I think more than anything...mechanics want to buy parts from people they have relationships with. To feed each other. To get the lowest price...or highest price to pass on to the customer.
That warrantying a part you bring in is bull. I've done it many times with no issue. A mechanic can usually tell if it's safe to use the part a customer brings in. Mine check it out or ask me enough questions to feel safe I made a good selection.
They are just trying to control every aspect of the repair to optimise their pocket and their suppliers.
You what, nothing wrong with that. It's business. We comsumers have to do the same. Form relationships with our mechanics so they will be honest with you.

 

I own three businesses, a bail bonds shop, an appliance store, and a internet business.

Your right. who am I too judge. I feel like they are shooting themselves in the foot trying to sell something for $4-500 what the customer can get online for $100. Of course this will not sink in untill online purchasing become more common.

I realize they would know much more about this then me, I can only assume they are shooting themselves in the foot overcharging for parts.

I wish the best for everyone, especially in the difficult economic time.

I think this place (in Beverly Hills mind you) is just over the top with their mark ups. I will try some recommendations here to see if I can get something more reasonable.

 

Have you tried Callas Motorsports in Torrence or Otto's in Venice? Those are a couple of good shops that might be able to help out.

There are no doubt some crooked shops out there that take advantage of the customer, but that stands to reason in any industry. Find a good shop with decent prices and build a good relationship with them.

 

If you are using one of my dealers to install one of my parts, you are going to buy the part from them. They deserve a cut on the deal. As others have said they've got overhead and all kinds of other expenses. They deserve to make a fair profit.

The parts mail order warehouses are the Walmart of cars. They make their money on huge volume and they are slowly driving the independents out of business, leaving you as the consumer stuck with the just out of tech school lackey at the Porsche dealership or doing it yourself.

A lot of these indies have spent a decade or decades refining their craft and learning these cars. When you go to them, not only are you supporting small business, but you are encouraging the continuation of the legacy of knowledge. Go ask a Porsche dealership to rebuild your 996 gearbox. They won't have a guy in the joint who has the faintest idea how to rebuild it and fix your 2nd gear pop out problem cost effectively. They'll offer to sell you a factory reman'd gearbox on a core exchange basis for twice the price that an indy who knows what they are doing will charge you to go through the gearbox. And the indy will know the tricks it takes to make sure the problem doesn't happen again in 30k mi.

It's that that you are supporting when you allow the indy to make a profit on the parts he sells you. You are saying,"thank you for being there to support me". Deep knowledge of these cars will go the way of the dinosaur if people don't support their indies. Car owners seem to forget that the indies are people too who have to feed their own kids and anyone who thinks that labor rates are too high should really look into what I pay in rent and insurance and special tooling and inventory costs on an annual basis before they judge me or my wholesale dealers. Most of you guys who own these cars make more money in a year than we do. Shop owners and small craft manufacturers like myself are not getting rich on this stuff. I own and drive a 1986 3.2l Carrera because it's what I can afford to own and maintain. I'd love to have a Cayman or a GT3 in my garage, but with my salary, it's not in the budget.

It is a free market and you are free to refuse to do business with a shop that won't let you bring in your own parts. But if enough people make that choice, just like Walmart drove the small mom and pop drug stores out of business, the same will happen to the small one and two man speed shops around the country. I regularly talk to guys in their 50's who have been at this for the last 25 years who are ready to close their doors and liquidate everything because it's too much brain damage. It's not because they want to retire. It's because at their age it's become too hard to make an honest buck at this game and the brain damage isn't worth it. They are better off cashing out on their tools and selling the property their shop sits on and trying to find a way to finance the last 30 years of their life some other way. I'm watching it right in front of my eyes. Every year the number of good gearbox mechanics that I can send Porsche car owners to for work is going down. People complain about how Porsche is making disposable cars, but a big part of why they are becoming disposable is because the people with the knowledge to fix them cost effectively are being disposed of. The indy shops have invested in you and your vehicle in a way that Porsche themselves has not. I encourage you to invest in them in return.

 

pretty much covers the entire enchilada...well said Matt

 

It's funny that you mention Otto because he belongs on that list of shops I was talking about in my last post. Literally, just yesterday I was talking to him about how he has been forced to diversify and go beyond Porsches because of what the market has become. Ottos, which is a So Cal fixture dating back to 1970's 914 championships is now fixing BMWs and MBZs, not to mention things like Cayennes and Panameras. Otto has adapted to survive. He's not going anywhere because there's still enough in it for him. But for other guys in less lucrative markets (meaning less population density really) the other option is to close the doors and walk away. But ask Otto how much work it's taken the last two years to stay in business. Part of it is the recession, but part of it is also the internet and parts warehouses that don't leave anything on the table for the indy to make a fair profit.

 

I went with Otto's he gave a good deal and seems good at what he does.

Thanks for the referral.

 

As stated in my post, I know mechanics want to use their own parts to optimize their profit and business relationships....and I understand it. Everyone should put their well being first. No problem with having indy's make money.

However, I am concerned when they lie to you in order to do it their way. Don't put down a part you know has no issues. DOn't lie to that customer who may take what is said and pass it to others, which could cause someone else a loss of profit.
All they have to do is come clean. Most of us will respond accordingly if your indy says, hey man...my business stays afloat through supporting my parts guys. I'd prefer to get the needed parts myself.

Nothing wrong with that. Only a jerk would say, screw you...I don't care. Honesty is usually the best way of doing business.

 

I guess I don't fully follow your issue then. If someone is lying and making stuff up, then that's not someone I am going to trust to work on my car in the first place. I've shut down dealers accounts for that sort of behaviour because I am looking to have my brand represented by people of integrity.

On the other side of it, there are people out there who sincerely believe that a number of the off brand parts are inferior and won't use them for that reason. As an example, I'll make reference to one of my very well known dealers, Pat Williams in Memphis. Go look at any of his ads in Excellence for the last ten years. He says it very plainly that he does not and will not use parts made in China in his shop. He considers the off brand products coming out of China for replacement and repairs to be inferior to the other options out there. Some may look at that and think he's a racist, but knowning Pat personally I know it's not. I know it's about maintaining a certain standard of quality in the components that he uses. I guess the point I am making is that maybe the indy isn't lying to you. Even with all the internet discussion forums, most 20 or 30 year veteran indy mechanics have seen what works and what doesn't work and have way more experience than the guy on 6spd with 8976 posts and a heavily modified car. The individual shops see more examples of what works and doesn't work than the guys who hang out on the forums all day, often regurgitating something they read elsewhere with little or no direct experience with what they are telling others to buy. And sometimes even Porsche's own parts are crap and should be avoided.

The 996 gearbox is a great example of this. On the first 3 years of production, Porsche was using a crappy Czech made pinion bearing that had about a 30k mi lifespan. It was a sealed unit bearing that was available from Porsche for about $300 to repair the box (assuming it lasted long enough to get out of warranty). The indies figured out the issue before Porsche did and those of us in the gearbox aftermarket found a higher quality replacement bearing. But guess what? It was a $400. It cost more than the Porsche piece. And nobody on the internet knew about the problem. Only those of us in the network of independent gearbox specialists knew this. So what if you bought the bearing online from Suncoast or whomever else was selling the Porsche OEM replacement and paid the $1500 in labor to rebuild your box and it fails again 30k later. Aren't you going to be pissed that you didn't listen to the indy who knew better?

Now maybe you've encountered a specific dirtbag liar. That's different than the rest of the topic we've been discussing here. That's really a question of business ethics and doing business with people of integrity. The only thing I can tell you is that if a dealer is listed on my website or is someone I refer you to for work, it will be someone of integrity. There's a lot of really good honest people out there in this business and if you've come across one of the bad seeds, I hope you didn't get burned in the process. And you are well within your rights to take your business elsewhere and under such circumstances are strongly encouraged to do so.

 

What I meant is the independant mechanic shouldn't lie and say the part is inderior if it isn't. Just tell the truth about why he/she wants to use their own parts. No one wants crap parts on their car. I hope.

 

Glad they were able to help you out.

A good friend of mine has a sister that lives out in LA with a 996TT. She was needing new brakes on the car, and was getting ridiculous quotes from shops. I was on the verge of ordering a plane ticket (I could drop ship the parts to her directly, buy a round trip ticket, fly out with my tools, change the brake pads/rotors in the airport parking lot in about an hour, turn around and get back on the plane for a lot cheaper than what shops were quoting her), but as a last ditch effort I told her to call Otto. He gave her a great price on the job and took care of her almost immediately. They have been around a long time and do quality work.