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Jeffersonville, OH | We do not charge labor to lookup or supply parts, though we should sometimes. People come in wanting to buy accessories or kits for 40-60 year old stuff, so we find it, figure out you actually can still buy it, but it's almost always "too expensive." You're lucky to still be able to buy a factory stabilizer kit for a 165 MF, so you either want it, or don't...there are tons of aftermarket options available as well.
I fully understand the price of parts is high, what some folks don't understand is that us dealers actually have to pay for things when we put them on the shelves, so I see the same high prices. Are some prices really bad, sure, but some aren't. Work the average.
Do you pay more and get less than ever before, again, ABSOLUTELY!! I don't like it either, because I pay more for labor, more for service trucks, more for trucks, trailers, loaders, uniforms, hand towels, power washers, and even energy than ever before, just like our customers. We can't pass everything on to the customer, because then things just get too high to be competitive, so our margins shrink and we need to be creative to try and manage that while being competitive.
Oh, and as for shop fees, yes, I do charge those, but I try to keep them reasonable for the amount of work we do on your equipment. It maxes out at $85, which really doesn't cover a ton of bolts and flange nuts when we work on a combine that we don't inventory and sell across the counter, but it helps.
We do also appreciate when folks try to look up their own parts, or come in with numbers...or even better, ask for parts manuals when you buy something from us. If you buy something newer from us and ask for a parts manual, we'll typically throw it in free because we know it will pay in the long term. It's not that we don't want to look things up, but it is just a massive time saver, and cuts out a lot of uncertainty from some customer descriptions we get.
So, at the end of the day, we get it. We feel your pain too, but we are trying to provide a service for you to not have to find, source, and buy every part you need on your own, and try to keep them on your own storage shelves for when you need them...and like most things, you pay a bit extra to have that availability. Are we perfect, nope, but we try and keep as much as possible within reason.
Your dealership/parts store, hydraulic shop experience may vary.
Chris | |
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Was I ripped off?
