Regular readers of this blog know I hate to go to a brick and mortar store to buy anything, preferring to do all my shopping online. Online purchases can save a lot of time, money, and gasoline. My first choice for online shopping is Amazon. Amazon is quick, easy, and almost always accurate. But Amazon isn’t always the best. What follows are a three sites I use and how I use them.
Are OEM Parts & Accessories Better?
I spent nearly 50 years in the automotive business, and experience has taught me that Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM or factory) parts and accessories are almost always better. Generally they are of higher quality, last longer, and fit better. But sometimes OEM parts become obsolete, aren’t readily available, or are just too expensive for the buyer.
Most manufacturer’s are now selling some parts and accessories online, but for the most part, are not selling repair and maintenance parts online. I suspect the main reason is the cataloging would be too difficult to convert to an online catalogue. Parts personnel in dealerships have to go through a lot of training to ensure they can identify the exact replacement part. Also, there are contractual limitations in place to protect the dealers, which is one reason you cannot buy a brand new vehicle online directly from the manufacturer – it is illegal unless your are Tesla (another story I won’t get into).
accessories.ford.com
Presently we own two Ford products, a 1999 Ford Mustang and a 2020 Ford F-250 Super Duty truck. I will walk through the process of ordering accessories online from Ford.
It should be somewhat obvious that the ordering process will require input of the Year and Model at a minimum. Other information that is vehicle specific can be found in the details about a specific individual product. To make this easier, one can register online and save their vehicle information and even their preferred Ford dealer.
Product Search
Once you have selected your vehicle, the next step is to find the product you need. In this example, I am looking for a set of wheel locks.
There are two options: (1) wheel lugs hidden behind a cover and (2) exposed chrome lugs. Our truck’s wheel lugs are hidden behind a center trim cover, so we need option (1) that lists for $54.90.
Search for Local Dealers
I can order directly from Ford or can shop local dealers who might have a lower price. It is small on the screen, but there is a “Get local pricing” link below the price in the picture above. This screen shot was cropped by me to show more detail. If we zoom out, we can see there is a box to enter your Zip Code to search for local dealers (see below).
List of Local Dealers
Shop This Dealer
Clicking on the “Shop This Dealer” for Palm Springs Ford, we get their price, which may be different than Ford’s Suggested List Price, which in this case shows a 10% discount for both options. Also there is an option to have the wheel locks installed for an additional $14.50.
Detailed View of Option 1
On all the products I have purchased this way, there is an additional charge to have the product shipped to the house and I always just pick it up from the dealership when it comes in, usually a 2 or 3 day wait.
Amazon Garage
You can also save specific vehicles to your Amazon account. I have saved both our Fords and also our 2015 Hyundai Genesis. Simply go to the “Accounts & Lists” tab and choose “Your Garage”
“Your Garage” Specific Vehicle
Customized Garage
You can even change the stock photo (above) and replace it with a picture of your own. I only did this as an example.
Search for a Product
Once you have selected an active vehicle and searched for a product, Amazon will tell you if it will fit your vehicle. A search for wheel locks came up with this. Note there is a message at the top of the screen indicating this product fits our 2020 Ford F-250 Super Duty.
Amazon Parts & Accessories
There is quite a breadth of parts and accessories available on Amazon. The selection is much, much greater than the Ford accessories offerings. A while back I had to replace the taillight housing on the Mustang because it was leaking. This was an obsolete part, although if one wanted an original equipment housing they can be found on the Internet for an outrageous price. I found an aftermarket housing, and ended up buying both sides because the prices was so reasonable, plus I wanted them to match – that is, both looked new. The quality was great and the fit perfect.
Ebay
Ebay Garage
Just like the previous two examples, eBay has a “garage” to save your vehicle information.
Parts & Accessories
Ebay has the largest selection of parts, to include used parts. I have bought a few parts on eBay, mostly used when I couldn’t find a new part or new parts were two expensive. An example is our 2012 Ford Expedition that we just sold. The sunglass holder in the roof console was broken and unrepairable, meaning the entire unit had to be replaced at around $300 for just the part. It took a few months to find a used part that matched the interior, but finally after 6 months or so (using the saved search and notification function) one became available (see below).
The part was in perfect condition, matched exactly, and only took about 2 minutes to install. I saved $150!!
Vehicle Match on eBay
I’m not sure how this is set up, and I suspect the sellers have to determine a fitment guide. The console above did not show it fit our SUV and there was a message to check with the seller to see if it fits. But a lot of the listings on eBay will check to see if there is a match, as in the following picture:
These are all sources for parts I have used with satisfaction. Normally when I need a part I check local parts stores (dealership, AutoZone, O’Reilly, Napa, etc.) and online. Most of the time I find the best dealers on Amazon for new parts, the best quality from the OEM supply chains, and used on eBay. Since I’m retired, time isn’t an issue so I can buy online.