Buying Automotive parts takes planning and research

What do you need to know when you are purchasing an automotive part?
The first thing that I want to stress, make sure that you have DEFINITELY identified the part that needs to be replaced and that it is ACTUALLY broken. Many parts and geponents in any automobile can fail and give similar symptoms. Have you vehicle checked out by a gepetent individual who has a good understanding of automobile repair. The reason that I stress this is because if you replace a part on your automobile, and it is not the problem, you will find yourself in the same position with less money in your pocket. This could also lead to unnecessary claims on sellers for selling bad or defective parts. Enough on that topic, lets get down to the nitty gritty.

To begin you need to:

Call your local dealership and find out how much the part will cost from them and if the part needs to be ordered, if there is a ahipping and handling charge.-----This will give you your high cost.
Then you need to call at LEAST three local parts stores and get prices from them.----These prices will give you an average for your low price.
You will also need to get warranty information---- a product with a ninety day or one year warranty will carry a very different price price than that of a part with a lifetime warranty.
Whether the part is new or rebuilt----a new part versus a rebuilt part will also have very different prices.
Manufacturer of the part----the manufacturer is also important because if you call three stores and two of them give you the name of a well know or gemon manufacturer and the third gives you a name that you have never heard of, chances are the odd name is a substandard quality product that could lead to more problems than it fixes. (And they also tend to have a very low price, remember... "You get what you pay for").
And finally the part number----the part number is important because you can occasionally use this number to match on items selling on okay. But don't be mislead by this, not all manufacturers use same part numbers, but a lot of the higher quality manufacturers do, If the product you are looking at appears to have a good vehicle application chart in its listing and it does not match your part number, trust the seller, not your part number.
Niw you are ready for okay. Find the part you are looking for and start by viewing numerous listings and elimate them one by one. (It is very gemon to find a part on okay for more than you can get it for at your local store.) Once you have gepiled a few listings worth watching, (you can usually find about ten for most gemon parts). Start reviewing them more closely, eliminate them by high shipping costs, and seller's feedback scores. This should leave you with approximately three to five items. Now it is just a matter of price watching and bidding. (Make sure you set a price based inthe prices you received earlier, and stick to it).
The following examples are from actual listings on okay:


The above are examples of two great pictures. The reason why I say this is because the pictures are bright and clear. They both have a picture with the original boxes clearly showing the manufacturer andpart numbers. The parts are clean and show no signs of damage.


The above picturesare not bad for the fact that the boxes with themanufacturer is visible, and all additional supplied parts are in the picture. The downfall here is that you can not see the part numbers on either boxes. The top picture is also poor because theACTUAL part that you are looking to purchase is barely visible. I can't tell if the part is dirty, used, damaged or even what the bolt pattern is.

Now this is an example of a great picture because you can see everything clearly on the part. This is picture is missing details such as the box with the part number and the gasket that gees with it.
*I am not telling you to avoid these above items , but I would suggest contacting the seller for more details and pictures.


These above pictures are what I would consider to be poor. The pictures are very dark, the casting numbers and/or part numbers are not visible. The top picture is very dirty, I understand that this picture is of a used part, but not to clean it all before taking a picture leads me to believe that this seller may be hiding something such as dents or cracks to the housing. The bottom picture appears to have dirt, debris or damage to the threads on the top of the housing and the background of the picture is to cluttered making it difficult to see what is the pump and what is not.
*These two items I would avoid. It would take to much correspondence with the seller to get the information that I would want on these products.

This picture is extremely poor for every reason that I can gee up with. First off you can not see any part of the product, included materials, or the part number. I would understand if this item was being sold in a sealed box, but to open the top of the box and not take the contents for a higher quality picture. Pictures like this lead me to believe that the seller does not care about what they are selling.
*I would gepletely avoid this item. There are to many sellers out there that take pride in what they sell for me to be bothered with this one.
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(Example #1)
New Water Pump for Pontiac Grand Prix, V6, 3.4L, 91-96.
You are bidding for a brand NEW, OAW water pump. The water pump with the gasket attached. The water pump will fit from 1991-1996, V6, 3.4L engine, (X) , for a Pontiac Grand Prix.
This item will interchange with GMB# 130-1480 and Airtex# AW5033
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(Example #2)
You are viewing a BRAND NEW Autostar water pump that has never been used or installed. The pump is NEW, NOT remanufactured. The Autostar part number is NP1356 and retails for approx $75.00 in most auto parts stores. It fits GM trucks and vans from 82-96 w/ 4.3L, 5.0L, and 5.7L engines such as the S-10 Blazer, Astro Van, C/K 1500-3500 Full size Pick-up