Are dealership parts departments useless?

I've called three Mazda dealers looking for 14mm flange nuts to replace those I'm cutting off the tophats in the trunk of my Miata (how do they get so rusty!?)

Nobody has them.

This is a pattern , because I've called about other, seemingly common, parts and they don't have those either, like valve cover bolts. I'm trying like hell to give these guys money and they just don't seem to want it!

Off to the hardware store I go.

Yes.

Local Mazda dealer has so far been 0-for-everything on my Miata and my 5.

I struggle with parts on the Internet or parts from dealers.

So what do I do with this? Internet parts suppliers are here to stay. I get tired of my local Honda dealer dicking with prices all the time.

IME the Mazda dealers that seem to advertise on the various forums seem to offer better service than the local dealer's parts department. As a result I tend to get stuff shipped cross country rather than pick it up 10 miles from home. Go figure.

As I said in another thread.. For specialized Mazda parts I either use Mazda Competition (have autocross results) or Rosenthal Mazda ( http://parts.arlingtonmazda.com/ )

Havent really had trouble with either of those.

I used to say that my local Mazda dealer didn't have a parts department -- they had a parts ordering department. They would regularly be out of stock and "have to order" such obscure Miata parts as AC/PS belts, fuel filters, and oil filters.

Mazdacomp is awesome.

it is not only Mazda. I have this problem with BMW. The Local Dealer is also a honda/acura dealer. Last time I was there for a part.. they did not have any BMWs in the showroom and they said it would take a week to get a waterpump.

The local imported car warehouse had one on their shelves.

I haven't found ONE part so far that my Mazda dealer actually stocks.

That said, they WILL order pretty much anything they can actually find in their system, and you WILL actually get your parts. Eventually. After your order is screwed up a few times.

Now if their prices didn't suck so bad, i might be happy.

Filters and water pumps... yeah I can see stocking those. Valve cover bolts? Not so much. Parts depts have a limited amount of space and have to use that for quick turn stuff. Anything (even small stuff) that sits on the shelf is a dead loss.

The Bentley (and Haynes) manual says not to reuse the bolts that attach the front strut to the steering knuckle. The BMW dealer doesn't stock them - 3-5 days plus special order surcharge. 4 required, I ordered 12 just to have them in case... I guess the dealer never replaces struts.

Same with the bolts that attach the half-shafts to the diff. Special order, in spite of the fact that they are not to be re-used.

Don't get me started - I drove all over town looking for two nylock nuts. Eventually gave in and just used thread-lock.

They did have an oil filter when I needed one in an emergency, so I'll give them that much.

Guess I'm lucky...I don't go there very often, but my local BMW dealer's parts department staff is pretty knowledgeable and if they don't have stuff in stock they can usually get it in a day or two.

When it comes to a Miata, I think part of the challenge is the parts diagrams Mazda did for them. Try looking up the bumpers for the convertible top for example, on the Mazda diagrams.

So, what I usually do is check Rosenthal or such, find the part number and go to my dealer with the number itself. While they never have the part in stock, they can order it for me and get it in a few days.

Reminds me of the time I had to go to the Volvo dealership to find a filler neck clamp.

The clamp was a special order part and apparently the bolt was available separately. I show the guy the rusted out clamp with the rounded off bolt and he asks if I need the bolt too.

Kind of an obvious one there...

Call and ask about electrical connectors. Just the the connectors.

It won't happen, but they will offer to sell you an entire harness, which will cost something like the going rate of a virgin and 3 goats.

foxtrapper wrote: they can order it for me and get it in a few days.

This.

I find it odd when people get upset that every local place doesn't always have every little odd thing in stock. Yeah, if you're driving a '94 Chevy pick-up, your local shop/dealer could probably rebuild the entire truck from stock.

I just ordered $425 worth of bolts/ball joints from the local Mazda dealership here. He worked up a quote on Monday, I ordered it Tuesday, most of it should be here tomorrow.

Then again, it's easier for me to be patient as my play car isn't my DD.

My local Dodge dealer still has parts for my truck, it's where I got the emissions E36 M3 I needed.

Other than that I hit up junkyards for parts and Tractor Supply for nuts & bolts.

I always go in assuming it will be on order. I havnt been disappointed yet.

MG Bryan wrote: Call and ask about electrical connectors. Just the the connectors. It won't happen, but they will offer to sell you an entire harness, which will cost something like the going rate of a virgin and 3 goats.

That is the fault of the manufacturer, not the parts staff. Saturn/GM catalog had a handy diagram of all the connectors with descriptions of them that you could order separately, they were expensive but at least you could get them. Mitsubishi had nothing of the sort, it was either the harness or nothing.

From my time working in dealership parts I have seen the good guys as well as worthless ones. Some aren't much better than the FLAP employees, some are fantastic. It is easier to be knowledgeable in a dealership parts department though since there only a few different vehicles you are working with usually.

EvanB wrote:

MG Bryan wrote: Call and ask about electrical connectors. Just the the connectors. It won't happen, but they will offer to sell you an entire harness, which will cost something like the going rate of a virgin and 3 goats.

That is the fault of the manufacturer, not the parts staff. Saturn/GM catalog had a handy diagram of all the connectors with descriptions of them that you could order separately, they were expensive but at least you could get them. Mitsubishi had nothing of the sort, it was either the harness or nothing. From my time working in dealership parts I have seen the good guys as well as worthless ones. Some aren't much better than the FLAP employees, some are fantastic. It is easier to be knowledgeable in a dealership parts department though since there only a few different vehicles you are working with usually.

This. Honda offeres about 10 connectors total. 90% of the connectors on the car are ONLY available in the harness. Believe me, we'd love to be able to get you just connecrtors because we're losing a sale when you walk out the door.

The local Nissan dealer rarely has parts from my 86 D-21 Hard body in stock. Sometimes not even the oil filter or air filter. I don't care about the oil filter, because i now only use Wix. The air filter is differnet from those off teh shelf though. It usually takes 1-2 days to get it in and there is no shipping charge. But, the warehouse is in the next town down I-85. These guys have been porking me for full retail price and I've been dealing with them for 25 years. For several years, the CarMax in Greenville, SC carried Nissan and I could get wholesale prices from them without even asking. I once ordered a special bolt for the brake caliper from them and the overnight charge for a $5 bolt was $20. He even cut me a break on that. This was before the warehouse was built less than a mile from this dealership.

MG Bryan wrote: Call and ask about electrical connectors. Just the the connectors. It won't happen, but they will offer to sell you an entire harness, which will cost something like the going rate of a virgin and 3 goats.

Oh brother don't get me started. I needed a couple of injector connectors for an 89 Maxima and the local Nissan parts guys just stared at me. Got them at a local independent parts place (no longer there) for a couple of bucks. Also I could not get the connector for the temp sensor. You know these things get brittle after 25 years under the hood.

Connectors.... UGH.

Working with Chryslers, you can get some of the connectors. BUT the database doesn't crossmatch similar vehicles. Like I can get PCM connectors in each of the four colors, but I want to say if I looked at a pickup I couldn't get it, but if I went with a Caravan or 300/Charger I could. Even though BOTH vehicles use the SAME connector at the PCM.

Bobzilla wrote:

EvanB wrote:

MG Bryan wrote: Call and ask about electrical connectors. Just the the connectors. It won't happen, but they will offer to sell you an entire harness, which will cost something like the going rate of a virgin and 3 goats.

That is the fault of the manufacturer, not the parts staff. Saturn/GM catalog had a handy diagram of all the connectors with descriptions of them that you could order separately, they were expensive but at least you could get them. Mitsubishi had nothing of the sort, it was either the harness or nothing. From my time working in dealership parts I have seen the good guys as well as worthless ones. Some aren't much better than the FLAP employees, some are fantastic. It is easier to be knowledgeable in a dealership parts department though since there only a few different vehicles you are working with usually.

This. Honda offers about 10 connectors total. 90% of the connectors on the car are ONLY available in the harness. Believe me, we'd love to be able to get you just connectors because we're losing a sale when you walk out the door.

You gents speak the truth. I'm just salty because the local Mazda/Honda dealer is the worst I've ever dealt with.

The Ford dealer, however, used to give me all of the reference books and a chair. When they weren't busy, they spent an hour or two at a time helping me find the part numbers for the pigtails I needed.

Still, connectors are are consistently the most difficult thing for me to source and it's berkeleying annoying.

MG Bryan wrote:

Bobzilla wrote:

EvanB wrote:

MG Bryan wrote: Call and ask about electrical connectors. Just the the connectors. It won't happen, but they will offer to sell you an entire harness, which will cost something like the going rate of a virgin and 3 goats.

That is the fault of the manufacturer, not the parts staff. Saturn/GM catalog had a handy diagram of all the connectors with descriptions of them that you could order separately, they were expensive but at least you could get them. Mitsubishi had nothing of the sort, it was either the harness or nothing. From my time working in dealership parts I have seen the good guys as well as worthless ones. Some aren't much better than the FLAP employees, some are fantastic. It is easier to be knowledgeable in a dealership parts department though since there only a few different vehicles you are working with usually.

This. Honda offers about 10 connectors total. 90% of the connectors on the car are ONLY available in the harness. Believe me, we'd love to be able to get you just connectors because we're losing a sale when you walk out the door.

You gents speak the truth. I'm just salty because the local Mazda/Honda dealer is the worst I've ever dealt with. The Ford dealer, however, used to give me all of the reference books and a chair. When they weren't busy, they spent an hour or two at a time helping me find the part numbers for the pigtails I needed. Still, connectors are are consistently the most difficult thing for me to source and it's berkeleying annoying.

Sounds like you should be dealing with me for your hondar needs

I've been spending more time in the hardware stores than parts stores lately. Anything coming from the dealership, I usually have my father get for me. That way I don't have to deal with them. When I DO deal with them they have been pretty nice and useful, though.