Auto Parts Cost

Ed Price · 2003-08-30T21:17:26+00:00

Today, I just got a re-education in the cost of parts from my local NAPAstore in El Cajon, CA. I needed some wheel bearings and grease seals, so offI went to my NAPA store. Let me describe their pricing on just one bearing,a 30206.My receipt showed a list price of $33.49 each, and a net price of $22.77each. Wow, bearings have gone up since I last bought some! After I got home,I decided to check the NAPA web site to see what other stuff was going tocost me. When I looked at: found that they list the bearing for $13.99 each! Wow, I paid 63% higherat the local store. So I called the store about their pricing. I was toldthat the "owner" would call me back. Yeah, sure.Another part of the order, a pair of seals, had to be ordered "from thenational level." A week later, I went in to pick up the seals. Did I saythat they also charged me $7.87 for "freight" for shipping the seals? Thatseems a bit high, just to move two little boxes along with their normal flowof parts. After all, they didn't ship it to me, just to their store.Anyway, I asked the counter guys about the difference between the store andthe web site cost. One of them had a nice fast comeback; he said "This isn'tNAPA, this is County Auto Parts." I said that the 75-foot wide sign on thestore front said NAPA, but yeah, I had seen the little 6-foot sign, down lowat the corner, and that did say County Auto Parts. But still, should theirpricing be a whopping +60% over the web site pricing? That got a good roundof laughter from the counter guys.Well guys, I was at the start of buying maybe $1500 of mechanical bits andpieces on a resto project. But with your pricing, I'd be paying $2400. Lookslike you'll have a few less invoices to write. You guys still laughing?Ed

Auto Parts Cost

Aug 30, 2003 24 Replies

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Neil Nelson 22 years ago

Also, do try to keep separate the comments I may make WRT the industry in general versus the questions (and subsequent answers) directed at me (or State of Wisconsin practices) in particular.

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Brent P 22 years ago

You brought up rolling the cost of fetching a part into the part cost and then doubled back on that, whatever floats your boat.

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Neil Nelson 22 years ago

Into the mark-up actually.

Nope, didn't happen.

Ain't that the truth...

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clare 22 years ago

Remember, the majority of MILITARY hardware only needs to work once!!! More likely to get destroyed than wornout.

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George 22 years ago

You have obviously mis-spoken. Military hardware needs to work more than once. It is true that some of it will be destroyed before being worn out. But not the majority! We certainly don't have more destroyed than we bring back home (Unless you're counting bombs and s*it!) Not only that, but those soldiers do a bunch of practicing with all those humvees and tanks and such. Those young people don't get to choose what they drive. While you're riding around on some piece if chinese junk, don't badmouth the military guy. It sure the hell ain't the soldier's fault!! .

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