Business Start-UP - Spare Car Parts - Needs advise

[x-stealth]

Hello,

Please advise on below

In particular, I’m planning to start my own business (e.g. spare car parts such as brake discs) in UK.

The parts will be manufactured in India and imported to UK for the whole sellers or individual customers. However, I’m not really clear about the next points as shown below:

- At the beginning stage of my business development, do I really need to register my brand name or trade mark (Note: if I’m just want to try my product and I’m not sure if it’s going to be profitable or non-profitable for the business).

- Consequently, I was planning to bring a small number of units to start with my trade focusing on local shops, eBay and other internet sources etc.

Can you please advise a correct action for the following situation in respect to government rules and regulations?

Many thanks for your support and time. Much appreciated

I look forward to hearing from you

Best Regards

 

[The Byre]

Wear and tear parts are subject to mandatory certification. Failure to have the necessary certification is a criminal offence.

Good luck and all that, but your main problem will be that the car parts business for wear-and-tear parts (brake disks, brake pipes, clutch plates, etc., etc.) is all done via local warehouses that only stock original and certified OEM - each car part has to comply with a stringent set of rules and regulations, e.g. all brake discs of vehicles offered on the open spare parts market on or after 1 November 2016 are subject to mandatory ECE-R90 approval.

The DIY market has pretty much dried up and what is left usually goes to places like Halfords, who obviously also have to comply with the law.

No local garage will buy from an unknown on-line store, as they cannot be too certain if the parts are properly certified. They also expect to be able to click-and-collect within an hour. Customer brings car in at eight in the morning and wants it finished and MOT'ed by five.

 

[x-stealth]

Many thanks for your provided comments and attention. Much appreciated

Regards

 

[alasdair1982]

Shelf the idea, You will never compete with the likes of GSF, euro's, andrew page and the other national companies who have the buying power with the manufacturers. According to a rep for Euro's they make no profit on brakes at all at point of sale, they rely on the rebate from the manufacturer if they meet the correct volumes.

And as The Byre say's I have run a garage for 10 years and would not buy anything for a customers vehicle from an online source, firstly if its the wrong part its a pain to return.

Also bear in mind if your parts are not OEM then again no garage will touch you

 

[Jason Mageehan]

Also, if you were considering going for the upper end of the market, it's all about brand - Tar.ox / Brembo etc have spent years cultivating their brand loyalty....if someone's spending real money on brakes, they want the name to go with it.

 

[Needl Analytics]

You will struggle to out 'SEO' the big boys. These days, more and more people are drawn to larger online brands as these normally represent better value and provide more security.