Rule 5.
A wholesaler is liable for the tax for retail sales to the consumer or user, including a person with a sales tax license who purchases automotive parts or tools, equipment, and supplies for consumption or use. For instance, the sale of piston rings to a duly licensed garage operator is exempt if the rings are to be resold over the counter to a person that will install them, sold in connection with repair work for a customer, or installed in a used car that the retailer has purchased or taken as trade-in, which is being reconditioned for sale. However, the sale of the rings to the retailer is taxable if the retailer installs them in a vehicle maintained for the retailer's own use, such as a wrecker used in the retailer's business or a car maintained for use by the retailer's family.
Mich. Admin. Code R. 205.55