GAAS panel discusses how shops choose which parts to use

Tag : auto panel

Chicago -- How repair shop choose one parts source over another wasthe subject of a panel discussion that lead of the second day ofthe Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium in Chicago on May 7.

Gary Molinaro, publisher of the Greensheet/Automotive Week,moderated a panel comprised of Jim Bastone, owner of Bastone AutoService of Pennsylvania; Scot Bennett, director of operations forBennett Auto Supply of Florida; and Fred Myers, president of OneStop Undercar of Southern California, Colorado, and Texas.

Bastone said that as a shop owner, he is heavily influenced by thefeedback he is getting from his technicians. "If my techs aresatisfied with it, generally the car doesn't come back because of aquality problem," he said.

"You have to know your customers and stay in contact with them,"Bennett said. "You have to have your ear to the ground and makesure you really listen to them.

"If you ask your customers what they want, they will tell you," hesaid. "Each individual market is different, and you should makeyour decisions based on the majority of your local area."

Myers said that what he is hearing from his customers is thatavailability and service are the crucial factors in who they willbuy from and which parts they will use.

"These are not your granddaddy's customers," he said. "Theirattitude towards brands is very different. These people are notfamiliar with these old brands and view them differently."

Myers confirmed this by noting that his sales of private-brandbrake pads are well more than double those of name-brand products.

"Ultimately, the business we're in is a service business," he said. "Today, service means getting the part to them in 45 minutes orless."

Bastone said he believes the quality of aftermarket parts hasimproved in recent years. "It's coming back the other way, wherewe don't have to go back to the OE anymore."

When he can count on the quality, Bastone said he prefers to useaftermarket parts. "I can make more money on aftermarket partsthan OE, as long as they address the problem," he said.

When there is a quality problem, he said he asks that distributorsidentify it to shops up front. "Bring in your manufacturers repsand let us know if you're having problems with a part so we canwork around that," he said.

He also said he wished that manufacturers would stand behind theirparts with a labor warranty. "What I would like to see -- and Iknow that a lot of parts are sent back as defective that aren't --but I would like to see them verify if it is truly defective, andwhen it is proven to be so, pay the labor."

The reference to returns drew strong responses from thedistributors on the panel. "One out of every four or five parts wesell comes back," Bennett said.

"The return situation is the blight of our industry," Myers said. "In my business, it runs about 24 percent.

"We're being abused," he said. "The wholesalers are being abused,the manufacturers are being abused -- this is something ourindustry needs to address."