Finding Used Auto Parts online rather than Buying Aftermarket Parts
Buying auto parts online, whether on eBay, craigslist, specialty forums or even Swap meets can become a life saver when you really looking for hard-to-find parts. Ranging from Bumpers, Hoods, Reinforcements and even engine parts for older classics, finding the OEM parts rather than buying aftermarket should be an easy task, regardless of how long it takes you.
We all know how easily you can walk into a auto parts store and ask them guy over the counter for the parts your looking for ? Its easy, 1-stop shop and convenient for most people to do it this way. But what happens if you are looking for a hard-to-find item and auto parts stores only carry aftermarket parts that usually will not fit correctly on your car or motorcycle? This is when a little digging online comes in.
We have had great success finding auto parts for a discount rate by using either promotional codes or coupon codes when needing to buy aftermarket parts from places like NAPA, O’Reilly and Advance Auto Parts. We have gone through this whole process in a previous post and have showed you how to use coupons you find online to get discounts on parts you buy online and pickup in store.
But what lot of people dont realize is that these parts aren’t going to fit 100% like a Factory Original (or OEM) part would. So rather than spending hundreds of dollars more and buying these OEM parts from a Car Dealer that stocks them, you can actually do a little digging online and find them fairly cheap and lightly used through either Forums or even dismantlers.
We’ve compiled a great list of Sites that you can use to find the parts your are looking for and find discounted OEM parts quickly and easily – Note: Many times, these parts will not be local or near you, so make sure you understand that there will be a longer lead time to actually receive these parts.
1. Car-Parts.com
This website is the leading site for aggregating data from Thousands of Dismantlers, Wreckers and Salvage yards. These companies will buy damaged vehicles through Insurance companies, auctions and privately and dismantle and sell the parts at a discounted rate. What you can be sure of though, is that they will actually give you good, OEM parts that are usually in Great condition, because at the end of the day, their Reputation and business depends on repeat customers and having good parts that are not ruined in their stock.
2. Ebay
eBay has been a great place for people to Part out cars and misc parts and stuff. We have found very rare parts on eBay, and have used eBay points to get good discounts on them as well. eBay has tons of Exposure and millions of people know about the site, thus the drive for people to use it!
3. Car Forums
Finding manufacturer specific vehicle forums has helped us land some sweet Deals on hard to find and very expensive car parts for more than 50% off! Many of these forums can be searched for on Google by simply typing in the Manufacturer of your car and “forum” after it, like this: Bmw forums. This will bring up tons of BMW specific forums that will lend you a great classifieds section.
