Best place to buy car parts?

twistershoot

Where is the best place to buy an alternator for a car ? Mine seems like it's on the way out.

custardy

twistershoot wrote: »

Where is the best place to buy an alternator for a car ? Mine seems like it's on the way out.

Seriously? 'a car'

Is that the info you expect to gain any form of practical advice?

facade

Please define what you mean by "best".


Should fit and last a reasonable amount of time- main dealer spares dept.


Might fit , might last a couple of years- eBay, eurocarparts, local car spares place, vehicle dismantlers.


Definitely fit- take it to an auto electrical supplier for reconditioning. They can likely supply a replacement that they will guarantee if they can see the old one


Cheapest- probably eBay followed by vehicle dismantler.

AdrianC

Will you be replacing it yourself?


Or will you be getting a garage to replace it? If a garage, then let them source the part. Not only will you be better protected against any short-term failure, but any incorrect sourcing will be their problem.

peter12345678910

Specialist garage, fit reconditioned

twistershoot

Thanks guys, I will get a garage to fit it in. I have noticed in the passed the garage normally charge higher for the parts.

I meant the cheapest as in best place. On ebay it's much more complicated as to knowing which one to buy.

AdrianC

Cheapest is rarely best. Cheapest is often a complete false economy.

Yes, the garage may well charge more up front. They take parts margin into account in setting their hourly labour rate. They also know where they can get quality bits in very short timescales, far shorter than "ordering from eBay". They won't order the cheapest chocolate rubbish.



If you supply the alternator, they get the car on the ramp and apart, then discover you've got the wrong one... You're getting hit for extra labour while they fanny about chasing you up, and they'll be monumentally hacked off at you because you've tied a ramp up for unnecessary time. Or they'll just order the right one, and hand you the wrong one back when you collect the car.
And what happens when they take it apart, and find that the water pump is also leaking? Do you want to order that yourself, too, to save a couple of quid?


Then there's what happens if the replacement dies in a week or three.
They supply? You take it back, they change it, zero bill.
You supply? You take it back, they remove it and hand it you back, you return it to the supplier for replacement, you hand that to the garage, they fit, they charge you for more labour.


Total false economy, even before considering that most garages simply won't play that game anyway. Customers who try to chisel that extra few pennies are usually the ones that are a pain in the backside in many other ways.

foxy-stoat

twistershoot wrote: »

Thanks guys, I will get a garage to fit it in. I have noticed in the passed the garage normally charge higher for the parts.

I meant the cheapest as in best place. On ebay it's much more complicated as to knowing which one to buy.

Sounds like you just need to get quotes from your normal trusted garage and maybe one other -not kwikfault or halfrauds.

Pay your money and get the work due with some form of guarantee.

Mercdriver

....or ask Hucker on here where he gets his stuff...

fred246

On my last car the alternator went. I took it off one evening and gave it to the wife with the yellow pages. "Get that fixed tomorrow. Repair, replacement, whatever". She found a man who fixed alternators. He put in new brushes for £10. I put it back on the next evening and it lasted another 9 years. I did take my current car's alternator to pieces and replacing the brushes was so easy-a youtube video shows you how to do it. Ebay is a fantastic place to buy parts. Where else can every buyer rate their purchase for all to see? Eurocarparts sell on ebay. Main dealers sell parts on ebay. I feel sorry for people who post on MSE forum wanting help from fellow moneysavers and all they get is a load of rubbish from garage owners with a vested interest.

AdrianC

fred246 wrote: »

She found a man who fixed alternators. He put in new brushes for £10.

You're lucky - I've never once had an alternator that just needed a brush pack

Ebay is a fantastic place to buy parts. Where else can every buyer rate their purchase for all to see? Eurocarparts sell on ebay. Main dealers sell parts on ebay.

Lots of idiots sell abysmal quality chocolate parts on eBay. But they're cheap!

I feel sorry for people who post on MSE forum wanting help from fellow moneysavers and all they get is a load of rubbish from garage owners with a vested interest.

Read what I actually wrote - if the OP is not planning to DIY the change, then not insulting the garage by supplying parts separately likely will be the cheapest option.


If he is planning to DIY, then I'm sure he can also figure out googling for sources himself, but he will need to know what car he's got in a bit more detail than he's given us.