The car industry is huge and it is to be expected. With this number of vehicles on the road at all times, we all have to have plenty of repairmen with a lot of parts, OEM or replacement.
Having a car today is not that difficult. You need a couple of hours or days to search the web and various online markets, and with some cash on you, you can become an owner of a new second-hand car. Those who are fortunate enough to have a bit more cash go for brand new vehicles and tend to enjoy them a bit more.
Whatever type of car you end up buying there is one sure thing – it will break on you eventually. No matter what type of car or what manufacturer made it, nothing lasts forever and your new car surely won’t as well. If you have a car problem it is normal to go and visit a mechanic that will take a look at it and make you a quotation for the repairs.
There are out there that are educated enough to know a few things on their car by themselves. For the DIY ones out there we are making this article, with a little help from Auto-Secret, because you tend to make big mistakes when ordering car parts online. Read this article to the end and learn how to avoid these rookie mistakes.
1. Incorrect parts
No matter how big your DIY knowledge is, you probably made a mistake once in your “home mechanic” history that was ordering an incorrect or incomplete part. With cars nowadays sharing platforms across several different types it is easy to miss vital info or serial number and order a part that is the same on the outside, like the one you took out but when you try to fit it you are missing a bolt hole or the thread is not correct. Most problems like this we see is when you order oil and air filters. These are probably the easiest to swap an order wrong one which costs you time to repair and eventually money if the seller doesn’t take back parts you miss ordered. Before you sit by your computer or laptop and start ordering a rule of thumb is to have your chassis number at hand as well as part number, the correct year the car was made, and a model year.
2. Wrong parts site
Another mistake that most DIY mechanics make is ordering from shady sites that offer big deals on various parts. We all hunt a good deal and a bargain when parts are in question but a line has to be drawn somewhere. Shady sites that pop up somewhere on your browser or that get suggested by other sites should be avoided. Although they are all legit on the surface the reality is a lot different. You will probably be cheated for your money and you will get nothing or get the part you didn’t order or don’t need. These sites will usually go down after they make a certain number of sales and you will never hear from them again. If you are considering refunds for any types of reclamations or returns you can kiss that goodbye as well.
3. Overpaying
We all sometimes pay too much for things we shouldn’t. The fault here falls on being hasty, ordering without researching or having a tight time frame that needs to be fulfilled. Allow yourself enough time to do the research and to visit a few sites you believe and try and find a good deal. If you know your car then you know what aches it. You can also try to utilize yearly periods of big discounts and buy parts in advance if you want to stay on the budget and avoid constant overpaying for replacement parts that decided to die on you when the time was not right.
4. Warranty
Whenever you buy parts online make sure you check the policy of the seller or the website and see if they give a warranty on parts they sell. You wouldn’t believe how many parts come without a warranty, or they do come but it is as low as a few days or months. These are the grounds for the biggest scams and sometimes the biggest or most important parts of the car, that should naturally come with a long warranty period, doesn’t have one at all or it is a short period. Either way, you are left cheated out of your money and you won’t be able to refund it back. This is why we always say take your time and research the sellers, see their various policies toward customers and be the safe keeper of your money. Who better than you!?
5. Low-quality or counterfeits
Now since the auto parts industry is so big and it offers a chunk of cake for everyone you can be assured that everyone is trying to make parts for your vehicle. The biggest problems we have all met are getting parts to form unregulated manufacturers in China that last for a month or two and die out of the bloom. I had a problem with my car which is considered old by today’s standards but it shouldn’t be that relevant. I had a problem with the camshaft sensor and I bought 2 brand new ones for my vehicle according to specifications and they both died in six months. After that, I went to salvage and got one that was still functioning off of some scraped car and I dove it for a year straight without issues. This just goes to tell you that the quality and origins of replacement parts play a big role when longevity and reliability are considered. Cheap Chinese parts and parts from other unregulated suppliers will be cheaper and the quality will be disastrous. Stick to the OEM parts or replacement parts from verified suppliers.
So, after everything you read, we hope that you learned a few things and that, if you found yourself in one of these points, you will steer clear of these mistakes again. Someone told me, just before this article, why write about this they can learn by themselves. Once you make a mistake you will remember it and not make it again. To that, I say why not?! Why let you waste time and money when that all-important repair or project car could be on the street tomorrow. Why let you suffer and be frustrated when we can educate you at least a bit and allow you to get your wheels on the road as soon as possible.
