A Question from the supply side of things

[sfrs4]

So my job entails supplying you guys with parts to fix your machines. Something I have begun to notice more of recently is the move by customers towards cheaper alternative parts and by which I mean the lower end cheap nasty stuff (which we don't want to supply). so my question is this, what is your preference when ordering replacement parts.

A. Genuine manufacturer parts (the price doesn't bother me but warranty and quality do)
B. Aftermarket OEM quality parts (quality bothers me but I don't want to pay over the odds)
C. Aftermarket cheap as I can get (couldn't care less about quality, if it fits it sits. just need it as cheap as possible)

and are certain parts not as critical as others, for instance, genuine filters but who cares who made a hub seal
also is the move driven by the rising cost of Genuine parts or margins getting tighter on the business side from your side.

NOTE: THIS IS NOT JUST SOME MARKETING EXERCISE, I AM GENUINLY INTERESTED AS TO WHERE THE MARKET IS BEING DRIVEN

 

[thepumpguysc]

As an outsider, I don't actually work on the machines, just the components..
I see.. B & C mostly.. that being said, there ARE some equipment lines where "aftermarket parts" don't compare.. Cat & JD.. Mostly Cat.. a customer will "try" an aftermarket part & they usually find out in short order they don't work & the repair is repeated w/ more costly OEM parts..
AND I've seen where an aftermarket co part will carry a BETTER WARRANTY than OEM..
BUT, if your changing the part every 2-3 months.. the warranty isn't worth the time..

 

[sfrs4]

I agree, we have an aftermarket company who's products we trust to be of a similar or better quality to Genuine, we also have a supplier who's product is of a lesser quality but still good and serviceable in use but is cheaper, then we have now had to find a cheaper alternative to both of those as the customers here seem to be driven more with price than anything, and this final supplier is just that CHEAP the finish of the product is not as polished! and yes we then get the phone call saying its failed within X months and they're not happy, so we end up with a bad name for supplying what they are demanding, I suppose to put it in your world, like a customer wanting a cost of repair job instead of a full overhaul, then ringing you up to complain it's failed (albeit on another part) and telling people that you don't do a good enough job.

 

[thepumpguysc]

That HAS happened to ALL of us at one time or another..
ME> I offered a gasket kit rebuild w/ no calibration to 1 fella..[NEVER AGAIN}
HE INSISTED he didn't need it as "it ran great". & didn't want to spend the extra 200.00 to put it on my machine..
He called me afew days later talking about a leak..& HE HAD TO FIX IT..
I said, THATS what the test stand is for !!! BUT YOU opted out of it.. so its on you.. Have a nice day..
There are a few lines of aftermarket parts I no longer carry or sell, just for the simple fact of complaints..
Reliabuilt comes to mind.. We used to call them "Reli a Junk".. Non-turbo pistons in a turbo o-h kit..
Gaskets missing.. NO head gaskets in an o-h kit.. 5 piston rings for a 6 cyl. engine.. the list goes on & on..

 

[Vetech63]

In my experience it depends on the part and what or how it will be used. The CAT Classic stuff over the years has failed me several times. My rule of thumb is......if the part will be under high torque, or metal to metal contact, I will run genuine only. I have had real good luck with genuine USED parts which has saved customers a lot of money.

 

[John C.]

I look at the amount of time and hassle if I have to replace the defective part. I rebuild a D8H engine years ago and used an aftermarket set of rings. Two months later one hole went dead and blow by came out the breather like exhaust through the stack. Pulled the head and found a broken ring on number five piston. The salesman says I broke it when it was installed. I tell him it would have shown up in the first week of operation. Then he says a bad injector caused it. I tell him I put new injectors in the engine and had the number five unit checked before I pulled the head and the Cat dealer said it was OK. He says we would have to pay for a new ring set. I told him send me the rings and a head gasket set and I'll take care of the bill. When I got the parts I told him the check was in the mail. The company that sold me the stuff went out of business a couple of month later. The trouble with the parts, the hassle to get it covered and the time the machine was down taught me to not take chances on parts that deep inside a component. The savings didn't cover the risk of something going bad.

 

[Birken Vogt]

I take into consideration the desire and situation of the customer. Are they just scraping to get it through next month or do they want it to run for years? How many hours the machine has left on it? If the engine has 25,000 hours there is no sense in spending top dollars for accessories which are just going to need replaced again soon.

As for your business model, take a look at TPG's story above. This will happen to you as a parts store. Sounds like you offer OEM, top quality, mid quality, low quality and are considering a no quality line to not lose sales to the cheapest of your customers. Well, the cheap guys come in and want it cheaper and you sell them the cheapest line with the warning that it is bottom rung and then it fails on them, they come in complaining anyway, they forget that you told them that.

It is really hard to quantify this in terms of which direction makes the better dollars and cents but remember that Cat has been making more money building a top dollar product all these decades while many, many others have come and gone (forget about the Classic line for sake of this argument).

But my advice would be, from some radio ad that used to air around here, if we can't guarantee it, we won't sell it. Reputation stands to bring in more sales than cheapening up. Internet is going to steal some sales from you but that is just a shift in market forces and you cannot compete in that space. You can compete by offering knowledge and advice and easy returns/exchanges/warranty that will build more and more reputation. Local presence is a tortoise and internet sales is a hare.

 

[AzIron]

it comes down to a lot of things but filters we use mainly napa cause its convenient and they are on the shelf i get all my teeth and cutting edges from an aftermarket place prices are better and they carry better quality than oem i would agree with things like engine parts going oem just for warranty and accountability but most things if i can source a quality part then thats not at dealer prices i am all about it.

my opinion is its not worth your time to sell me the cheapest quality part just for heart ache alone and what it will do to your overall reputation bad experiences last a long time especially with people that are all about cheapest parts available its not there fault they bought a junk part at scrap prices. people after the cheapest part usually spend that money any way by calling 7 different places to find the cheapest place is 40 bucks less and an hour drive one way but its cheaper than the store 5 minutes up the road and there to stupid to see the difference. you dont need those customers. A the local shop with helpful people that actually understand that your alternator is not a flux capacitor is worth gold in today's market

 

[check]

If there is some degree of certainty about the future life of a machine, it's worth paying top dollar for top quality parts. With all the electronics and planned in obsolesense nowadays, there is a great cloud of uncertainty when a machine is out of warranty. Every expenditure is a gamble. Why gamble big bucks repairing a throw away machine?

 

[sfrs4]

Wow I wish the American mentality to buying parts worked over here, you guys are more switched on to the buy once buy right idea albeit more expensive.
and we agree on the quality side of things, we have always strove to supply good quality products and as the boss says "it takes years to build a good reputation but only seconds to destroy it" so keeping the customer happy is a big thing for us.

 

[Vetech63]

The last straw for me on the classic parts was the precups I bought for a 3204. 1st 2 snapped when I started to torque them down and gave up after that. The only reason I even bought them was Cat didn't have any genuine available at the time. I ended up finding some genuine used precups and had no problems. They used to be decent parts, but over the years the quality has gone downhill. They always warranty the parts, but it will not cover the cost of making another trip to the job or any lost labor time.

 

[DMiller]

Some machines(my Allis) we have no choice, a neighbors Cat or Deere or the Cat engine in the machine I am running, all get OEM to maintain reliability around here. I worked a independent garage and multiple fleet operations for years, saw the cheap crap across the years we ended up changing to OEM later, sometimes you win but most times right back in and the customer/shop manager or district superintendent angry at lost time.