A Canadian Parts Tale
 

After finishing the house renovations this spring I finally had some free cash flow to do some maintenance on black beauty. First on the list was some new struts. So I called my local dealership to get some $ numbers. First service quoted me 3 hrs. @ $105.00/hr. Seemed reasonable. Next, parts dept. proceeded to look up pricing - comes back on the line - $440 for the rear struts, $420 for the front. That's for the pair I ask. Nope - EACH. Long silence on my end. So, I says, I'm looking at around 2 grand to have my struts replaced? Yup, bout that he replies. So ... I do not book the car in.
A little pissed but a long way from being defeated I immediately go on-line and go to SubaruParts.com. Front struts - $122. Rear - $130. These are US $ but at this date that is not very significant. Canadian parts from my dealership are 3X the cost of SubaruParts.com ( which is actually Tacoma Nissan Subaru).
So ... I call the dealer back and ask if they have any problem in installing genuine Subaru parts that I supply. Nope, no problem. I book an appointment.
Then I go back on-line and order struts, rear bearings, trunk stays, & timing belt.
The parts arrived today. $200 shipping. $80 for duty. I'm still WAY ahead.
Tomorrow they will install. And they will also do a multi-point inspection. Whatever they find that requires more parts will NOT be done at this time - if you catch my drift.
Also, my original wheels are a gouged up mess. I missed opportunities to buy used sets on E-Bay for cheap but was also considering going aftermarket.Someone on this site had purchased some wheels from CheapWheels.com called Hockenheim R and I really liked them. So I looked - but could'nt find them. So I called ( they are under 94-04 Mustang) . Selling for $299 - for the set of 4! So I ordered them too. See attached .jpeg (if I can attach(!)) So that's my Cdn. parts horror story.

Dealerships always mark up parts. It's how they make money and screw you in the process!

I like the wheels. The parts price diff sucks! And the labor charge seems high to me but what can you do? Tell your boss that you need a raise or a bonus.

Why do you want to replace the struts? How can you tell if they're in need of replacement or are they like the t-belt, just needs to be done at certain intervals?

Let me know if the ride feels different.

A set of Michelin Pilot Sports 245/40 would look awesome on those wheels... and perform great with new struts :D

I like those wheels too. :) :)

Strange about the price of your parts. I've found the dealer I use has always had comparable prices to subaruparts.com , sometimes even cheaper. The just got bought out by a huge dealership chain. Hope that doesn't put the prices up.

Yeah, dealerships mark-up parts all right, but 300% is just crazy. In shopping around for parts, I've found the Suby dealer nearest me charges full list price, as does my mechanic, but other outlets ask significantly less for the same part. Markup is apparently a matter of individual dealer discretion, and is pretty robust everywhere.

dcb

You're right there. Most items are much cheaper elsewhere!
When I checked on buying the rear bearings, the Dealer was the cheapest here (Ontario) compared to Napa and Carquest.
It's hit and miss. You just have to check everyone before you buy.