12 Jan The 5 Best Websites to Buy Auto Parts Online

If there is one thing we can all agree about, it is that the internet has been a big game-changer in all our lives. It is now easier to shop online and get all the information you can need on the web. Going from one garage shop to another can be costly because you have no clue where you can find a particular car spare part. Still, with the help of the internet, you can easily buy your parts online at a cheaper price and have them delivered to wherever you want them. 

There are multiple websites where you can purchase auto parts online. The invention of these websites has made shopping for auto parts easier. They are also cheaper than physical shops. Even though the selling price is a good selling point, imagine saving thousands or hundreds of dollars because you won’t have to drive looking for the parts and instead have them delivered to your doorstep. 

You can finally say goodbye to the good old days when you went from shop to shop looking for auto parts for your car, and all the mechanics would say is they don’t have it and don’t know where you can find it. This is especially common if your car breaks an uncommon part or your area of residence doesn’t include a multitude of the car you own hence the scarcity of stock. There are many websites to buy auto parts online, and you should join the movement too. 

By now, you should be persuaded that purchasing auto parts online is a great decision. But if you’re still not, read on to get the gist of how it all works and why you should also join in. 

Why are car parts so much cheaper online?

Car parts are cheaper online because these websites often find companies that agree to drop ship items to them. Dropshipping means that the website doesn’t have inventory; what happens is, when a customer places an order online of parts from a specific company, the order goes directly to the distributor, who often ships the products. Therefore, the company sells these products online with no actual cost since they don’t store these parts, pay salespeople, and ship them out. The distributor will take care of everything. 

A distributor can sell their auto parts at a small fee over the wholesale price because they sell in bulk, and even selling $3 or $2 over wholesale price gives them lots of profit as they sell for multiple customers. They can get up to one thousand orders a day, which is good money if you ask me. 

On the other hand, retail shops aren’t villains since they work differently. A garage shop can make money by charging car repair per hour, selling auto parts, or both. When you drive your car to a garage shop, the extent of damage or service you need to do on your car determines how much you will be charged. Most mechanics use software to calculate the price per hour payment and estimate the time the repair could take. For example, it’s common for most mechanics to charge $100 per hour or more. So if your car takes three hours to repair, you will have to pay $300. 

Even though this seems like an unfair price, you need to consider their costs. If a garage shop sells auto parts, it would mean that they will need safe space to store these parts and pay employees. If they don’t consider all these, they might end up losing a lot of money. So, it doesn’t mean that retail shops are ripping you off. They also have expenses they need to cover to avoid doing business at a loss. 

How are used and new car parts inspected for quality?

Quality control is a key factor in every business. It can be as simple as re-reading your email before you hit send. In the auto parts industry, quality control means a lot because every company needs to ensure that only high-quality products leave their warehouse. When customers receive low-quality auto parts, it tends to be a deal-breaker because these parts go into an automotive and could result in accidents. 

Since no one wants to risk the lives of their customers, there are different ways that quality control can be conducted. Visual inspection is done on the products to check for oil lines, oil boreholes, and cooling channels. All the parts need to be checked visually; they are also tested on cars to ensure that they perform their function without any mishaps. 

Pre-shipment inspection includes;

• Matching prototypes and specifications according to what the client needs. 
• Ensuring only top-quality materials are used and tested. 
• Matching the weight and dimensions to what the client specified.
• Ensuring the color matches what your client requires.
• Checking that these parts function to ensure proper operation
• Markings and labeling are required to ensure the mechanic knows which parts go.

For all parts to be compliant, supervision is a necessity during production. It allows suppliers to analyze and correct any issues and for customers to receive exactly what they ordered. 

What is the best website to buy auto parts?

The best websites to buy auto parts online are ones that you can see have quality control. You also need to check out honest reviews online on sites where the comments aren’t controlled, like social media. You can find various websites online that specialize in selling specific car parts. For example, some sites concentrate on selling brake parts and every item in that car area, others concentrate on selling engine parts, and others sell all kinds of auto parts. Below we list websites to buy auto parts online and the specifics. 

The 5 best websites to buy auto parts online

1. Advance Auto Parts

Advance Auto Parts is the best battery dealer you can ever find. They have perfect batteries that are reliable and long-lasting. Even though they are famous for their quality batteries, Advance Auto Parts also sells tons of car parts. They are even more unique than other stores because they give customers loyalty points every time they purchase. To prove how great they are, you can have your order packed and ready to go in as little as five minutes. They also offer their customers free shipping when your order is over $35.

2. Rock Auto

Rock Auto is a great site to buy auto parts. Their website is easy to navigate, which is quite a great deal, and they sell all types of car parts. It doesn’t matter the vehicle model you have; RockAuto has an easy-to-navigate website that allows you to narrow down your search to come up with whatever you are searching for. To show just how unique they are, they not only have standard car parts for the most common cars, they also do have parts for exotic cars that you wouldn’t think to look for on their website. They also have suppliers worldwide, which gives you access to the lowest prices, and all you have to do is pick well. When ordering auto parts from RockAuto, you need to do a little digging to find a supplier that offers cheap shipping. They don’t offer free shipping. 

3. NAPA

NAPA offers services and auto parts online. On their website, you will buy whatever car parts you need and get estimates on whatever repairs you need doing on your car. To make things much better, you get to schedule an appointment at their nearest repair shops, which is convenient. The cherry on top of this is finding automotive accessories, tools, and any diagnostic equipment you might need with NAPA. All these tools come with directions and how-to guides from the shop that will help if you aren’t sure how to work with them to complete a job. One setback is that when you purchase from them, you will only get NAPA auto parts and not a variety of any other brands.  

4. Car-Part.com

If you are working on a tight budget, this site is one you should find and purchase your parts. Car-Part.com offers a unique service. They sell used parts that they source from cars that aren’t in use. This site works with auto wrecking and recycling yards to get used car parts. Their service is not unique because you will buy second-hand items, but also because you will get car parts for old cars. I mean cars whose parts have been discontinued since they haven’t been produced for so long by old cars. They will sell a car part that’s working pretty well. But since it’s second-hand, you won’t get any reassurance for how long it will last, but at least it will save for quite a while as you source money to buy new parts. 

5. CarParts.com

CarParts.com specializes in body parts. Even though you can buy items like timing belts from them. If you are in the process of upgrading your car or have recently been in an accident, this is the site for all your car’s parts. Examples of body parts you can get at CarParts.com include mirrors, headlight assemblies, and bumpers. They also offer aftermarket upgrades. When you order anything from their site, they offer free shipping. The amount of time your items arrive depends on the size of your purchase. If you purchase small items like mirrors, it will take a short time to arrive compared to more significant parts like bumpers and grills. But you have to give it to them for trying considering they offer free shipping on such huge items. 

Conclusion

The idea of leaving your car for the mechanic to purchase the parts and also fix them can be a bit daunting. You won’t know precisely what has gone into your car and if it is the kind you wanted or if they bought a cheaper knock-off version and sold it to you at full price. To be sure of all this, you can turn to shop for parts online. There are multiple websites to buy parts online, and we’ve listed them above. Shopping for parts online will reduce stress on your end. You will have a definite idea of what you’re getting, and you will get them at a cheaper price. You can move forward to shopping for parts online for all these perks and, for the greatest of them all, saving money.