Lots of Vendor Talk, here's my Jerry McGuire

[NewGenWheels]

Originally Posted by Stuart Adams

If I were a vendor or a dealer I would be very upset at Dealers that hold others money to pay for parts ordered before. THAT is the real problem.

Think about it, if the bad dealer is selling parts at cost then the other dealers are not selling at all because of this ploy. Bad dealer doesnt need a profit because he is using this current money minus his cut to pay for the previous orders. That is what is killing the ethical dealers. Profit on the order is NOT the way BAD dealer makes money.

ding ding ding... exactly.

[bret]

To be clear: RideTech DOES NOT molest the retail price. Ever. Not for any person, Not for any reason. And we never have. And I don't intend to.

By federal law we cannot dictate the price that anyone else sells at. I wish we could. We can only influence that scenario by maintaining the integrity of the retail / dealer / distributor price levels.

I totally agree that discounting is a fatal race to the bottom. It is a disease that will eventually consume the discounter.

How does a manufacturer police this? I don't know. I wish I did.

Internet based dealers are another problem. Some are good...some are not. Before the internet we had these same comments about mail order companies...with the same results.

When asked about the best place to buy, my recommendation is ALWAYS:

"Buy from whomever gives you accurate, reliable and relevant information about your impending purchase and overall project."

[Vegas69]

Originally Posted by sik68

I can't say it any better than what everyone here before me has already said...and it is the internet's fault like Todd is saying.

Among the admirable vendors on the left side of the screen is DSE. I can draw so many parallels to Apple I won't waste my time, but they built a brand, focus on their products, prove it in the field, and stay off forums. Their price is their price...and although I don't own a single DSE product, it's a brand I aspire to buy "because it just works."

[markss28]

Ok, so reading this I feel yea your right about keeping cost as they should be but what about the difference between buying a 18x10 wheel and an 18x12? Some Manufacturers up the price by $400 a wheel just because of the size of the hoop. Is 2" of aluminum that much more expensive or is it more difficult to make? Also some companies sell control arm sets for under $800 and others for about $1,300. Is there a real difference in the building or quality of parts?

I do agree that everyone should know there budget and keep to it but would like more options in the way of those that are more budget minded.

[NewGenWheels]

Originally Posted by markss28

Ok, so reading this I feel yea your right about keeping cost as they should be but what about the difference between buying a 18x10 wheel and an 18x12? Some Manufacturers up the price by $400 a wheel just because of the size of the hoop. Is 2" of aluminum that much more expensive or is it more difficult to make? Also some companies sell control arm sets for under $800 and others for about $1,300. Is there a real difference in the building or quality of parts?

I do agree that everyone should know there budget and keep to it but would like more options in the way of those that are more budget minded.

Lets chalk that up to you probably don't know what it takes to make an 18x12 two piece.

First, you can't buy an 18x12 outer hoop. They only come up to 10". So the process is as follows. We have to take two, 18x10s, half them, weld them togther to create one 18x12. It takes a special fixture, and a welder to do this so that the two halves mate, and still run true, which means no more than .0030 out of round. Then, that now 18x12 needs to be ground down, and polished to perfection. Then, you can install your center. So essentially, twice the work, twice the material, and that equates to the up charge of 4-500 bucks per wheel to do it. Did you know, that after cost analysis, that is actually COST for the manufacturer to do it?? Yeah, all that work and he didn't make anything but the customer happy.

Still think it doesn't make sense?

[NewGenWheels]

Originally Posted by dhutton

Just wondering how many folks here pay full MSRP when they buy a new car...

Don

I can tell you last time I walked on to the lot manufacturers are advertising a "no hassle" sale price.

And besides, I'm talking about aftermarket parts, not cars dude. Profit margin on parts is a totally different game. Your that guy that thinks that parts stores are making a killing, aren't you? You obviously didn't learn anything from the OP.

Lets compare apples to apples shall we?

[youthpastor]

wow...great input and laying all the cards on the table!

Blake is right- I was one of the dealers that got caught in the "price war" on a subframe. I learned my lesson- STICK TO THE PRICE SHEET. After a little investigation (we are an installing dealer, not an online parts sales department) The guy was doing a Pontiac engine and trans. Simple question, "What are you doing for headers? I have these really expensive headers I "think" will work with the rack. Probably not, and when they don't who is he going to rant about? Me...Matt's... Speedtech- who knows. but he chose price over service and taught me a lesson- stick to the price sheet.

We do a little general automotive and the parts mark-up is 1.65 and up. If I was in this for the $$ I would blow out all the PT customers and do brakes and service all day long. Trying to make $$ on hot rod parts is hard. Just jump in your car and run down to your local speed shop...oh there isn't one.


The reason I do hot rods is because I love the build, It pays my bills, and like Mr. Weld says. The people are really cool. - Chris

[Payton King]

has to do with the long standing business model of the industry. I think Jon or someone else metioned it earlier, higher price with discounts.

I could counter that with when is the last time you called to haggle the price of your electric bill or did the same thing at the grocery store?

[realcoray]

Lately I think I'm realizing that for any service type company, the vast majority of them in a given industry are pretty much completely terrible as far as customer service goes.

When even my brother was in the parts/cars business, I got pretty much the same service level from him as around half of the vendors of lat-g I've bought from, which is to say far less than ideal.

It's the same with pretty much every other industry I interact with, a common one even cited here is contractors, but I've so far this year had similar poor experiences with real estate agents, bankers etc.

As Greg noted, there are a lot of vendors that you never hear bad things about and that's usually a good sign. I think a number of those vendors have also shown (as have leaders in other industries) that you don't need cut throat pricing, and that people will pay for quality products and service.

[jocko124]

Originally Posted by realcoray

Lately I think I'm realizing that for any service type company, the vast majority of them in a given industry are pretty much completely terrible as far as customer service goes.

When even my brother was in the parts/cars business, I got pretty much the same service level from him as around half of the vendors of lat-g I've bought from, which is to say far less than ideal.

It's the same with pretty much every other industry I interact with, a common one even cited here is contractors, but I've so far this year had similar poor experiences with real estate agents, bankers etc.

As Greg noted, there are a lot of vendors that you never hear bad things about and that's usually a good sign. I think a number of those vendors have also shown (as have leaders in other industries) that you don't need cut throat pricing, and that people will pay for quality products and service.

Very well said. I think a lot of customers are more than willing to pay extra for great customer service and products. I think SC&C, Kore3, and HPI are great examples of this.