Repairing parts/buying new ones

[thompson004]

Hi guys, I got a few questions:
When repairing a customer car, I can either buy new parts or use my own leftover parts.
I used a part of my own with 78%, however I had to change it for an entirely new one! (brakes).
So so you know if there is a certain amount of % a part needs to have if you use it for a customer car?
Also, if you use your own parts, do you get paid for your own parts as you would for using bought ones?

Finally, do you yourself use your own parts for customer cars?
Thank you!

[Haildodger]

Hi guys, I got a few questions:
When repairing a customer car, I can either buy new parts or use my own leftover parts.
I used a part of my own with 78%, however I had to change it for an entirely new one! (brakes).
So so you know if there is a certain amount of % a part needs to have if you use it for a customer car?

The required condition % varies from job to job. It's been awhile since I've done a job, but it does tell you what % it needs to be at.

Also, if you use your own parts, do you get paid for your own parts as you would for using bought ones?

Customers don't care where you get the parts from so long as it meets the job requirements.

This one time, I wasn't watching my cash and ran out of money. I took another job and stipped the parts I needed off a customers vehicle to finish a better paying job; just like a real life mechanic. :P

Finally, do you yourself use your own parts for customer cars?

Always repair parts when possible. Repairing grants you xp. If you happen to already have a part needed to repair a customers vehicle, then definitely use it rather than buying another.

Also, seeing as you mentioned brakes. Some items cannot be repaired; like brake pads for example. If they are in good enough condition for a job though, then use them to complete the job.

[Kiros]

I think that it is better to always install a new part when replacing broken parts on the list because the customer will pay the full amount for the part and then you have the broken part left over that you can repair and or sell for extra cash or use on a restoration project of your own.

[Haildodger]

You get paid by the job. A part that is fully repaired has no more value than a new one, and you gain xp for repairing it. Buying new is expensive. Put simply, you make more money if you spend less.

That said, play whatever way floats your boat.

Anyway, once you hit level nine, taking jobs becomes moot. Restorations yeild a better roi.

[thompson004]

Originally posted by Haildodger:

1) The required condition % varies from job to job. It's been awhile since I've done a job, but it does tell you what % it needs to be at.

2) Customers don't care where you get the parts from so long as it meets the job requirements.

3) If you happen to already have a part needed to repair a customers vehicle, then definitely use it rather than buying another.

1) Thank you, I didn't notice that before.

2) Ok, but do they still cover my expenses the same way as they would if I bought the needed parts, when installing my own (repaired) parts?

3) Where is the advantage in using my repaired parts for customers compared to buying new ones? The customer always covers my expenses, so I also could sell my own repaired parts instead of using them for customer cars or use them for my own cars and thus don't have to buy new parts - that's money I'd lose otherwise IMO.

[thompson004]

Originally posted by Haildodger:

Buying new is expensive. Put simply, you make more money if you spend less.

Thank you. Why is it expensive? The customers always covers all of my expenses, so there's no real disadvantage in buying new parts instead of using my own for customers IMO.
I rather think that using my own parts for customers is a disadvantage, because I could use those parts elsewhere by selling them or using them for my own cars, as Kiros stated.

[dogwalker1]

It is not so much that the parts are 'expensive', it's that you're making the same money from the customer whether you buy a new part or use a sufficiently repaired part. The former costs you money, the latter does not, so you make more profit on a job by using repaired parts than by buying new. In this game anyhow.

[thompson004]

Ooh, I get it now, it's that easy!
Problem is, I don't have 90% repair chance yet, and since you need 90%+ parts for most customer cars, for me, repairing overall is still too risky.

But as soon as I have it, there will come up another question: Do you make as much profit selling repaired items from inside your inventory (or maybe from selling an entire car with said items) as you do using them on customer cars and letting them pay for it?

Because IMO figuring out which of your own parts you can actually use for a (customer) car (and you have to do that for EVERY car!) can take quite a lot of time and can be quite stressing. Especially if you get new broken parts from a car, repair them -> then you repair a new car and have to consider the new repaired parts you just acquired. You always have to know which of your own parts you can actually use so you don't end up buying parts which you already have. Sadly, the game doesn't help with this problem.

It's definitely easier and quicker (!) for me to just sell the items from the inventory. So it has to be profitable to use own parts for customer cars, compared to selling them individually or you have to like putting more work into repairing cars without benefitting from it.

Also sorry if my English is bad.

[dogwalker1]

Your English is very clear to me!

You make more money using repaired parts than selling them and buying new parts for the job, because even a 100% repaired part will earn you less money by selling it than it will cost you to buy it... Yes, it can take more time on a job to look for parts in your inventory, and beyond that the inventory starts to suffer performance problems if your spare parts count exceeds 500 (you get a warning), so you can't keep a very large inventory; you have to clean it out periodically. These extra chores make it feel a bit more like I'm actually managing the shop, so I don't mind too much. I believe the next release (CMS18) is supposed to have a better inventory managementt system.

[thompson004]

Thank you for your answer. It actually makes sense, since you always get paid the amount you spent buying parts. And it's also logical that you get less for selling your repaired parts than what you pay for buying new ones - that's basic economics, and I didn't think of that.

But now it's all clear.
So what I'm gonna do is to:
1) get all repair upgrades
2) complete a few jobs to see the average required state of the parts
3) make an inventory list of all the parts I can use for the customer cars.

Then, as I will be repairing a customer car, I'm going to cross out all parts on the ingame 'shopping list' I already own (so I won't buy them unnecessarily) as well as on my inventory list (because I will use them for their car).

As I will be repairing new parts up to the required average state, I'm going to add them to my inventory list.

That, I think, is one of many easy ways to go and yes, I agree, it definitely add to the feeling of actually managing a shop.

Thank you very much!