Dealer pricing for parts?

sedanman said:

It kills me how people beat a dealer ( car, bike, tractor ) to death over making a profit but they never question the markup of any other item they purchase. Go buy a mattress and offer them 60 percent of their askiing price. If they don't take it start walking out the door, they'll stop you and make the deal ( THEY ARE STILL MAKING A PROFIT ) shoes are marked up several hundred percent ove rwhat it costs to produce them. Furniture is easily 150 percent. The return on investment in new car inventory is somewhere around ONE PERCENT............. and people beat car dealers to death over the price then go buy a 7 dollar cup of coffee at StarBucks!

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Lots of space between talking car parts & bike parts and new cars! If you want to start a who deserves to "go to jail" for a ripoff retail price, just move on to jewelry and that will cover it nicely. FWIW, I question all prices & do what I can about it, whats not much most of the time...
The best values out there these days are from private individuals selling their "stuff" as they liquidate & try to stay above water,retire,etc..

You would both find the Walmart museum in Bentonville,AR interesting.

Pending a follow-up by the OP, my guess is that his fiche printout (from wherever) was outdated. No need to assume he was right and all of the dealers were wrong.

23217 said:

In some states it is illegal to charge more then MSRP.

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I have a hard time believing this.
If this was true, we would have a possibility the government could tell the gas companies what to charge.
As far as the prices for parts and accessories at your BMW dealer are concerned: What happened to the discount you get, when you establish a relationship??
I get 10%, sometimes 15% discount off MSRP on all parts and accessories I buy at my BMW dealer.

AntonLargiader said:

Pending a follow-up by the OP, my guess is that his fiche printout (from wherever) was outdated. No need to assume he was right and all of the dealers were wrong.

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Actually I pulled it right up from (a large dealer in the NE) and ordered a bunch of parts the week before. I printed out all of pages of parts I needed and while in another state opened up one and said I need this, the price was right there staring them in the face and without even blinking a few dollars extra was added to the bill. I've done the same in 3 states and have had the same thing happen.

I'm not looking for discount parts, I'm totally happy to pay the retail price but I really have an issue with the stores tacking on MORE $$$. I have my own small biz and know that folks need to make money, I treat my customers fair and I expect the same from the stealers.

I treat my customers fair and I expect the same from the stealers.

If I were the big dealer in the NE and you called me a "stealer" you would earn yourself the number one spot on "the people who can go pound salt" list. MSRP is a SUGGESTION, you were given the actual price before you agreed to pay it. Don't like someone making a few 'extra' dollars? Keep surfing and find someone who's willing to give their store away.

By the way, less than 10 miles away from the "big dealer in the N/E" Ct store is a large empty building that used to be a Honda Powersports dealer. It might still be open if he were allowed to mark up parts according to the local economy. I'll bet there are a ton of customers who would gladly pay a little more for parts to still have place to go and get them locally.

There were two dealers I frequented for parts. One stocked a lot of parts, but had a mark up from MSRP. The other hardly stocked anything other than routine maintenance (oil filters, crush washers, etc.), and just about everything else required a special order from BMW. Prices, however, were at MSRP.

MSRP can be a bit misleading when rent and cost of living vary greatly in this big country of ours. So, it's a bit ridiculous to expect a consistent price throughout the country. I live in a high rent area, and MSRP most likely doesn't apply here.

sedanman said:

If I were the big dealer in the NE and you called me a "stealer" you would earn yourself the number one spot on "the people who can go pound salt" list.

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My local stealer wanted $254 for a rear Metzeler Tourance, plus $80 to mount it if I took the wheel off the bike. That earned him the number one spot on the pound sand list. I rode four hours south, bought the same tire from Max BMW for $100 less, mounted it myself, and enjoyed a lovely day of riding there and back.

If my local shop closes there's nobody to blame but the owner.

sedanman said:

I treat my customers fair and I expect the same from the stealers.

If I were the big dealer in the NE and you called me a "stealer" you would earn yourself the number one spot on "the people who can go pound salt" list. MSRP is a SUGGESTION, you were given the actual price before you agreed to pay it. Don't like someone making a few 'extra' dollars? Keep surfing and find someone who's willing to give their store away.

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Many dealers earn the title "Stealership". Parts aren't the only item they screw people on....labor is a larger one, "please bend over further for this one Mister Customer!" charging $80.00 up an hour with a kid spinning a wrench out back, isn't any less acceptable to most knowing customers. Especially when the "kid" is making $10.00 an hour and the resulting product is questionable. Seems to be a blanket defense for the dealers coming from some, that or shop else, which for many is hundreds of miles away or now a phone call and days wait. However, when the OP or other have a legit concern they should pound sand. BMW dealerships (bikes) come and go more frequently than many other wheeled business. Perhaps it is BMWNA's Dealership Model and Pricing Policies that create the need for many dealers to provide the minimum for the maximum and more? I only have documentation of one dealerships misdealers, but I'm sure there are other, just as there are fair ones. Thatdoesn't mean the OP has to stick his head in the sand like many apparently have.

I don't know the reason for the typically high tire prices at BMW dealerships but I don't care about it becasue I don't buy tires there. Get em by mail and use a local cruiser/sport bike shop or a friend's place. Sometimes the local shop I use can match the mailorder price so tires can be bought there..
I buy BMW parts from my local dealer or one of te larger mailorder places, depending on what I need and where I am. Prices aren't always the cheapest but I can't claim to hve been gouged by anyone. I like the fact that it is easier to get parts for old BMWs than for relatively new J-brand bikes- that's got to be paid for somehow. Besides, I try to learn something from the shop guys when I visit a dealership..

I saw a guy on an GS remove both wheels (centerstand and a side case stuffed under the engine) in the parking lot of "A big dealer in the N/E" and carry them inside to have tires put on. When his tires were ready the service department loaned him a torque wrench to re-install his wheels.

I generally mail order parts from A&S in California. I signed up for their email updates and every so often they have a "gift" if you order a certain amount. If the gift is something I want I will order those types of things I use, filters, oil, etc. The value of the gift usually exceeds the cost of shipping, plus there is no sales tax if you are outside of CA which, unfortunately I am for the next few months.

My experience has been that there are two types of dealer parts operations. Those that stay "local" and do not staff up and try and capture the internet or regional markets, and those that do. The former charge more than MSRP in an attempt to increase profits. The latter offer a discount and depend on volume to make up the difference. I also think the former is a little shortsight particularly when you realize that BMW dealers are geographically sparse in may parts of the country.

BTW, the guy behind the counter can change the parts price while you are standing there. So if you are the guy who went down the road to save $200 on your new bike after you wore the sales staff down, guess what.