Auto parts cost a lot, which is not surprising. There’s a high demand for them, and that’s enough reason for their price to go up.
So every time a car owner needs an auto part, he approaches suppliers with a bargaining pitch. Unfortunately, salespeople are masters in haggling and quickly outsmart unwitting buyers without much effort.
Should should you resort to haggling just to get cheap auto parts? Sure, you get a few dollars off the original price tag, but do you win in the end?
Bargaining for products sold in the flea market and other places is fine, but continually doing this practice with car parts suppliers is not advisable. Here's why.
Why Is Haggling with Auto Parts Suppliers Disadvantageous to You?
Customers think that haggling will make them get the best deal on car parts at the lowest price. Many buyers haggle just for the heck of it. Maybe, they enjoy the process, and to them, getting a bargain is like winning.
However, constant haggling for car parts is not going to do you good in the long run. Here are the reasons:
- You compromise quality. It gives the impression that you don’t care for the best quality in a product. Suppliers would think that mediocre products—as long as they’re cheap—will do for a buyer like you. Auto part sellers always have a good selection of products in different levels of quality. If they see you as someone who drives down the price so hard, they’ll think twice about offering you the best. So what they'll do is provide you with low-quality items that they can sell at the price you’re willing to pay.
- It strains your relationship with the auto car supplier. Suppliers are business entities. If they continuously lose profit on sales made to you, you will later lose a valuable source of car parts.
- It will cost you time. You may gain a couple of dollars but waste valuable time because haggling can take a while. Worse, if it reaches a deadlock, as it sometimes does, you'll have to search for another supplier and haggle again. Meantime, your car is grounded until you get all the bargaining done.
A bit of price-negotiating should be enough. Don’t try to earn a badge as the hardest haggler in town. Quality should always come first to you, price and availability next.
How to Get the Best Deals on Auto Parts Without Haggling
- Do proper research. Before going to a seller, you must first search several auto part websites like CarPart AU. Sites like this have an extensive database of various types of car parts, including used, new, and manufactured auto parts.
- Read reviews. When you search online, select the product you’re interested in and read reviews made by previous buyers. Actual experiences will give you an insight into the performance of a product. See how much it would cost you to get it shipped to your location. Take advantage of price discounts for multiple purchases as this can also add up to the amount you save.
- Compare products from different websites. You will see that the prices may vary for the same product between sites. When comparing, verify the condition of the product before deciding to buy. Is it brand-new or used? Or is it OEM, genuine, or aftermarket?
- Look out for coupons and promos. Take advantage of coupons, sale, rebates, and other promotional activities that can significantly reduce the cost of the item you’re buying. You can find them online, or you may want to subscribe to car part suppliers’ websites so they can notify you through email every time they have ongoing promos.
- Visit your local junkyard. Wrecking yards or junkyards are depositories of salvaged cars, which may still have serviceable parts in them. If they have the parts that you need, then this can be a good source of recycled car parts. In self-serve yards, you (or your mechanic) will have to extract the parts you need. Fortunately, most wreckers will already have the useful parts pre-removed and kept in warehouses. This is the cheapest no-haggle option for you.
- Buy an older car and mine its parts. Another way to get cheap and good-quality auto parts is by buying old cars (preferably same make or model as yours) that are no longer roadworthy. You can then remove the useful parts and sell what remains of it to a junkyard. To find these old cars, you can check the auto listing in your local newspaper, search online, or take a look at local impounds.
- Join online car parts forums. When your budget is tight, online automotive forums can be very useful to you. People there will have one common interest—car parts—so there’s a good chance of finding someone who sells the auto part that you need.
Conclusion
Think twice before haggling, and don’t do it just for the heck of it. You don’t do one-off business with your car parts supplier, especially someone you trust. You must build a good relationship with them because—whether you like it or not—you need a reliable supplier for your car part needs.
As I've said, regularly haggling may not sit well with most suppliers and may even cost you more in the long run.
Use other ways to find the best deal for a car part you need. A little elbow grease to look for parts in a wrecking yard or an hour of browsing reliable car parts websites will yield better results than haggling for hours.