Repairs

Let the shop buy the parts and install them. The vehicle is going to need an alignment when the repairs have been completed, and the shop will take on the responsibility if any of those parts are defective or installed improperly. If you provide your own parts, you can be expected to get wrong or defective parts replaced, at your own cost. Unless you are a trained mechanic, there is more to replacing these parts than just bolting them on. In my Suspension and Alignment class, I can spend an entire four-hour class discussion period talking about special procedures, and what goes wrong when do-it-yourselfers try to do these types of repairs. Shops and mechanics become party to any lawsuit resulting from your repairs, even when they were not directly involved in the replacement of the parts. Simply working on the vehicle afterward, even if it is just for the alignment, implies they decided the vehicle was safe to put back on the road. Parts and labor will not be covered under any warranty, and the mechanic will have to spend additional time inspecting your work and correcting mistakes.

Unless the shop asks you to search for rare parts, supplying your own is like bringing your own food to a restaurant and asking them to cook it for you. If you were asked to find the parts because this is not a common model in your area, show your mechanic the photos of the parts you found. Ask him which ones he thinks you can install yourself to save labor cost, and which are a better value to let him install. Some of these require special tools that homeowners do not have.