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And another option in our free country is people are free to buy their own tools, spend the time to acquire the needed knowledge , and do their own repairs.
If this is bothering you, never ever hire a plumber. Their mark up on materials is 100% - 200%
Rough story on being a plumber and supplying your "own parts:"
My buddy owns a plumbing company (6-7 full time plumbers, plus 3-4 helpers). He has done everything from commercial to new celebrity mansions. So a relative of mine needs some fixtures swapped on a quick remodel on a low price condo (75K condo). Relative buys cheap faucets/fixtures at Home Depot. My buddy shows up and strongly urges NOT to install those cheap faucets as he has had issues with them before. Relative is lazy (doesn't want to return/re-buy) and says it is ok as it is a cheap condo and doesn't want to put any big money in the place.
Fast forward 6 months, faucet at kitchen sink breaks and floods the whole place! I took pictures and insurance company sent out an adjuster. Turns out the fixture did break, it was installed correctly but since a licensed plumber did it then his insurance is in play. 28K was the original damage estimate, I don't know what the total ended up at. My buddy says he had never been sued in 12 years in being in business and despite making no money on the job (as a favor to me he only charged a few hundred) he is involved in this subrogation. His insurance paid out about 10% of the claim. As a result he now informs everyone that he will not install cheap fixtures from the big box stores.
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.
Don't be silly. I said I understand a reasonable markup in price. The complaint is about unreasonable marking up. Pay attention please. As for the bulb, of cours we did it ourselves. I didn't expect them to do it. It was something they listed for us as being something we needed done.
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 ?
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,329 posts, read 54,363,738 times
Reputation: 40731
Quote:
Originally Posted by Don in Austin
And they have only to know plumbing. An auto tech has to know, plumbing, mechanics and electronics.
Don in Austin
And with many customers it just doesn't matter. I worked in motorcycle retail and there's no shortage of those who have no idea of what's actually causing their issue(s) or what's involved in fixing them, all they 'know' is you're charging them too much. I much preferred working wholesale for 2 different manufacturers/importers, for the most part I got to deal with people who understood what was going on.
I always loved this joke. Thought I would toss it in for fun.
"A mechanic was removing a cylinder-head from the motor of a Dodge SRT-4 when he spotted a well-known cardiologist in his shop.
The cardiologist was there waiting for the service manager to come take a look at his car when the mechanic shouted across the garage "Hey Doc, want to take a look at this?"
The cardiologist, a bit surprised, walked over to where the mechanic was working on the SRT. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked,
"So Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take the valves out, repair any damage, and then put them back in, and when I finish, it works just like new.
So how can I make 39,675 a year, a pretty small salary, and you get the really big bucks, $1,695,759, when you and I are doing basically the same work?"
The cardiologist paused, smiled and leaned over, then whispered to the mechanic...
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,329 posts, read 54,363,738 times
Reputation: 40731
Quote:
Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE
I always loved this joke. Thought I would toss it in for fun.
"A mechanic was removing a cylinder-head from the motor of a Dodge SRT-4 when he spotted a well-known cardiologist in his shop.
The cardiologist was there waiting for the service manager to come take a look at his car when the mechanic shouted across the garage "Hey Doc, want to take a look at this?"
The cardiologist, a bit surprised, walked over to where the mechanic was working on the SRT. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked,
"So Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take the valves out, repair any damage, and then put them back in, and when I finish, it works just like new.
So how can I make 39,675 a year, a pretty small salary, and you get the really big bucks, $1,695,759, when you and I are doing basically the same work?"
The cardiologist paused, smiled and leaned over, then whispered to the mechanic...
''Try doing it with the engine running."
I always liked that joke myself. But of course a smart mechanic would reply 'You guys stop the heart while you're working on it'
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.
All retail businesses, and auto repair shops are a retail business, buy for wholesale, and sell at retail. As others keep pointing out, there are costs involving those parts, above the part cost it self, and charging retail they recover those costs. The actual profit made off of the part, may be very small if any after all costs are added. In addition, they will be guaranteeing that part, and it goes bad real quick, they will be replacing it at no cost to the customer.
What you are asking, is that the auto repair shop, eat all of the additional expenses, and lose money to supply the customer with that part. This would be the silly thing, if they were stupid enough to do it.
Charging the customer the retail price, is a lot more fair, than jacking up the labor on all customers to cover the extra cost for supplying the parts at less than the actual amount the parts cost plus all of the incidental costs.
Don't be silly. I said I understand a reasonable markup in price. The complaint is about unreasonable marking up. Pay attention please. As for the bulb, of cours we did it ourselves. I didn't expect them to do it. It was something they listed for us as being something we needed done.
No you don’t get it if you don’t like the price go somewhere else then,this is America you have a choice. To me you want the parts for the same price that the repair shop gets them for. The automotive repair industry doesn’t operate like that, either pay or go somewhere else this isn’t let’s make a deal. Do you complain to your doctor about their prices, for a 5 minute visit.
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