Used Auto Parts vs. New: When Used Is the Right Call
- Used auto parts come off real cars. So they fit the way the factory part fit.
- Used is the smart pick for doors, hoods, mirrors, glass, seats, wheels and lights.
- Used is the wrong pick for wear items, like brake pads, belts, hoses and filters.
- We will not sell you a used air bag or seat belt part. Nobody can prove those still work.
- A used part does not void your factory warranty. That is federal law, and we link it below.
Most people who ask us about used auto parts have already had the bad phone call. The dealer quoted a new part. The number was higher than what the car is worth to them. Now they are stuck deciding if the car is even worth fixing.
It usually is. But only if you buy the right kind of part.
So here is how we sort it at our yard on Co Rd 138. Some parts are a great buy used. A few you should never buy used at all. Knowing which is which saves you real money, and it keeps you safe.
Four kinds of parts you can buy
People say "new" and "used" like there are only two choices. There are really four, and the prices are far apart.
The exact part your car was built with, still in the box. It fits perfectly. It also costs the most, by a lot.
A copy made by another company. Quality swings hard from brand to brand. Some are great. Some fit close, but not right.
A used part taken apart, cleaned up, and put back together with new wear pieces inside. Common for starters and alternators.
Pulled off a real vehicle in a yard like ours. Same brand, same bolt holes, same plug. A fraction of the dealer price.
Notice that used auto parts and dealer parts are the same parts. One just spent a few years on a car first. That is the whole reason used works so well for some jobs.
When used auto parts are the right call
Used auto parts are a good buy when the part does not really wear out. It either works or it does not, and you can see which by looking at it. That covers a lot of the car.
- Body panels. Doors, hoods, fenders, bumpers and tailgates. A door off a clean car is still a door.
- Glass and mirrors. Side glass, back glass, power mirrors with the right plug.
- Lights. Headlights and taillights, which get shockingly expensive new.
- Wheels. A bent or curbed rim is an easy swap.
- Seats and interior trim. Door panels, consoles, dash pieces, carpet.
- Engines and transmissions. A good running unit out of a wrecked car often beats a rebuild.
- Sensors, modules and switches. These are solid state, so they rarely wear out on their own.
There is one more case, and it matters around here. Once a model gets old enough, the dealer just stops making the part. Then a yard is the only place left on earth to get one. We see this a lot with trucks and vans that people plan to keep for another ten years.
Older car, hard part? Call before you give up on it. Our rows change every week, and we can also check other yards we trade with. See what we stock on our salvage and used parts page.
Parts we tell people not to buy used
Now the other side. Some parts are built to wear out, so a used one is just a new problem with fewer miles left on it. Buy these new:
- Brake pads and rotors. They wear down every time you stop. Read more in why your car shakes when you brake.
- Belts and hoses. Rubber gets hard and cracks with age, even sitting still.
- Filters and spark plugs. These are cheap new. There is no reason to gamble.
- Batteries. A battery starts dying the day it is built.
- Timing belts and water pumps. If one fails, it can wreck the engine.
- Tires. You cannot see how a used tire was stored or how old it is inside.
And then there is one group we will not sell used at any price.
Air bags and seat belt parts. A used air bag can look perfect and still be dead. A small crash the car had years ago can knock it out, even if it never went off. Nobody can test that in a yard. We are not going to hand you a part and hope, so we send you to a dealer for those.
This is the honest part of the business. A yard that will sell you anything is not saving you money. It is moving its problem onto your car. Ask any shop what they think of used brake parts and watch the face they make.
Do used auto parts void your warranty?
This is the question that stops people, and the answer surprises almost everybody.
No. They do not.
The Federal Trade Commission is plain about it. Your warranty stays in effect if you use aftermarket or recycled parts, and it is illegal for a dealer to deny your coverage just because someone else did the work. If they want to deny a claim over a part, they have to prove that part caused the damage.
There are two fair exceptions. If the warranty says the repair is free, the dealer can pick the shop. If it says the parts are free, they can pick the parts. Outside of that, where you shop is up to you.
How to buy a used part without getting burned
Most bad stories about used auto parts start the same way. Someone guessed at what their car needed. Four things fix that, and they take about a minute to gather.
- Year, make and model. Start here every single time.
- Engine size. The same model in the same year can have two or three engines in it.
- Which side and which end. Driver or passenger. Front or rear.
- The VIN. It is on the dash at the base of the windshield, and on the sticker inside the driver door. You can see what it decodes to with the free VIN decoder from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The VIN is the one that saves everybody time. Two cars can look identical in a parking lot and be built differently underneath.
Then ask two more things. Ask what car the part came off, and whether that car ran. And ask who is putting it on. That second one trips people up more than the part ever does. They buy a door in one town, then spend a week calling shops for an opening.
We skip that whole step, because the yard and the repair bay are the same building. One of our guys pulls it, and we can install it here. Buying the part does not commit you to the install either. You can see everything our shop handles and decide after.
Is the car still worth fixing?
Sometimes the real question is not new versus used. It is whether to keep the car at all.
Here is the rough way we think about it. If the car is otherwise solid, and the repair is one job and not a list of five, fixing it usually beats a car payment. Used auto parts are what make that math work on an older vehicle. Staying on top of the small stuff keeps it that way, and our post on how often to change your oil covers the cheapest part of that. The Car Care Council guide walks through the rest of it by system. Winter is hard on older cars too, so get it ready before the first cold snap.
But if the frame is bad, or the engine is gone and the body is rough, we will tell you that. Then the better move is often to let us take the car and start looking at what we have on the lot. We would rather say it straight than sell you a part for a car that is done.
Quick answers
Are used auto parts reliable?
For the right parts, yes. A door, a mirror, a light or a module either works or it does not, and it came off a real car so it fits right. Wear items like brake pads and belts are a different story. Buy those new.
Are used parts cheaper than new ones?
Usually by a wide margin, because you are buying the same factory part after it spent some time on a car. Cost depends on the part and the vehicle, so give us a call and we will have an answer for you quickly.
Will a used part void my car warranty?
No. The Federal Trade Commission says your warranty stays in effect when you use recycled or aftermarket parts. A dealer has to prove the part caused the damage before denying a claim.
Can I come pull the part myself?
No, this is not a self serve yard. You tell us what you need and one of our guys goes out and pulls it, so nobody is under a car on a jack stand.
Do you install the parts you sell?
Yes. We are a repair shop with a yard behind it, so we can put the part on in our own bay on Co Rd 138 in Goshen. Buying the part does not commit you to the install.
Do you ship used parts?
We do ship small parts. Not everything can ship right now, so call us and we will give you a straight answer on what it would take.
Tell us the part. We will go look.
Used auto parts pulled for you in Goshen, and put on in our own bay if you want.
See Our Salvage Yard