for a deal. Do you know if the shop is buying the same cheaper belt or are they buying a more longer lasting belt, or a name brand belt?
Third, handling charges are a pain. How does the $10 belt get to them? Do they need to pick it up? Is it shipped? Do they pay any other amount over the cost of the belt to get it to you?
In the end it does not matter what they charge. You don't get to make up their price to fix your car. They are doing the work they can charge what ever they want to charge for parts.
Is it normal for auto shops to charge more for parts ? I need a v-belt put on & the auto shop said it will cost 20-30 dollars when I know they only pay 10.00 or more for the belt. I know where they buy their parts in town. Also what is your opinion on adjustable V-belts for cars ?
Auto shops as a rule generally charge full retail for parts they procure and install. It's been this way forever.
The shop owner said a belt will run me 20 to 30 dollars but I know it will only cost them 10.00 - 15.00. Four yrs ago when they installed a fuel punp they charged me 40.00 + tax. I checked afterwards & was told they paid $20.00 + tax for the same fuel pump. A friend of mine works at the parts store where the shop buy parts. The 1 hr shop labor to install the belt is $85.00 (measure belt & "roll" it on)
So you want them to charge you 10 bucks for the belt? Nevermind they had to drive to go get the belt, or do they have it delivered, and how much did it cost them to have it delivered, or did it cost them. Either way, they had to deal with getting the belt. I havent seen a shop in a long time that charges by the job, most of them I know of are by the hour, and you pay for the full hour regardless of how long it took. You could always complain to them about it. As mentioned, you could do it yourself, but you dont want to so pay the man!
Some repair shop software has a parts pricing matrix where the less the part costs the great the % markup. This is actually reasonable if you think about it. Were they going to put the bulb in for free? If so, then I can tell you the shop is not getting wealthy over this type of transaction.
Don in Austin
It was part of a state inspection. The $13.50 was rhe price for the part, I didn't look at labor charge. The little bulb takes 5 seconds to put in. I don't know how they charge labor for 5 seconds. Our rear brakes failed on a 1998 cavalier. They were going to make enough if I had decided to have them fixed there. I didn't because they wanted $450 plus to do a simple rear brake job on an older car. Getting it done by a friend for a $100 and with parts it will cost $200 total. I can understand the shop charging more, like $250-300, but $450 is just too much on that car. That car is probably only worth $500. On a newer car, I might accept that kind of mark up, but not these markups.
It was part of a state inspection. The $13.50 was rhe price for the part, I didn't look at labor charge. The little bulb takes 5 seconds to put in. I don't know how they charge labor for 5 seconds. Our rear brakes failed on a 1998 cavalier. They were going to make enough if I had decided to have them fixed there. I didn't because they wanted $450 plus to do a simple rear brake job on an older car. Getting it done by a friend for a $100 and with parts it will cost $200 total. I can understand the shop charging more, like $250-300, but $450 is just too much on that car. That car is probably only worth $500. On a newer car, I might accept that kind of mark up, but not these markups.
Then from now on have your friend do all your repairs, a shop is in business to make money so what if it takes 5 seconds to put a bulb in, a repair shop has overhead, you just don’t get it do you do your own work or pay the man, it’s that simple.
What is going on with businesses thinking they can buy something for one price at sell it another? Outrageous!!
Don in Austin
It's called transparency. Auto shops shouldn't be marking up parts. It's deceiving. If you need to charge more labor than do that instead of marking up parts. It's silly and customers do go and look up part prices.
do you really think that a shop is going you give you the parts for what they pay for them? repair shops are going to mark up the parts to make money, that is the nature of the business. you cant make money only on labor.
but lets put this in another type of business, the supermarket for instance, do you really think that you pay the same price for items that the store paid?
businesses are in business to make money, not give things away.
Sure you can. Up your labor rate to make up the difference. Pretty easy. Customer will end up paying the same amount and mechanic will make same amount, but it will be very transparent.
Years ago I was quoted $750 to replace the knock sensor in my wife's old '99 Maxima. About $400 of that was for the part alone.
The OEM sensor cost $50 at max, no matter where you bought it from.
I might be able to understand a few dollars, but a 700% markup? Nope. Learned to replace it myself.
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