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85vette · 03-28-2007, 09:24 PM

Hi guys, we're in a much better frame of mind today! I was just venting on my first post. Please allow me to clarify. I fully understand the economics of business. But I also have insight when I speak of certain unscrupulous individuals that I've had the displeasure of doing business with. I have no problem paying a reasonable and fair markup for any item. But just what constitutes reasonable and fair? From time to time I have to buy certain items from a dealership due to needing a "dealer only" item. At one point I had to have a Delco electric solonoid. I was only able to locate it at a certain dealer. I was quoted $52.XX and told they had only one in stock. Due to a commitment I had my wife stop by to pick it up. She was told they did NOT have it, but she could pay for it at the dealer and drive down to their "warehouse" and pick it up. She went to this "warehouse" (read parts house) to pick up the part and casually asked if she could have purchased the part from them and was told, yes, certainly. My wife asked how much it would cost and was given an out the door price of $23.XX.
I know I'm a little old school, but when I started in the automotive business back in the 70's, 15 to 25 percent was a usual and customary mark up. Later, in the 80's I was introduced to the "sliding scale" mark up. This is accomplished by taking an item cost factor of .01 to $9.99 and marking it up 400%. Items costing $10.00 to $19.99 would be marked up 200%, etc., etc. To my understanding this practice is still ongoing in certain dealers today. This is why there is such a broad dislike of dealerships among so many consumers. The dealers generally have the best trained technicians in the field and many of us don't mind paying a premium labor charge for the expertise, but the outrageous price of "genuine" dealer parts drives many consumers away. As I stated before, I've sold dealer parts to consumers, only to have the dept. replace the part with an obviously inferior aftermarket item yet still charge for the premium part.
Sorry to run on so long, I'm not disputing a business's right to make a profit, I just don't believe the unsuspecting consumers should be taken advantage of. So shop around folks, use the internet, it's a wonderful tool. I understand many of you want to keep your Vette all GM, and if I was doing a correct resto, or if my Vette was all original, I would too. To some of you, money is no object, and you don't need to shop around. And the dealers absolutely love you!

03-28-2007, 09:24 PM	#12
85vette Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: On the road Posts: 2,117 Name :	Hi guys, we're in a much better frame of mind today! I was just venting on my first post. Please allow me to clarify. I fully understand the economics of business. But I also have insight when I speak of certain unscrupulous individuals that I've had the displeasure of doing business with. I have no problem paying a reasonable and fair markup for any item. But just what constitutes reasonable and fair? From time to time I have to buy certain items from a dealership due to needing a "dealer only" item. At one point I had to have a Delco electric solonoid. I was only able to locate it at a certain dealer. I was quoted $52.XX and told they had only one in stock. Due to a commitment I had my wife stop by to pick it up. She was told they did NOT have it, but she could pay for it at the dealer and drive down to their "warehouse" and pick it up. She went to this "warehouse" (read parts house) to pick up the part and casually asked if she could have purchased the part from them and was told, yes, certainly. My wife asked how much it would cost and was given an out the door price of $23.XX. I know I'm a little old school, but when I started in the automotive business back in the 70's, 15 to 25 percent was a usual and customary mark up. Later, in the 80's I was introduced to the "sliding scale" mark up. This is accomplished by taking an item cost factor of .01 to $9.99 and marking it up 400%. Items costing $10.00 to $19.99 would be marked up 200%, etc., etc. To my understanding this practice is still ongoing in certain dealers today. This is why there is such a broad dislike of dealerships among so many consumers. The dealers generally have the best trained technicians in the field and many of us don't mind paying a premium labor charge for the expertise, but the outrageous price of "genuine" dealer parts drives many consumers away. As I stated before, I've sold dealer parts to consumers, only to have the dept. replace the part with an obviously inferior aftermarket item yet still charge for the premium part. Sorry to run on so long, I'm not disputing a business's right to make a profit, I just don't believe the unsuspecting consumers should be taken advantage of. So shop around folks, use the internet, it's a wonderful tool. I understand many of you want to keep your Vette all GM, and if I was doing a correct resto, or if my Vette was all original, I would too. To some of you, money is no object, and you don't need to shop around. And the dealers absolutely love you!