Would most of you agree that a lot of people do not mind paying just a little bit more for aftermarket accessories from a dealership than from a local small shop. The reason i ask is because as most of you know i work a dealership and we are very modd friendly to certain degree. From what i have been noticing is that people like that fact that if anything is to happen as far as installation error or rattling of aftermarket parts, they can just bring it back and it will be fixed with little or no hassle. Case and point: We had a customer that purchased a HKS HI-POWER from me and we installed it at the dealership. The next day he calls me and tells me that when he puts it into reverse it sounds like the exhaust is banging against something. So we check it out, make the adjustments and in 15 minutes he is gone and so is the banging sound. He couldn't of been happier. Is that something people will pay more money for????? It's just a question.

 

Well from my perspective I buy aftermarket parts from external suppliers then take them to my dealership to install. You pay a little more for the service but saves you a hassle when it comes to issues regarding the parts.

 

Exactly what i hear from customers

 

Anytime you have anyone install aftermarket mods
on your car if there is a problem it will get taken
care of! Go ahead, you can pat yourself on the back
for doing what's expected of you.......normal for a
dealership.

 

+1 what gary c said

 

where in southern california is your dealership? =)

 

when you say paying more, were talkin like 10 bucks more

 

I am gonna go off on a tangent here. I believe that if you mod your car you should do it your self. Its just bugs me to see a guy drive up in his modded car and find out that he dropped it off stock and picked it up with mods added to it. I know every one doesn't have the resouces to do a lot of the work; "eg".....lifts and special tools but I have always been my own mechanic and I say buy the parts, install them, and bypass dealership and mod shops. I give exception to a few things like tuning the car becase if you don't have the computers to do then your stuck.

 

All valid points...but lets say you, as a infiniti owner put in a tilton clutch in your vehicle and then the tranny starts to grind gears bad and it seems the auto shops cant fix it, so you decide to take it to a dealership and they basically say your screwed because of the clutch you installed, would it have been worth it then to have had that dealership install the clutch so if that problem were to arise they would fix the problem free of charge????????

 

i wish my dealership was like that. i think everything voids warranty to them and they won't install anything for me. something so simple such as clearance lights. sucks that i don't live anywhere near your dealership.

 

I think it is something people will pay money for. Lokey Infiniti's performance divsion (clearwater, FL) sponsors the FGC and is a modification friendly dealership that sells aftermarket products (Vortech, crawford, Greddy, Rotora, etc.). Club members and myself drive as far as two hours to have this service provided simply for the piece of mind of having trained Infiniti technicians & master techs install something like Crawford headers or intakes/exhausts on their car and knowing that if anything goes wrong they can have it fixed by that Infiniti dealership. Dropping off your car and being provided a loaner car to drive around until the work is done is a real plus too

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking any performance aftermarket shop as I do go to a select few to get some aftermarket stuff installed, but its an option that people/customers will definately take if a dealership provides it.

 

^^ what he said. for me currently i have no major mods (yet). but if a dealer near me (so Cali) offered to order or even allowed me to bring my parts in i would pay for the service and peace of mind knowing it will be done right and if not it would be handle repectively. also if i can get a loaner car would seal the deal. but this is only if i cant install the parts my self (spring, shocks, exhaust..so forth).

 

if i can get the aftermarket parts at dealer cost and have it installed in a timely manner and in accordance with published labor rates, it would be an incentive for me to have the dealer service center install it... the only thing i would take to dealer to install would be clutch, flywheel, and brake kits...
all others, i'd rather do it myself for the sake of learning about the components and their design intents...im a engineer so i like to know such things...