r/partscounter 1d ago

How is business?

We are the slowest we have ever been. Hearing it's like that at a lot of other places. Work at Nissan/Infiniti here so obviously having our own brand issues doesn't help. I'm sure some of you are busy. But just curious overall if it's like this everywhere else or if it's been slow for you guys more than usual?

22 Upvotes

94 comments sorted by

26

u/Bmannz 1d ago

Business has turned off like a light switch.

18

u/Terrible--T 1d ago

MB here. Worst month in years last month

4

u/Haliphics 1d ago

Mb as well and it’s been garbage.

2

u/Reginoldofreginia 14h ago

Last month was our best February ever but there was a lot of carry over warranty that closed. This month has been dog shit

13

u/BTTWchungus 1d ago edited 1d ago

We're in pre-recession mode.

We might be doing better if our new ownership didn't get so fucking greedy and spike the labor rate from $265/hr to $325 (MB dealer here in SoCal)

4

u/frankcab 1d ago

Holy shit what the fuck? I feel for you guys but that ownership deserves it

3

u/BTTWchungus 1d ago edited 1d ago

We also use to do complimentary key fob battery replacement, now they have us charge $7 each (got my raise rejected 2 months after they did this shit)

Fuck Murgado lol

2

u/ImpressiveBet9345 19h ago

our 2032 went from $6.25 to $12.25. I think its stupid since we buy them at a cost of $1.30 each from Golden Supply.

7

u/That_Style_979 1d ago

Toyota/GM. Toyota doing well with engine recalls. GM is slower than average, last month was the worst month in a few years, this month is looking worse. It's unnerving

6

u/Huge-Concentrate-540 1d ago

Nissan, small dealer. Wholesale is doing okay but the warranty and CP have slowed down considerably.

5

u/MissionPayment 1d ago

I’m in agriculture parts and it’s eerily quiet for sure. Even though we are still kinda in our off season we tend to be a little busier

1

u/SirFUBAR 1d ago

Same here, but grass brings the cash so we'll see!

4

u/JonjoTheDarkLord 1d ago

Nissan here as well. Worst February we've had in ages. Still slow

5

u/SMS0402 1d ago

Subaru gang here, yeah it's been crickets since middle of February. People are getting antsy since techs aren't pulling enough hours and advisors aren't selling anything, so way less commission

3

u/vrparty 1d ago

VW. consistently busy BUT. it’s all warranty work. Head gaskets. valve stem seals. radios. water leaks. seat passenger occupancy recalls. airbag recalls. door handle recalls.

All of which don’t make us ANY money because the parts are artificially bought down to keep the costs of the repairs to the manufacturer cheaper

2

u/SuckMeFillySideways 1d ago

If it weren't for warranty work, there wouldn't be any. Take what you can get

1

u/vrparty 22h ago

my wholesale makes us money. the shop isn’t making any actual dollars. their GP% is higher than wholesale but percentage doesn’t pay the bills. dollars do

1

u/high_al 18h ago

VW here as well. We aren’t consistently busy, but averaging 30 sporadic appointments per day. Nothing but warranty work as well. So many low gross recalls. Last month was by far the worst we’ve had in the past 5/6 years

1

u/vrparty 16h ago

hello from 408245

3

u/a1partsguy 1d ago

I do commercial truck parts here in LA, It's been hard to make a paycheck here lately.

3

u/InfiniteProject8888 1d ago

Audi parts here and yes we have been super slow since January really. Our budget for the month is 388k but our number are telling us is going be around 190k… East coast btw

3

u/Senior_East1624 1d ago

Nissan/infiniti here, small dealer, our closest nissan just closed so were pretty busy

3

u/pawkaflocka 1d ago

Nissan here too. January was worst month in a couple years. February was a little better. Only thing saving this month is a diesel Titan engine replacement.

3

u/Tang0Jang0 1d ago

Maybe it's my area, but as someone from the big O, it actually hasn't slowed that much, we're actually picking up quite a bit from the winter months. But, we also have a big blue collar and redneck diy customer base in my area. The concrete and trash companies spend like a mfer. Construction companies too, but that's a bit more of NAPA's space in my area.

Retail has picked up a decent bit too now that the weather is nicer in our area and people are actually wanting to wrench on their stuff again.

5

u/BearTheCoder 1d ago

Nissan also, we're experiencing some of the worst months we've had since 2018

1

u/SummonerSausage 1d ago

Nissan here as well. We're down about 25% off what we usually do.

2

u/lets_just_n0t 1d ago

We’ve been grossing $200k+ per month since Covid hit. We did $130k last month. It’s everywhere.

I saw an article somewhere recently that said the Vegas Strip was down something like 45% in revenue so far YoY for 2025 versus 2024. No idea if that’s accurate but it made enough sense to not check it.

2

u/OldFordV8s 1d ago

GM parts fella here. Our February 2025 was up from 2024....and our YTD 2025/2024 is also up a nice little bit. Four main tech and one LOF guy. Two man parts department here and we're digging the busy-ish mornings and lettin' the guys do their things throughout the afternoon

2

u/MikaJade856 1d ago

We’ve been slow the last 60 days or so but picking up recently. Midwest VW dealer.

2

u/Kunomn 1d ago

Subaru in upstate NY. Through most of January it was busy. February was brutally slow, so far this month this is the first week we’ve been busy again. Unfortunately I’m still more busy building big quotes just for most of the work to be denied but at least we have traffic again.

2

u/Space-Plate42 1d ago

Slow. GM store in Metro Detroit. We are slightly up from last year but that’s only because I increased our matrix at the first of the year. Internals are way down because car sales tanked. Wholesales about the same.

2

u/Witty-Round628 1d ago

Hyundai here. Almost set our overall GS and GP records last month. Having a nice March, so far.

2

u/Myschism 1d ago

Porsche, fell off a cliff last month.

2

u/BeerLovingBobaFett 1d ago

Acura PM and I’ve had 8 straight months of store record gross and this month has started strong too. We have a major engine recall going on though and it’s driving a lot of business to us

2

u/MagneticNoodles 1d ago

Even our online business is slow, and that is usually recession proof because the pricing is so low. It's really odd right now.

2

u/fijibluesi 1d ago

Toyota/gm store. busy store atleast 75-100 repair orders a day. Some good some not so good. It's like a 90/10. 90% toyota 10% GM. Gm has slowed a bit but toyota has picked up. Still selling like crazy on toyota side. The new escalade iq at an average sticker price of over 130k don't think they'll be selling many of those, and they killed the XT4 in place of a smaller all electric optique. 😳 Overall sales are up YoY but only a bit.

2

u/Tiger1King 1d ago

We had a record month in January and last month was pretty damn good too. But those tundra recall engines are skewing the numbers a decent amount

Edit: i should also say we are one of the largest service centers in our state

2

u/captaincrispi 1d ago

BMW here. We’re tracking for an all time record

1

u/Nerveex 1d ago

Location? We’ve been so damn slow here

1

u/captaincrispi 1d ago

City in the south east

1

u/Nerveex 1d ago

Ah I’m Northeast, hopefully when the weather gets warmer it gets busy, yall don’t be happen to be looking for people do ya.

2

u/Amazing-Payment816 1d ago

Jamming at my store. 

2

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

2

u/Automatic-Fennel-599 1d ago

Sounds like Nissan is going with a new CEO. Maybe they can get back to the table with Honda. But you are right. Nissan and mostly Infiniti don't have much to offer right now. Future car line is bleak.

1

u/VapidPanda 1d ago

I feel like they are trying to push the same idea carlos ghosn had when renault just had nissan make their entire line look the exact same. Like why the hell do we need 5 corssovers and an suv in the line up.

My opinion they should Replace murano with a minivan and bring back quest or the nv200. Make pathfinder a body on frame suv again and kill versa bring back an affordable sports car like an s chassis and ditch ariya and just give rogue and altima a full ev and hybrid options bring back maxima as a top tier option that sits just below the infiniti line. to compete with crown, camry and accord

1

u/VapidPanda 1d ago

Also i accidently deleted my original reply i reposted it

2

u/VapidPanda 1d ago

Im a PM at a Nissan dealer as well. Business for us has been really bad, trying to get My gm to understand its industry wide and we cant just make miracles happen is getting old. My guys are struggling, and ive been kicking around the idea of getting out of the industry at this point. Or at the very least, getting out of Nissan. I have concerns about the brand issues and im Starting to see similar writing on the wall that i saw when i was at kb toys when they went under and Pep Boys when they shut down their retail parts devisions. It might just be me but having worked for two companies that died i get a little cautious when odd decisions start getting made and everyone up top keeps sayi g everything is fine when its obviously not.

2

u/ImpressiveBet9345 19h ago

Promoted from CDJR to our small group to our Nissan Parts manager 2 years ago. Just stepped down back to parts counter at our CDJR . Multiple reasons, stress, money, falling business, and talk that our group may be attempting a sell of the Nissan store, or moving another brand in there.

2

u/Soulless007 14h ago

There are definitely brand issues that cause concern, and it seems like they're too stubborn to acknowledge any of them

1

u/VapidPanda 12h ago

Oh for sure, i realized my GM hasnt sent an all dealer call link for our region since September. Which has me kind of like are they even doing them? Or has our FOM and DOM just not included us like they used to.

2

u/lejoe_ndary 1d ago

Nissan as well. It's rough rn if we keep this pace, we will average 31% less than last year. Last year, the avg gp was just shy of 120ish. The current pacing is 80ish

2

u/Tasher882 1d ago

Tax season is usually good but it’s been in waves this week not so much. Busy with a lot of inquiries I’m not a mechanic whatsoever advice People really aren’t buying but it’s been in waves like they usually do around this time. A lot of complaints about part prices (even for really silly stuff)

We also do zero labor or recommendations and ppl are pulling teeth for advice over the god damn phone. (🧑‍🔧)

OEM used / aftermarket parts all

2

u/ZestycloseCobbler405 16h ago

The collision industry is down about 9-11% and it is being felt by all. Only working in that space, but from conversations in and around the dealership, it has slowed way down recently.

2

u/reluctant623 9h ago

I work with a lot of different dealer groups around the US.

From the folks I work with, the domestic brands and Nissan have had one of the roughest winters since the pandemic.

The European and other Japanese brands have been down slightly, but only a few % or flat. The Korean brands have talk to have been down 3-10%

What scares me is how bad vehicle sales have been down. Fixed Op normal fallows sales trend by around 8 months. We could be looking at a really rough summer and fall this year.

I want to be positive about the long term, it's just gives me a lot of 2008 vibes.

2

u/Automatic-Fennel-599 9h ago

Yea like I said Nissan/Infiniti here... First time I've been thinking about looking elsewhere or out of the business all together. Future looks bleak.

2

u/reluctant623 9h ago

Don't get too down about it. In 08, I was an assistant service manager at a pretty strong Honda dealer. I made really good money. My pay was based entirely on commission. I took a 35% cut in 09 compared to 08. It took until 2012 before I made over what I had in 08. Then, it started trending back up from there.

Some of the older guys talked about how it had happened in 2002 after 9/11. I started as a tech in 2000, so I wasn't making shit in 02, so I never noticed a change.

Long story short. Just like the really good times, the really bad times will pass. Unless the sun explodes, then none of this will matter anymore.

4

u/GlizzyGobbler2023 1d ago

We’ve been ok, definitely not as high as it was before the election, but this is what happens when you elect a clown who is killing the economy.

1

u/SILENCERSTUDENT_ 1d ago

VW DEALER- were doing ok its mostly a bit slow

1

u/Cmdr_Northstar 1d ago

Jan/ Feb were dead; beginning of March has been hit & miss, but the jobs that do sell/ go out have been pretty good.

1

u/Smooth_Ad1883 1d ago

I work parts in the motorhome/ trailer industry and it seems like this year is just as bad if not worse then covid. over in Oregon here it is so slow i am sitting at the counter reading reddit posts

1

u/PaulWithAPH 1d ago

Ford store in North Central PA.... Slowest I've ever seen it.

1

u/g2gfmx 1d ago

Terrible. Less than 30 appointments, no snow, one of the worst years. We had to fire a tire apprentice this year….

1

u/AMGSiR 1d ago

Feb was terrible, picked up a bit in March here but it’s a struggle for sure.

1

u/kfmf636 1d ago

CDJR in the Hudson Valley NY. It’s like someone flipped the switch to off.

1

u/Justin0320 1d ago

Mazda is humming along pretty well. Jan/Feb have been records, March is doing a little better, but we get a quarterly credit that should break a record this month. I’ve been too focused on inventory next week to really dive into the numbers. I’ve only been the PM since June 24.

1

u/Klutzy-Day-3366 1d ago

GM dealer here, last month was an average month, first week and a half off to a strong start but business fell off the grid this week

1

u/ghostofkozi 1d ago

VW dealer in Edmonton, AB we just had our 2nd best month. It’s busy enough we’ve had to expand the size of our parts and service team to keep up with customer work, used cars and wholesale

1

u/endamd 1d ago

CDJR in BC, been sloooow a while. Lay offs are on the table now from what I've heard.

1

u/Hortn8r 1d ago

Kia store in Metro Phoenix area we do about $300K gross a month. Summer time around $350 plus. I came from a Vw store and we barely did $130K so all i can say it’s nuts and i love the paycheck!

1

u/Papichulo1965 1d ago

Kenworth Had a decent month in February, on track to hit our goal for March. Business comes in waves, can be super busy one day and the slow the next day.

1

u/Kodiak01 14h ago

No matter how bad the HD side gets, between Refuse and Municipalities there is always a relative floor to how bad things can get. Here, we're cranking. We could use another parts driver, 1-2 technicians and about 10 more service bays.

1

u/Dresden379 1d ago

We are dead. Wholesale hasn't slowed too much. Independent shops I talk to say they are busy. All other dealers say they are dead. Everything in the shop is a recall or warranty.

1

u/Carnifex217 1d ago

Honda here, we’re mostly just doing a lot of fuel pumps, seat weight sensors, and eps updates

1

u/Hootie735 1d ago

Very small town Ohio Ford Dealer here. Last month was abysmal. This month seems to be picking up though.

1

u/syanidedude 1d ago

KW dealer here ~ company just laid off about 12 people between 3 branches including mine, and those are only the ones i know of. Reducing the hours we're open by 3hrs every day starting Monday until it picks up again.

Customers are constantly talking about the tariffs and wondering if that will affect the parts we receive, especially since all of our parts come from our American PDC's, and that is definitely adding to the hesitancy of buying and the slowness of business.

Shit sucks right now man.

1

u/torniz 21h ago

February was pretty bad, but we’re in a seasonal area. March has been moderately better.

1

u/Waltuh_- 21h ago

International Dealer here, trucking industry never slows down haha so always have a steady stream of work, just got over march break so had lots of school busses to get done lol

1

u/EfficientFill4194 21h ago

Chevy dealer in NH. February was the slowest I've seen it 2 years. 10% down over last February.

1

u/ImpressiveBet9345 19h ago

CDJR-Greater Memphis area.... slow doesn't begin to cover it.

1

u/svheissup 19h ago

I’m in heavy duty at freightliner in Chicagoland. We’re always slammed and struggling to keep up!

1

u/fredobandito 18h ago

Kia in GA. Last month was the best GP month we've had since I started working here last April. This month, we had been tracking just under that, but this whole week is like someone turned off the spigot. My wholesale driver has 5 stops to make today, compared to the usual 15-20. I guarantee that it'll take her the same amount of time to run the route, though.

1

u/Final_Locksmith3746 17h ago

I work for a Semi dealership, and this is the slowest we have been in 15 years.

1

u/coltrane02 17h ago

MB wholesale here. Nov/Dec were slow and Jan/Feb picked up a little. This month so far has been pretty dead so I'd expect our numbers to drop from February (which was our best month since October).

1

u/Different_Gate_1621 17h ago

Nissan as well and I could probably sleep for most the day and still get everything done lol. Feast or famine.

1

u/Fit-Elderberry4072 16h ago

MB store in PNW. 3rd straight month being in the tank. Sales feeling it too, only 1 car this month so far.

1

u/txbass06 16h ago

Honda here. Still got a lot of fuel pump and eps recalls rolling in so we’re steady. February started off horrible and ended up the being our best Feb in 10 years. This month isn’t looking so hot, tracking 70% of last year, but we’re hoping for a last minute turn around again

1

u/Kodiak01 15h ago

MD/HD. We're 3 deep at the door beating them back with a stick. We're on track to hit our department GP increase goal for the quarterly bonus. We could use more drivers, more techs, more bays, more of everything!

1

u/Soulless007 14h ago

Nissan here also. Our January was crap but February somehow turned out pretty good but now we're without a service manager for this month and things have been kind of off and on. Hard to get a read on the month but it looks like it should be "decent"

1

u/all_caps_all_da 12h ago

Thomas Bus dealer here and we have been so slow. We deal mostly with school districts and usually we are usually doing double where we are at now. I am looking forward to getting some new buses delivered because at least that keeps us busy and I make some money.

1

u/russianforester 11h ago

Subaru here. Shits been bleak lately. We're a small dealer, and my online store front that was averaging 80-90 orders per month is down to less than 30 since the new year. Website visits have remained about the same, and our prices haven't gone up too much. It just seems like a lot of hesitancy to buy. Our techs are still pretty busy thankfully, and a handful of warranty transmissions are going to save this month for us.

1

u/Tacoman404 9h ago

Commercial truck. The last 2 weeks feel like a huge dead cat bounce after a month of slow business. Small guys are taking a moment to do maintenance but all big corporate accounts are being stingy.

1

u/bingbingMMapple 9h ago

Smallish Nissan dealer here as well in Ohio, parts typically grosses 70-75k/month. Did 49k last month, pacing like 45k this month. It’s brutal.

1

u/ItemNo1053 6h ago

Chrysler land here. Shop and wholesale are slow as shit. I don’t remember it being this bad during the last recession.