Manager Forum

My question is this: On alternators and starters, which is better? Replacing a failed unit with one from the parts house or getting a machine shop to do the job? We have a machine shop close by that will stand for one year behind any unit they rebuild.

Does your parts house offer a nationwide parts and labor warranty?

brianp87 wrote:Does your parts house offer a nationwide parts and labor warranty?

Don't nobody around here offer that anymore.

Define better.

Turn around and bay down-time dictates a unit already rebuilt would be *better*.

Really wow Id try to leverage that with a vendor that you like to use with the idea that you may buy from hoever you can get to offer that. Id tell them id only buy form a place that offers at least that.

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I actually prefer 'good used' over some suppliers rebuilts that have to be replaced every three months for the duration of the lifetime warranty. I know a rebuilder that buys rebuilts from one of the local chains because its cheaper than paying someone to clean up the cores. He then guts them and puts in OEM electronics and stocks them on the shelf at a fair price with a one year warranty.

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Turn around time? We are a 2 man shop with 4 bays.

Very seldom would a customer be satisfied with a used one. I'd hate to think how most of our customers would respond if I told them I installed a used starter. Wow!

Most rebuilders, even companies that make new ones are a 1 year warranty on the part only. No labor.

I am a NAPA AutoCare shop. All rotating electrical carries a limited life time warranty, to the original purchaser for that venicle. If there is an issue within 6 months and we do the second repair they cover the labor at 75% of my flat rate. If more than 25 miles from my shop that labor warranty goes for 1 year. It is my understanding that those limits are going to double this year.

This is a nation wide warranty that can be covered by any NAPA AutoCare.

If there is an issue I phone Sonsio, the company that handles the warranty, get authorization and submit to my local NAPA store ant they write me a credit within a couple of days. You know from day one exactly how much your credit will be to the penny.

CarQuest technet ( hace been one but not at this time ) has almost the same setup except that if you do both repairs they don't function that way and you have to submit a labor claim through the store to the manufacturer and wait forever. Strange thing is their warranties are also handled through Sonsio. They will cover if out of original area.

Well, all due respect to NAPA. Perhaps they are good with warranty in your area but around here?????? I absolutely will not, I refuse to deal with NAPA because, well ............ Let's just be mild and say it this way: There is much better places to buy parts from. The basic issue? Too often the wrong parts and to get a warranty out of them for a defective part is like trying to pull hens teeth. Yes, I know they offer a lifetime warranty on some electrical components but their reputation is this area is such that I do not use them. I once had the opportunity to disassemble an alternator that was defective and they would not stand behind it. What we saw inside, to say the least was pathetic for a nationwide rebuilder. I am sure they are not all that way but we have seen this several times from national rebuilders.

My NAPA store stands behind me very well . The major issue I have found even with new parts is that there is absolutely no pride in workmanship anymore. Just put in your time and collect a pay check.

asample wrote:Just put in your time and collect a pay check.

We could start another thread on that subject.

On the warranty issue. I am finding out that a growing number of customers are more concerned about the quality of the part than they are of what the warranty consists of and how broad it is. One fellow even asked how much less the cost of the part is if the warranty (what there was) is taken off. At least, if I get the an alternator or starter rebuilt by my local machine shop, I know what I got. That's more than I can say for many of the store boxed ones.

My standard operating proceedure is if World Pac offers new at a reasonable price that's where i go. Otherwise i purchase from Car Quest. On large commercial equipment i use an independent rebuilder a few towns over. A bit pricey but never had one come back unless it had done it's time and lasted 4 or 5 years. I don't look for warranty time etc at first, i look for proven quality and anything after that is a plus. We all know there are some stores that will sell parts that attract the bottomers that will gladly replace the same starter 4 times a year because they fail simply because the saved 25 bucks. My job as a owner and service writer is to sell a quality job as well as make a buck. If i'm competing with another shop over a starter and i know they don't use quality parts I will not compete with them and I have a 18% rate of those people calling me to get their car repaired correctly. I was taught a long time ago by my dad that purchasing an insurance policy on an item you're purchasing is like betting it will fail. Quality is the answer if the question is longevity. On the same subject a bit off point, i will extend warranty on my own if i feel it's called for. I have gotten a few customers simply on this point. A person came into my shop with a steering issue and the rack was bad. It had been replaced at another shop and when the customer called to check the warranty it was out by a week. Now i know warranty time is there for a reason but i will make any move i need to make the customer happy. I would have never, never, never, shot it down like that unless the person was a prick and this one wasn't. Now i work on all three of his vehicles plus his brothers and sisters. A regular customer comes in with a bad alternator and it's 18 months old (6 out of warranty) the part costs me under a 100 and less than an hour labor there is a pretty good chance i'll warranty it. If i look at the battery cables and there is arc damage from crossed cables i'll point it out and see how they react. Remember now i was ready to eat it so anything + is a good thing. Sometimes i eat the labor and they pay for the part, it's still a customer retention. I installed a Jasper reman under warranty (installed at another shop) a week later it came back with a rod rap. I looked it over and both rear wheel wells were full of burnt rubber and the new rear tires were bald. Full sized Blazer. I stone walled the warranty, took pictures and documented everything. Went to small claims court and the arbitrator found in my favor. It was the second engine replaced within a year. I know i'm a bit long winded but being in this business since 1976 and owning my own shop for 22 years i've seen a lot and seen how a few bucks can loose a customer and cause a lot of negative publicity. A prime example is 15 years ago i was working on a ford truck and the customer asked if i could lift the tail pipe and hook it into the hangar. I did without a second thought and he came back with a noise. I put it back up and the exhaust after the cat was a mess of splices and clamps. Had i had seen it i would never had touched it. Well nothing i tried to do would solve it. After spending hours tweaking and bending with no avail i cut it off, hung a new system, made sure he was happy and then told him never come back. My manager asked me why i installed a new system. I explained i knew i was never going to make him happy and he wasn't going to come back either by choice or by my decision. He could and did tell anyone that would listen about the incident and it always ended that i did everything necessary to make him happy even replacing the system. He was and i think is still known as an unreasonable person and i got a few customers based on how i handled him. I'll end with even though things are etched in stone you can be flexible. If it's out of warranty let the customer know and let them know what you're willing to do for them.