Coulter

It's just about money, shops will add insane markup to their parts and don't want to see that side of their business evaporate, so most will say "no" to any customer supplied parts, including factory parts.

They'll pedal some stupid line like "you don't bring a steak to your restaurant, so don't bring me your parts!" because they want to rip you off.

I one time had a Lexus factory sealed part with an invoice and an alignment shop refused to use it, said they wanted to go buy the factory part and I had to take mine back. Obviously I said no and they lost the business.

I finally found a shop that actually welcomes customer supplied parts and it's brought them a lot of business when I don;t want to work on something.

Brewmyown

Many shops refuse to use customer bought parts is because it's a lose/lose situation for them. They don't make the profit margin they want or need to make and if for some reason that part is faulty, defective, broken, etc. they will have to charge you again to install it. Then you walk away angry at them for wanting to charge you again to install the faulty part. They lose your business in the future and likely whomever you bad mouth them to and maybe some of their friends, etc. etc.

If they buy the part, they mark it up and although the markup may seem excessive (and many times it is) some of that mark up is like an insurance policy. If that part is faulty, its on their dime to take it out, chase down a replacement part and install it. I don't like service shops because I know too many people in the biz to trust any of them. That being said, they are a place of business and they make some money off of the parts they buy and then make some more on the labor. That's part of what keeps them in business. If all they did was install other peoples parts they bring in, they would have to charge more labor to do so and people would be complaining about how much labor they charge. Whether its a markup on parts or labor, the place needs to make a certain amount of money every month, quarter, etc. to cover their costs and then make a profit.

Again, I don't trust any of them but there are obviously some very good ones out there and they are in the service industry providing a service and they are in business to make a profit. Over wise, why do it.

Coulter

I get the business model, I'm pro-capitalism, but it's just about making more money at the end of the day. You could say the same thing when they recommend repairs a car doesn't actually need.

The shop that does welcome customer parts I mentioned, it's so busy there's no space to leave your car. Hard to get an appointment, I usually have to wait close to a week. Incredibly loyal customers. They do make it clear there's no part warranty when the customer supplied the parts, but good luck ever getting a shop to stand behind anything a few days later even if they supplied the part.

I'd have no issue with a "healthy" markup of say 20% over their cost, but many times it's like 200% markup. And rarely does any place but a dealership use OEM parts, usually its something like NAPA.

The internet has really shined a light on just how much insane markup places were charging. An example, suddenly my plumber was able to "beat" internet prices when I started buying stuff for him to install and was quoting him what I was paying.

Brewmyown

I get what you're saying. The place you go to is definitely not the norm. If there was a lot of money to be made with installing parts customers bring in, there would be places like that all over. I buy and work on my own cars, house, etc. because I don't like paying for something I can do myself. I shop the Internet for the best prices on parts.

Believe it or not, a place would have a hard time staying in business with only a 20% mark up over their cost. They'd have to do a lot of business at all times. It sounds like 20% is a lot. But when you think about the actual costs for rent, insurance, tools, utilities, maintenance, manpower, etc. it adds up very quickly. There are costs associated with owning a business that the average person would never have any idea of how much it costs.

It's great that you've found a place that does it that you can trust.