[Woody '04]

sometimes it really makes a difference to have VIN to get the right part. often it doesn't though. there must be some way to find info without the vin, because I am not always asked for it.

 

[Woody '04]

i've had pretty good luck with the majority of parts people at toyota and subaru dealerships. mixed bag at the chevy place.

now service and sales people on the other hand ... they seem to be more extreme. some quite nice and some just nasty and rude.

 

[Woody '04]

i was also thinking if you work at a place awhile, wouldn't you make a "cheat sheet" that helped you look up parts? such as VINs to use just to look up parts, keeping in mind some of the major mid-model year changeovers?

i could definitely see not actually ordering any parts without the VIN, or having a policy that without VIN the customer would pay 25% restocking or some large fee if they didn't want a part ordered without VIN.

i can see plenty of unreasonable customers getting ticked at both sides of this issue:
What, you can't order a part without the VIN???
OR
Hey, this is the wrong part why can't you idiots get me what I need (after an order without VIN)???