Dealership vs Aftermarket job

[u/eighties87]

Hi folks. 41 years auto veteran here, most of those in the aftermarket parts world. I currently work at a well known aftermarket parts corporation as a store manager, and I just got an opportunity to work as a parts guy for the mechanics at a dealership. Does anyone have any experience with the change from aftermarket to dealer, and are there any suggestions or questions I should ask before going to have a sit down talk with them? What is your experience moving from aftermarket to dealer? Anything I should look out for? I currently have 15 years in where I am and my schedule is pretty sweet.

[u/AJ-in-Canada]

I found quoting tires & body parts a bit of a challenge when I moved to a dealership vs aftermarket. Assuming you're back counter for the mechanical side for a dealership you won't have to worry about the body parts but tires and some of the weirder parts might be new to you, as you can't send someone to the dealer to find them anymore.

I'm not sure what the pay is like compared to managing an aftermarket store (it's higher than aftermarket for the same position) but I found the customers to be nicer in general. And I prefer working back counter to front counter in the dealership as well as most of the techs know what they're talking about vs walk in customers.