That comment, though harsh and negative, has alot of truth in it. In fact, I even say it myself each time a new catalog comes out.
Little do folks know the gigantic headache that ensued trying to get rid of stuff in this particular catalog.
Discontinued stuff used to be blindly carried over by the local catalog company. Not anymore...alot of things were looked at pretty closely...If it was found to be discontinued, it was either put out of it's misery or brought back from the dead.
Were all 3,000-plus part numbers checked, one at a time, to make sure every nut and bolt was in stock? Nope! Not with so few people around to do the work. Are you nuts?
If you come across something just call the phone number, tell the guy nicely, and he can have it removed from the catalog (or brought back if it's still viable).
Mopar's inventory system does not "talk" directly to the catalog or the website. It can't. The catalog and website has to be done manually which is a royal pain when you're dealing with over 3,000 parts. So you have to speak up if you find something dead in there.
Likewise, if you find something overpriced, the guy on the phone might be able to ask for an adjustment....but you've got to get him to agree with you it needs to be changed. Bear in mind that dropping F bombs and screaming is not the best approach; present your case carefully. But also try to keep in mind MP has a UAW burden which greatly effects parts prices, which the guy on the phone can't do anything about. Some things, yes....everything, no. On certain things you have to decide if you want to support Chrysler or not, and if not get it somewhere else.
One cool thing is the catalog is now a living document, meaning if a part is discontinued or needs a price adjustment mid-year, it can be altered midstream. Changes will hit the website first and then the paper catalog can get revised afterward. It wasn't like that before, it was farmed out and we were stuck with whatever we had for a year.
Quote:
Has anyone ever bought a MP Auto meter tack or a fuel pressure gauge with isolater unit . Crazy money
Autometer makes their profit, MP has their markup, it's stocked in a UAW depot so it has to be marked up even more, and the dealer who sells it has to make a living too so he also has a markup. All the new "77" part number gauges also have a 12 month, 12,000 mile warranty which adds to the price even more.
So if price is that important, then live without the little "M" logo and the warranty. Buy a regular Autometer gauge from Summit. Or see if Autometer will sell direct to you instead. There's no way in heck MP can do that deal with Autometer and not have it come out more expensive than Autometer itself.
