Local Parts Store, Shows Continued Loyalty to Shops

[Joe Marconi]

Everyone shop owner I speak with today is concerned about the quality of the parts they purchase. And while many of us enjoy low prices on some part lines, we do not enjoy the comebacks and poor quality of many of the parts we purchase. The long term effect is anyone's guess, but it cannot be good. The loss of revenue and the potential loss of consumer confidence is perhaps the biggest worry.

 

With another Cardone Steering Rack failure, I am forced to once again turn to the dealer for many of the aftermarket parts that I have lost confidence in

 

I can tell you that my local CARQUEST/Advance has not turned its back on me or other shops in the area. And while they are going thru their own challenges with the Advance acquisition deal, they have been steadfast in their continued loyalty to their customers, the independent repair shops in the Putnam/Westchester New York area.

 

They are listening and working with us, attempting to contact Cardone about their failure rate, and I also appreciate their honesty. It gives my renewed hope that we are on the right track. I just hope Cardone and the rest of the aftermarket is listening.

[slowtech]

Parts returns are factored in to cost of sales. Doesn't matter if it is returned by a qualified shop or a DIYer. Parts chains know failed parts and didn't fix it returns come back under the same blanket. Retail price & profit margin are king. Repair shops will always foot the bill in lost labor dollars. Goes like this. Complain to your supplier, fix the car at our expense, come in tomorrow and repeat.

[xrac]

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[Joe Marconi]

Unfortunately, Cardone is often junk and is also the only aftermarket part available. Joe, are you using any Cardone parts?

 

We are buying more and more from the dealer. We sometimes give the customer the option and explain the differences. It's interesting to note too that we have sold at least 2 dozens dealer racks this year for more money! Imagine that, PRICE IS NOT ALWAYS THE DETERMING FACTOR!

 

I agree, I have had multiple rack and pump failures from Cardone. I just had another last week. Cardone says they care, but to be honest, caring is not enough. Fix the problem, that's all we ask. Cardone needs to realize that as independent shops, we must maintain our reputation and confindence from the consumer. Once we lose that, we lose everything.

[xrac]

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[Joe Marconi]

Joe, I have had a terrible time with a Cardone reman distributor this week on a 2001 Mazda Millenia. It was the only one available in town at the time. The first one lasted 4 days and the second lasted a day. It cost time and a $70 tow and a $45 tow.

 

Is the Cardone problem epidemic among all their product lines?

 

I had another Cardone rack failure on a Buick. In the last 2 weeks we needed steering racks on a few older cars (over 12 years old). My service advisors got Cardone. I hope we don't have any issues. As I stated before, the failure rate is unacceptable, and the damage to the aftermarket reputation is at stake here.

[xrac]

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[ncautoshop]

This is a caliper we received from advance today. In my opinion it's a poor quality reman. Also noticed there's been no consistency lately. Some calipers for instance come with line banjo bolts, some without. Threads not repaired. Some with hardware some without. Actually went in the store a while back and looked over about 4 boxes with the same part number. Each had different contents. Things like this really hurt small shop productivity in my opinion!

 

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[gacurt]

I don't buy anything that I know is Cardone. Calipers are undercar express - supposed to be domestically reman, racks and power steering pumps - oe or used oe. Napa uses a different supplier than cardone now for pumps, I have one installed for about 6 months now with no issues. OE parts look better all the time.

[Joe Marconi]

This is sad. What will it take for Cardone to take on these issues, speak to their customers (we, the repair shops) and get these problems solved? Has the damage been so great that even if they make changes, would it be too late?