Acceptable parts markup Q

asa50, Aug 22, 5:42pm
Been working out of town so the wife put the teenagers learner car in for a WOF, it failed for leaking oil on the exhaust. I do not begrudge anyone for making a living but the parts cost raised some suspicion that the P is being taken.
For those in the trade how close should a spare part cost relative to those from Repco or SCA in NZ?
I told the missus to wait until I am back in town as a seal replacement on a cam cover should not be $500 on a 1990 Mazda 323
tamarillo, Aug 22, 6:06pm
Your sure the part is $500? Sounds ludicrous.
I’d expect garage to buy trade rate and charge you retail. That might be 50% more at most I guess. Any know exactly?
intrade, Aug 22, 6:38pm
yea something does not look right now prices have gone sky high a valve cover gasket can cost 100$+gst plus labour 250$ plus oil topup 300$ would be about the upper mark you could expect.
clark20, Aug 22, 6:38pm
Most sellers do not like getting under 25% GP or 33% mark up, unless you are buying $10K plus pa. So 1st person sells for $100, reseller sells for $133 , who then may sell it to you at trade $175-$190, and have a retail around $200-$240. (Products over approx. $20 , lower than that may have higher markup to cover costs)
holden113, Aug 22, 6:40pm
30% mark up on parts where I work.

Often the customer is paying less than retail, if we are getting a really good trade price 👍
intrade, Aug 22, 6:43pm
they seem expensive as hell retail from R. non for a 323 found you can use a can of rtv silicone and let it dry then clamp it on thats what i would do if there was no seals available and it be 150$ + tax for a job like this.
you have to know how to use silicon its a dangerous substance used wrong= blocked oil gallery to give a hint
franc123, Aug 22, 7:35pm
I bought a 1993 Mazda Astina in 2001 that had the 1500 DOHC engine in it. It was weeping all around the rocker cover and needed a new gasket. There was none available aftermarket at that time despite those BG Familias/Astinas being one of the most common cars around and the correct one from Mazda was something like $115 if memory serves. I took it off and got the whole thing spotlessly clean and oil free using brakleen and just sealed it up with black silicone and left it for a few days before running the engine again. It had just gone hard and shrunk a bit. As much as I prefer to use the new genuine parts on repair jobs it was an insane price for what it was. The problem could be sorted for far less than $500 though.
jmma, Aug 22, 7:39pm
Does that include a cambelt and labour maybe?
franc123, Aug 22, 7:56pm
I thought I'd look up that RC gasket from my old cars chassis number and it turns out you can have a genuine one these days for NZ$37 including GST and freight ex Japan. gotta love the interweb.
asa50, Aug 22, 8:19pm
Managed to get the part from Repco for $28, part quote from garage was $190 inc gst, cam cover only +3 hours labour. I suspect they saw a sucker when the wife dropped it off. Will do it myself when I am back in town in a couple of days.

A side note not the first time this week, work sent me a quote from Vietnam for some gear we have there with an air leakage issue, local agent was trying to slide 2500% markup past us!
mrfxit, Aug 22, 8:49pm
Nothing new for that part of the world
mrfxit, Aug 22, 8:51pm
Always used to reuse the old gaskets if they were still complete.
A few good wipe over with a petrol soaked rag till oil free & a thin coat of silicon on both sides.
Never had any issues with leaking of getting it back off again at a later date
mrfxit, Aug 22, 8:55pm
Seems to be that mark up is what ever makes the final price palatable to the public.
Minimum 30% up to 300%

Theres this strange idea that if it's really popular & sell lots, then it has a high price.
BUT
If it's really rare, it's going to be expensive.
About the only time it will be "cheap" is on huge discount sales.
They won't even sell cheap "it" if the company goes bust, they would rather dump it all.
kazbanz, Aug 23, 4:26pm
Unless ive totally missed a step I would say there's a point missing here.
A rocker cover on an old car has likely been weeping for yonks and only just built up enough to get on the exhaust.
So before investing a penny I'd be cleaning up the entire area darn well then see just how bad the weep actually is.
tony9, Aug 23, 6:52pm
Seal replacement for $500 sounds OKish, depending on circumstances it may well be reasonable. Replacement seal for $500 is nonsense.
tony9, Aug 23, 6:55pm
Leaking camshaft seal with oil dripping would certainly suggest cambelt would be needed.
kazbanz, Aug 25, 12:41pm
I guess without actually seeing what they are being "quoted " for work wise its pretty hard to know if its a rip off or not.
But again oil on exhaust a clean up is first -possibly only job
asa50, Sep 15, 3:57pm
Just a follow up since the repair. Got the part for $28 from Repco plus some degreaser, total time took about 2 hours plus messing around to collect the part at level 3. Could not find any obvious damage to the seal. The quote was $190 parts plus 3 hours labour. As I was away working out of town it took a month for me to be back and find the time to do the job. In this time they called the wife asking what happened to the car and if we sold it.
So now hugely suspicious of their intentions.
In the plus side it was good to spend time with the daughter who did the dirty work with me holding a beer and handing over the correct sockets.
gph1961, Sep 15, 5:07pm
thieves
burglars
did you have to pay again as past 28 days for recheck?
tnt423, Nov 19, 2:49pm
I got a price for some trailer springs today that were $350 more then what they are sold for on Trademe. Same Brand And he told me he gave me a trade discount.