(Reprinted)Car owners who call dealerships are often shocked when they learn the cost of replacement auto parts . A trim piece that costs maybe $5 to make could carry a 5000% premium at the retail counter. Some parts are priced to the moon simply because many consumers don't know any better. If only they took the time to shop around.
So, let me help you approach this process like a pro. I personally buy about $20,000 in parts every year for my dealership, and after nearly 15 years of scouring the nation for rare and expensive parts, I'm happy to share my secrets to getting what I need at the lowest possible price.
1. Do Your Research
There are two websites every parts shopper should visit before buying. The first, Car-Part.com, offers the largest database of used auto parts in the world. The second is eBay—perhaps you've heard of it—which happens to be a new and remanufactured auto parts sales juggernaut.
There are a few steps to any successful search. Once you find what you need on Car-Part.com, select 'Distance' and then click 'Search' to see what its market price is in your area. Once you made note of that, go to eBay. Do the same search, and sort by 'Pricing + Shipping lowest'. Pay special attention to the estimated delivery time in the listing. Parts from overseas can sometimes take over a month to get to your home.
2. Verify, Verify, Verify!
Call the dealership to confirm your specific part number before you complete any purchase. If you don't confirm the part number, any grief that ensues is of your own making.
You'll learn that some parts are unique to certain engine and transmission combinations. And the list of potentially affected best auto parts suppliers is long, from computers, modules, and sensors, to more basic items like alternators and starters.
3. Haggle, But Be Polite
It's common courtesy for most junkyards to match a lower price for a part at another retailer in the same geographical region. There are two important caveats to this, however. First, you have to compare apples with apples. Don't expect a junkyard to price-match their 20,000-mile engine with one nearby that has 200,000 miles on it.
Second, when you haggle, make sure you say you did your homework on Car-Part.com, and be honest with the guy on the other line. He has the same information as you do, and if you jerk him around, he'll know and he may return the favor, so to speak.
4. Craigslist is a Crapshoot
Craigslist isn't always a good source. In the real world of buying parts, it can requently become a big time-suck compared with going to a junkyard or buying online. Plus, most of what you buy on Craigslist will be sold as is, while the other two sources allow you to either exchange the part or get your money back. For this reason, I get fewer than two percent of my parts from Craigslist.
5. Always Look For Coupons
Auto parts retailers are expensive. But they don't have to be. This website will help you find coupon codes or manufacturer rebates that may not pop up when you visit the auto parts store online. I've sometimes found starters and alternators that were within $20 of an eBay or a junkyard find, with the added perks of a limited lifetime warranty and free delivery. To me, that extra $20 is worth the peace of mind.
Know that if a dealership is tells you that buying a part from someone other than them will void your car's warranty, it's not true. I usually buy batteries, fluids, and filters
online from either auto parts stores, eBay, Walmart, or Amazon. If you find yourself just short of that '$50 off of $125' coupon code you found online, just add some items you know you'll use anyway, like filters or coolant, to get the order up where it needs to be.
6. Still can't find it?
Get medieval!
If online hunting doesn't turn up the part you need, it's time to visit the self-service junkyards. Many hobbyists with time to kill will bring their own tools, find the part they need, remove it themselves, and pay a pittances for it. This is the cheapest option in dollars and cents, but it does cost you time.
7. Enlist Forum Help For Faraway Parts
There have been times when I've finally been able to locate a rare part, but it seems to be as far away from me as Mercury is from Pluto. This is when I turn to fellow enthusiasts for help. Online forums for your make and model usually have members spread across the United States. By asking for assistance acquiring a auto parts dealer that's not local to you (and perhaps offering $50 for the trouble), you can still get what you need and help out a like-minded grease monkey in the process. Make/model forums sometimes have dedicated parts-listing threads, as well. If enthusiast forums don't work, try reaching out through Facebook. You'd be surprised what a friend of a friend will do for a little extra cash.
8. Consider Buying a Parts Car
If you have the space, think about picking up a parts car that can serve as a donor vehicle. By searching public-auction listings nearby, you can find a local impound-lot auction that may offer you an inoperable version of your vehicle. Local newspapers also have an "Auction" section for towing and repair companies that sell parts cars in your community. Another option is to buy a vehicle from a salvage auction such as Copart or Insurance Auto Auctions. However, keep in mind that most states will require you to use a broker to acquire the vehicle.
Be prepared to spend around $600 for a common spare vehicle locally and about twice as much at the big salvage auctions. The nationwide outfits usually
have access to much better vehicles. This is especially the case for those of us who need spare body parts .
9. The Dealer is Your Last Resort
If you haven't found the part at this point, then—and only then—pay the dealer. To be fair, dealers are at the mercy of manufacturers, so don't blame them if you find their parts costs unreasonable.
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In recent years, the multinational auto parts
group have entered China, however China's auto parts industry is
attached to the whole vehicle enterprise for a long time, the capital,
technology, management and development were at a disadvantage, so it is
facing an unprecedented challenge. Now Global procurement, synchronized
development, modular supply and neutral development has become the four
major bottlenecks.
In the face of global procurement challenges,
the expert believes that China's auto parts industry needs to break the
old market concept, they should get into the global sourcing platform.
In the short term, we can’t achieve a breakthrough in technology
research and development of auto parts industry in our country, so
except cooperation with the multinational auto parts group, there is no
good way.
The main bottleneck that the parts industry of our
country is facing is the research and development ability. Due to the
low level of R & D and no independent brand, products can only
imitate others. The majority of parts enterprises in China can not meet
the requirements of synchronization, not only difficult to support the
new models, but also inevitably faced with the danger of losing the
traditional market.
Second is global procurement. At present, China's auto parts industry
is low manufacturing level, management extensive and cost control is
weak, which can not meet the user's requirements for product quality,
cost, delivery and other global procurement. Especially in the cost
control, with the frequent performance of the car price war, the cost
pressures continue to shift to the parts, so the ability of cost control
is facing enormous challenges. According to estimates, every 10%
reduction in vehicle prices, at least 5 percent is passed on to the
parts enterprises.
Three is the modular supply. The modular
supply is a new management idea and mode, and it puts forward strict
requirements on the production management level, the assembly labor
productivity, the cost control ability and the electronic level. At
present, the gap between parts enterprises and the foreign company in
this area is also very big, especially in the integration, electronic.
Due to technological backwardness, the majority of parts and components
enterprises in China can only produce labor-intensive products, so the
added value of products is low, so it is difficult to enter the ranks of
first-tier suppliers.
In addition, insufficient capital investment, small scale production, small batch, weak in strength, so that China's auto parts enterprises are unable to compete with multinational auto parts enterprises.
Increase market openness in parts enterprises brings opportunities as
well as risks,, so how to prevent foreign investors from controlling the
Chinese market? In fact, from the current market situation, China's
parts have been controlled already. Therefore, we should keep learning
foreign technology to shorten the gap with the international parts
enterprises. In addition, we still have to work hard to create
conditions, actively create a breakthrough and development opportunities
for ourselves.
(PS: Our sale contact info. is as below:
Cel.: 86 15872743608
Tel.: 86 719-8111748
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(Reprinted)The core of the engine is the cylinder , with the piston moving up and down inside the cylinder. The engine described above has one cylinder. That is typical of most lawn mowers, but most cars have more than one cylinder (four, six and eight cylinders are common). In a multi-cylinder engine, the cylinders usually are arranged in one of three ways: inline, V or flat (also known as horizontally opposed or boxer), as shown in the following figures.
Different configurations have different advantages and disadvantages in terms of smoothness, manufacturing cost and shape characteristics. These advantages and disadvantages make them more suitable for certain vehicles.
Let's look at some key engine parts in more detail.
Spark plug
The spark plug supplies the spark that ignites the air/fuel mixture so that combustion can occur. The spark must happen at just the right moment for things to work properly.
Valves
The intake and exhaust valves open at the proper time to let in air and fuel and to let out exhaust. Note that both valves are closed during compression and combustion so that the combustion chamber is sealed.
Piston
A piston is a cylindrical piece of metal that moves up and down inside the cylinder.
Piston rings
Piston rings provide a sliding seal between the outer edge of the piston and the inner edge of the cylinder. The rings serve two purposes:
They prevent the fuel/air mixture and exhaust in the combustion chamber from leaking into the sump during compression and combustion.
They keep oil in the sump from leaking into the combustion area, where it would be burned and lost.
Most cars that "burn oil" and have to have a quart added every 1,000 miles are burning it because the engine is old and the rings no longer seal things properly.
Connecting rod
The connecting rod connects the piston to the crankshaft. It can rotate at both ends so that its angle can change as the piston moves and the crankshaft rotates.
Crankshaft
The crankshaft turns the piston's up and down motion into circular motion just like a crank on a jack-in-the-box does.
Sump
The sump surrounds the crankshaft . It contains some amount of oil, which collects in the bottom of the sump (the oil pan).
(PS: Our sale contact info. is as below:
Cel.: 86 15872743608
Tel.: 86 719-8111748
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1. Packing factory accessories is compared commonly specification, standard specification, printing clear formal, shall be marked with product name, specifications, quantity, registered trademarks, producer name and address and telephone number, etc., some manufacturer also hit their mark on the auto parts .
2. See qualified spare parts surface appearance, print or type and legible and formal there are both certain accuracy and polished finish, the more important parts, precision is higher, more rigorous rustproof packaging. When the choose and buy if found parts with rust spots or rubber parts cracked, loss of elasticity, or shaft neck surface has obvious tool lines, shall be returned.
3. Look at the paint unscrupulous businessmen will be used by the simple processing accessories, such as the disassembly and assembly, to spell, gather together, paint and other processing, then pretend to be "qualified" , through the surface paint after the old paint can be discovered.
4. The bad work product appearance although on occasion, but due to poor craftsmanship, prone to crack, sand holes, slag inclusion, burr or bruised. Such as cylinder gasket extrusion deformation, when using, easy to cause the untight seal and ablation, lead to the oil, gas leakage and leakage phenomenon.
5. See "loose" made up of two or more than two parts, accessories parts by being connected, bonding or between welding and become, not allowed to have loose phenomenon.
6. See assembly mark in order to ensure the parts assembly relations conforms to the technical requirements, with some regular parts surface marker assembly, such as timing gear, piston top marks, such as assembly mark, mark is used to ensure the parts installed correctly, without a sign or mark fuzzy cannot recognize, will bring great difficulty to assembly, or even wrong.
7. See gaps complete formal assembly parts must be in good condition, to ensure smooth loading and normal operation. Some assembly of small parts packing, may be a "gray", to cause difficulties for loading. May even for some small parts shortage, cause the whole assembly parts scrap.
8. The protective layer for the purposes of custody, knock against, prevent parts have protective coating parts before delivery. Such as piston pin, bearing bush with paraffin wax protection; Piston ring and cylinder liner surface rust-proof oil and paper package; Valve, piston, etc after immersion rust-proof oil encapsulated with plastic bag. When the choose and buy, if find seal set of damage, loss of wrapping paper, rust-proof oil or paraffin loss, shall be returned.
9. The certificate some important components, especially the assembly class, such as carburetor, distributor, generators, etc., factory generally with manual, certificate of approval, to guide users to install, use and maintenance.
10. See most auto parts have stipulated specifications and technical parameters. Such as electrical equipment of choose and buy when, should pay attention to check and be in components of the voltage and power are consistent.
(PS: Our sale contact info. is as below:
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Tel.: 86 719-8111748
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(Reprinted)Customers’ love for shopping online is increasing every year—after all, it’s easy, convenient, and often less expensive than in-store purchases. With such a potential for increasing your profits online, maybe you’ve considered expanding your sales to reach the online community. But with so many E-commerce platforms to choose from, where do you start?
Reliable E-commerce software that fits your needs can maximize your revenue, but a poorly chosen platform could leave you with a costly and unsuccessful failure. To help you figure out which system is best for you and your dealership’s success we’ve come up with this practical guide on how to find the right auto parts E-commerce platform for you dealership.
1. Determine your E-commerce goals
The first step is to determine what your E-commerce goals are. Would you be happy with a few extra part sales a month or do you need to grow sales aggressively? How you run and operate your online store will change depending on if you’re reaching out to customers on a local or national level. The national level may have a higher payout, but it’s also much more competitive. Perhaps you want to start by capturing online sales from customers in your local area who already visit your website, and expand nationally once you’ve got the hang of it. Make sure you find an E-commerce service provider that can tailor their service to your current goals but scale to meet your future goals.
Questions to consider:
• Do you want to sell on a national level, a local level, or both?
• Do you want to grow rapidly and aggressively, or just get started?
• Do you want to sell on your own domain, or on a separate site?
2. Website reliability
If your auto parts online store is down, you can’t make sales. Even worse, downtime will not only cut into your profits, but also make your company seem unreliable and unprofessional. It’s essential that the E-commerce software provider you choose has a history of reliable service, and a reputation for quick fixes on the rare occasion that your website does run into problems.
Questions to consider:
• If your website goes down, what is your plan of action? Who can you contact?
• Does the E-commerce platform have reliable uptime?
• Does the E-commerce platform respond quickly and efficiently?
3. Support
If you do run into problems while setting up or running your online storefront, you’ll need someone to go for personalized and effective support—whether it’s tech support, advice, or just a quick question. An E-commerce platform with a strong support team can move things along quickly and efficiently compared to one that takes weeks to respond to a simple question. Every vendor will claim they have first-rate support, but not all will deliver on the promise so your best bet is to call other dealerships currently using the platform and ask them what the support is really like.
Questions to consider:
• What kind of support does the provider offer?
• Is support included, or does it cost extra?
• How responsive is the support team? How helpful? How effective?
4. User experience
If the customer has a poor experience on your website, they’re unlikely to return. Therefore, keep a happy customer in mind while choosing your E-commerce platform . While browsing your options, ask the potential E-commerce provider for a demo. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes as you click through the website and “make a purchase.” Remember that the more steps it takes for a customer to find and purchase the part, the less likely they’ll follow through with the sale.
Questions to consider:
• Is the site easy to navigate?
• Is it easy for a customer to find and verify the right part? Are there images or diagrams?
• How many steps does it take to purchase an item? Is it easy to add to cart and checkout?
• Is the site mobile-friendly?
5. Design options
Since the design and layout of the webpage is the first thing a customer will notice, it’s important to take this part into consideration. Customers should associate the site’s appearance with your brand and the type of service you can provide them. A clean, modern, user-friendly and professional design will make your website preferred over others.
Questions to consider:
• What level of branding and customization do you need?
• How much control do you have over customization?
• Are the provided designs professional and aesthetically pleasing?
• Do the offered themes fit your company’s image?
• Do personalized designs cost extra?
6. Price setting for parts
There are a few common methods for setting prices on your online store. You can base it on an added percentage over the cost, or price it a little bit under list. In many systems, you have to pick one system over the other. Some pricing methods, however, make more sense than others for certain categories of auto parts or accessories. If you have an E-commerce platform that forces you to price every part using the same method, it can result in some serious losses.
Questions to consider:
• Do you know the best way to price each part?
• Can you set your prices based on cost, list, or a combination of the two?
7. Integration with tools you already use
If you’re already using some online tools to reach your customers, picking an E-commerce platform that integrates well with what you already have is definitely a bonus. Some service providers may charge more if you want to integrate those tools, so watch out for added costs.
Questions to consider:
• Which integration tools do you currently use (email, DMS, Google product feeds)?
• Which integration tools does the service provider offer?
• Which ones do you have to pay extra for?
8. Security and payment gateways
Customers need to trust you with their credit card information before they make a purchase. Before signing on with an E-commerce service provider, look into how secure their system is and if they have a history of security breaches.
A key feature to look for in an E-commerce platform is a tokenized payment system, which removes the actual credit card number and replaces it with a token (a randomly generated number). E-commerce platforms that use tokenized payment systems never actually store credit card numbers so the fraudsters have no credit card numbers to steal.
Questions to consider:
• Does the E-commerce platform have a history of secure systems?
• Is customer credit card information stored in the system? Is the stored information kept in a safe and secure way?
• Does the E-commerce platform support popular payment gateways?
9. Shipping
Shipping is a major factor for any online retailer. Accurate shipping costs can make or break your profits on a parts sale. Many E-commerce systems use a simple formula based on the price of the part to estimate shipping costs, which can be problematic if you have a large, heavy truck part that sells for a low price. At the same time, overpriced shipping will be a quick way to lose customers to more reasonable retailers.
Questions to consider:
• Will you be able to accurately estimate shipping costs based on the size and weight of each part for sale?
• Are shipping costs calculated automatically? How?
10. Cost of the solution
Some E-commerce platforms are more or less expensive than others, depending on the quality, effectiveness, and features offered. Before rushing ahead with your plans, make sure you’re getting a deal that fits what you need. Evaluate your budget and don’t just jump for the cheapest option. Sometimes it’s best to pay a little more for a reliable platform, since a more effective website will drive more revenue.
Questions to consider:
• Do you know what you’re paying for?
• What is the price per month?
• Are there any hidden fees (set-up fees, processing fees, integration fees, and additional theme or app fees)?
(PS: Our sale contact info. is as below:
Cel.: 86 15872743608
Tel.: 86 719-8111748
Facebook: miaoyuexport
Skype: Ada-miaoyu
Q Q:1105378431
E-mail：ada@miao-yu.com / inquiry@miao-yu.com
Website: www.imyautoparts.com)
