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Can buying parts online save you money on a repair?

Yes, sometimes. A part can cost considerably less online. To work out the overall saving, add up the price of the part, delivery and replacement at the garage.

If ReVe Auto orders the part

We select the part for your vehicle and order exclusively from suppliers with a registered address, office and warehouse in the Fribourg region. We agree the total price with you before work begins.

If the part is in stock with our local supplier, delivery usually takes 4 to 24 hours. If it is unsuitable or defective, we arrange the return and obtain a replacement. You can come to us with questions about the part or the work. If a part we ordered delays the repair, ReVe Auto covers the fees for the vehicle having to stay at the garage.

If you buy the part yourself

We can replace it by prior agreement. Contact your seller for returns, exchanges or warranty claims on the part. ReVe Auto is responsible only for the work it performs.

If we discover after dismantling that your part is unsuitable or damaged, we contact you immediately to agree what to do. The old part can be refitted if this is technically possible and safe. Agreed work already carried out, including removal and reassembly where possible, is charged up to the amount agreed before we start.

If the vehicle has to stay at the garage

Work bay — CHF 30 per billable hour, including VAT.: This applies if an unsuitable or defective part supplied by the customer interrupts the repair and the vehicle still occupies a work bay. Use of the bay during a normal replacement is included in the price of the work.
Garage parking — CHF 10 per day.: If the vehicle can safely be moved to our car park while waiting for a part, the parking rate applies once the work bay is free. It also applies if the vehicle remains in the car park beyond the agreed collection time.

Before work begins, we agree with you when charging starts, what time is billable and the maximum amount.

Example with Brembo front brake pads for a 2019 Volkswagen Passat

Brake pads and filters are common examples. One car model can take several different part numbers, and sometimes the mismatch only becomes clear during replacement. All amounts in this example include VAT.

Cost	Pads bought online	Pads ordered by ReVe Auto
Front brake pad set	40.99 CHF	155.66 CHF
Delivery	21.95 CHF	Included
Replacement	97.29 CHF	97.29 CHF
Total if the pads fit	160.23 CHF	252.95 CHF

If the pads fit, buying online saves CHF 92.72.

If the pads do not fit and the vehicle has to stay in a work bay for four agreed billable hours, the costs are CHF 62.94 for the online order with delivery, CHF 155.66 for suitable pads from the local supplier, CHF 97.29 for replacement and CHF 120 for the bay. The total is CHF 435.89, which is CHF 182.94 more than if ReVe Auto had ordered the pads at the outset. Any refund from the online seller reduces the difference by the amount refunded.

Would you like to bring your own part?

Call or message us on WhatsApp to agree the replacement and its price in advance.

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What the studies show

We looked at published data to help you weigh up buying parts online. A wrong part number or an item damaged in transit can delay a repair.

Online shopping in Switzerland. In 2025, 3.86% of people who had shopped online in the previous three months reported receiving the wrong item or service, or a damaged item. The figure covers all categories. Eurostat data
Parts ordered by garages. In 2017, a survey of 900 independent garages across six European countries found that they returned an average of 9% of parts to their main supplier. About three quarters of returns involved unsuitable parts, including cases where garages deliberately ordered several options to find the right one. ICDP report, figure 4
One online parts seller. In a case published by Miva, customers requested returns for unsuitable parts on 6.2% of online orders. After the compatibility data was corrected, this fell to 1.4%. Miva case study

The risk depends on your vehicle, the part and the seller. Before buying, check how exchanges work, how long they take and who pays for return shipping. This can affect how quickly the repair resumes.