Cabin Air Filter @ 19K Miles -- photos

[davidg4781]

IDK if this is still the case, but years ago, when you'd call a dealer's parts dept and ask for the price on a part, they would invariably quote something very high. Then if you'd ask if you could get the wholesale price, they'd almost always say yes and knock a large percentage off the price.

No Tax ID # or anything else needed.

I always thought that was very odd.

Interesting. I might do this next time I need a part.

Actually, there are about 5 Ford dealerships within an hour of me. I might call and compare prices. Hopefully there’s one that keeps prices low and does best for their customers.

I compared installation prices on the keypad. One charged an hour rate, one a half hour rate.

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[sajohnson]

Interesting. I might do this next time I need a part.

Actually, there are about 5 Ford dealerships within an hour of me. I might call and compare prices. Hopefully there’s one that keeps prices low and does best for their customers.

I compared installation prices on the keypad. One charged an hour rate, one a half hour rate.

In my case, that was many years ago -- pre-internet -- when if you wanted OE parts, you had to go to the dealer..

Some may have even had 3 price levels::

* Retail/MSRP
* Commercial -- price an independent shop would pay
* The price dealers would charge each other

That's my recollection anyway. It got to be a running joke with the parts guys, "Oh, you want the CHEAPER price...."

I can't remember how I even knew to ask, but it worked.

Whether that's still the case IDK, but it can't hurt to try.

More recently, I've found that authorized dealers selling for what they sometimes call "wholesale" are often ~30%, and sometimes as much as 50% below MSRP. I remember getting OE front rotors for my '02 WRX for half the retail price -- $50/each vs about $102.