Business Start-Up-Auto Car Parts - Needs advise

[denizh]

Hello everyone.

I am interested in starting a business selling car parts, I would like to know where I can buy them wholesale, the truth is that there is not much information on the internet. I would start by selling in my city and on platforms like eBay etc.

Many thanks for your support and time. Much appreciated

I look forward to hearing from you

Best Regards

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I would look at quality parts rather than the cheap rubbish that everybody else is selling

I have stopped buying parts on ebay and have gone back to using local motor factors

 

[fisicx]

What sort of car parts? Accessories, consumables or OEM?

 

[DavidWH]

If you find out can you let the local, well established, even national chains of motor factors know.

I've a friend who's a mechanic, and at the moment most suppliers are struggling to get hold of parts. What was a 1 day job, can quickly become a 2-3 day job waiting on parts. Same with some of the body shops we've worked with.

That said, if you can get hold of the parts, a reliable delivery service would probably be well received by most garages.

 

[CHUKTC]

It really depends what car parts you are after and in what quantity. For small quantities look locally in UK as mentioned above. For branded parts (especially body parts) you need to be careful to avoid copies and the risk of being sued by the motor manufacturers. This seems to be happening increasingly. For some parts, especially if volumes are reasonable it may be worth looking further afield to Eastern Europe and Asia (where a let of this stuff is actually made). Please bear in mind you do get what you pay for - and if you go for the very cheapest don't expect great quality..

 

[Financial-Modeller]

Hello everyone.

I am interested in starting a business selling car parts, I would like to know where I can buy them wholesale, the truth is that there is not much information on the internet. I would start by selling in my city and on platforms like eBay etc.

Many thanks for your support and time. Much appreciated

I look forward to hearing from you

Best Regards

What parts, for what cars? What's your niche? What will your USP be? Who will buy from you, and why?

Nobody can really advise you on stock without understanding what you're trying to achieve.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

This is my field. If you are at the point of asking where you can buy parts in wholesale, then you are most certainly not in a position to be opening a car parts business.

Forget eBay. Type in any part on eBay - brake pads, a wiper blade, trim clip, cleaning products, whatever you want. Look how many thousands/hundreds of thousands of results there are. From the established guys that have been on eBay for years, to the likes of GSF and Motor World who now use eBay as their main e-commerce site, and the Chinese factories that are supplying directly to end users at rock bottom prices. Where do you want to fit in within all of that?

If you want to supply locally, have you a couple of million to sink into stock? You may get some suppliers to supply you with impress stock but you'd have to demonstrate some serious experience/knowledge/forecast figures. The UK parts market has moved towards such rapid turnarounds that nobody waits for anything any more - every single SKU within a programme, whether it's the set of pads you sell once a day or the set you sell once a year, you'd be expected to have in stock. Garages are getting deliveries from factors up to 5 times daily. Whether it's an exhaust, a full service pack or a single o-ring for 50p, they can call the factor and get it delivered usually within the hour. Not available within the hour? The factor can often get it before the end of the day or the very next morning at the latest.... Can you compete with that?

ECP will now supply to anyone and everyone, whether you're a garage spending £1000 a day or Joe Bloggs walking in off the street - click and collect within the hour and pay more or less the same price as the garage. If you did manage to make some impact locally they could kill you within a month if they decided to turn aggressive - and it wouldn't be the first time they'd done it.

Some independent retail stores (as oppose to factors) are continuing to thrive but for a number of reasons - usually with the knowledge and experience to dig out or find unusual parts, or go "the extra mile" whereas ECP will just look on the computer system and if a part isn't listed, forget it. But on top of that most of them have branched out into cycles, key cutting, vaping/e-liquids, and mobile phone repairs.

It's a tough, tough business being swallowed up and overrun by major players - even many branches that appear independent have been bought out and are in fact owned by one of the major buying groups.

 

[DavidWH]

they can call the factor and get it delivered usually within the hour. Not available within the hour? The factor can often get it before the end of the day or the very next morning at the latest.... Can you compete with that?

Not at the moment in Manchester they're not. Biggest issue my friend has, is cars stuck on ramps waiting for parts to arrive, sometimes next day. Some are main dealer only, and they've stopped parts deliveries.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Not at the moment in Manchester they're not. Biggest issue my friend has, is cars stuck on ramps waiting for parts to arrive, sometimes next day. Some are main dealer only, and they've stopped parts deliveries.

Admittedly not right now but that's due to current extenuating circumstances - not something our OP is going to be resolving.

 

[denizh]

What sort of car parts? Accessories, consumables or OEM?

Hello Thanks for your message, at the moment I think about Accessories, consumables.

 

[denizh]

If you find out can you let the local, well established, even national chains of motor factors know.

I've a friend who's a mechanic, and at the moment most suppliers are struggling to get hold of parts. What was a 1 day job, can quickly become a 2-3 day job waiting on parts. Same with some of the body shops we've worked with.

That said, if you can get hold of the parts, a reliable delivery service would probably be well received by most garages.

Hello Thanks for your message,the thing is to get the suppliers and I can't find any information.

 

[denizh]

It really depends what car parts you are after and in what quantity. For small quantities look locally in UK as mentioned above. For branded parts (especially body parts) you need to be careful to avoid copies and the risk of being sued by the motor manufacturers. This seems to be happening increasingly. For some parts, especially if volumes are reasonable it may be worth looking further afield to Eastern Europe and Asia (where a let of this stuff is actually made). Please bear in mind you do get what you pay for - and if you go for the very cheapest don't expect great quality..

Hello Thanks for your message, at the moment I only think of the British market.

 

[denizh]

This is my field. If you are at the point of asking where you can buy parts in wholesale, then you are most certainly not in a position to be opening a car parts business.

Forget eBay. Type in any part on eBay - brake pads, a wiper blade, trim clip, cleaning products, whatever you want. Look how many thousands/hundreds of thousands of results there are. From the established guys that have been on eBay for years, to the likes of GSF and Motor World who now use eBay as their main e-commerce site, and the Chinese factories that are supplying directly to end users at rock bottom prices. Where do you want to fit in within all of that?

If you want to supply locally, have you a couple of million to sink into stock? You may get some suppliers to supply you with impress stock but you'd have to demonstrate some serious experience/knowledge/forecast figures. The UK parts market has moved towards such rapid turnarounds that nobody waits for anything any more - every single SKU within a programme, whether it's the set of pads you sell once a day or the set you sell once a year, you'd be expected to have in stock. Garages are getting deliveries from factors up to 5 times daily. Whether it's an exhaust, a full service pack or a single o-ring for 50p, they can call the factor and get it delivered usually within the hour. Not available within the hour? The factor can often get it before the end of the day or the very next morning at the latest.... Can you compete with that?

ECP will now supply to anyone and everyone, whether you're a garage spending £1000 a day or Joe Bloggs walking in off the street - click and collect within the hour and pay more or less the same price as the garage. If you did manage to make some impact locally they could kill you within a month if they decided to turn aggressive - and it wouldn't be the first time they'd done it.

Some independent retail stores (as oppose to factors) are continuing to thrive but for a number of reasons - usually with the knowledge and experience to dig out or find unusual parts, or go "the extra mile" whereas ECP will just look on the computer system and if a part isn't listed, forget it. But on top of that most of them have branched out into cycles, key cutting, vaping/e-liquids, and mobile phone repairs.

It's a tough, tough business being swallowed up and overrun by major players - even many branches that appear independent have been bought out and are in fact owned by one of the major buying groups.

Thanks for your message, you say this is your field, Would you be so kind to guide me with a supplier in the UK?

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

For what parts/product ranges specifically? Suppliers for exhaust parts can be very difficult to number plates. And how/where do you want to position yourself in the market? Operating as a distributor, factor, retailer? Again that will affect your options.

 

[denizh]

For what parts/product ranges specifically? Suppliers for exhaust parts can be very difficult to number plates. And how/where do you want to position yourself in the market? Operating as a distributor, factor, retailer? Again that will affect your options.

Hello small retailer, looking Accessories, consumables etc

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Hello small retailer, looking Accessories, consumables etc

Pearl Products. JRP Distribution. M&F Components. FPS Distribution. Skyparts. Tetrosyl. Streetwize.

They are all distributors of multiple product ranges rather than one specific product. You may not get an account, even pro-forma, with some of them.

If you are serious about it I would suggest looking to join one of the buying groups who would give you access to their approved suppliers and in some cases delivery from their own central warehouse.

 

[denizh]

Pearl Products. JRP Distribution. M&F Components. FPS Distribution. Skyparts. Tetrosyl. Streetwize.

They are all distributors of multiple product ranges rather than one specific product. You may not get an account, even pro-forma, with some of them.

If you are serious about it I would suggest looking to join one of the buying groups who would give you access to their approved suppliers and in some cases delivery from their own central warehouse.

Thank you very much again, what do you mean by buying groups, how can I access them?

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Thank you very much again, what do you mean by buying groups, how can I access them?

Automotive buying groups. Google them.

I promise I am not being nasty here, but it appears you have literally zero knowledge of the market. You more than likely won’t get anything off the ground and if you do it’ll be pretty much doomed to failure. At the very least, if automotive it something you’re really passionate about, go and get a job for 6 months in a motor factor or a local shop. You’ll start to understand a lot, very quickly.

 

[fisicx]

@denizh - are you in the uk?

 

[Ian PES]

My previous accountant had side business / serious hobby. He was buying old cars and stripping them and selling the parts on Ebay. He was turning over £60,000 he told me just part time. I think it was in partnership with someone else who did most of the dismantling and they stored everything cheaply in a barn on a local farm. He did that for a few years.

 

[denizh]

@denizh - are you in the uk?

Hello, yes I am in the UK.

 

[denizh]

My previous accountant had side business / serious hobby. He was buying old cars and stripping them and selling the parts on Ebay. He was turning over £60,000 he told me just part time. I think it was in partnership with someone else who did most of the dismantling and they stored everything cheaply in a barn on a local farm. He did that for a few years.

Hello, thanks you for the message.

 

[denizh]

My previous accountant had side business / serious hobby. He was buying old cars and stripping them and selling the parts on Ebay. He was turning over £60,000 he told me just part time. I think it was in partnership with someone else who did most of the dismantling and they stored everything cheaply in a barn on a local farm. He did that for a few years.

Thanks again for your message, in the car parts business the truth is that I have no experience, yes as a mechanic, many times I have bought abroad before Brexit, and it had attractive prices despite the shipping costs, cheaper than what that can be found in the British market, and well after Brexit, I think that route is no longer of interest, so I look for wholesale parts in the UK.

 

[Paul Norman]

Selling car parts requires a good deal of knowledge about cars, which we will assume you have.

But the number of potential parts you could stock is many, many thousands, so you need to choose which ones - are you going to stock for certain brands of car, or accessories, or specialise in brake parts?

 

[IanSuth]

Selling car parts requires a good deal of knowledge about cars, which we will assume you have.

But the number of potential parts you could stock is many, many thousands, so you need to choose which ones - are you going to stock for certain brands of car, or accessories, or specialise in brake parts?

This

There was/is a successful parts company in Reading called German & Swedish, who do just that - they were experts. Need something for a VW camper that had started life as panel van (my mate had one and the throttle cable for example was different from the passenger from new versions) they could get, swiftly or tell you a work around. Not the cheapest but owners (and mechanics) trusted them for their knowledge

They are now the name behind a large chain of branches and a web site (GSF) having been bought out so not the same thing - but that was their USP whilst growing

 

[Mark T Jones]

This

There was/is a successful parts company in Reading called German & Swedish, who do just that - they were experts. Need something for a VW camper that had started life as panel van (my mate had one and the throttle cable for example was different from the passenger from new versions) they could get, swiftly or tell you a work around. Not the cheapest but owners (and mechanics) trusted them for their knowledge

They are now the name behind a large chain of branches and a web site (GSF) having been bought out so not the same thing - but that was their USP whilst growing

Pretty much the same story as Euro Car Parts (and probably now the same owner).

Which does of course suggest that there is an opening for somebody who knows their niche.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Pretty much the same story as Euro Car Parts (and probably now the same owner).

Which does of course suggest that there is an opening for somebody who knows their niche.

GSF is owned by The Parts Alliance which is in turn owned by some huge conglomerate (not linked to ECP). It's a classic example of how the industry has changed over the recent years and all is not what it seems when it comes to independent businesses.

The Parts Alliance was formed as a buying group, for the members to pool resources and negotiate group deals. That worked fine for a while however what then happened is that the buying group as a central organisation began to actually purchase it's own members. Hence you had the mess and sometimes conflicts of, say, 50 members of a buying group, but 25 of them were independently owned and 25 of them were actually owned by the group themselves....So 50% of the group were in fact one organisation and could start to influence the group decisions to best benefit them (in terms of supplier choices, rebate agreements etc), not necessarily to the benefit of the whole group.

PA continued to hoover up their smaller members until essentially, The Parts Alliance was no longer an alliance of members at all - it was really just one organisation with many multiple branches that it owned! These all continued to trade under their independent names which included GSF, SAS, BBC, BMF (I'm not sure why there's an unwritten rule that motor factors should have 3 letter abbreviations!!) - so, locally they appeared to be the same independent businesses that had been around for years but in fact they were part of a huge organisation.

Parts Alliance ended up owning ALL of their members except for two - a large Scottish distributor (Dingbro), and a large Irish distributor (Qualvecom). In a final twist in the tale, they recently announced that they would finally rebrand the whole lot of their owned branches as GSF, since that is the strongest name in the group. Parts Alliance will then revert to its original role as a buying group but just with 3 members - GSF, Dingbro, and Qualvecom.

Similar scenarios have occurred with other buying groups in both the UK and Europe. It's a funny old industry.....!

 

[denizh]

Selling car parts requires a good deal of knowledge about cars, which we will assume you have.

But the number of potential parts you could stock is many, many thousands, so you need to choose which ones - are you going to stock for certain brands of car, or accessories, or specialise in brake parts?

Hello,thinking about consumables.