Can You Really Save Money By Sourcing Your Own Car Parts? - Why I Practice This With My Own Car

Car servicing takes up a significant part of car ownership costs, and it’s not unreasonable for a driver to try and think of ways to reduce costs and save some money. While we all know that there are certain markups on car parts sold to you by your regular workshop, can you really save money by sourcing your own car parts? The short answer is - Yes, but not always by a lot. There are actually many factors you should consider when deciding if it is worthwhile for you to source your own car parts. It also really depends on your specific situation, your needs, and your car’s make and model. As a caveat, to begin exploring the option of purchasing your own car parts, you should have a baseline knowledge of car parts and how they work. If you can’t tell the difference between a spark plug and a wheel lug nut, or if you don’t know where to locate your car chassis number, then you should probably stay well clear. However, if you enjoy the process, and have a good grasp of knowledge, then there are potentially some good amount of savings that you as a driver can enjoy if you play your cards right.

As a general rule of thumb, the more common your car model, the less realistic it is for you to source your own car parts. This is because, high demand wear and tear parts that are used on common cars like an Altis or a Camry are going to be very well stocked within Singapore. These are parts like air filters, engine mounts, and brake pads. Your workshop is probably able to attain them within a few hours from a local stockist, if they don’t already have the part within their stockpile. In such a situation, the part would already be competitively priced and it would make little sense for you to invest the time and effort to source your own car parts as you will only save at best, a marginal amount of money. Because these common parts are well stocked and have good turnover, car workshops also typically do not bother to mark these items up too much, which further reduces the margin by which you can save money, if you buy directly from a stockist and pay for labour to install the part at your own workshop. Because there is always the possible situation of purchasing the wrong car part, the savings you enjoy on the item should generally be reasonable enough for you to take on the risk of purchasing your own car parts.

On the flip side, if you are driving a car that is less common in Singapore, say an Opel, or a Ford, chances are that stockists and workshops will have limited stock for such car parts, and even if they do have them in stock, the markups are likely to be higher because these would be considered low turnover items in their stockpile. In such a situation, there is a good chance that if you order these parts from a country that has plenty of such cars, you will be able to find a pretty good deal on the car part that you need. For example, Opel (Vauxhall) and Ford are very popular in the United Kingdom and certain parts of Europe like Lithuania. From my own personal experience with ordering a new radiator fan and an original air condition compressor for my previous car, an Opel Insignia, this is what I discovered. Even with shipping (air freight), I was able to order the parts from eBay, land it in Singapore, and get it installed, all within 10 days. Price wise, I paid about 50% less than what I would have paid if I had gotten my workshop to order those same parts from a stockist, who would have then ordered it from overseas to be brought it. That process would have taken 3 weeks, and I would have paid double the amount.

When thinking about purchasing your own car parts, keep in mind that in most cases, you will still need to factor in the cost of labour that you will need to pay your workshop, to install the part that you have purchased. Generally speaking, the easier the part to install, the cheaper the labour costs. However, most workshops begin charging labour at around $40 - $60 for simpler jobs like an oil change or to change out your brake pads, and can come up to around $250 - $300 for jobs like engine mount replacement or air condition compressor replacement. While there is no exact formula to calculate whether or not it is worthwhile for you to purchase that particular car part, you can generally see how it would make more sense to employ these tactics on more expensive car parts.

Before you make any decision, it is also good to have a chat with your service manager at your workshop, and ask about the labour price to install that particular part. After working out the total cost to you, you can then make a more informed decision on whether it is worth undergoing the purchase of your own car parts, or if it is simply more practical to let your workshop do the whole job of sourcing the part and installing the part. Personally for me, if I do not attain savings of at least $100 on the part, then I usually just leave it to my workshop to settle it.

Though we have addressed concepts surrounding parts availability, the parts supply chain, price, and labour costs for installation, it is also equally important to consider the type of parts and the time sensitivity of repairs. While the failure of certain parts, such as the failure of your timing belt, is something that happens quite suddenly and without warning, there are plenty of other parts whose failure can be anticipated. A good example of such parts are brake rotors and brake pads. As parts that are highly visible and easily inspected during each service, you will be able to see gradual wear over the course of a few service sessions, which will give you plenty of time to order the necessary parts in advance, from say an overseas source. Other parts that are viable to purchase pre-emptively based on this logic, are parts like engine mounts and suspension sets. Leave out parts that usually fail without much warning such as spark plugs, timing belts, and hoses, as there is little discernible way to pre-empt that failure.

It is also key to consider your own needs and situation (usage) before deciding to embark on this endeavour. For example, it would make little sense to pre-emptively purchase a set of engine mounts, to anticipate a repair that is due in say 40,000km, when you are intending to sell the car in 1 year’s time. To be able to make an informed decision here, you will need to have a general understanding of how frequently a manufacturer recommends their original part to be changed out, as this varies part to part, manufacturer to manufacturer.

Like two sides to the same coin, while wear and tear parts have a high turnover rate and usually do not undergo too much markup, accessories and upgrades are usually highly marked up in Singapore, especially branded accessories. This is because these are not essential parts to a car’s operation and are purely opt-ins by the car owner due to preference. Because cars in Singapore have a finite lifespan tagged to its COE, and because half of that lifespan is spent under warranty, the amount of cars that undergo upgrades or installation of accessories are a minority. The obstacle here is that the money spent on upgrades and accessories are only spread out over a short period of time, and is therefore not fully utilised. Fortunately, if you are one of those drivers who really appreciate an aesthetic or performance upgrade, this is one category of parts that you can usually save quite a bit of money if you source the parts yourself. Because the items are of a high quantum, even a 10% saving would already constitute a few hundred dollars in savings. Parts in this category include brake kits, body kits, exhaust systems, air intakes kits and suspension kits.

#Service #Fixing #Mechanic #HowTo #Autos #Cars #Sg #Singapore #DIY

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