Buying Parts 101 -Part 2
September 16, 2017
Before visiting any store, it’s a good idea to do some research online. Review sites and Message Boards will be a great starting place to find reliable and helpful stores, and may even guide you towards sourcing individual parts if you’re lucky. They can give you a great, broad base of knowledge to start from, meaning you’re more likely to get what you need and have an idea of the price before you set foot in a store. Of course, as with any internet review sites, it’s important to look at trends and patterns rather than using a single review to choose a store.
One of the most important things to bear in mind when choosing the parts themselves is shelf-life; the older a part, the less time it will last once put into your car. Even parts which have been stored well will be affected by time, with rubber drying up and losing its flexibility, and general wear-and-tear. Obviously parts for rare car models are more likely to have been sitting on a shelf for longer, so examine them thoroughly and make sure the quality is reasonable before purchasing them.
If time is less of a factor, you could look at sourcing aftermarket parts online. This will usually mean dealing with a re-seller, who will organize for the manufacturer to ship out a part to you. Products bought like this usually come straight off the assembly line and will therefore be new, avoiding the problems caused by ageing and ensuring the part put into your car will last as long as possible. Regardless of how you choose to buy, aftermarket parts give you a quick and often cheap solution to sourcing what your car needs, getting it up and running as swiftly as possible.