Ok, I'm open minded

BMW parts ain't cheap. If you are buying a car based on cheap parts, don't get a Toyota or BMW. Get a Chevy.

BTW, the cost of repair parts for a 84 Cavalier that I used to own was dirt cheap. The 2.0 liter OHV engine was somehow able to get 27 mpg, I've not been able to figure out how it was able to do that. My Subaru and Toyota and Ford Taurus were able to get a maximum of 22 mpg. Strange. I hated that Subaru - that engine was awful. :-)

My bad - that's just 2000-2005

You are free to believe whatever you wish. All I can tell you is the only time we used toyota parts in my shops was when they were covered by the warranty. After that we used after market parts, that generally cost us less then Toyota parts we could buy at the dealer discounted rate.

If you are buying a car based on the price of parts, buy an OLD Chevy. Or an OLD Ford.

Likely cheaper to get parts for a 1960's Ford than anything. Just about any part you could want is available as a repop for less than the parts for a current car.

If you want a car that's not likely to need many parts for a while, buy a new Honda (with a 6 year bumper to bumper warranty you won't be buying them anyway).

If you don't care how often it is in the shop, just don't want to have to pay for it, by a MitsoShitty - 10 year warranty now I'm hearing?

Or a Hyundai/Kia.

Excellent warranty, and slightly better car than a Mitsu. Just figure on it being in for repairs a little oftener than some - but what the Hay - you're not paying, right??????

And when I was a Toyota tech we used Toyota parts about 90+% of the time, and the cost per mile for repairs was still WAY cheaper than for Chevy of the same time period. The dang things just did NOT break if they were maintained. I could count on the thumbs of both hands how many engines we replaced over a TEN YEAR period. That's right - TWO. Trannies? I replaced 2 - one because a LubeShop drained the wrong oil (early Tercel) and one because the DIY customer did the same.

I rebuilt a few high milers when bearings got noisy in the gearbox. Rebuilt a few high mile engines too - but my shop sure was not busy with overhauls like a lot of shops in the city were in those years (both domestic and foreign)

Long warranties sound good but the fact is only around 2% of new vehicle buyers keep that new vehicle, as their daily driver, for ten years.

The average new vehicle buyer in the US replaces that vehicle with another new vehicle in three to four years, with only 45K to 60K on the odometer. Most often price in the deterring factor.

Advertising a long warrant may get them in the store, but in my many years of retail experience as Group Sales Manager selling just about every brand, the most often asked question before the buyer signed on the dotted line was; 'How much is the monthly payment?'

ANY vehicle can easily be run up to very high mileage, if properly maintained. I own a '41, '64, 71 and an '83 that are all in fine condition, with from 100,000 to nearly 300,000, miles on them, because I make sure they are properly maintained, what's your point? Besides todays vehicle are far better than they built back in those days.

Covered by *what* warranty?

Toyota MDT in MO

What warranty do YOU think covers Toyota vehicles, GMs warranty? LOL

Covered by *what* warranty?

Toyota MDT in MO

Got nothing to do with 'what I believe,' I just showed you proof that the price of the part in question is NOT dictated by whatever Toyota pricing scheme [that] exists in your mind.

All that proves is that you know everything about price and nothing about value.

When you say "in my shops," is this from the time when you were group sales manager?

What's my point? Chevy isn't necessarily cheaper than Toyota. The parts may cost a bit more, but my experience was fewer parts were required.

Might well be because I maintained my customers' Toyotas better than other shops maintained their customers cars? Quite possible. I know they had some of the lowest cost-per-mile transportation in SouthWestern Ontario.

And yes, they DO make 'em better today than they did in the eighties - which doesn't change anything assuming the american mfgrs improved as much as Toyota, and assuming today's (Toyota) dealerships are as diligent in caring for their customers needs as we were then.

I'm assuming you were a Toyota dealer? Also assuming you are not today. Dealers were/are required to sell dealer parts. Not ONLY dealer parts, but there are numbers to be maintained to keep a dealership.

On Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:23:40 -0500, "Mike Hunter" wrote Re Re: Ok, I'm open minded:

You were a group sales manager? You were a car salesman for many years?

Well, that puts all you write into perspective as to how much confidence to associate with your remarks. Thanks for mentioning it.

Hard to tell what Mike Hunter is saying here...

Could be that he's describing a Toyota dealership that only used OEM parts when it was a warranty job, meaning any paying customers, had they been expecting genuine OEM parts, were likely defrauded. Most dealerships have a body shop, I wonder what the non warranty customers were expecting there...

Could be he's describing a shop other than a dealership, but then the issue of performing warranty work outside a franchised dealership raises some doubts.

I've worked in 4 dealerships in the last 30 years, I've never seen a sales manager that knew or was even allowed to meddle in the goings on in the back departments other than to hand the service manager internal repair orders for new and used car set-ups.

Me thinks Mr. Hunter tends to embellish to further his pro domestic vehicle agenda.

Of course not, I was in sales them, it was when I owned the fleet service business.

Good for you. Our shops had the most efficient operating costs as well. That is why many corporate and government fleets, in the six eastern states where we operated, did business with us rather than operating the own serviced facilities or having their units serviced at the dealerhips.

If you recall my previous post, I said we used OEM parts for WARRANTY claims, after the warranty expired we used lower cost aftermarket parts, when available.

I sold my business a few years ago. Our fleet service shops were authorized warranty providers for all domestic manufactures and the foreign brands that also sell to fleets. We were only required the use OEM parts for warranty work, have our techs certified by the manufacturer(s) and buy of the required special tools to be listed as a warranty provider, same requirements for dealerships even today.