Why Flatrater, Why??

It's certanly not your fault, but you being in the know why do parts from the dealer cost so goddamn much
my park ave i got back last year needed a key just last month $50.00 for a key and i had to program it my self!

also on my 7 spoke aluminum wheel the center cover cost me $62.00 for a piece of plated plastic??

i am sure other members on the AF could share simailar stories, Please Feel Free!!
Please shed some light on the subject Flatrater :2cents:
Thank you, 88regal custom

You will never see me step foot in a dealership for parts. My local locksmith has GM VATs system keys for 20 bucks. I thought that was high until I read about a security key for a 2002 Ford Focus running $70 at the dealer! 62 bucks for a wheel cover?! That's just 438 dollars less than what I paid for my car!:D

I wish I had all the answers to this question but i don't!

I can tell you parts are costing more and more.

But I think the biggest problem is the crisis that GM is facing now. It takes a ton of money to keep GM running. GM has way too much overhead and the only way is to charge more for it's products.

The only thing I can say in defense of GM is that the quality is better on some parts. That 60 dolllar key Will last longer then the 20 dollar key. many tims I have had trouble with these cheap keys no starting cars and causing theft codes to e stored. Usually I end up throwing out these keys even before I Look t the car. 9 times out of 10 this alone fixed the problem.

Another problem is that GM makes less and less of their own parts. GM contracts out the parts to other companies. Wagner and Raybestos makes most of GM brake parts. They charge GM to much to make the part and then turn around and make the part for themselves with slight changes and Sell it cheaper.

Most dealers have a 100% markup on parts. That is were mot of the profits come from in a dealership. Service is a necessary evil in a dealership. We don't make a profit but we are needed to be there by GM and the people who buy the cars. If you can find a local shop and make friends with them, then ask if you can buy parts from the dealer under their name. The part ill then cost about 30% over dealer cost. Or make a friend with a dealertech and the parts could be yours for 10% over dealer cost.

I worked in Ford dealerships for a long time, and I can tell you that high parts prices aren't confined to GM. We regularly sold Motorcraft branded parts for double what you would pay for the same parts at the R&S Strauss down the street. Of course many parts are dealer only, so the customer really has not many options when it comes to those, so you can charge higher prices, but for everyday items like plugs, filters and batteries that you can get at any auto parts store, dealer prices are beyond outrageous.

I have had good luck buying parts from GMpartsdirect.com and buygmparts over the internet. I usually use the dealer or AC Delco web site to get part numbers and then order them to save myself the dealer markup. I recently bought a new Delphi fuel pump for $56, an AC Delco dealer quoted my about $140 and then offered me an off-brand for $130.