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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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

 

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).

 

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.

 

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:
www.chryslerservicecontracts.com = Champion Dodge, Barrington IL
http://www.chrysler-warranty-online.com = Pearl Dodge, Peotone IL
www.extended-warranty-pro.com = Siemans Dodge, Bridgman MI
www.chryslerfactorywarranty.net = Sudbay Motors , Gloucester, MA
www.chryslerwarrantys.com = Topor Dodge, Chicopee MA
www.eservicecontracts.com = Wittrock Motors, Carroll IA
etc. There are more and others that sell parts online.

 

No problem - that's business 101.

That seems to be what you are not getting - these are OEM dealers
selling you OEM parts. So yes - apples to apples.

Then you are saying go with the on-line dealer.

Repeat: We are talking about OEM parts from these on-line dealer. *YOU*
are not doing apples and apples. We are.

No - it is debating something that we are not even talking about because
we are talking about buying OEM parts. You are comparing OEM to
aftermarket, which is known for absolute lowest common denominator for
quality in the type of part you are talking about.

With one exception (a firmware upgrade - and I took it to a dealer 30
miles away rather than the one I can see from my house - the one that
charged my elderly mother for an oil and filter change on her brand new
car, and did not perform the oil and filter change) I haven't taken my
car to a dealer of any type in over 20 years.

One of the Chryslers I own now I bought from a local used lot for $1000
(valued at that time for $5500) because the used car lot spent over
$3000 on having the local dealer diagnose and replace good parts without
success on an intermittent problem that prevented them being able to
sell it to any "regular" customer. After getting it in my driveway,
with 4 hours of troublehooting with *no* diagnostic equipment, I
narrowed it down to a bad TCM. Replaced the TCM with a junk yard unit -
been running fine for 3 years since.

Same dealer that charges 10 to 20% over list for parts. Why *should*
that dealer stay in business?

..and wouldn't it

Our President is doing all he can to see that that happens. And, though
he and our "wonderful" Congress have gotten a good start, they haven't
yet even passed cap-and-trade and some other things *designed* to wreck
the economy. When he/they is/are done, all of the hypothesizing about
supporting local business or internet business or any kind of business
will have been nothing but mental masturbation because it won't matter
for at least the next election cycle plus some years for un-doing and
true recovery.

That aside, there are certain types of product that I *DO* tell people
to go local on - tires. People *think* tire pricing from on-line
companies (one in particular) is cost effective without really looking
at the numbers. They fail to do what you and I both call an
apples-to-apples comparison. The on-line price looks good until you add
on the cost of shipping and paying a local tire shop to mount the tires
at a cost of $10 to $20 per tire - then *all* savings go away. Not to
mention that if you have a problem, the on-line dealer tells you to go
pound sand (because - "OH - your alignment must be off", or any number
of bogus excuses - basically you have no leverage with them if problems
develop).

So you can't generalize in the buy-local vs. buy-on-line decision - you
have to do an honest case-by-case analysis of all costs involved (plus
risks), which you would agree with, except your analysis was flawed
because you seem to be under the assumption that we are talking about
buying OEM from a local dealer vs. buying inferior aftermarket parts
from an on-line company that is calling themselves a dealer but is not.

(BTW - it may very well be that, for your bumper, the shipping might eat
up any savings from an on-line dealer - I don't know - I'd have to look
at the numbers - parts prices plus shipping in one case and sales tax in
the other. But for small parts, which is what I and most other people
are buying probably 85+% of the time, there is *no* contest.)

I tell you area where you about break even on buying on-line: Aftemarket
car parts (and in this case, I am talking buying from the local auto
parts store vs. buying from an internet aftermarket parts source. Even
with a 5% discount, the one on line that most people rave about usually
comes out either even or possibly with a few pennies advantage compared
to the local parts store after you add shipping or sales tax as
applicable. You do get more brand selection on line, so again, you have
to take it on a case-by-case (part-by-part) basis.

But you've been discussing without knowing what you are talking about
because we are talking about buying OEM parts in both (local vs.
on-line) cases.

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Exactly.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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