$60 for a clutch fork!?

"MonkeePuzzle" (monkeypuzzle)
09/16/2013 at 13:48 • Filed to: black suby project

Monkey - "hi, I'm calling for pricing and availability on two parts"

Suby Stealership - "do you have the VIN?"

Monky - "no..."

*click* *silence* *hold music*

DISCUSSION (21)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > MonkeePuzzle
09/16/2013 at 13:54

I really detest the "do you have the VIN?" process. Firstly, it can mean the manufacturer regularly engages in mid-year and intra-model dickery.

Secondly, it means that rather than *knowing* generation changes, systems, or even models, the staff have to bow to the Mighty Vin as seed for what a car does or does not have on it.

Thirdly, it's symptomatic of the "customer dimbulb" that they don't trust a customer to know anything at all about the tens-of-thousands-of-dollars piece of hardware they own and use every day.

MonkeePuzzle > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
09/16/2013 at 13:58

plus... its my clutch fork, not like I could drive the car there then jsut nip out to the parking lot to grab the VIN. Irrelevant since I called, but still.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > MonkeePuzzle
09/16/2013 at 14:01

Yep. My neglected "Fourth" was the nuisance of providing a VIN (a number you decidedly are more unlikely to know) in lieu of what you actually probably do.

dinobot666 > MonkeePuzzle
09/16/2013 at 14:07

OEM parts catalogs are literally worthless without a VIN. You simply cannot do anything meaningful with them without one. Sorry, but you MUST have a VIN when you're calling the dealership or looking up your parts online. That's all there is to it.

MonkeePuzzle > dinobot666
09/16/2013 at 14:14

I get that it is more difficult, my complaint was actually more about the lack of actual discussion, just straight up put me on hold several times between his grunting conversation.

I clearly got the part in the end without a vin, as I found out its price

dinobot666 > MonkeePuzzle
09/16/2013 at 14:20

Not just more difficult, but sometimes impossible. You cannot even begin to understand the bewildering array of parts that can go on a particular application, especially vehicle built on global platforms with parts sourced from all over the world. It's maddening. You simply can't imagine it.

MonkeePuzzle > dinobot666
09/16/2013 at 14:23

oh, I cannot?

dinobot666 > MonkeePuzzle
09/16/2013 at 14:31

Apparently not?

AbigGRNboot > MonkeePuzzle
09/16/2013 at 14:32

Some people just have no imagination, I guess. Or so I've been told. Repeatedly.

MonkeePuzzle > dinobot666
09/16/2013 at 14:32

all statements as questions?

dinobot666 > MonkeePuzzle
09/16/2013 at 14:42

I would say so?

MonkeePuzzle > dinobot666
09/16/2013 at 14:44

can I assume you are reading each of these with a slight uptake in tone a the end?

philipilihp > MonkeePuzzle
09/16/2013 at 14:44

BMW dealership quoted me $330 to replace one of the angel eye bulbs. Does that help?

MonkeePuzzle > philipilihp
09/16/2013 at 14:54

that doens't sound like it would help anyone :P

dinobot666 > MonkeePuzzle
09/16/2013 at 15:05

Just a certain bit of inflection?

MonkeePuzzle > dinobot666
09/16/2013 at 15:06

yeah, I dunno what I thinKING?

bigfish13.jf > MonkeePuzzle
09/16/2013 at 15:25

Attention people calling "stealership's" and complaining about high prices. Stop it. It should be common knowledge that some dealership prices are higher than your neighborhood autozone.

bigfish13.jf > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
09/16/2013 at 15:26

do you have any idea how many different vin breaks there are, even for simple things like oil seals and brake parts? or how about color coded parts, interior and exterior?

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > bigfish13.jf
09/16/2013 at 15:45

I'm not denying its necessity for the modern vehicle in many cases -I won't pretend the things you mention don't exist. I object to the default to it in lieu of more ready-to-hand information for every part, and the tendency to revise mid-year and between variations in a model that produces the vin breaks for seals, brake parts, etc. that you mention. I spelled it out, even, right in my post.

I should also point out that color coded parts are (or should be) not only searchable from a color book, but are not generally the sort of thing that makes a VIN question as unreasonable as run of the mill mechanicals. I'll accede only grudgingly to a VIN check being sort of reasonable in their case. Replacing a split piece of interior plastic generally doesn't involve being arms-deep in a project incapable of being taken to the dealer for a quick VIN check, nor does it have the innate universality of, say, a motor mount. A motor mount for _insert car_ of _insert year_ with a V6 should not require knowledge of what month in that year, color, or trim level of the car. For trim, I can understand interest in the latter two. One should, however, be able to say, e.g. "92 Camry LE, grey cloth". Those are things an owner can *know*, more so than a VIN.

EL_ULY > MonkeePuzzle
09/16/2013 at 15:49

I work for Volvo Parts, looking for a sun visor? guess what, there are 40 different ones!. Looking for rear view mirror? There are 20 of those also. Give me the WHOLE VIN#. If i dont get a VIN # i dont trip, i'll just quote you the most expensive one to cover my ass. We get penalized when ordering the wrong parts, not you guys.

MonkeePuzzle > bigfish13.jf
09/16/2013 at 16:17

attention people calling other people who steal TVs "thieves" it should be common knowledge that people steal TVs, stop calling them thieves!

right? what?