Where To Look For Rare Or Hard To Find Parts For Your Vehicle
Owning a car or truck that uses non-standard or older parts and accessories can make repairs more challenging and often requires you to find a shop with a large auto parts inventory or one that carries unique parts. Depending on the parts you need, finding the parts can take some time, but knowing where to look is often as vital as the parts you are after.
Specialty Parts Shops
When looking for rare parts or accessories for your car or truck, you may need to look for auto parts shops that specialize in specific vehicle types and have a large or unique auto parts inventory. It is not uncommon for a part to be hard to find because it is only made by one or two vendors, and often you will need to go to a shop that works with the vehicle brand and manufacturer to source specific pieces.
This is more common in older vehicles and high-end custom cars, but it can be true of many imported cars that are hand-built or assembled in limited numbers. When you combine age and limited production, finding parts become even more complicated, so specialty parts shops may be the best source for the parts of information about where you can find them.
If the shop offering the parts is also a repair shop, they may have some used parts in good condition that you may want to consider if you can't find new ones.
Reproduction Parts
Manufacturers specializing in producing parts that are no longer available from the vehicle manufacturer or are very hard to find often offer a large auto parts inventory but are parts that are made news to the manufacturer's original specifications. Reproduction parts may be the only way to get a rare part, but you will need to check to see that the parts you buy are period correct and fit the vehicle properly.
While the auto parts inventory is often decent with reproduction manufacturers, there are times when finding the proper manufacturer is a challenge. Some vehicle owners do not like using reproduction parts on their vehicles. Still, if there is no car parts inventory available from the manufacturer, these parts may be the only available choice.
Make sure to check the reviews and the quality rating of the parts you are considering, and if you can buy them in person, look over the connections and mounts to ensure they are right. When buying parts online, check the return policy before purchasing so that you can exchange or return them without any issue if you get a component that is not right or does not fit.
Reach out to a company like Padco Auto Parts to learn more.