Do dealers have arbitrary MSRP on parts ?

[verk]

Hi TDR. Needing to redo brakes on my '04 and planning to do work myself I called the local Dodge/Ram dealer to get a quote on the parts. I'd rather support local business even if it costs a little more. In the past this dealership has usually provided no discount although on a few occasions have either from me asking or from their good will. In conversation I asked about a discount and was told 15% so I ordered the parts and picked them up when they arrived. I reviewing I notice that receipt has a MSRP that is 15% higher than that listed on Internet sites like moparonlineparts.com. So, for example, I purchased the front pads (5093267AA) from dealer for $149 ( after discount ) while moparonlineparts.com shows list price as $149 and sell them for $103. Same pads can be purchased for even less at other sites like rockauto.com ( $95 ). Obviously significant percentage differences here so if cost is your only motive buy only from Internet, but what about the difference is MSRP/retail ? Is there an actual MSRP/retail or is up to discretion of location ?

Sven

 

[JR]

I don't have an answer to your specific question but can tell you online prices for the most part have historically been cheaper than you will find locally. I buy OEM parts as well, I have noticed the parts for my Mercury generally come from the same 2-3 dealerships when ordering online regardless of whether I order from Amazon or an online Motorcraft parts source I frequent. Higher volume stores may be one of the pieces of the puzzle, I'm pretty rural and don't have any large dealerships close by.

 

[AHutson]

To a point I believe it is up to the dealer, it doesn't surprise me that they have a mark-up on things. I order my filters though Geno's, their pricing is just as good or better on them for a quality product than any parts store. Unless I have to have something dealer specific I go to Napa. Very rare do I have any issues with their parts, if I do they take care of me with no hassle. No need to pay the expensive dealer parts prices.

 

[Wiredawg]

I give my dealer the opportunity to compete. I find the parts I want and present the printouts to the parts department. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. But, I try and so do they.

Last week a great example... I wanted a 5th wheel for my wife's 2019 Larramie Longhorn 1500 4x4 so i can mount spare on it and rotate all 5 tires. Anyhoo, i found it online for $400, free shipping and the Dealer wanted $720, before 15% discount. I paid $400 online. Next time I have it in for service, I'll have the dealer do the remounting and tire rotation.

Anyhoo, free enterprise is a good thing.

Cheers, Ron

 

[seafish]

My local dealer split the diff and got me my 2005 oem premium pads down to $120 per axle which was fine with me.

 

[Tuesdak]

Dealer on the other side of "town" from us runs an online store and Ebay listings. They have a dedicated employee to just online sales. Several other parts counter employees though. (1 Hour drive each way.) It's ether buy full MSRP at the counter or discounted price plus shipping and tax. It's a volume numbers game where MSRP is a suggestion, but, higher volume may pay better. I skip the eBay middleman and just call them direct anymore.

Geno's Garage is nearly the same price as the online MOPAR discount sites with tax and other perks making a difference for say spending over $500 in one shot. Mix aftermarket and MOPAR parts too. Shipping time can be longer than across town. If the parts are not in stock "across town" can take longer as parts have to arrive at that dealer first.

ALL places suffer from the modern chronic lack of parts innovatory FCA appears to make us suffer. Even new FCA accessories took 4 months to all arrive for my new truck costing the dealer some "goodwill" $$$ in additional parts put on. WE Owe contract specifies a number of days less than 4 months here...

 

[Crunch]

Another trick at the dealer is to ask them to sell it to you for the "wholesale price". That's the price they sell to local auto repair shops who regularly buy parts from them. It's a crap shoot as whether they will do it, but if you buy from them on a regular basis you have a better chance of getting the lower price.

 

[BigPapa]

Dealers have the freedom to escalate retail pricing any way they want. When I was in the retail powersports business our inventory program allowed us to manipulate retails by setting price ranges. The goal was an average of 40% margin (a part that cost $60 retails for $100).

This was our basic price structure from cost except for a $1.00 minimum.

• <$5.00 - 200% (a part that cost $4 retails for $8)
• $5-$25 - 190%
• $25-$50 - 180%
• $50-$250 - 165%
• $250-$500 - 150%
• $500 - 125%

Many manufacturers now enforce a MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) pricing policy where internet sellers or dealers can’t advertise below a minimum percentage of of retail, normally 10% off of MSRP (Manufacturers SUGGESTED Retail Price). This is why you see “Price shown in cart” on e-commerce websites.

 

[sag2]

As Big Papa said dealers are free to price above or below MSRP. Also many have some sort of matrix pricing similar to what his powersports dealer had. They also use a similar matrix for labor so you don't actually know what their hourly labor rate is. If your price shopping always check the online sellers.
I'm lucky that my local dealer still gives me employee pricing so I try and stay with OEM parts when I can.

 

[Jeff Horton]

An interesting question I worked parts for years and prices is subjective and depending on several things prices may differ. Some dealerships work on a list plus to make up the freight costs. Some work on a percentage over cost that could make the parts either above or below MSRP! Just so you know the parts dept is supposed to pay the expenses for the dealership in a perfect world. Service dept is supposed to be a break-even deal. and the Sales dept is the profit center for the dealership. That is in a perfect world.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Some of them are just nuts on prices. I found a new, OEM front drive shaft for my truck on eBay (Dodge Dealer) for $525 delivered. Local dealer in Kirland wanted $976 + shipping for the same P/N.

 

[Toby Dog]

Local dealers here in the Raleigh NC are insane in their markups. I call or go in with FCA's real list price and they've always said OK. There are dealers online with catalogs and real list prices shown to give me ammo.

 

[verk]

Small ticket item, but still an interesting markup since I suspect both are made by Dorman: the transfer case bushing or grommet as called by dealer. Dealer has list of $27.13, charged me 23.13 while local auto parts store $12.29. The amount less significant to me than the percentages.

 

[DonFitzwater]

Some of them are just nuts on prices. I found a new, OEM front drive shaft for my truck on eBay (Dodge Dealer) for $525 delivered. Local dealer in Kirland wanted $976 + shipping for the same P/N.

A dealer wanted to charge you shipping? I’ve never heard of that unless you needed it faster than a stock order.

 

[sag2]

A dealer wanted to charge you shipping? I’ve never heard of that unless you needed it faster than a stock order.

That is correct. Mopar does not charge a dealer shipping on Stock or Daily orders. Stock orders are placed and shipped once per week, Daily are just that, orders ordered one day for shipment that night. If they are close (<500 miles) to a depot, most Daily orders are shipped via truck and are there by the next morning.

 

[BigPapa]

A dealer wanted to charge you shipping? I’ve never heard of that unless you needed it faster than a stock order.

And, shipping is now also a “profit center”. At the dealership I worked at, they charged a $2.00 shipping fee on any order. If you wanted it faster, premium shipping started at $15, and larger items had an over-size fee.