Purchase of spare parts

An important role in the repair work is played by the use of spare parts and consumables of high quality, designed specifically for your car.

In general, spare parts can be divided into two large groups:

Original spare parts

These spare parts are distributed through official representatives of car manufacturers. They always have the original packaging and markings of the vehicle manufacturer. The quality meets all requirements and is guaranteed by the car manufacturer. The official representative of the car manufacturer has all spare parts for this car in stock. If any part is not in the warehouse of the representative, it will be delivered from the central warehouse in a short time.

Non-original spare parts

Definition «non-original» says nothing about the quality of spare parts. This means that they are not sold in the packaging of the car manufacturer and are not distributed through official car dealers. The main backbone of this group is made up of well-known manufacturers of spare parts that supply parts to the assembly lines of automakers. Since their equipment and technologies allow the production of parts for cars of many other manufacturers, they produce parts not only for the assembly line of one or more car assemblers, but also for sale on the free market. These parts are packaged and labeled by the manufacturer of the part. The quality is as good as OE parts and prices can be much lower than OE (the difference can reach up to 50% in favor of non-original). The range is a little more modest than that of original spare parts. The program includes the most running and most demanded parts.


Many major Western parts dealers use their own packaging, buying a wide range of non-genuine parts in bulk directly from manufacturers and selling them under their own brand. Non-original spare parts are usually distributed through free spare parts stores, free auto repair shops and service stations.

Particular attention should be paid to the quality of purchased spare parts. Avoid buying very cheap spare parts (compared with original and non-original well-known firms), because they often do not meet quality and safety standards. If low quality decorative molding only affects the appearance of the car, then installing low quality brake pads or an oil filter can pose a threat to passenger safety or cause great damage to the engine, so that repair costs are many times higher than the amount saved by buying a cheap part. Therefore, you should use either the services of official representatives (original parts), or well-established sellers of non-original spare parts.

There is also the possibility of purchasing refurbished parts, in which case you return the old part. The above, first of all, refers to complex, expensive parts, such as an engine, generator, starter, etc. This opportunity is sometimes offered by both official representatives and free sellers of spare parts. It also saves some of your money, in most cases quite a lot. At the same time, the company selling the restored unit gives almost the same guarantee on it as on a new one.