[raptor_f22]

I don't know if it's a North/South divide or just a culture difference in the area I grew up in...but, as the post suggests, I'm curious to find out what everyone out there thinks about BYOP when carrying out servicing etc

Growing up I was used to mechanic's letting us (and literally every other customer) bring our own parts and working on a labour only basis.
The perceived advantages:

- 99% of the time, people would bring the correct parts so the mechanic just did what he needed to do, got paid and rolled on to the next job

- Customer left satisfied as they felt they'd got a good deal on parts they could afford and the brand of their choice or just that they'd been able to select the premium parts that they wanted

- Trust developed as customer doesn't feel "ripped off" by parts mark-up and mechanic doesn't have the headache of dealing with logistics

Moving on...I've started to read in a lot of places, that when you mention BYOP and trying to find a mechanic who works on a labour only basis, people get quite heated and angry saying things like "would you bring your own pasta to a restaurant to save $2?! would you hand the chef your ingredients and expect him to make food for you!?"

I understand the argument to an extent, but I definitely have a different perspective on that which I might share later.

There's also the common line "I only use OE quality parts direct from the manufacturer and I can get the parts the same price - if not cheaper - than you can on the internet". I have never found this to hold true.

So, what do you think? Are you happy to go all in when you take your car for a repair/service or do you have a different way of working with your mechanic?

Any really good or really bad experiences you want to share?

Not intending to judge anyone but curious what you think given how passionate everyone is about their car on here.

[Aragorn30d]

I never use garages, but i would expect to be able to bring my own stuff along if i wanted.

I think part of the problem is garages (and infact many tradesman) hide part of the labour cost in the parts.

So they'll bill you for 2 hours labour at 60quid per hour, then charge you the parts (say some shock absorbers) out at £80 each when they only paid £60 trade. Thus what they're actually doing is wanting to earn £80 per hour, but instead of telling you that straight, are trying to hide that by putting it onto the parts and pretending they're charging you £60ph. If you supply the parts, they cant then hike up their rate to the 80ph they were really charging, because they've already told you they charge 60ph. So they in effect lose money.

Similar story recently when a mate was trying to get an oil boiler fitted. He'd got a great deal on a boiler, so bought it up front. Then was getting quotes and had plumbers moaning about him supplying the boiler, like you've suggested above saying thinks like "taking your own food to the restaurant". He gave up in the end and installed it himself.

Theres one aspect that is fair enough, and thats what happens if the part breaks. If the garage supplies the shock absorbers, and they pop 1000miles later, your going to expect them to fix it, for free. However if you supplied them, the garage arent going to fix it as they'll blame your parts, and then your causing them hassle etc. You'll also get some people bring shite parts along, at which point what do you do? Or worse, they'll bring incorrect parts, and the garage ends up wasting time dismantling it finding they dont fit, then they've got to sit around trying to figure out what to do.

[djgandy]

Originally Posted by Aragorn30d

I never use garages, but i would expect to be able to bring my own stuff along if i wanted.

I think part of the problem is garages (and infact many tradesman) hide part of the labour cost in the parts.

So they'll bill you for 2 hours labour at 60quid per hour, then charge you the parts (say some shock absorbers) out at £80 each when they only paid £60 trade. Thus what they're actually doing is wanting to earn £80 per hour, but instead of telling you that straight, are trying to hide that by putting it onto the parts and pretending they're charging you £60ph. If you supply the parts, they cant then hike up their rate to the 80ph they were really charging, because they've already told you they charge 60ph. So they in effect lose money.

Similar story recently when a mate was trying to get an oil boiler fitted. He'd got a great deal on a boiler, so bought it up front. Then was getting quotes and had plumbers moaning about him supplying the boiler, like you've suggested above saying thinks like "taking your own food to the restaurant". He gave up in the end and installed it himself.

Theres one aspect that is fair enough, and thats what happens if the part breaks. If the garage supplies the shock absorbers, and they pop 1000miles later, your going to expect them to fix it, for free. However if you supplied them, the garage arent going to fix it as they'll blame your parts, and then your causing them hassle etc. You'll also get some people bring shite parts along, at which point what do you do? Or worse, they'll bring incorrect parts, and the garage ends up wasting time dismantling it finding they dont fit, then they've got to sit around trying to figure out what to do.

[FHE92]

Originally Posted by raptor_f22

I don't know if it's a North/South divide or just a culture difference in the area I grew up in...but, as the post suggests, I'm curious to find out what everyone out there thinks about BYOP when carrying out servicing etc

Growing up I was used to mechanic's letting us (and literally every other customer) bring our own parts and working on a labour only basis.
The perceived advantages:

- 99% of the time, people would bring the correct parts so the mechanic just did what he needed to do, got paid and rolled on to the next job

- Customer left satisfied as they felt they'd got a good deal on parts they could afford and the brand of their choice or just that they'd been able to select the premium parts that they wanted

- Trust developed as customer doesn't feel "ripped off" by parts mark-up and mechanic doesn't have the headache of dealing with logistics

Moving on...I've started to read in a lot of places, that when you mention BYOP and trying to find a mechanic who works on a labour only basis, people get quite heated and angry saying things like "would you bring your own pasta to a restaurant to save $2?! would you hand the chef your ingredients and expect him to make food for you!?"

I understand the argument to an extent, but I definitely have a different perspective on that which I might share later.

There's also the common line "I only use OE quality parts direct from the manufacturer and I can get the parts the same price - if not cheaper - than you can on the internet". I have never found this to hold true.

So, what do you think? Are you happy to go all in when you take your car for a repair/service or do you have a different way of working with your mechanic?

Any really good or really bad experiences you want to share?

Not intending to judge anyone but curious what you think given how passionate everyone is about their car on here.

I understand where you are coming from, however the ONLY reason I would let them deal with it is that if there is a fault its 100% their problem.

On a polo I used to have, I purchased the parts for a waterpump and timing belt that needed to be changed. It failed and I had to retrieve the parts (labour cost) then they refitted a new one themselves. I did get my money back for the water pump and timing belt but I had to pay labour 3 times instead of just once.

Lesson learned, just make sure the garage you use is decent and let them do the job and warranty it!

[raptor_f22]

Sorry to hear you had issues! The flipside is going all in parts & labour, something going wrong and the garage not accepting fault.

I think there's always going to be a risk either way, but finding a decent place can prove to be hard.

Still, lots of helpful people on here with indy recommendations so much easier to shop around now.