Where do you buy your parts from?

[autumnrain]

Just Curious! Will add more options to the poll as soon as I get some replies!

*edit* Aftermarket parts

[adam c]

depends what i need.. all of them?
autodream
dealership

[scboss]

autodream +1

[Sharpie]

Dealer because i get cost.

[The Cosworth]

Originally posted by adam c
depends what i need.. all of them?
autodream
dealership

:werd: :thumbsup:

[mo_money2supe]

Depends really... kinda like the question, do you like girls with long or short hair?

For most misc. small parts, oil and tools: Canadian Tire/PartSource
Few car parts: Dealer
Some car parts: Junkyard
Other car parts: eBay/online
Yet other misc. items: Beyond

The question is too vague. If you're looking at gauging interest from the public for your business, rephrase the question to name specific items.

[whiskas]

Dealer because I also get cost.
Junkyard.
NAPA/Autovalue.

I buy aftermarket/OEM parts as a last resort, they're usually lower quality than original parts from a junkyard car. Here's a very good reason why from Mopar:



This isn't intended as a sales pitch, but there is a big difference between aftermarket sheetmetal and the OEM stuff. The aftermarket stuff is stamped with dies made of less-durable and less-accurate material that we only use to make prototype parts. The aftermarket makers have to go this route to contain costs; these dies cost less than half as much to make as the ones we use in production. Aftermarket sheetmetal typically doesn't fit as well as OEM, and can be difficult to install. This typically shows up as body gaps that are inconsistent; if the panel is not formed to the right shape, no amount of adjusting adjacent panels on the car will create the (relatively) even gaps that your car had when it was built.

The stamping dies used to stamp body parts at the Neon plant (we saw this on the Neon 97 tour!) cost between 1-4 Million dollars *each* to develop and make. When you take into account that (on average) it takes 2 or 3 different dies to stamp out a body panel, you can see that an aftermarket maker just couldn't use dies like ours and still turn a profit.

Do the aftermarkets use galvannealed steel like the original parts? I doubt it. Galvanized (not galvannealed) sheet metal is harder to paint to a proper appearance. The Mopar OEM replacement sheet metal is coated with electrically-deposited primer (E-coat) just like your Neon's body was at the assembly plant. The use of E-coat produces rust protection equal to the original stuff, and dramatically reduces sanding and prep time for the body shop fixing your car. The Mopar sheet metal also has a rust warranty that exceeds the corrosion warranty on your car. Do aftermarket panels have this?

Differences like these are the reason why many states have laws requiring insurance companies to use OEM sheetmetal if the customer requests it.

BTW -- For those who don't understand what I mean by "stamping", think of the stamping process as being similar to using a cookie cutter on cookie dough. The cookies are shaped to 2 dimensions (width and length), but body panels are shaped to 3 dimensions (width, length and depth). Unlike sheetmetal stamping, it shouldn't take hundreds of tons of force to cut out cookies!

[Dim_Sum]

autodream :thumbsup:

[Lucky97]

autodream

[reiRei]

RRM