Parts Prices. Dealer vs Online

There are some websites that sell Chrysler OEM parts with a discount compared to suggested retail prices.

I have found that my dealer sells everything for suggested retail.

How is it that these online places can offer discounts, when the local dealerships don't? Do online retailers charge more for shipping to more than make up for the discount?

My local dealer has never charged for shipping, but does charge local sales tax, as expected.

Are there any benefits to buying online?

Thanks,

Kirk M.

Reply to
KirkM
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You're asking the question backwards: the question is how can a local dealer charge so much more for a part than on-line or NAPA? People shop NAPA and on-line to save money; they buy dealer for the security of a somebody with a Pentastar on the wall behind them to tell them it's the right part.

The dealer *can* offer discounts, and typically does offer them to shops. I used to have a good enough relationship with the Chrysler dealer in town here that they sold to me at their "shop rate", which almost the same price as NAPA (this arrangement lasted through several parts managers and dealership changes of ownership; then there was a new manager at the same time as a new owner and it went away).

You've already named it: price.

Reply to
Joe Pfeiffer

From what I understand, only dealers can sell Chrysler OEM parts. Are these websites run by dealers? I don't believe that Chrysler sells parts direct, except through "Mopar Performance."

-KM

Reply to
KirkM

The ones I've dealt with have all been dealer parts departments.

Reply to
Joe Pfeiffer

I agree with Joe.

The local dealer here - literally within sight of my house - sells for

10 to 20% over list price. I laugh when they have big banners on their windows saying "10% OFF ALL PARTS THIS WEEK ONLY!!". So that *almost* brings it down to list price. Wow! I'm so excited!

The on-line dealer I deal with almost always ships the same day I order (only one part had to be shipped the next day because they had to pull it from another dealer), and I almost always have it the next day (3 states away) by ground shipping - I have a strong feeling they are a block away from a warehouse or else the warehouse drop ships direct with their invoice. Their prices are 30-33% off list (better than even other on-line dealers), and they charge actual shipping, which comes nowhere close to making up the difference in price, especially when the local dealer has the sales tax penalty (generally 1/2 to 2/3 of the shipping cost charged by the on-line dealer).

Reply to
Bill Putney

Well, you have had a few interesting responses so I am not sure if my view will be helpful or not but, for what it is worth...

Every business has its' costs and the owners have their own expectations of income from the business. From those factors they decide what they want their mark-up/prices to be. If the market can tolerate those prices they stick with them, if not they lower their expectations or go out of business.

Sorry if that sounds condescending to state that....that is not my intent....just setting the scene so to speak....

My point is that you need check you are comparing apples to apples...i.e. are BOTH online sources and local dealer providing proper genuine OEM Chrysler parts?

If so, then go with the cheapest because that is your advantage.

Just as a warning...I recently priced a rear chrome bumper for a B2500 full size van...my local Chrysler dealer quoted about $775 for the bumper plus some guff about a change of spec. which necessitates the purchase of two brackets at $225 EACH (I kid you not!).

Thinking this was a bit high and shopped around...a local wreckers claimed they could get "OEM Spec" bumpers for about $260....of course I fully suspected a lower quality part but I am selling the van anyway so this wasn't a big issue and it is not a safety or reliability part. So I went ahead and ordered. OMG, what a piece of junk it is. Very substandard chrome with imperfections, numerous rectangular holes in the metal for no reason I can fathom (too many for installing lights or a winch, etc.) and the hint of rust already starting in one place.

As I say, in this case none of that is a problem but I only mention it to you as a warning that there is often a good reason why there is a difference in price betwen OEM and "other" parts.

Sorry if all this is stating the obvious.

One final thought...of course some dealers are crooks and money grabbers but, if you get to know your local dealer and ascertain that he is basically a fair operator maybe it is worth paying a little extra to help keep a local business viable...you never know when you might need them....and wouldn't it be a shame if, sometime in the not-too-distant future there were NO local sources of supply because we'd all helped to put them out of business by buying everything online?

Just a thought...oh....and I'm not anti-internet....I operate an internet-based business but I deal in information and digital products so I don't compete with any local businesses.

Reply to
Simon

There are many genuine Chrysler Co dealers that are selling parts and warranties online. If you check thru the web site, it will probably say somewhere (deeply hidden) their dealers name. I have found most to be located in smaller towns. I suspect that they keep the actual info quiet so as not to detract from their own walk-in sales, finance, and parts departments. I think they are in the internet game to increase their bottom line. I personally purchased my "Genuine" Chrysler warranty online from a

5 Star Chrysler dealer at a substantial discount (55%) from what was quoted from my local dealers finance department. The only thing they needed was the VIN, vehicle mileage, and date of purchase. The warranty is the real deal, and not a 3rd party, and appears as a Chrysler warranty on my vehicle data printout at the dealer service departments computer where I get my car serviced. For example:
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= Champion Dodge, Barrington IL
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= Pearl Dodge, Peotone ILwww.extended-warranty-pro.com = Siemans Dodge, Bridgman MIwww.chryslerfactorywarranty.net = Sudbay Motors , Gloucester, MAwww.chryslerwarrantys.com = Topor Dodge, Chicopee MAwww.eservicecontracts.com = Wittrock Motors, Carroll IAetc. There are more and others that sell parts online.
Reply to
QX

Simon,

You raise some excellent points, but I thought we were talking about genuine Chrysler dealers who are selling the exact same genuine Mopar parts. My experience using several different on-line dealers is that the typical savings are 30%-40%. When the need is not urgent and the maintenance work can be planned in advance, I order my parts from an out of state on-line dealer. Since I am usually not willing to pay for premium expedited shipment, I usually receive the parts via UPS ground delivery about a week to 10 days after I place the order. Another benefit is that I do not pay state sales tax, but I find that this savings here usually is roughly the cost of shipping so turns out to be "a wash".

Here is a real life example. Last fall I ordered some specialized shocks and struts for my '91 Mitsubishi 3000GT (Same as the Dodge Stealth, so can be discussed in this forum). A dealer in Cherry Hill, NJ sold them to me at a 30% savings from the list price quoted at all of my local dealers. The savings for these parts to me was $210. The shipping and handling they charged me was $24. The local sales tax I would have paid was $53, so I saved an additional $29 (sales tax - shipping charge), bringing my total savings to $239 on a list price of just under $700.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman

Bob,

Yes, I am sorry. I was under a misapprehension about these "on-line dealers"...it hadn't occurred to me that they were actual franchised dealers because, to my understanding, that is the antithesis of the purpose of a franchise....which by my understanding is that a dealer buys the right to sell Chrysler products in a specific geographic area. I didn't think the manufacturer allowed a dealer to promote sales outside a certain radius of their base....am I wrong here? I know I would be pretty steamed if I spent a million dollars or more setting up a dealership only to find I was losing sales to someone two states away. To my mind that defeats the whole system.

Anyway, from a consumer point of view, if the savings are there, go for it by all means. Personally I prefer to deal locally and support local business people as long as they are fair operators. Even though I sell over the internet there are certain sectors that I don't feel comfortable with buying online. The automotive world is known to be riddled with crooked operators, to my mind dealing with someone hundreds or thousands of miles away only increases the risk of getting ripped off.

Each to his own, I guess.

Simon.

Reply to
Simon

Simon,

The local dealer has the opportunity to give me a discount, but chooses not to do so ... I therefore only use them when I have no other choice. If they are losing business, then it is by their own choice of business practices. Likewise, if the out of state dealer sees opportunity for increased profit, then good for them.

By the way, I am on a first name email basis with some of the parts counter guys at those out of state dealerships. I've dealt with some for several years and we have a relationship built on trust. I wish I could say the same for the local parts guys, but this is not the case.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman

I did get caught by dealing with an online supplier -- IIRC, an authorized dealer in Illinois.

I ordered several items, some of which were special-order and for which I had to pay up front. The in-stock items were shipped immediately, but by the time I got round to checking again on the special-order items, the dealer was out of business. Visiting the original Web site redirected me to the Web site of the co. that had bought out the original one, and they claimed that they had bought only the vehicle sales business, not the parts business. It wasn't worth the time, trouble, and cost (legal fees) of trying to sort it all out.

Perce

Reply to
Percival P. Cassidy

That's why you use a credit card... To get your funds and charge them back.

Reply to
News

Exactly.

Reply to
Bill Putney

Fine and dandy but who compensates you for the hassle and being without your vehicle etc. etc. ?

Plus, in the case cited of a dealer gone out of business not even a credit card company can get the money back if there isn't any there.

Reply to
Simon

Bob,

Yes, I hear what you are saying.

Obviously I have no knowledge of the dealers or people involved so I wouldn't presume to judge specifically on them or your situation but I will offer one thought...for the "remote" dealer any business he picks up from afar is "bonus" business with minimal added costs to obtain it so they can afford to sell you parts with a small mark-up to undercut your local dealer.

It could be considered to be, in some respects, a somewhat unfair situation for your local dealer as every sale he makes has to contribute to his overhead whereas the internet selling dealer already has his overhead taken care of by his local sales.

Just think of the bigger picture...if every dealer sold on the internet at lower prices then no-one would buy locally and all we would be doing is shipping parts around the country for no particular gain as, eventually, all the dealers would be at a similar price point because by then they would have lost their local sales.

OK, I know this won't happen but it is the logical extension of what is currently happening.

Simon.

Reply to
Simon

Can't compensate for opportunity cost, but it's the CC issuer's job to get THEIR money back. YOU will have YOURS by law.

Reply to
News

That's a good caution -- some of the cheap imitation crap vendors will use misleading descriptions (as the example I snipped demonstrates), so you do want to make sure that if genuine is what you want, genuine is what you'll get.

Reply to
Joe Pfeiffer

What do you mean unfair advantage? Who held a gun to your local dealer's head and said "You are forbidden to set up an on-line business!". We (so far) live in a free market society where both dealers have the same choices. One dealer chooses to do that, the other doesn't. Key word: "CHOOSES".

The on-line discount dealers are simply local dealers who decided to also do business on the internet. The dealer in site of my house has no complaint - they could have made the *exact* same business decision. Again, key word: "Decision". Instead, they choose to stay strictly with their local business and charge 10 to 20% *OVER* list (and the on-line dealer I do business with may do the same for their local customers for all I know). The dealer near me also does not even give discounts to local car businesses (body shops, etc.) because they are the only game in town (as far as the general public knows) and they can, so they do.

It's called free enterprise. Enjoy it while you can.

Reply to
Bill Putney

A discount parts selling Chrysler dealership is NEARBY to someone! Drop in and ask if they will match a legitimate price from the internet for the same part.

Offer to "split" the shipping you would have paid if ordered on-line if necessary.

Even consider the availability of it right now instead of about a weeks wait and a return trip. Even think of having to "return" it and the time necessary if it is I-net ordered.

A true story........I worked in a NAPA store for about 2 years about 30 years ago. As all NAPA stores, there was a multi-tiered pricing set of colored sheets. One of our "local" PIA retail buyers/tinkerers would come in, waste time, pick our brains (slim pickins at times), get all the free information, alternative company numbers and so on. Finally after getting the bottom price (like there is one), he would leave and then see what Sears (long time ago) or a catalog company (mail-order) would have and their price. He would even call and ask about the "garage" price for the same item. This guy would come in, show us the price and demand we match it. The store owner finally got tired of this and said SURE, I will match the price! He consummated the sale, did not ask for shipping and put the part on the counter. Guy went to pick it up, owner grabbed it back and said come in NEXT WEEK and pick it up! Just like the wait for a catalog store! Guy got miffed (to put it mildly) and became a lot scarcer in the store.

h
Reply to
howard

Simon,

If the local dealer would sell parts at more reasonable prices or alternatively, offer me a loyalty discount, then I would most likely buy from them since I would also gain the advantage of getting the parts much sooner.

Welcome to the global market! By the way, the discussion here is not restricted to car dealers and automotive parts. Ebay is perhaps the best example of how things have changed. As more consumers become tech savvy, companies will need to become more competitive.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman

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