Buying parts at the dealer

[Alan Schlosser]

So, I figured I'd stop into the local super dealer. Maybe throw a few dollars locally. Granted it's not an older GS but a 2008. Needed a brake light switch for my Bandit. FYI, the same part number is used in over 100 different Suzuki models. The interchange went something like this...

Can I help you?
Yes, do you have a front brake switch for a 2008 Bandit 1250?
Let me look it up. Queue final Jeopardy music...
You said 1200?
No, 1250. Bandit. GSF.
more music....
What year was that?
2008. 2008 Bandit 1250.
And you needed the brake lever?
No brake switch.
Jeez, someone get this guy a pen and pad.....
Ummmm. We can order it.....
No thanks, I can do that when I get home....
Amazon, click, done. Be here Wednesday.

 

[Hinermad]

So, I figured I'd stop into the local super dealer. Maybe throw a few dollars locally.

The one on W. Henrietta Road? I think I've had that conversation there.

 

[Alan Schlosser]

No. Actually Filer's in Macedon.
I see you're in Wayne County. I'm in Ontario.

 

[BigD_83]

I've learned from one or two conversations like that to hand the desk personnel a list with the part numbers written down.

 

[Alan Schlosser]

Excellent point and I usually do that. But this was sort of on a lark as I was riding by and figured I'd just stop in. Lesson learned.

 

[Hinermad]

No. Actually Filer's in Macedon.
I see you're in Wayne County. I'm in Ontario.

I'm in Ontario too, out past the Tops store.

I've never been to Filers. I should go take a look.

Have you ever tried Stone's Snow Sled between Sodus and Newark? They are (were?) a Suzuki dealer and I've bought parts there several times. (Although they didn't have oil filters for my 450, which seemed odd.) I used to take my bikes there for inspections until I found out PJ Radiator in Ontario Center inspects bikes too.

 

[steve murdoch]

I've learned from one or two conversations like that to hand the desk personnel a list with the part numbers written down.

I do the same thing.
Another annoying aspect of ordering parts is when you call the shop, ask for parts and nobody answers. Usually get fed up and hang up.
Go out for a ride the next day and stop by the shop in person and the kid at the parts counter can't wait to answer the phone while you are standing there.

Sometimes it is VERY difficult to support the local guy.

 

[Alan Schlosser]

Yeah, been out to Stones several times. Jack's a nice guy and usually helped out with the older parts when I had the 82 1100. They cut their hours way back recently but still do inspections on Saturday if you just stop in.
I've stopped the last couple years at PJ's as well for a NYSI. Joe's pretty accommodating.

 

[Spyder]

That's because there is no MONEY in replacement parts. Stealership parts counters want to sell you dress-up, and accessories. That's where they make money. Very rare to find a parts guy that knows anything about the bikes he is peddling parts for anymore. If you want any kind of service you MUST shop online these days. The brick and mortars are constantly crying about how the internet is killing the "local guys" business, but don't do anything to help themselves. Price gouging is NEVER the solution to good business. It is what it is...

 

[earlfor]

I've learned from one or two conversations like that to hand the desk personnel a list with the part numbers written down.

Me too. That's exactly what I do now.

 

[alke46]

That's because there is no MONEY in replacement parts. Stealership parts counters want to sell you dress-up, and accessories. That's where they make money. Very rare to find a parts guy that knows anything about the bikes he is peddling parts for anymore. If you want any kind of service you MUST shop online these days. The brick and mortars are constantly crying about how the internet is killing the "local guys" business, but don't do anything to help themselves. Price gouging is NEVER the solution to good business. It is what it is...

You have just hit the nail squarely on the head. While it would be nice to cater to the local dealerships, you just set yourself up to get screwed over. On line is the way to go.

 

[bwringer]

Why not both?

My local Suzuki dealer has an online storefront where I order most of my Suzuki bits. I have to pay 7% state sales tax, but I can skip shipping and pick up my goodies at the dealer. And slobber on some new bikes and gear while I'm there -- always a worthwhile trip.

https://www.onlinecycleparts.com/ is the online arm of Westfield Powersports, just north of Indianapolis. Fantastic service, too - always a prompt call if something's backordered or when my stuff shows up.

All the other online parts sellers are the same; a regular dealer that has put up an online storefront to sell parts at a discount. If you wander in and make the parts monkey wake up, you'll pay the full price. Do the work of ordering yourself, and you get the parts a lot cheaper.

As far as stock, it's quite true that dealers stock almost nothing. I never would have expected that switch to be in stock. Even oil filters, where two or three part numbers cover every Suzuki ever made, sometimes aren't in stock.

Dealers have to minimize inventory expenses as much as possible in order to survive; the only dealers left these days are the ones who run a VERY tight ship financially. You can't tie up hundreds of thousands of dollars in parts.

 

[Big T]

I have great experience with my local dealer.

I can walk in, they let me confirm the part on the diagram and they order it for me. Suzuki parts take about a week, then I get a phone call from them notifying me

Plus, I get a discount for being a long time customer

I save the shipping cost, which is a deal when you order $11.40 worth of parts

I never consider that they'll have more than an oil filter in stock, why would they?

 

[850 Combat]

A decade or so ago, I broke a clutch cable on the way back from Donut Derilicts. Stopped off at Southland Suzuki. My brother had an X6 from there. Two of his friends bought 500 Titans there (one might have been a 500 Cobra). That dealer has been there as long as I can remember. I stopped in, and they had a NOS OEM clutch cable for a 1000G in stock. I go in occasionally. Truth is, my 1000G isn't that hard on parts, so I'm not in that often.

 

[bwringer]

You used to be able to stop in at a Suzuki dealer that had been around a while and find that they would have some GS parts that had been collecting dust for 20 years. For example, Dreyer here in Indy has been around for decades, and ten or fifteen years ago, I was able to find some GS goodies in stock, and they had a huge parts department -- they once dug up a GS850 valve cover gasket with about an inch of dust on the plastic. These days, they might have an oil filter in stock for a newer Suzuki, but no valve shims, valve cover gaskets, etc. Inventory is as lean as possible, and the old parts catacombs have been turned into floor space for selling bikes.

There are very few if any dealers left who haven't liquidated their old inventory and now maintain it at a bare minimum. On the plus side, there are some sellers on fleaBay that specialize in buying up and selling off dusty old parts inventory, so you can find quite a few OEM goodies that would have been impossible to locate before eBay.

There are some amazing aftermarket suppliers, too -- Cycle Recycle II is here in Indy, and stocks tons of new parts as well as used goodies. And of course I think we're all frequent flyers with Z1 Enterprises.

 

[Spyder]

As I really do hate to admit this, because I really want to be all about supporting my local businesses. The only thing I use the local stealerships for is trying on gear. I go and try on helmets, or jackets, etc. When I find what I like, I have typically went home and ordered it on line for a substantial cost savings. I did however by my jacket at the local stealer in Valpo. They had a pretty good sale going on. But, we were there to try on helmets for the wife. We bought her helmet there that day as well...

 

[Guest]

I do the same thing at Babbitt's, which is in town for me. While their parts counter has gotten a bit better lately, I still know more about the old suzuki than any of the counter folks put together......

Why not both?

My local Suzuki dealer has an online storefront where I order most of my Suzuki bits. I have to pay 7% state sales tax, but I can skip shipping and pick up my goodies at the dealer. And slobber on some new bikes and gear while I'm there -- always a worthwhile trip.

https://www.onlinecycleparts.com/ is the online arm of Westfield Powersports, just north of Indianapolis. Fantastic service, too - always a prompt call if something's backordered or when my stuff shows up.

All the other online parts sellers are the same; a regular dealer that has put up an online storefront to sell parts at a discount. If you wander in and make the parts monkey wake up, you'll pay the full price. Do the work of ordering yourself, and you get the parts a lot cheaper.

As far as stock, it's quite true that dealers stock almost nothing. I never would have expected that switch to be in stock. Even oil filters, where two or three part numbers cover every Suzuki ever made, sometimes aren't in stock.

Dealers have to minimize inventory expenses as much as possible in order to survive; the only dealers left these days are the ones who run a VERY tight ship financially. You can't tie up hundreds of thousands of dollars in parts.

 

[rustybronco]

All the old parts personnel are getting out of the business. It isn't fun anymore. Now the shops are all understaffed by those who have little experience and are left to trial by fire.

On a lighter note. I look up all my parts online, cross reference them to the other manufactures part numbers and buy the best part I can at the lowest cost. People did it to me for years, now it's my turn.
I bought a UAC EX529444C expansion valve for the 300 for mear $7.55 plus shipping. The four orings were an additional $1.50. I also bought a closeout VC gasket for the Farmall at a budget busting $4.05 (Yay me!)

 

[Cipher]

you all bemoan the loss of a parts guy with in depth knowledge but the need for such depth is long gone. The old ordering and delivery systems have been superseded. No min wage person would need to learn the minute systems used for old bikes. Its ludicrous to expect they would. No money in selling an ocassional part to a curmudgeon who is too poor cheap or stupid to own a new bike.

 

[rustybronco]

Really? I suppose this minimum wage person should have any sort of clue when the cataloged is incorrect? I personally ran into incorrect catalogue's' just yesterday and I can guarantee most people would have never caught the error or have known how to get around it.