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View Poll Results: Would you buy spares and parts online?
Yes – Only for routine services 45 10.39%
Yes – For routine services + replacements 338 78.06%
No 50 11.55%
Voters: 433. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 11th April 2015, 20:00   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudra Sen View Post
Yes – For routine services + replacements gets maximum vote (as of now) I see.

So, you buy stuff online and take it to service center during service? And Service center obliges without raising a question?
I'm sorry if my questions sound stupid but I'm under the impression that dealers make more money in service than selling cars and they don't allow this practice. Unless, of course you know them personally.

Please enlighten guys.

Rudra,

Most friendly neighbourhood garages are more than willing to let the customer source the parts for repair. Infact, some even ask the customer to. Simple reason, it rids them of the liability of the part going wrong. They earn on the labour rates and are happy with that piece of the pie.

Most recently, the AC clutch on my Zen developed an issue. The service advisor at Maruti asked me to wait till it conks off entirely and then get the entire compressor assembly, or source the AC Clutch myself.

Similarly, the alternator on a friend's Nano had gone kaput. We were against fitting a new alternator; had them give us the old alternator, refurbished it (Thank You TeamBHP directory) and gave it back to Tata to fix. No fuss.

If you know people at the service centres, even they won't mind you sourcing parts for your cars. The liability of the part is however yours and not the workshops.


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Old 12th April 2015, 11:14   #17
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Re: Would you buy Spares & Parts online?

This is interesting, but Caveat Emptor applies to this concept in a big way. With the way there are can be several different part codes for a similar yet different part for each model or facelift or some time VIN batch of each car, who will ensure that the customer is buying the right part? How will returns be handled, if at all, for parts that have been opened, try-fitted and turn out incorrect? These can be costly mistakes that may go against the seller.

So there should be a part advisor/ part shopper service bundled with the sale as well, who can make the probability of the right sale higher than say 99%.
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Old 12th April 2015, 11:24   #18
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Re: Would you buy Spares & Parts online?

Quote:
Originally Posted by a4anurag View Post
The answer is Yes, 90% of the ASC guys will object to getting spares by our own and getting it fit at the ASC.
My question was in this context only.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cartman View Post
If you know people at the service centres, even they won't mind you sourcing parts for your cars. The liability of the part is however yours and not the workshops.
I know. I did the same on engine oil with Sundaram Motors in Bangalore.
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Old 12th April 2015, 13:39   #19
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Re: Would you buy Spares & Parts online?

I have and would definitely continue to do so

I think the "potential inclination" to buy parts online is going to be more for owners who have difficulty in finding them on-ground , Fiat and Skoda for example - i own both and between their logistic setup and their inventory management either one does not find it or one needs to wait 2-3 days till it arrives at the dealership post an order placement.

Post getting my Linea , one of the first activities i did was to look at 99RPM extensively to ascertain availability of parts and originality and i have since used them a few times, there are still a lot of things which 99RPM needs to do to improve its position and general sales experience - for example in many cases they list a part but that might also only be available 10-12 days later because it would be on a back order, in other cases it will be with you in a day or so.

I dont have a problem with FASS objecting to putting in parts which i have bought on my won - this comes down to a relationship which can either be built on a positive note or on fear , in my case it is a bit of both and they have obliged by using engine oil i have got , accessories, wipers plus there are a lot of things which do not warrant the need to go to a service station and one can simply do it ourselves - changing of wipers for example, side mirrors , grills

In some cases however one is a bit stuck especially with parts which require painting - a bumper for example , one can buy it online but it will only be available in a base color and one will then need to go to the service guys for the paint job - in these situations i might just decide not to buy online simply because i will avoid a step by getting it all done from the service center.

Last edited by puchoo : 12th April 2015 at 13:43.
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Old 12th April 2015, 17:15   #20
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The answer is a resounding YES from me.

I have ordered multiple time from 99rpm for my Palio. He has managed to get even the smallest parts and the site was responsible to restore faith in maintaining my fiat.

The situation has changed slightly since a year though, the Fiat ASS at Urs Kar Mysore and Vecto Motors in Bengaluru have warmed over selling parts over the counter without hassles. I first check if I can buy the spares OTC at these 2 centers, if its not available then order them from 99rpm. Helps me save shipping
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Old 12th April 2015, 17:18   #21
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Re: Would you buy Spares & Parts online?

What if - the manufacturer itself provides spares online ? That would be something.
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Old 12th April 2015, 17:40   #22
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Re: Would you buy Spares & Parts online?

I would buy recommended OEM parts from the Car manufacturer's website if required. But it would be so much easier just to send the car to the authorised service centre and get the job done!
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Old 12th April 2015, 18:54   #23
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Re: Would you buy Spares & Parts online?

Sure, its cheaper online especially from websites which have free returns and money back. Amazon has recently launched an Auto section exclusive, it doesn't have elaborate range but has fair range of routine products.
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Old 12th April 2015, 19:17   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by condor View Post
What if - the manufacturer itself provides spares online ? That would be something.
That is about the last thing a manufacturer will do. They will try their level best to dissuade people from visiting any garage apart from their own and will do the most minimum required to satisfy regulatory requirements of providing OTC spares.
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Old 12th April 2015, 22:37   #25
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Re: Would you buy Spares & Parts online?

I would certainly buy spares online and get them fitted from my very trusted neighborhood mechanic. It would save me from the hassle of driving almost 50 kms for getting the car serviced.
But, it all depends on the type of parts available. I would prefer OEM parts and if they are available online for a price lesser than service centres, it would make sense. Else it wouldn't be prudent to order parts, wait for a few days and then take them to the mechanic.
It makes greater sense for difficult to find parts. If a website concentrates on somehow stocking rare parts, they certainly would benefit from it and customers would love it.
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Old 13th April 2015, 08:34   #26
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Re: Would you buy Spares & Parts online?

Quote:
Originally Posted by shankar.balan View Post
I would buy recommended OEM parts from the Car manufacturer's website if required. But it would be so much easier just to send the car to the authorised service centre and get the job done!
I seriously doubt the car manufacturer's themselves will ever retail parts online. But if and when you do buy online, you'd know what and how much you're paying for. It won't come as a rude shock when you pick your car up from the service center.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SunnyBoi View Post
That is about the last thing a manufacturer will do. They will try their level best to dissuade people from visiting any garage apart from their own and will do the most minimum required to satisfy regulatory requirements of providing OTC spares.
+1. But you never know. And the dissuasion is obvious, isn't it? After all, service has become the primary source of income for many dealerships! This market has sort of become a monopoly. Car manufacturers dictate terms and the consumer/market has to follow. I think it's the warranty being void that is the main issue here. The hesitation to repair/replace would've been much lower if the manufacturer honored warranty irrespective of where the car had been serviced.



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Old 13th April 2015, 12:20   #27
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Re: Would you buy Spares & Parts online?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudra Sen View Post
Yes – For routine services + replacements gets maximum vote (as of now) I see.

So, you buy stuff online and take it to service center during service? And Service center obliges without raising a question?
I'm sorry if my questions sound stupid but I'm under the impression that dealers make more money in service than selling cars and they don't allow this practice. Unless, of course you know them personally.

Please enlighten guys.
What happens when there is a failure in replaced part...especially with dealer-stealer category... will it always go down to fighting it out?

Thanks for sharing 99rpm.com I see only Tata Fiat & Hyundai for now. Any plans of other manufacturers as well?
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Old 13th April 2015, 14:19   #28
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Re: Would you buy Spares & Parts online?

Quote:
Originally Posted by akshay1234 View Post
To be honest I would definitely buy parts online, but I would have a few apprehensions too.

For service parts I would want the same day, or next day delivery.

About giving it to a local workshop, I would prefer if it was certified or had a tie up with the people selling me the parts. It would just give that much more confidence.

A warranty on the parts would be an added bonus, also showing sellers confidence in the same.

Also sites like Amazon which have already got in to it will be a bigger help for smaller cities/towns, since I would think sourcing parts there would be quite difficult for anything besides a Maruti/Hyundai.
Absolutely agree with the points above. But then i would like to add that the company selling the parts online would also have to shoulder the responsibility of making sure those local worshop tie ups were audited or customer feedback taken seriously to make sure the workshops were good at what they did & the labour prices charged was satisfactory.

Furthermore, apart from warranty, to take things one step further, if there was some sort of assurance that the parts were original, like having the car companies tie up here as well, it would be a boon. Could be scope for the car companies to add some revenue while for customers, it would be quality assurance.

Quote:
Originally Posted by a4anurag View Post
What I feel overall though I have voted for the same point is that - Till warranty is running all jobs, replacements will be done at ASC by their own parts. Once warranty expires I go the FNG route.

I own a Maruti Suzuki so getting parts is never an issue be it at ASC or at their MGP dealership (Over The Counter). Same is the case with Hyundai who do have part sales via over the counter system.

Even if do go but the parts online, I'll enquire at the ASC for the price and check the same online. If the difference isn't much I'll go ahead with the ASC.
Agreed. If price difference isnt much, then one would definitely still prefer going the ASC route. But here you also need to add to the equation, their labour charges & also the various dupe schemes some of them run.

Last edited by Xehaust : 13th April 2015 at 14:21. Reason: Typos
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Old 13th April 2015, 15:37   #29
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Re: Would you buy Spares & Parts online?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Xehaust View Post
Agreed. If price difference isnt much, then one would definitely still prefer going the ASC route. But here you also need to add to the equation, their labour charges & also the various dupe schemes some of them run.
The labour charges at the dealerships was one of the main reasons I started this thread in the first place. Very recently, my Zen underwent it's 60k kms service. The total amount was close to 8k. I don't remember Maruti after sales service being so expensive!

When I looked closely at the bill, there were many unwanted listings. This was conveniently brushed aside by the SA stating I'd got a discount because of the AMC I had purchased. In hindsight, the 10k spent on the AMC wasn't really worth it; was just another unnecessary 'expense'.


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Old 13th April 2015, 15:58   #30
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Re: Would you buy Spares & Parts online?

I voted no. Caveat Emptor!



I believe this is the honeymoon period with online shopping. The online sellers are no less dishonest than those in the brick and mortar stores (and ASC).

Note that there are no laws protecting the consumer (and we all know how effective the existing laws are)

I would buy online if I am convinced of the sellers honesty and integrity, which in most cases is not obvious to a buyer.

One nice thing - TBHP members have given some good tips on purchasing from Amazon (look for Amazon fulfilled)

But I saw an alarming line on Sharp's website - "No warranty if purchased from Snapdeal"

I recently bought an item of clothing from an online seller and upon using it realized how unfit it was for the purpose and wrote a scathing review. I soon got a call and a partial refund was offered, which I immediately accepted. Needless to say, I realized that not all items can be evaluated properly on a screen and I will not be purchasing items like clothing online. Nearly forgot the key point: My review was pulled - which means there will be no reviews warning other buyers or helping them make better decisions - how would you rate this online site with only the glowing reviews?? How will they behave after they have created a "highly ranked" reputation?
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