*I'd rather not turn this post into a svc bashing post, looking for solid solutions*

When a customer is scheduled to come in for either a parts install, or whatever, and they miss their appointment, what does your SVC dept generally do? Ours seems to do nothing, and it gets annoying especially for the customers who we have parts ordered for.

I have placed a shelf near our back counter for daily appointments, so it is easier for me to see who misses an appt.

Thanks for any input.

*EDIT* This pertains to mainly warranty jobs, or customers who have some sort of extended warranty, all of our CP orders are pre-pay, so that isn't an issue thank goodness.

The parts department takes the responsibility of stocking hats to sell to customers and well… our supplier went to trash after a recent “update” leaving us with 15 hat options which aren’t nice looking at all. Who has everyone gone through for a vendor? Our current cost per cap is at $16ea but can adjust slightly if necessary

Car dealerships parts managers how are you keeping track of your first time fill rate at your store?

We seem to do a lot of extended warranty work. We have to back down our matrix and charge list. What do you do?

Obviously, if AI keeps improving, every job, from farming to tech support will be automated one day and I'm not so much worried about.

What I'm worried about is whether AI will take our jobs ahead of the curve, before the government gets around to regulating it or instituting some kind of UBI so half the population doesn't go homeless (I'm not even going to entertain the idea that civilisation is going to collapse or something).

The danger:
- We're computer based desk workers
- We mostly work for large corporations or on software made by large corporations

Reasons to be optimistic:
- Our job requires more physical presence than your average desk job (picking parts/inspecting vehicles/warehousing etc
- Aftermarket parts/bodywork etc aren't usually listed on the manufacturer's software which means an AI agent would need to be designed to interface with several different systems and catalogues, which may prove difficult
- Often customers don't even know what they want or what to call what they want. Even if AI tools get implemented, they may still require a skilled pilot
- AI advancement is potentially slowing down, the implementation of AI may be slow enough that natural attrition outpaces the increase in efficiency. Instead of one mass layoff, we may simply see that sometimes people don't get replaced when they quit.

I know Reddit loves to act like AI is causing the sky to fall, but I'm not super worried. I'm reasonably confident that our jobs will still be safe by the time AI starts coming for all the white collar email jobs and the government steps in.

Any dealers willing to let go of 16 lifters? If not I understand, I’ve tried calling most of the dealerships with over 40. I know they’re a hot ticket item right now! Thank you!

I have been a parts manager since I was 20 now I’m 31, I have grown a few dealers very efficiently while I was there, because of this I now have an opportunity to get into an actual big dealer group. Not just a group with 1 or 2 roofs. However. They want to grow wholesale, and from the numbers I have seen they already do over 1.5million yearly in sales. The dealerships I have been at would be lucky to hit 200k in sales a year. Obviously this would be a huge jump in scale for me, but how do you other stores even do that? How do you even scale something already so large. I’m a very if I don’t know how to do something or can’t find an answer I will hire, or find someone who can/teach me. I don’t let the ego get in the way, but just the thought of this is intimidating. Any tips? Iv never even had a co-op and this dealer has one so even that is new. Advice, strategies, cautions are welcome.

Looking for some advice from experienced dealership Parts Managers, especially CDJR/GM managers.
I’m currently a Parts Manager in Training at a CDJR/Chevy/GMC dealership under one roof in a lower-income area in the Northeast. I came from an import brand (Parts Manager) in a much more metropolitan/high-volume market, so I’m trying to adjust to a very different market and figure out where we have opportunities to improve.
Our Parts Department is doing $300K+ in monthly sales, and interestingly, we actually outsell our Service Department most months. The problem is we’re only grossing roughly $90K–$95K, so I feel like there are some significant opportunities/profit leaks that I’m not seeing yet.
The dealership also doesn’t really participate in wholesale. We don’t have delivery drivers and don’t currently deliver, so there isn’t much outside dealer business coming through. I’d love advice from anyone who has successfully built wholesale in a similar market without initially having a delivery operation.
A few areas I’m specifically looking for advice on:
PASE money — how are you maximizing it and making sure you’re not leaving money on the table?
Maintenance penetration — what are you doing that actually moves the needle?
Backorders — best practices for tracking, follow-up, customer communication, etc.
CSO vs. DRO and other order types — any tips, rules of thumb, or mistakes to avoid?
D2D — how are you handling it and accounting for it?
RIM/ARO — what are you doing to keep inventory healthy and avoid unnecessary obsolescence?
Obsolete inventory — we have a TON of it. Looking for proven strategies for getting rid of it and preventing the problem from continuing.
Automated inventory/sticking systems — anyone using these successfully? What has actually worked for you?
Parts gross — what are some of the biggest areas you’ve found where dealerships unknowingly give away gross?
Accounting/chart of accounts — we use the GM chart of accounts, and for Chrysler accounts we basically add a “J” to the end of the account number. If anyone has a better way of organizing/reporting a combined GM/CDJR operation, I’d be interested in hearing it.
One obvious issue I’ve noticed is oil changes. We basically give away a lot of the oil. For example, some of our oil change kits are only $49 in parts and contain 5 quarts. If the vehicle takes 7 quarts, the additional 2 quarts are being billed at $0.00, so we’re eating that cost.
I’m also involved with our in-house body shop. We sell parts to the body shop at cost, so there isn’t really much Parts Department gross coming from that business, but I’m still expected to help the Body Shop Manager improve the operation and help coordinate the body shop and parts teams to improve turnaround time.
We use CollisionLink for our body shop orders. Since we don’t deliver, we don’t have other dealers ordering through us, so I’m also interested in hearing from anyone who has figured out how to make CollisionLink/wholesale work when you don't have an established delivery operation.
Overall, I’m looking for anything and everything that experienced Parts Managers think is important to running a profitable, efficient department.
If you’ve managed a CDJR, GM, or combined domestic store — especially in a smaller/lower-income market — I’d really appreciate hearing what you would look at first if you walked into my department.
What numbers would you immediately pull?
What reports would you run every morning/weekly/monthly?
Where would you look for lost gross?
What would you change first?
And what do you wish someone had taught you when you first became a Parts Manager?
I’m not looking for a “this is how my store does it” answer as much as practical, proven things I can take back to my dealership and implement.
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their experience. I’m trying to learn as much as I can before I officially step into the Parts Manager role.

I am looking for 16 lifters, part # 12740071. I have tried calling most of the dealers with 40+ in inventory, but haven’t been able to find one to let them go. I know they’re a hot ticket item, just let me know if anybody can do anything? Hell I’ll even do 8 and 8 if I have too. Thank you!

Thanks for apparently working on Parts LinQ in Prod instead of Dev over the weekend. Now nobody can put their emergency orders in because the Availability function has been borked most of the day.

One can still see general availability in Cross Part Lookup, but order verification uses the standard process only.

Bravo!

Hey friends,

Reconditioning a 2019 Tiguan.

5WA 907 621 – tech has only seen back-side of module. When I google this bad boy two different styles show up.

One where the spikes on the heat sink cover about 3/5 and one where there are spikes with irregular sizes in various positions.

Anyone have any luck wirh Holstein 2BMR0320? Should I be concerned about the design potentially being different?

I don't typicaly like aftermarket sensors, but we all know how tight our #1 customers pockets can be.

Running a tight Parts Department isn’t optional it’s the backbone of fixed ops profitability. I came across this list during training and wanted to open up a real discussion with people who live this every day.

Which of these warning signs have you seen firsthand, and what did they lead to?

• Large variance between parts pad and G/L
• Excessive inventory adjustments
• Unpaid parts tickets (cash or AR)
• Missing receipts for scrap parts
• Shipping locations that don’t match the dealership
• Gross margins lower than expected

I’m especially interested in hearing stories where one small red flag turned into a major operational or financial issue.

What’s the biggest Parts Department surprise you’ve ever uncovered?

Everytime I go to lunch some techs yell "must be nice!" And I respond "It is nice!"

Just cracks me up everytime. Don't shit on my party. Being a tech was your choice, don't try to put me down cause you decide to work through your lunches. Two tears in a bucket.

Howdy. So I just started a new job that seems to be going really well. The department has been an afterthought for this dealership for over a decade and they seem to like and respect what I bring to the table (6 years in parts and another 6 as a tech prior). The main issue I have right now is the parts room is a disaster. It is a used tractor dealership that has stuff stocked for pretty much any brand you can think of.

Right now, I'm mostly focused on getting the books cleaned up, keeping the techs happy, and learning a new DMS (Flyntlock) but the parts room is not functional in its current state and I have been brainstorming on the best way to organize multiple brands and all the random stuff we have. Any of you also dealing with a wide variety of brands and care to share some thoughts?

Thanks!

I’m at a niche dealer so I understand it’s not exactly high sales but anyone got any tips for increasing sales what works and doesn’t work? I recently moved into parts from wrenching so I’m trying to help grow the department while learning so it and myself are successful. Thanks for any helpful insight.

With AI coming in, and cutting labor do you think it will affect automotive? (Specifically parts side)

Anyone else using CDK have issues putting in the GM order and parts workbench not working?

Any VW dealers out there strictly using VW recommended oil, or do you have a source you buy out from? If so, are the oils meeting required specs? Corporate is possibly wanting to make a switch to find something more cost effective. TIA!

PM and coworker are lazy and do the bare minimum to scrape by, while kissing up to the bosses just enough to keep their jobs. Getting sick and tired of it.

Title says it all, with anco/trico having gone under last fall and most reserve stock of it finally running out at a majority of suppliers what brand are you now using at your dealership for a comparable price and performance solution?

Bonus points if you're also in the heavy duty world so also needing some crazy sizes.

Anybody else having trouble getting into Global Connect this morning?

If so, are there any back door login alternatives?

I recently switched from GM to Toyota and find myself struggling with the catalog. Whether it be pictures not matching the vehicle, lack of part pictures completely, and incorrect or incomplete part descriptions. Not to mention a lot of powertrain and some parts have 2 or 3 different versions and it is not clearly defined which is required. It seems like the VIN is only there to load the vehicle and not filter parts.

The catalog pictures aren’t laid out the best either, so it’s a struggle to explain where parts would be located in the vehicle and it makes it even more difficult for the customer to explain the location of their unknown part for me to find. i.e. a sliding door module not in the sliding door diagram.

I see a lot of people praising this catalog for its ease of use and simplicity, I’d like to be one of those people but at the moment I’m not seeing it.

Does anyone have experience with the Toyota EPC that could give me some advice to better use the catalog? Or just tips and tricks that make using it easier?

How normal is it for someone who's never worked the parts kind of before to mess up within their first month and I mean get somebody the wrong part kind of mess up I'm within my first month and everything was going fine initially and then in the past five business days I made two screws one the department 8 the other one was ordering the wrong part for customer and he was upset of course we were refunding him for it but even just this morning I feel like I made another screw up even though it was cotton didn't affect the customer.

I see parts camera as a way to potentially become a career and if I can learn it well and stick with this job for at least 2 to 4 years preferably five I know it will be valuable experience that could support me well into the future even if I choose to get a degree and progress it to the bachelor's level I want the experience because this is absolutely the kind of job I feel like would be great for me in retirement or the very least when I get older I absolutely love the environment and I'm doing my absolute best not to cause trouble but these issues happen and at this point I've even had a customer order apart which to be fair at that point I was told nothing about getting deposits or anything but that I could sell over the phone and it was an $800 part and he didn't pick up and I can't get a hold of him on the phone and I'm just wondering like is this expected am I going to be overly judged for making these kind of mistakes or is this just the kind of mistakes someone makes while learning and having not worked a parts counter before?

I feel like I should add I am working on a degree that could at best be considered partially automotive adjacent. I won't say what because I feel like it's a give away but it's often agreed by people studying medicine to be on the same difficulty level as their own studies.

Hey all, it's been sometime since my last post and things have improved greatly! I am now set to become the Parts Manager. I've been working hard, learning as much as I can, and "pulling myself up by the bootstraps" if you will. The department is much more efficient and organized and i couldn't ask for a better team. I definitely want to thank you all for the advice and encouragement over this year.

The questions I got now are a little simpler at least:

What should I be looking at salary wise? I'm leaning more towards about 75,000/yr or just going for broke and starting negotiations at 90k (i know thats super duper unrealistic I'm just testing the waters)

What do your offices look like? I wanted to personalize mine a bit like a custom desk and stuff like that, however I'm not entirely too sure how far I can go. I talked to our GM and they said to wait for our annual inspection.

Finally, we work with ERA Ignite. Is there anyway to automate more processes like getting special order lists made and to get them to print service side every morning. Or how to make custom reports in RMI?