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Page 1 of 2 March is a monumental month for the parts department at Allen Samuels Dodge in Austin, Texas. Don Benner, director of parts, and six of his employees will celebrate 20 years of service together next month.
 | Benner |
“We’re like a close knit family, we’ve all worked together so long,” Benner said. “When I decided to move, so did my whole sales crew along with my warehouse guys.”
The team moved to Allen Samuels on March 1, 2005, and the transition was a successful one. Benner said when he started, the parts department was yielding monthly sales of $325,000, and that number quickly increased to $800,000.
The dealership is a member of the Mopar Masters Guild, which is comprised of the top 100 purchasing dealers of DaimlerChrysler.
With more than 22,000 lines housed in a 20,000 square-foot facility, there’s a good chance the part that a body shop is looking for will be on hand. Benner estimated that 88 percent of the average order is filled inhouse, and 12 percent is ordered and delivered overnight.
Accept no substitute As a Dodge dealer, the parts department at Allen Samuels sells only original parts, and they are the number one selling Dodge parts dealer in central Texas. Benner has the option of selling aftermarket parts, which he did for some time, but eventually decided against.
“My biggest problem was accessibility of getting the parts,” Benner said. “I didn’t feel like I could give my customers a fair service with aftermarket parts, so I got out of it. Some of those things took months to get.”
 | | The parts department of this Allen Samuels Dodge in Austin is part of a network of 12 dealerships throughout Texas. |
In the last year and a half, Mopar implemented a program to match the price of certain aftermarket parts, such as fascias and lamp assemblies. Benner said this allows his parts department to be more competitive.
The competitive prices have benefited Hutch Hudgins, owner of Hutch’s Body Shop in Cedar Park, Texas.
“We’ve had a relationship with them for a number of years,” Hudgins said. In that time, Allen Samuels has matched aftermarket prices on bumper covers and sheet metal on most occasions, Hudgins said.
“Body shops now are graded on what percent of aftermarket parts they sell, so it certainly does affect us,” Benner said. “But we are going to stick with our original equipment parts, which in our opinion gives the customer a better value. It also gives the body shop a better fit.”
The truck state
As for the most popular parts, it’s the Dodge trucks, by far, Benner said. Truck hoods, fenders and grills rack up the most sales. This comes as no surprise for a parts department located right in the center of Texas.
“In Texas everybody seems to have a truck in their driveway,” Benner said. “Here, everybody drives trucks, even the ladies and the wives. Ever since they introduced the 4-door truck, it can be a family car.”
It is safe to assume that Benner drives a truck, and he quickly offers the details of his 4-door pickup, a one-ton Dodge duely.
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