There are endless options when it comes to buying car parts and accessories.
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It used to be that you had just one or two choices when it came to buying auto parts, perhaps a local outlet of a national chain or a mail-order catalog.
These days, however, you’re spoiled for choice. Whether you’re looking for an air filter or motor oil, you’ve got a wide variety of options.
Popular options include online shopping giants like and , , your car’s dealership and parts stores like or . There are positives and negatives to each, so let’s talk about your options.
One of the nicest things about buying car parts online is the filters to confirm that parts will fit your car. On Amazon, for example, Confirmed Fit allows you to enter your year, make, model, drivetrain, and engine type to ensure that whatever you’re looking for will work.
RockAuto, an online car parts leader, was founded in , and the website looks like it hasn’t been updated since, but it is simple and easy to navigate and is tailored to expert buyers who know exactly what they need. RockAuto has parts for vehicles dating back to the s, so it will likely have whatever you need.
eBay also has a massive inventory of new and used parts, and it features My Garage, where you can enter information about your vehicle to confirm whether you’re ordering the correct parts for your car, truck or motorcycle.
Perhaps the biggest challenge of the online stores is getting help if you have questions. Though there are customer service options, you can’t get in-person help installing or picking out a part like you could at a dealership or local auto parts store.
On the positive side, these online stores have enormous inventories and ship within a few days (depending on the part, where you are, and where the warehouse is located) and pricing is often cheaper than in-store fronts that deal with overhead costs.
Going straight to the dealer is always an option, and you’ll be guaranteed the correct part for your vehicle as well as professional installation and diagnosing issues if you need the help. The downside is that you may pay quite a bit more for the part than you would from an online store. Many car makers offer parts online now as well, making it easy to compare pricing.
Perhaps the biggest advantage to buying from a dealership is the quality of the parts. The automaker is the one that designed the parts in the first place, and you have the peace of mind to know the part will fit and work as the engineers intended when you buy an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) part. Though they usually sell every part you could need, you can save some money by considering what kind of part you’re getting. While it may be a good idea to go with the highest quality you can afford for brake rotors, if you can buy a generic plastic door handle for a fraction of the cost—especially if it looks and performs the same as an OEM part—then you may be able to save a bit.
Especially if you’re in a hurry or the car is still under warranty, your dealer’s parts department might be your best bet.
Local auto parts stores often offer ship-to-home through the website, but also offer services like in-store pickup of online orders, which can help bridge the gap between the convenience of shopping online and the customer service you get in a retail store. You also have the advantage of taking parts in that you are having trouble identifying and more quickly getting a replacement part, or one on order.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of these brick-and-mortar stores is their network of stores and their combined inventory of in-stock parts. If you have an urgent repair, or a limited repair window, then driving across town for that one part is often far cheaper than rush delivery online. Additionally, many of these stores can likely do an internal transfer within a day or two, getting parts from their larger warehouses to you in a short period of time, often without shipping costs.
The salespeople or sometimes the folks around the store are often quite knowledgeable, and you might even be able to work on your car in the parking lot. You can’t do that at Amazon.
Jordan Golson is a transportation reporter covering cars, trains, planes, future cities, mobility and more — basically, if it moves and doesn’t go to space, he's on it. He is especially interested in the intersection of transportation and technology, and that means he goes deep into electric cars, autonomous vehicle tech, sensors, safety, connectivity, and similar topics.
I don’t like junk yards, because I don’t like used parts, but any retail store will do. Call ahead to see if they have what you need in stock, and bring the old part with you to compare to the new one and make sure they’re giving you the correct part.
I’ve been to O’Rielly, Advance, and Auto Zone, (and others) and they’re all the same in terms of service.
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OEM parts (especially Honda parts) tend to be more expensive, but not any better than aftermarket parts in terms of quality. After all, most aftermarket parts meet OEM specifications.
Occasionally, I order parts online, but only when I have to because they are hard to find. There is no substitute for holding the old and new part side by side to compare them, and there is often a core charge for recycling the old part at an auto parts store.
When I was young and poor and did all my own work I frequently bought junkyard parts. The difference between $5 and $25 was huge for me then. once junkyards got Teletype and computer systems linking them together there prices went up tp about 50% of new. I usually buy my parts at NAPA but if you are buying over $100 at one time it is hard to ignore the discounts at Advance. I never just go in there and browse or buy something anymore because the have raised their in store prices to make up for the discounts.
If I have advance notice I am going to need parts or I can drive alternative vehicle, I generally order most of my parts online at rock auto but I still price shop. There can be huge price differences between rock auto and local stores. Advance auto has many online coupons that they will not accept in store but you can order and pick up at the store. Sometimes I will end up at the salvage yard if I am looking for something really expensive. I have 3 trucks and 3 cars I keep on the road. It is too expensive not to shop around.
If the only sources you have are the national chain stores, using them usually works out ok. The car-repair skills of the staff there varies widely, from completely no experience at all, to pretty good. Since you can’t choose which of the staff helps you with your parts need, you may have to return something b/c it doesn’t work or it is the wrong part for you car; but easy enough to do. I got the wrong valve cover set & radiator coolant fan switch for my Corolla one time from one of those places , and that’s the only two parts I purchased! lol …
For that reason I prefer a local auto parts store to a chain store, even tho I have to drive a little further to find one. The one I use here in San Jose has plenty of car-repair knowledgeable staff on hand to help and answer common diy’er questions. And if they don’t know, they say so. The staff at the national chain stores guess a lot from my experience.
For mail order, Rock Auto is great, but can be inconvenient and frustrating if you get the incorrect part and have to send it back. And it can be more expensive than buying local if you just need a few parts b/c of shipping and handling costs. For a big order where time isn’t too much of a factor Rock Auto definitely makes sense.
I shop online and then decide what I am going to do. A part that might not fit, I buy from the store, usually AZ mostly because I have a loyalty card and they give me the mechanics discount. If I have questions about a particular repair, I go to the local NAPA because the counter people are knowledgeable.
I used to buy more from rockauto but their shipping is through the roof. I recently bought complete struts from the seller’s website that came with free shipping and no tax, for me that was significant savings.
I needed an air filter recently, WM was out of stock, looked on amazon and they had the OEM for cheaper than Fram with free shipping. Nothing as good as buying my parts on Sunday night while relaxing on my couch.
Depends on the part.
I’ve had problems with Auto Zone parts. They sell a lot of knockoff junk. And they don’t always know what they’re doing… I’ve had to show them what I was talking about. My impression is that they have clerks that probably sold shoes at their last jobs.
I rarely buy parts other than spark plugs from the stores listed. I do buy parts from a company called Sanel’s. They supply all the repair shops in our area. They can be trusted, and the counter guys know what they’re talking about.
Filters I buy at Walmart. Frankly, I think they’re just as good as any other filter. But, than, I change my fluids and filter often enough that they don’t get very dirty. And I don’t drive in the desert, salt flats, extreme heat, or other really extreme conditions. If I lived in the southwest I’d probably reconsider. I’d also move, but that’s a different discussion.
Most parts I order via the internet. However, I have the luxury of having any big work done by the automotive department at the college I retired from. I pay only cost less a 20% discount. While all suppliers I assume offer discounts to all shops, the 20% is an educational discount available from manufacturers only to educational institutions. Brake parts, exhaust parts, and stuff like that the guys at the college get for me… OEM, of course. In some cases, like shocks & struts, I know who the OEM supplier is to the car’s manufacturer, so I’ll go directly to them via the internet.
Belts I get only from Gates. I believe they have the best on the market. I get the “heavy duty” option.
In short, I don’t think there’s a single answer. I suspect most people doing their own cars use different sources for different types of parts.
Guys? Do you all do the same?
I order motorcycle parts on Amazon. Their website has a handy feature where you can list your vehicles so that, when you look at a part, it will show you at the top of the screen if it fits your vehicle. This picture is one example.
Having lived in various places, I chose to say “they’re all the same” regarding auto parts stores because they tend to vary in employee competency based on location. The O’Rielly’s Auto Parts near my mother’s house has great staff who are knowledgeable and friendly, but the Advance Auto Parts across the street seems to be staffed with flunkies who can’t properly test a battery. Where I live now, the guys at the local Advance Auto Parts seem to know what they’re talking about, but the jokers at the local NAPA never seem to know what I’m talking about. Yet the NAPA store in the last city I lived in was the place to go. Pep Boys in Dallas, TX once tried to rip me off, but the Pep Boys in south Jacksonville is wonderful. @bing has obviously had negative experiences from Autozone and O’Rielly’s but I’ve never had a problem at either. My point is that leadership makes a difference, both at the store manager level and at other levels of management, such as area manager, regional manager, etc., and I wouldn’t rule out any auto parts store chain until you’ve checked them out in your area.
Here’s another vote for Amazon. I’m a prime member so I will choose them first if at all possible. I have never been let down by their “this part fits your vehicle” assessment. I do find it is easier if you have the OEM part number for searching as it rapidly narrows down the offerings to search through. Although I have used the filter feature to accomplish the same thing. At Rockauto I can’t buy a kid’s toy, some mints, a plumbing fitting and a ball joint at the same time
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