Buyer Beware

There is one customer question that should make every automotive mechanic cringe: Can I supply my own parts and fluids? Yikes. In the ears of a skilled mechanic that repair becomes risky business- literally.

Automotive repair is not an easily taught and understood subject which is why it is important for your mechanic to explain in detail the problem, labor involved, and parts available to repair the vehicle. We know that times are tough and money is tight which is why we work all the angles to try to get you the best deal possible. We often have customers who want to supply their own parts in the hopes to save money but that's not always the wisest option for the following reasons.  

For a corporation like ourselves, we have established strong relationships with reputable part distributors whom we have come to trust with quality products. All of these distributors have reliable warranties on the parts they distribute separate from our shop warranty giving you two full coverage warranties for the repair completed. If you choose to supply your own parts, you deny this warranty coverage from the parts manufacturer and our shop warranty diminishes to 'bare bones' as we do not warranty customer supplied parts. We cannot warranty this service because of legality reasons. First, we have no idea where this part was purchased from, if it is used or new, if its the correct part, if it will fix the problem, or if its stolen (in extreme cases). And secondly, if the customer authorizes the repair with the supplied part, we cannot guarantee that the supplied part will fix the problem or not cause more internal damage to the vehicle. Our standard warranty is 12 months or 12,000 miles post service for anything that may happen in defect with the part. By supplying your own part, you fore go this insurance and run the risk of having to pay later if the part doesn't fix the problem and causes more damage instead. 

Think of it this way, if you supply all the toppings you want on your pizza to a pizza parlor and your pizza is far from appeasing once you eat it, you can't blame the pizza parlor because they just made it with what you supplied.       

Save yourself from paying more later and skip on buying your own parts. It's risky, for both you and the mechanic.