Where do you get your car parts and supplies?

Azn310 on 27/03/2014 - 11:41

Hi all,

I'm not sure how many car DIY enthusiasts we have here in the forum. But I thought it would be cool to start a topic here to discuss where would be the best place (in terms of either price or quality) to get automotive parts and supplies. I sometimes feel that my repairs depend too much on SCA and Repco without knowing the real prices offered by other distributors in Australia. A little information goes a long way!

I have serviced 3 of my family's car for 2 years now and this is my list. Hope it help some people, if you disagree, I'm happy to hear from you.

  • I get my conventional oil on sales at Supercheap, Castrol 15w-40 ($17) and 10w-40 (~$22)
  • Full Synthetic oil at GL lubricant no doubt. Mobil super synth and Pennzoil, about $46 for 8 quarts
  • OEM Toyota, Honda oil filter at suzukisuper (ebay, warehouse in Auburn) $10-$11 each. Sometimes Ryco filters from SCA if they are on sale at $6-8
  • Premium Mobil oil filters at GL lube $18
  • Toyota coolant I use OEM red at about $46 for 4L concentrated, works out almost similar to Nulon price so why not.
  • Honda blue coolant I went with Nulon Blue instead of their Premixed Type 2, half the price at $50 for 5L concentrated.
  • Demineralized water for coolant and battery at Coles, $1.6 for 2L
  • For tranny fluid, I plan to use Mobil 3309 at GL lube instead of Toyota T-IV, $10 a quart vs Toyota massive $64 per 4L and I only need about 2.5L.
  • If tranny requires DexII, DexIII, then SCA at about $24 4L on sale
  • Brake pads, was recommended Calibre, I bought on sales at SCA $35 a set, haven't tried yet
  • Rotors, I dunno where, need help
  • Many Japanese OEM parts, I ordered through Amayama, works out to be good price compared to dealer stealers
  • Silicone grease (wasted a lot of time looking around, very hard to find in Australia, and very useful too), Rs-online at about $10 for 100g tube delivered. Same stuff scuba diving places sell at $10 for 25g
  • Anti-seize, I got the big copper type tub at SCA for about $20, didn't come with brush or anything.
  • Brake cleaner, definitely Repco (Motortech) when on sales, usually 4 or 5 for $10
  • Throttle and carby cleaner, Repco (Motortech) on sales
  • Silicone Spray, White lithium spray, Bunnings has good price as far as I remember
  • WD40 at Costco about $18 for 3 big bottles. If not Aldi or SCA.
  • OBD2 scanner, amazon US shipped mine was about $30-40. If you can afford, spend a bit more to get the one with Live data.
  • Car jack and stands, SCA when on sale. I have heard its not very good quality. Cant remember price of jack but stands was $20 a pair of 3000kg pin type.
  • Car batteries, I bought at SCA long time ago, wasn't sure if cheap or expensive. Maybe should try BigW or Kmart next time?
  • Windscreen fluid, Repco has Trico vision $15 (bought when not on sale) for 5L concentrates, makes up to 100L.

Sorry if the list is random, but if someone is into this idea, I will reorganize this post, add links and add some more. Really interested in knowing where to get tester kits like Oil pressure testers, Coolant pressure testers, Fuel pressure testers, A/C testers, Vacuum pumps (Repco price at ridiculous $150 or $200, SCA dont carry them, and they are good for a lot of things)

Automotive

Comments

  • Cheeper on 27/03/2014 - 11:57
    +1

    Brake pads… We had repco branded pads put on one of our cars recently and I'm very impressed with them.

    • Azn310 on 27/03/2014 - 18:15

      Yes I heard Repco pads are good. I wonder who makes them though? (coz Repco usually outsource- i have a feeling could be Bendix) Was it at good price ?

  • airzone on 27/03/2014 - 12:34

    Nothing beats the price of midnight spares :)

  • spacebanana on 27/03/2014 - 13:41
    +1

    Wow finally a forum topic I can contribute to!
    I usually look for small suppliers around my area, I found a pretty good one for OEM spares and cheap but good no frills oils. But I am in Vic and it seems you are in NSW.
    I would also be keen to know where to find good priced testers and stuff.

    • Azn310 on 27/03/2014 - 18:11

      I have seen some testers (oil pressure, compression..) and vacuum pump on eBay for about $20-35 delivered but I think they are Chinese quality. Have won a bid on vacuum pump $18 delivered, so will update on the quality.

      Does your OEM spare place ship their items? In Sydney my friend recommended Mekong Auto Spares in Canley Vale area, but I think their price is almost the same as dealers now.

      I vouch for Amayama.com.au when it comes to Japanese spares, haven't seen cheaper price than them but their stuff are shipped out of UAE so takes time to get here. Sometimes they have stock here that goes for cheap. Bought new OEM Toyota water pump for $70 while my local dealer wanted $120-140

  • SavatteDodo on 27/03/2014 - 15:25
    +1

    Thanks for this thread. Wish i could upvote.

  • maybeamacy on 28/03/2014 - 11:45
    +1

    I buy OEM parts from dealers in America, I find amayama more expensive for the things I want o.o

    • Azn310 on 28/03/2014 - 12:38

      how do you get dealers in America to ship? or you go through one of those forwarder? Please shed some lights, I am surprised you can get cheaper than Amayama

      • maybeamacy on 28/03/2014 - 16:43
        +1

        I message them on eBay, I bought a new key for my car this week. Would have costed $1000 from local dealer (not even exaggerating), got it shipped from the states for $200.

        • Azn310 on 09/04/2014 - 02:57

          Well i suppose a key is easy for them to ship, when it comes to other OEM parts, say the filter, the belts, the coil packs, thats when $$$ for shipping comes in :D

          Congrats though on saving $800, thats massive. I would cry if I have to hand that much in for a key lol

          I got a quote from Honda today, $210 for 2 parts and they have to order in. Amayama offered $76 pick up right away. I have never been happier to hand over my money. Its amazing how prices are jacked up here in Australia. As much as i want to support local businesses, its just too much. I mean if Honda quoted me $100 today I would give it to them.

        • maybeamacy on 10/04/2014 - 02:07

          I've bought headlights, servicing kits etc too… Still worked out a lot cheaper than here.

          How can you pickup from amayama?

        • mini2 on 10/04/2014 - 11:19

          IIRC Amayama have local warehouses these days.

        • Azn310 on 11/04/2014 - 12:23

          They have warehouse in Peakhurst, Sydney 2210, just let them know you are picking it up.

          Is it ok for us to have the eBayer seller name? I really don't know which seller you are mentioning. Would love to get in touch and compare prices for my Toyotas.

        • maybeamacy on 11/04/2014 - 17:02

          They're all different sellers - Just contact dealers of the car make on ebay USA. I've used Lexus of San Diego/Sewell Lexus (Texas), Acura of Peoria (Honda Parts).

          They might not state they ship internationally on the listings but if you send them a friendly message and know what part you want (send them the part number too) they're usually more than happy to ship the parts to you.

      • mini2 on 10/04/2014 - 11:22

        Shipitto/MyUS or similar mobs, message through eBay and/or convince some of them to use the crappy Pitney Bowes Global Shipping Program or Google your way to find a parts place that will ship overseas.

        Funny enough ARB stuff which is made here is cheaper in the states even when you factored in shipping/GST. They will tell you get stuffed when you try to do a warranty claim.

  • Azn310 on 09/04/2014 - 02:45

    Just found out today that Reject shop has jumper cables 300 Amps of 2.5m for $6. 300A is probably enough to jump a 1.3L car I suppose.

    Few weeks ago I bought one 400A on sales from SCA for $25! Have also seen some places that sell 200A cables for $20, on sale! Crazy..

    • tonester on 01/10/2014 - 21:15

      Reject shop has jumper cables 300 Amps of 2.5m for $6

      http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=16850.0 :(

    • Azn310 on 11/04/2014 - 12:16

      Instruction to remove stereo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agbtZwgmD84

      You will need: Original car stereo security code (just in case, not compulsary), soldering iron and solder (Jaycar is pretty cheap $15?), some plastic pry car (ebay is probably the cheapest), a single din pocket to fill the extra space ( a bit tricky to find, can cost $10-20 )

      You will also need the wiring diagrams of that model, I will do that for you when I have free time. The wirings are color-coded by Toyota, so you can match it with the one from Sony CD Player manual, very easy. You might have to do some soldering in the car, so I hope you have a garage or very long power extension cables. If you don't want to, you can find Toyota wiring harness and do the soldering in your house, then just bring the unit to the car and plug in.

      Remember to disconnect the battery before the job.

      It is good practice to have everything ready before you start. Feel free to ask if you are stuck.

  • Kkuba on 23/04/2014 - 08:24
    +1

    Any BMW parts, OEM (or sometimes choice of aftermarket) for amazingly cheap prices, www.schmeidemann.com

    Find you car here:

    Www.realoem.com

    Look at the diagrams, find the part you are looking for and the part number, and add the part number to your 'cart' on the above website. So easy.

    • hothed on 25/04/2014 - 14:42

      Thanks for the post!

  • kiwipride on 25/04/2014 - 14:58
    +1

    Awesome, thanks

  • oldrocker on 16/06/2018 - 11:53

    Just stumbled upon this thread… thanks OP for the informative contents. I'm trying to perform some of the maintenance myself on a 1993 Impreza, almost 200k km on the clock. Usually look for deals from Repco, SCA and Autobarn. cheers

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