Why is it so hard to buy OEM parts?
Discussion
Why is it in 2024 still such a complete pain in the ass to buy OEM parts?
I can find all manor of non OEM parts within seconds and order with a few clicks, but when it comes to OEM parts it's off to some 3rd party spammy website to view a parts catalog to get some clue as to what I want and if I am lucky a genuine part number.
Then it's either half an hour on the phone or a trip to go and see them in person to actually be able to order something, which often ends up with a vast amount of paperwork and a long discussion over something costing less than £10
Why can't they just have a parts catalog online and let me order direct?
I can find all manor of non OEM parts within seconds and order with a few clicks, but when it comes to OEM parts it's off to some 3rd party spammy website to view a parts catalog to get some clue as to what I want and if I am lucky a genuine part number.
Then it's either half an hour on the phone or a trip to go and see them in person to actually be able to order something, which often ends up with a vast amount of paperwork and a long discussion over something costing less than £10
Why can't they just have a parts catalog online and let me order direct?
Must depend on the brand. Been able to get BMW and Honda bits with no real issues. BMW bits from Cotswolds, Inchcape, park lane etc and Honda bits from Cox.
Starting to find BMW are discontinuing some e39 bits which is a pain but fair enough as the newest ones are now 20 years old. Often ways round it though if you can cross reference the bmw part number with the OEM (eg Bosch, Seimens etc) part number.
Starting to find BMW are discontinuing some e39 bits which is a pain but fair enough as the newest ones are now 20 years old. Often ways round it though if you can cross reference the bmw part number with the OEM (eg Bosch, Seimens etc) part number.
lufbramatt said:
Must depend on the brand. Been able to get BMW and Honda bits with no real issues. BMW bits from Cotswolds, Inchcape, park lane etc and Honda bits from Cox.
Starting to find BMW are discontinuing some e39 bits which is a pain but fair enough as the newest ones are now 20 years old. Often ways round it though if you can cross reference the bmw part number with the OEM (eg Bosch, Seimens etc) part number.
Do you have any websites for any of them, bmw parts departments you can actually order from online?Starting to find BMW are discontinuing some e39 bits which is a pain but fair enough as the newest ones are now 20 years old. Often ways round it though if you can cross reference the bmw part number with the OEM (eg Bosch, Seimens etc) part number.
In my experience places like "carparts4less" often do sell OEM parts, they're just branded by whomever manufactures the part rather than the car brand.
Also worth noting that there usually wont be just one OEM. Most minor parts on mainstream cars have at least two, often more, sometimes many more, OEMs so even if you get a part from a main dealer there's a very good chance it wont be the same brand as the one coming off the car. Whether that matters depends on your reason for wanting OEM, I guess.
ETA: Also worth being aware that sometimes an OEM will produce two (or more) versions of a part which differ only in the labeling to mark them up for different brands. In those cases, the online places will often pick whichever of the versions is cheapest at the time they're putting their order in. Sometime a single car manufacturer will even ask several different part numbers on the same unit so they can charge different amounts depending on the model despite it actually being an identical part (which is by no means unique to the automotive industry, it happens pretty much everywhere).
Also worth noting that there usually wont be just one OEM. Most minor parts on mainstream cars have at least two, often more, sometimes many more, OEMs so even if you get a part from a main dealer there's a very good chance it wont be the same brand as the one coming off the car. Whether that matters depends on your reason for wanting OEM, I guess.
ETA: Also worth being aware that sometimes an OEM will produce two (or more) versions of a part which differ only in the labeling to mark them up for different brands. In those cases, the online places will often pick whichever of the versions is cheapest at the time they're putting their order in. Sometime a single car manufacturer will even ask several different part numbers on the same unit so they can charge different amounts depending on the model despite it actually being an identical part (which is by no means unique to the automotive industry, it happens pretty much everywhere).
Edited by kambites on Wednesday 3rd April 07:32
the-norseman said:
I've found it quite easy for VW group, Merc and Volvo.
Volvo for example. I needed a new aux belt and tensioner, local Volvo dealer wanted £££, there is also a Volvo dealer on ebay, quick message to them and 50% less than the local Volvo place. Delivered within 2 days.
Do you have the name of the Volvo dealer on Ebay? I've used Caffyns-Volvo-Parts before but it's always useful to have other options.Volvo for example. I needed a new aux belt and tensioner, local Volvo dealer wanted £££, there is also a Volvo dealer on ebay, quick message to them and 50% less than the local Volvo place. Delivered within 2 days.
Cheers,
Josh
e-honda said:
Why is it in 2024 still such a complete pain in the ass to buy OEM parts?
Why can't they just have a parts catalog online and let me order direct?
BMW/Mini group cars do have an online catalogue, it is called realoem.Why can't they just have a parts catalog online and let me order direct?
I am sure there must be others, aside of that main dealers prices aren't all as bad as you may think.
Generally I will simply order OEM standard parts from known good quality online suppliers if I don't NEED specific brands that the manufacturer used.
e-honda said:
Do you have any websites for any of them, bmw parts departments you can actually order from online?
https://store.inchcape.co.uk/collections/bmw-partshttps://www.ebay.co.uk/str/bmwdirectstore
https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/cotswoldbmwmini
Reoloem for part numbers, just email them for specific stuff
Realoem used to be good, better than you had for most manufacturers but it still only ever did US prices and now it is full of adds and popups
I've used the eBay store for Mercedes of Newcastle to message them and ask for parts.
But it's crazy why do you have to message anyone at all, let alone have to find a random eBay store of a dealer who happens to be more interested in selling parts more than most dealers.
I've used the eBay store for Mercedes of Newcastle to message them and ask for parts.
But it's crazy why do you have to message anyone at all, let alone have to find a random eBay store of a dealer who happens to be more interested in selling parts more than most dealers.
e-honda said:
Realoem used to be good, better than you had for most manufacturers but it still only ever did US prices and now it is full of adds and popups
Correct, but as they are RRP that is pretty much irrelevant even if they were GBP, but at least you then have the part number to use for searches/approaches to dealers/motor factors etc.I happen to be working on a project to solve this very issue.
In answer to the OP the reasons that it is hard to buy OEM parts online are:
1) OEM's don't really want to display their entire parts catalogue on the Web, as it could lead to other parties cross referencing the parts data and matching them with OEQ or similar parts. So essentially it is protective behaviour. The UK equivalent of BER expressly forbids this protectionism, but if you ask an OEM for the data they'll drag their feet for years... ask me how I know.
2) It is very very difficult to add parts online, as a key requirement from a customer is that the part they need, fits their car. So therefore you need fitment data, which requires a mixture of EPC data, Supply chain data. It is massively time consuming if you try and do it by hand. Software does exist ( my team built it) but if you don't have it the size of the task is too much for your normal dealer. Also the data within the OEM is in many different locations - eg. EPC, AS400 warehousing systems, SAP ERP, technical docs like homologation, image repositories and they have been built piecemeal overtime and are difficult to integrate with.
3) When listing a part you need an image, either a schematic or an actual jpeg. To give you an idea as to the size of that challenge, there are over 600k parts for Mazda cars. Now mulitply that by the 40 plus OEM's selling cars in the UK and you get the size of the problem. You can also use the schematics from the EPC, but again you have to log and audit each one.
4) There are some solutions available and if you go to the US websites like simplepart you can more easily access the EPC data and order from it.
5) Lotus have their entire parts catalogues online via Simplepart
6) Centralised OEM portals for P&A do exist, but fulfilment is a bit of a challenge as OEM's don't have the ability to take cash payments, so you then either have to set up an e-com sales office in the warehouse or somehow supply the part through the most local dealer to where the customer lives. Not impossible but adds a layer of complication. If the dealer can't make any money out of the OEM website it won't promote it.
7) Ebay is by far the biggest market place for parts, but it's nearly all drive by aftermarket non OEM parts. It is compounded in the UK, by the fact that eBay UK's vehicle look up system is different to the rest of Europe
and the fact that eBay consider themselves to be a bit of a billy big b
ks and don't really know how to handle legacy OEM car companies that are used to shouting the odds and expecting everyone to bend to their will.
So that's why it is difficult, but... the OEM's are starting to change their POV and so things will become easier to order online. and I am part of that process.
In answer to the OP the reasons that it is hard to buy OEM parts online are:
1) OEM's don't really want to display their entire parts catalogue on the Web, as it could lead to other parties cross referencing the parts data and matching them with OEQ or similar parts. So essentially it is protective behaviour. The UK equivalent of BER expressly forbids this protectionism, but if you ask an OEM for the data they'll drag their feet for years... ask me how I know.
2) It is very very difficult to add parts online, as a key requirement from a customer is that the part they need, fits their car. So therefore you need fitment data, which requires a mixture of EPC data, Supply chain data. It is massively time consuming if you try and do it by hand. Software does exist ( my team built it) but if you don't have it the size of the task is too much for your normal dealer. Also the data within the OEM is in many different locations - eg. EPC, AS400 warehousing systems, SAP ERP, technical docs like homologation, image repositories and they have been built piecemeal overtime and are difficult to integrate with.
3) When listing a part you need an image, either a schematic or an actual jpeg. To give you an idea as to the size of that challenge, there are over 600k parts for Mazda cars. Now mulitply that by the 40 plus OEM's selling cars in the UK and you get the size of the problem. You can also use the schematics from the EPC, but again you have to log and audit each one.
4) There are some solutions available and if you go to the US websites like simplepart you can more easily access the EPC data and order from it.
5) Lotus have their entire parts catalogues online via Simplepart
6) Centralised OEM portals for P&A do exist, but fulfilment is a bit of a challenge as OEM's don't have the ability to take cash payments, so you then either have to set up an e-com sales office in the warehouse or somehow supply the part through the most local dealer to where the customer lives. Not impossible but adds a layer of complication. If the dealer can't make any money out of the OEM website it won't promote it.
7) Ebay is by far the biggest market place for parts, but it's nearly all drive by aftermarket non OEM parts. It is compounded in the UK, by the fact that eBay UK's vehicle look up system is different to the rest of Europe
and the fact that eBay consider themselves to be a bit of a billy big bks and don't really know how to handle legacy OEM car companies that are used to shouting the odds and expecting everyone to bend to their will. So that's why it is difficult, but... the OEM's are starting to change their POV and so things will become easier to order online. and I am part of that process.
In my experience it differs with different marques and models.
There are plenty of EPCs online, but be warned many are Russia based so bag up your browser accordingly.
Then there's a lot of variation in how easy it is to find the specific part for your specific build of car - I found GM can be a challenge and you might go through a couple of different versions of parts before finding the correct one (even if you go specifically to the relevant garage!) but Mercedes is very easy once you run your VIN through a decoder to reveal what the exact configuration of your car is. There might be 10 different versions of your door mirror glass depending on what options you have, so you need to cross-refer and work it out.
Toyota and Honda seem to be a bit more "lean", where they only seem to produce one version of a part rather than having dependencies between part numbers. Yes they supersede parts but in my experience the new part will be interchangeable with the part being replaced.
Citroen... I've tried and failed to get part numbers to refresh/improve some vaguely modern ones but I could pop up the road to Chevronics and bet they'd know.
There are plenty of EPCs online, but be warned many are Russia based so bag up your browser accordingly.
Then there's a lot of variation in how easy it is to find the specific part for your specific build of car - I found GM can be a challenge and you might go through a couple of different versions of parts before finding the correct one (even if you go specifically to the relevant garage!) but Mercedes is very easy once you run your VIN through a decoder to reveal what the exact configuration of your car is. There might be 10 different versions of your door mirror glass depending on what options you have, so you need to cross-refer and work it out.
Toyota and Honda seem to be a bit more "lean", where they only seem to produce one version of a part rather than having dependencies between part numbers. Yes they supersede parts but in my experience the new part will be interchangeable with the part being replaced.
Citroen... I've tried and failed to get part numbers to refresh/improve some vaguely modern ones but I could pop up the road to Chevronics and bet they'd know.
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