Dealer parts for garage shop

Delux wrote: I work in a Mitsubishi/Isuzu/Subaru dealership. We have not received any instructions from any of those manufacturers not to accept customer supplied parts but...

If you buy parts from us you get a warranty. If we supply and fit parts you get warranty but because we dont know where your parts came from, if you supply them we can only guarantee the fitment of them. If a customer supplys an alternator for example we are not liable if it doesnt work unless it has failed because we didnt fit it correctly. When a customer supplies their own parts it is usually a decision based on price. No customer has ever came into us, asked us to fit a part because it is better quality than our own! If they have bought the part based on price, they have bought the cheapest they could and more often than not cheaper the price, cheaper the part.

From my point of view, as a mechanic I have seen some spectacular and expensive failures caused by cheap parts supplied by aftermarket suppliers (for legal reasons I cannot name Euro car parts or Milner). You dont really get much job satisfaction pulling bits of failed Blueprint air filter out of someones turbo impeller or changing wiring looms because the 12 year old in China dodnt solder their HID light ballast together properly. I have a shogun waiting for me when I return, centre diff light flashing since the guy fitted a load of new (chinese) switches he bought on ebay!

Point is, if your dealer supplies parts from the maunfacturer it knows they meet a minimum standard and if they do fail they have someone who can help them sort things out.

Like I say, we would never refuse to fit parts that a customer supplied but we would always make the customer aware we are not liable for their quality.

If for whatever reason I'm going to a main dealer then it would be as a consequence of not having the diagnostic facilities to fault find at home. I have on numerous occasions had a vehicle to a main dealer for diagnosis and then bought a replacement item from their parts department to fit at home if it's something I'm comfortable doing, that way the service department get a couple of hours labour, the parts department get their cut and I get a quality part and the peace of mind that it wasn't fitted by the apprentice. Back street garages on the other hand will only get my car on the rare occasion that its a job I'm not comfortable doing and that after being diagnosed by a dealer their service department is too busy to address in a timely fashion for example bearings before I bought my press or cam belt change. I have serious misgivings about most independent garages, once bitten twice shy and all that.

There is nothing wrong with fitting parts yourself that a dealer diagnosed. If you have the know how and facilities.

It kind of goes against what I should be saying but there are plenty of really good mechanics working in small independant garages too. If you find one you really have to stick with them and stay loyal.
Dealers have a real problem with communication. Customers know what the fault is, when it happens etc. but they have to tell that to a non mechanic who in turn has to pass that on to a mechanic. When the mechanic finds a fault he has to tell a non mechanic who has to tell the customer. Its ludicrous! You dont have this problem in smaller garages.
Small garages have smaller overheads too so their prices are usually better.
The biggest problem with small garages is there is no regulation. Anyone can open a garage, claim to be a 'specialist' in any certain area. For £200 you can become 'Good garage approved'. At least dealers have to meet minimum standards and follow procedures set out by the manufacturer they represent.

Oh, and I have a timing belt repalcement guide coming to a Wiki near you soon!

Delux wrote: Customers know what the fault is, when it happens etc. but they have to tell that to a non mechanic who in turn has to pass that on to a mechanic.

And many are just technicians relying on computer stuff rather than experience.