Providing parts to mechanics

[deedub 114]

I fix and install most parts on my BMW's myself. But as a parent my time is limited and sometimes it is easier to pay someone to do a job rather than put in the time myself. Recently I purchased a few parts off FCP to refresh my E36. All genuine or OE.

I looked around for some indys nearby who could do the work (searched around BOP). Found one and listed the parts I ordered off FCP and asked if they could install them. Got a response saying they don't install customer supplied parts.

I'll probably just find the time to install myself. Not a big deal. But it did make me wonder why. Has anyone else come across this? Why would it matter if I supply the parts? Can't be a quality assurance thing as I provided links to the items and they are all geunine BMW or OE.

Is this something to do with the suply chain? Is there some kind of arrangement going on with parts suppliers at these workshops?

Like I mentioned already. It's not a big deal. Just curious about why a workshop would turn down a days work just because a customer wants to supply parts.

[MD13 538]

Bellars Auckland North shore is the same - sign on the wall. I have a local mechanic that does my work and they will use parts I supply but when I first asked they weren't exactly keen 🙂

I've always imagined a profit margin in the parts dept right - they buy at a discount but charge customer full ticket so they would be missing that component perhaps.

[deedub 114]

5 minutes ago, MD13 said:

Bellars Auckland North shore is the same - sign on the wall. I have a local mechanic that does my work and they will use parts I supply but when I first asked they weren't exactly keen 🙂

I've always imagined a profit margin in the parts dept right - they buy at a discount but charge customer full ticket so they would be missing that component perhaps.

That makes sense. Lines up with what I'm thinking. Upside is I'm able to do the work myself. But would be nice to have a backup option. At least I'll be able to buy some more parts with the money I save 😁

Edited June 3 by deedub

[Palazzo 497]

When I showed the mechanic I use the price difference for a diff bush from Stocks at  $760 versus online at $255 delivered, he said “go for it”. Same with brake sensors, $92 + GST at ACBMW for one or $77 delivered for both. There are times local parts are competitive though and we do it case by case.

[Driftit 2194]

Yup.  Example.
ADL use to buy white box no name brake rotors for between $8-$15.
They would sell them to mechanic shops for $35-$80.
Who would charge the customer $150 a piece.

Some good shops won't buy the cheap stuff due to the likelihood of an early failure and them having to maybe cover this.  And I would say most people wanting to supply their own parts would be supplying the cheapest of the cheap not nice stuff like you have.
 

[nath 170]

Another consideration could be the time spent having to verify that it is indeed the correct part, the dissatisfied customer needing to be managed if it was only found to be incorrect upon installation, and the disruption to scheduling caused by double installation.

And driving all of this, the error in spec caused by “oh, the part is for cars built until August, but you need the type built after August” etc…

Edited June 3 by nath

[Driftit 2194]

20 minutes ago, nath said:

Another consideration could be the time spent having to verify that it is indeed the correct part, the dissatisfied customer needing to be managed if it was only found to be incorrect upon installation, and the disruption to scheduling caused by double installation.

And driving all of this, the error in spec caused by “oh, the part is for cars built until August, but you need the type built after August” etc…

Yeah fully agree.  I bet every one of us has purchased the wrong part/version of a part at some stage.  Or even been sent the wrong part.  I got sent two left lower control arms for my Merc.  I didn't check and it ended up being on the hoist for a week while the correct part was sent.

[Neil McCauley 444]

I think it's much easier to get across the line if you have a prior relationship with the mechanic, and are fully willing to take responsibility for your ordering snafu's if you get it wrong.

It's probably also easier if they're "not" a specialist marque workshop and are willing to work on all sorts of cars - if you can supply parts / diagrams / torque specs its going to make their life a lot easier, as they might not have the same access to parts discounts when ordering from the dealer or OE supplier.

[Palazzo 497]

I’ve done that. Got the wrong brake pads for the wife’s Mazda, got the mechanic to source some locally on same day courier. 
it was still cheaper overall as I’d bought suspension arms and filters from Spareto. 

[deedub 114]

10 minutes ago, Neil McCauley said:

I think it's much easier to get across the line if you have a prior relationship with the mechanic, and are fully willing to take responsibility for your ordering snafu's if you get it wrong.

It's probably also easier if they're "not" a specialist marque workshop and are willing to work on all sorts of cars - if you can supply parts / diagrams / torque specs its going to make their life a lot easier, as they might not have the same access to parts discounts when ordering from the dealer or OE supplier.

Good point re specialist. Makes sense that a relationship would need to be built up first. Which could make it tricky for me to get someone to do it without that. 

Going to call another indy that was recommended to me by a bimmersport member. If they turn me away as well then I'll just settle for doing it myself.

There is a "generalist" shop around here that has a good rep. Could consider them. 

Edited June 3 by deedub

[deedub 114]

Just got off the phone with Greg from Greg Hantz Autos in Hamilton. Booked in with them. Was happy for me to supply parts. Super friendly.

Thanks @gjm for the recommendation. Tracked down an old post last year where I was asking for recommendations for local BMW specialists around my way. You recommended Greg.

[gjm 3293]

2 hours ago, deedub said:

Just got off the phone with Greg from Greg Hantz Autos in Hamilton. Booked in with them. Was happy for me to supply parts. Super friendly.

Thanks @gjm for the recommendation. Tracked down an old post last year where I was asking for recommendations for local BMW specialists around my way. You recommended Greg.

Greg was always good to us when we were in the area. E46, E36, F30 - all went through his workshop at one time or another. He was our go-to.

[Eagle 1763]

I could write a essay about parts and suppliers in NZ but the basic points have been covered. Goes for euros in general, but being about to source parts at  reasonably prices with ease is a big part of the reason i stick with BMW. The car owner going to the average workshop has no idea they are getting diddled on all the Chinese\Taiwan stuff being pedaled, bit of a race to the bottom when customers choose sorely on price or don't\arent given the options to choose something better if available.    

[M3AN 4101]

Really interesting question and responses, most of which I agree with. Things have changed over the years!

Bellars used to allow customer supplied parts (early/mid 2000's), I know because I did that a lot with the M3. It doesn't surprise me that many no longer support this. As above, if you have a good relationship with a not-too-big shop, they will often accept customer supplied parts... there are a few members here with shops that will.

Main reasons for not supporting this are discussed above in this thread but, let's be honest, the bottom line is they make no margin off customer supplied parts and, for better or worse, that's their choice.

I have had recent success requesting work at a shop and indicating (with links) what I could land the parts for and advising them, that if they could match that price, I'd get them to order the parts directly (basically from FCP or Spareto). The shop set up a trade account with the vendors, got the parts cheaper than I could and made a little margin, I had to wait a few weeks for the booking (for the parts to arrive - also a challenge with the NZ BMW network because they keep very little in country), but I paid the same as I would have buying the parts directly, the shop made a little margin and was happy with the (genuine or OEM) parts, and we all walked away happy with less money lining BMW NZ's greedy pockets.

This problem wouldn't exist of course if dealers didn't want to put a 100% margin (or more), on parts. This is not a problem unique to NZ but BMW NZ really takes the piss.

[KwS 2446]

1 hour ago, M3AN said:

Main reasons for not supporting this are discussed above in this thread but, let's be honest, the bottom line is they make no margin off customer supplied parts and, for better or worse, that's their choice.

Having worked alongside workshops for years, profit margins are certainly a factor, but in my experience the biggest factor for workshops not wanting to deal with customer supplied parts is as mentioned, the risk of wrong parts, inferior parts, time wasted, tied up hoists, angry customers etc. Never underestimate the cost to business and reputation from customers buggering things up.

It's all well and good saying "i got the parts from FCP, they're good and the right ones" but unless the workshop is going to check each and every part, how're they to know they are the right ones for your car before the car is in bits on a hoist? It makes it really hard to warranty the work too, when they didn't supply the parts. Do you expect them to get the car back in, diagnose the failed bush you supplied, and tie up a hoist/parking spot waiting for you to order a new bush from FCP?

[M3AN 4101]

41 minutes ago, KwS said:

Having worked alongside workshops for years, profit margins are certainly a factor, but in my experience the biggest factor for workshops not wanting to deal with customer supplied parts is as mentioned, the risk of wrong parts, inferior parts, time wasted, tied up hoists, angry customers etc. Never underestimate the cost to business and reputation from customers buggering things up.

It's all well and good saying "i got the parts from FCP, they're good and the right ones" but unless the workshop is going to check each and every part, how're they to know they are the right ones for your car before the car is in bits on a hoist? It makes it really hard to warranty the work too, when they didn't supply the parts. Do you expect them to get the car back in, diagnose the failed bush you supplied, and tie up a hoist/parking spot waiting for you to order a new bush from FCP?

Yeah, accepted, these are important factors, and often critical to business continuity. I suppose my position is that I meticulously research parts and would never expect a warranty on installation of such, I didn't make that clear and many customers probably don't have those same expectations which makes it tough/impossible for shops to accept that risk.

I do want to stress that my opinion is that it's a shop's choice, and no customer should be upset with that.

It's just sad that the official parts network make this discussion even necessary, how about just not being obscenely greedy? It's a literal kick in the balls to their customers and supporters, and they smile whilst doing it.

 

[deedub 114]

7 hours ago, M3AN said:

 

I do want to stress that my opinion is that it's a shop's choice, and no customer should be upset with that.

 

I imagine shops get some demanding and unreasonable customers. But I also meticulously research parts and wouldn't expect warranty on my own mistakes. 

Agree it's a shops choice. I didn't get upset either. Decided to try one more place and then get to the work myself.

Luckily I found somewhere that is willing to do the work. Obviously it's a leap of faith for them. It's a risk, they don't know me. But after this they'll gain a long term customer. That's also a smart business decision. But it comes with risk. Obviously they were willing to take that risk here.

But no hard feelings against the other shop that turned me away. Agree. It is their choice and they get to decide what risk they want to take.

[deedub 114]

A little more context here from my side. I ordered the parts with the intention of doing the work myself in the first place. I didn't order them with the expectation of outsourcing the work. But my plans changed over the next month. This is my daily and I didn't wanna wait until I could squeeze the time in. We also don't rely on a BMW from the 90's entirely (even though it is my daily). We have a factory new Toyota still under warranty to make sure we aren't stranded for family duties.

[KwS 2446]

16 hours ago, deedub said:

 But I also meticulously research parts and wouldn't expect warranty on my own mistakes. 

That's what every customer that supplied wrong or crap parts said to a workshop

[deedub 114]

1 hour ago, KwS said:

That's what every customer that supplied wrong or crap parts said to a workshop

Yea I'm sure they do.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 3016]

On 6/6/2025 at 11:35 PM, KwS said:

That's what every customer that supplied wrong or crap parts said to a workshop

Yup, and the other potentially huge money pit is the customer coming back and blaming the workmanship when it’s the cheap part that’s failed (as M3AN mentioned above). From my experience customers that want to use cheap parts (as opposed to genuine parts sourced elsewhere) are also quick to throw blame around to get things fixed for free.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 3016]

On 6/5/2025 at 9:18 PM, M3AN said:

This problem wouldn't exist of course if dealers didn't want to put a 100% margin (or more), on parts. This is not a problem unique to NZ but BMW NZ really takes the piss.

Your figure is a mile out if you are suggesting that is the dealer margin on parts. They may “want to” but the reality of what is charged is a mere fraction of that.

The costs of maintaining a spare parts supply where fixings for a 40+ year old Tech 1 kit are not only available, but in stock (in NZ no less) should not be underestimated either. 

[M3AN 4101]

Someone in the chain is making significant margins on original parts sold into the NZ market if we can import them ourselves for less than we can buy them here. Fact. A 10mm screw that is used just as much on a 1996 car as it is on a 2019 car does not, and should not, cost $4 when I can buy 10 original BMW ones for $4 and $2.50 postage from offshore.

If it's prohibitively expensive to manage parts locally for NZ then BMW should have invested in regional infrastructure decades ago. We're paying the price for that lack of foresight.

I accept that there is no incentive for them to fix the problem, that doesn't make it less problematic for customers, and that lack of incentive is absolutely margin-based.

FFS, if BMW NZ did a deal with FCP Euro we'd get parts through the official NZ dealer network cheaper than we do today. A number of NZ independents do this and are able to offer competitive prices. I understand BMW NZ can't do that, it's an example for illustrative purposes.

We're getting ripped off, everybody knows that, including you Jon.

Edited Wednesday at 12:50 AM by M3AN

[adro 1124]

VW and even repco for that matter is no better imo . I recently priced up oil filter, spark plugs, cabin filter and air filter for our mk7 Golf. Gazely couldnt find someone to come to the service desk so after 3 times ringing the bell i walked out, Repco came in at $500 and FCP was $250 incl shipping for the same if not better branded parts. Another time i priced up PCV for the M62 from BMW and Landrover and the landrover one for the exact same part was something like $100 more. Crazy. 

Edited Wednesday at 04:08 AM by adro

[Palazzo 497]

46 minutes ago, adro said:

VW and even repco for that matter is no better imo . I recently priced up oil filter, spark plugs, cabin filter and air filter for our mk7 Golf. Gazely couldnt find someone to come to the service desk so after 3 times ringing the bell i walked out, Repco came in at $500 and FCP was $250 incl shipping for the same if not better branded parts. Another time i priced up PCV for the M62 from BMW and Landrover and the landrover one for the exact same part was something like $100 more. Crazy. 

Gazelys. Charge $92 for a Fiat oil filter (only supplier in the country for this particular one). Spareto, $30 for 3 plus shipping. 
Do Meyle, Mann, Filtron and ATE fall into the “cheap parts” basket?