Afternoon all

Just wondering if there is an alladins cave of fiat spares somewhere other than ebay, gumtree etc. Few bits I'm after, but I want to keep costs down, firstly a set of wheel trims to tidy the car up, as the current ones are weather beaten. Missed out on a set on Ebay by a pound yesterday.

I shop around


rarely does something get ordered from the same place twice.



there's somethings thats just not worth ordering from the internet


New cheap plugs, injector, filters and so on will almost certainly be fake and might even be dangerous

Some dealer have Ebay accounts and sell geniune parts on there, you just need to sift through the listings.

There's a few dealerships that have online parts shops, like SG Petch though they aren't always the cheapest.

Shop4parts is pretty handy, if you donate to the forum you get to use a forum discount code. Multi buys tend to work out cheaper, so you can stock up on fliters a bit cheaper.

Cheap(er) spark plugs can be had from online suppliers like Spark Plugs UK, they also sell glowplugs and O2 sensors.

Some other things can be had from Eurocarparts, they've always got a current discount code floating around. Carparts4less are their online sister site, prices are similar to discounted Eurocarpart prices.

What you buy from where is down to you, though I'm not a fan of buying brakes from Ebay, there are a few tricks listers use to make their products appear better than they are, like "Ferodo Brake Pads and Discs".
These tend to be be Ferodo brake pads and cheap n nasty discs.

Goudrons said:

there are a few tricks listers use to make their products appear better than they are, like "Ferodo Brake Pads and Discs".
These tend to be be Ferodo brake pads and cheap n nasty discs.

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I think you just need to do a little investigation like send seller a question, a good seller will get back the same day. I just bought front pads and discs as a kit from Autosessive on Ebay for £36.99 seemed too good to be true, so sent a message, they replied the same day (it was a Sunday!) and the set arrived 2 days later all pads and discs are Delphi originals (Lockheed) very happy with the purchase.
I think Ebay is a like anything else, a tool to use but you must take a few steps to ensure what you buy is the quality you need.

Many parts are common across many Fiat vehicles. I needed a clutch master cylinder (Fiat number 55225453) Carparts4less had one for £56. Far better than £125 Shop4Parts want for the LuK version with attached pipe. But if that looks bad they are £175 on eBay.

Shop4Parts are good, but best to phone them as the website does not always cover their entire stock.

Carparts4less is useful if you have the OEM part number. Unfortunately the forum ePER has not worked for weeks so it's hard to get the correct part number.

Edit: Yes I know this isn't a Fiat part. Apparently, it has "signs of cosmetic wear" - blah blah. Then you look though all of the pictures

Sometimes fake parts make their way to main dealers.
Mazda RX8 ignition coils are pretty specialist and there was a point in time when fakes made their way to main dealers. It is pretty well documented.

Fake parts can also make their way to motor factors, so you aren't always guaranteed any better quality than cheapo parts off ebay.

I have also purchased an oil filter from ecp and something had obviously changed as the filter didn't fully seal and leaked. It was the exact same part number as the filter I removed, but was a different colour.
I bought another brand from elsewhere and it was fine.

I just take a punt and try my luck with cheap online parts. I haven't had any major issues so far and have saved a fortune

The ECP Crossland brand oil filters are "minimal" quality. I go for genuine Fiat or Mahle, etc.

DaveMcT said:

The ECP Crossland brand oil filters are "minimal" quality.

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:yeahthat:

In days past, Crosland were a respected company. When they went bust, ECP bought the rights to the name, and now stick it onto whatever parts they can source most cheaply on the global market. They're best avoided.

If you're looking for filters, MANN have a pretty good reputation, and are also sold by ECP - it's well worth paying the extra money.

Crosland

last made in 2005

just a rebadge. China, India wherever the cheapest now.

having said that. Some will be rubbish, some will be alright. It will depend which factory to which specification they are built to


Don't forget some OEM filters have been sued for damaging engines. Anyone can have a bad batch.