Parts Categories - Definitions

Mechanical Parts

The “Mechanical Parts” category includes maintenance as well as repair parts. For most dealership Parts Departments, the majority of mechanical parts are sold via the dealership’s Service Department. Many OEM mechanical parts are sold by dealership Parts Departments to IRFs and fleets. (20 to 25% of parts purchased by IRFs and fleets are genuine OEM parts bought from dealerships – the remainder, are either AM or salvage; franchised dealership Service Departments are thought to nearly always use genuine OEM mechanical parts.)
Dealerships order all (or nearly all) OEM mechanical parts directly from the automaker; these parts are shipped from the automaker’s nearest PDC.

Collision Parts

The “Collision Parts” category consists of body, trim and other (typically) exterior parts that are most likely to be replaced due to a collision. The majority of collision parts are sold (by franchised dealership Parts Departments) wholesale to collision repair facilities (a.k.a., “body shop”). Approximately 30% of dealerships have a “captive” body shop – for those 30%, many of their collision parts go to their own captive body shops. (Captive body shops have extremely high “loyalty” to OEM collision parts.)

Dealerships order all (or nearly all) OEM collision parts directly from the automaker; these parts are shipped from the nearest PDC (or a PDC specializing in high-cube, low-velocity parts). These parts generally are not shipped via express carriers (FedEx, UPS, …) to avoid damage to parts or packaging.

Vintage Parts

The “Vintage Parts” category (not the company of the same name) is the catch-all for parts that fit vehicles that have been out of production for more than a few years. This category includes “restoration parts” and NOS. New OEM vintage parts are sold to enthusiasts (B2C) and IRFs that specialize in restoring older vehicles (B2B). Vintage parts are typically removed from automakers’ PDCs and stocked at a national vintage parts warehouse (“Ship-Direct” WD) shared by other vehicle and equipment manufacturers.

Recovered Parts

Recovered parts (smallest of the categories) are new OEM parts that have been distressed or blemished.
Examples include: (i) body parts with “small” cosmetic blemishes that can be fixed by a body shop during the process of repairing a crashed vehicle; (ii) body parts that are returned to the automaker in damaged packaging (often repackaged in bulk); (iii) parts that don’t match any standard configuration – an engine with the ‘wrong mounts’ (perhaps an engineering evaluation); (iv) weathered parts; (v) parts used in non-destructive testing. Recovered parts often fall outside standard warranty and return policy and thus are restricted to a limited number of specialist dealerships and are ordered via a dedicated tool. Recovered parts are often warehoused by a specialty 3PL operating as a Ship-Direct supplier.

Accessories

Accessories are parts but often not replacement parts. The ways in which accessories are sold by dealerships sets them apart from the other parts categories. Dealerships sell accessories: (i) as an element of a new vehicle sale; (ii) as an element of a used vehicle sales; (iii) with installation by the dealership’s Service Department; (iv) as a retail or wholesale parts order. Accessories are often ordered from a Ship-Direct supplier that specializes in accessories.

Tires

Replacement tires are increasingly sold by dealerships. Tires are recorded on the Parts Department’s inventory but often stocked in the Service Department. Typically, they are ordered from a Ship Direct supplier. More detail on tires is provided in the Charts section – Tire Programs for Franchised Dealerships and Tire Applications for Dealerships - U.S.

Other Parts

There are other even smaller special parts categories – for example, glass. These other parts categories are increasingly provided by Ship Direct suppliers.

Remanufactured Parts

The structure of Part Types (OEM, AM, Salvage) and Parts Categories (Mechanical, Collision, Vintage, Recovered, Accessories and Tires) over simplifies reality. Directly above, in Other Parts, it is noted that a few parts do not fit any of the listed categories. A larger wrinkle in service parts categorization results from remanufactured parts. Parts that are candidates for remanufacturing have a “husk” or “core” that has a much longer life than the entire part – examples include water pumps, alternators and transmissions. When a part that can be remanufactured fails, the core is graded and (unless the core is in poor condition) it enters the remanufacturing process. (Managing cores and “returning” cores is a Reverse Logistics process.)

Both OEM and AM parts can be (and are) remanufactured. Power train, small mechanical parts with durable husks and certain electronics are the most likely to be remanufactured.