Accessories- Down right frustrating!
Why must they show, talk about, and promote the Heck out of pieces on vehicles, then when you try to find them, they have no price, no part numbers and no availablitly? In the last two years it has killed me, I send out the books to new vehicle purchasers, showing those things that are offered for the new vehicle. It never fails that someone who is so excited about the vehicle they just bought, asks about the phone charger, or a Mopar trailer brake, or running boards for a durango, or decal kit for a Ram. Sure enough, they are in the books, but not out yet, not sure when, won't be for two years, etc... ok done with my rant... anyone have a good connection in accessories?
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I've noticed this too. The Fiat guys seem especially frustrated. Mopar keeps touting accessories but they are very late delivering them. The web sites are another source of frustration the Fiat 500T is hitting dealers now and yet you can't get jack for info on the site.
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You can call the helpline and enter option three for the accessory group (have VIN ready). Most are very knowledgeable and are a great help. I have been given the reason/s for availability issues, part numbers for stuff still in production along with other helpful info. I do remember a time many years ago when Mopar came out with the accessories 2 two three years after the car was produced and all the aftermarket product had been released for a long time. I find that we can offer quality items before other sources refreshing.
Steven
Steven
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And this will only improve as they continue to design the cars AND the accessories at the same time. I think that we will be seeing better accessory availability in the next few years, especially for new vehicles.
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Thanks correct, Mopar hasn't offered them in a while. We are just getting back to getting them for the other vehicles again, you can get Grand Cherkokee, Durango, Minivan and Charger... thats it currently.
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exactly my point. Actually they are NS3, which means they arent avail right now, but if they see enough missed sales they "might" bring them back. Most people hear they aren't available and go down the street.
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I have found that a lot of things that I want from Mopar I see they are no longer available or they are about double the price of the non Mopar packaged item of the same exact thing.
Example: back in 2005 when I bought my Ram I wanted the dealer to put Vent Visors on when I bought it. well they were I think(dont quote me on it)$70-80 list. I went the next day and bought them at Pep Boys for $45.00 and put them on myself...it took me maybe 20 minutes to put all 4 of them on.
My point Chrysler wants to be able to compete with the aftermarket with their own labeled parts...but they can't stock them or price them competitively. they are normaly alot more.
Example: back in 2005 when I bought my Ram I wanted the dealer to put Vent Visors on when I bought it. well they were I think(dont quote me on it)$70-80 list. I went the next day and bought them at Pep Boys for $45.00 and put them on myself...it took me maybe 20 minutes to put all 4 of them on.
My point Chrysler wants to be able to compete with the aftermarket with their own labeled parts...but they can't stock them or price them competitively. they are normaly alot more.
Price competitiveness is a key issue which the Chrysler dealer operatives need to be aware of. BUT, if the Mopar/Chrysler factory accessories will be warrantied under the basic vehicle warranty (when installed or contracted to be installed, as a part of the vehicle sales deal), then that should be a huge selling point. This can be a double-edged sword unless you have good people in the shop that install them!
When selling ANY kind of add-on accessories, there generally needs to be ONE or TWO counterpeople who are deeply involved with this part of the situation. Dedicated (specified) employees who know what's going on, what fits what, what availability might be (from the dealer chain or from Chry/Mopar), etc. This is a much better way to do things than to HOPE that anybody on the parts counter will know enough about what they're trying to do as they might try to do it for customers. Hopefully, though, other parts operatives could go through the process of looking things up, checking availability, and correctly pricing if the other people aren't available right then.
If you can't get a good supply of items from Chry/Mopar, then find another source (higher-volume supplier in your immediate area) that can supply similar items. It's better to try to take care of the customer's desires than to send them to that same supplier and LOSE any profits . . . provided, again, there are competent techs in the shop to install the items and do it right. It's generally best to use OEM-supplied items, but if the OEM pipeline is dry, finding other credible and competitively-priced sources is necessary.
Been there, done that, with Chev/GM OEM pickup truck accessories in the 1990s. Great catalog, lots of new stuff, but no part numbers and no availability, in the 2nd model year of that truck. What we could get, we got and sold out, ordered more the next time, and made it work as best we could.
CBODY67
When selling ANY kind of add-on accessories, there generally needs to be ONE or TWO counterpeople who are deeply involved with this part of the situation. Dedicated (specified) employees who know what's going on, what fits what, what availability might be (from the dealer chain or from Chry/Mopar), etc. This is a much better way to do things than to HOPE that anybody on the parts counter will know enough about what they're trying to do as they might try to do it for customers. Hopefully, though, other parts operatives could go through the process of looking things up, checking availability, and correctly pricing if the other people aren't available right then.
If you can't get a good supply of items from Chry/Mopar, then find another source (higher-volume supplier in your immediate area) that can supply similar items. It's better to try to take care of the customer's desires than to send them to that same supplier and LOSE any profits . . . provided, again, there are competent techs in the shop to install the items and do it right. It's generally best to use OEM-supplied items, but if the OEM pipeline is dry, finding other credible and competitively-priced sources is necessary.
Been there, done that, with Chev/GM OEM pickup truck accessories in the 1990s. Great catalog, lots of new stuff, but no part numbers and no availability, in the 2nd model year of that truck. What we could get, we got and sold out, ordered more the next time, and made it work as best we could.
CBODY67
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