ok so here's the story. i was in a collision with my 8 about a week ago. only front end damage. well it's been at this shop now and they took everything apart in the front end. i wanted to replace certain parts with aftermarket parts. a good example is the front bumper. instead of getting the stock bumper i opted to get the mazdaspeed bumper and just pay for the difference in price from what my insurance company is giving me for the stock bumper. the shop is saying that they have to get the parts themselves because they make a profit off of them. so they call me back and tell me that the MS bumper is $1500. i'm getting pretty upset now and told them i can get it from trussville mazda for $1260. they told me that i can't do that cause they'll be losing money in the profit they would get from that part meaning if they got the MS bumper at a wholesale price of $1100, they wanted to profit of $400. do they have a right to tell me where to get my parts from?? the MS bumper is just one of the items out of a list that i wanted to replace with aftermarket parts. at this point i want to take my car to another shop but everything is taken apart already. thanks in advance for any advice.

 

They should be making their money on the labour, not the parts...call your insurance agent. If you are on good terms with him, maybe he can add some pressure.

oh...and just for the record...another Sunlight Silver car in an accident....THEY ARE CURSED!

 

What is the insurance company paying for the stock bumper replacement?

 

they pay $403 plus paint.

 

Them having to buy the bumper is total BS, my friend works in an auto shop so I kinda found out how they work. The only thing they should be charging you is for the labor and paint that is their bread and butter income. Getting the bumper is part of fixing the car but it sounds to me they are trying to rip you off, and you know what. They usually get a 20% discount from parts distributors, so yes they are trying to rip you off.
The insurance pays them for the costs of parts, so they get reimbursed for the bumper, there is little to no profit there since they get only a 20% profit from buting the bumper. They in turn mark it up 20% and charge that to the insurance, the money they make is basically labor which is about 95 dollars an hour and materials. So you figure it takes them 4 hours to prep, paint and install your bumper that is about $400 dollars in thier pocket, minus paint and the 20% they made from the bumper, that would be about $500 - $600 profit, they are trying to get your for an other $400. You know it only really takes them only really like two hours of real work time, most of the time its some computer generated estimate which is what they charge while the shop guys lounge around.

 

thanks for the help. i'm gettin my car outta there and to another shop. anyone else have any other suggestions for part replacements? this is my list so far.

mazdaspeed bumper
blue tint fog lights
fog light bracket for MS bumper
PWR radiator
replace clear corners
veilside hood (3 month backorder)

i'm trying to decide on a hood that i would use temporarily until the veilside hood comes in. i have abour $550 to work with because that is the cost of the stock hood. i was thinking maybe getting a carbon fiber hood and then sell it when the veilside came in. any suggestions on what hood would sell the easiest?

i was also debating whether or not to get the HKS racing suction intake. the whole stock intake assembly has to be replaced and that costs about $580. the thing is, i'm guessing that i would need most of those components like the air inlet duct, etc. the only thing that i think the HKS kit replaces is the stock air box and the air filter which only comes out to like $150 out of the $580. does anyone know what the HKS kit actually replaces?

any other suggestions for parts are welcome. i was thinking the MS oil cooler but that's just too much out of my pockets.

 

$403 dollars seems way too cheap for a bumper. I wonder how they justify the price.

 

that's the price for the bumper unpainted and also not including the front lip spoiler.