Tips and Advice Tradie Trucks 14 May 2021 A guy walks into an auto parts store and says “I need a gas cap for my truck out there.”The guy behind the counter takes a look outside, thinks for a second, and says… “OK, sounds like a fair trade.” Let’s be honest… buying parts can be a considerable investment in keeping your truck / office / diner / second home on the road. So, lets look at two questions for finding the right parts for your vehicle. How do I balance value and quality? As the old adage goes, “If you think quality parts are expensive, try buying cheap ones!” You can go to a wrecker or dismantler and buy very affordable used parts. But what is the history of that part? What stress has it been put under? How reliable will it be? Some of them will be fantastic and fit for purpose. But how do you know? There is a chance that cheap parts wont fit the job. But OEM parts often don’t fit the budget. What can I do to decide? Use a value/quality matrix. A simple test is to evaluate for yourself where each options fits on a value/quality matrix. Orange is twice the price of green but only marginally better in perceived quality. Is that quality gap worth double the price? Yellow is two thirds of the value of Green but only one third of the quality. Maybe in this instance, green is the best balance. Find a supplier you trust. Find a parts partner, or two, and build a great working relationship with them over time. The reliability and service that comes from having working partnerships is a large part of the value vs quality question. Active Truck Parts near Denver, Colorado, suggest that the key to finding truck parts is finding the truck part provider that offers high-quality parts at a price that fits your budget. How can you find that provider? Use the internet, get on the phone, and compare inventories. Be prepared financially. Another part of the answer to this question starts well before you ever need a replacement part. It is imperative that the cost of maintaining your vehicles and tools is built into your pricing structure for the work that you do. That way you are more likely to have funds available when you need them. Easier said than done you might say. But if you cannot charge enough for your work to cover more than your direct costs, it won’t be long before you are looking for another way to make a living. Do I buy Used or New? This is similar and related to to the previous question, but worth covering in its own right. Some would encourage you to consider new truck parts as the superior option. New parts offer the shine and value of an unused part but require a higher investment on your end. New parts have no wear and tear, have not been exposed to the stress of the job, and are more likely to come with a guarantee. And while buying new truck parts can provide the benefits of quality and reliability, wreckers and dismantlers can often provide used or refurbished truck parts for a lower price compared to new parts. When highly monitored and proven processes are used in the remanufacturing process, choosing used truck parts allow you to save money without sacrificing on quality. Clearly some parts are better purchased new and others will be fine being replaced by a used part. This isn’t a one-off decision. It may be a decision you make on a regular basis. Again, it may come down to the relationships you have built in the industry. Do you trust your used parts supplier to only sell you parts that will do the job and last the distance? One way to choose is to mentally run the parts through a number of factors, including cost, risk and impact. How to evaluate the value of new vs used parts: Cost: How much is each option? What is the price difference? Availability: How easy/fast can we get the part? Quality/Probability: How good is it? How likely is it to fail? Impact: How critical is it? What is the impact of failure? Recourse: What options will we have if it fails? Will failure be easy to fix? Every situation will be slightly different. In the example shown, a new part is twice the price of the used or refurbished part. It is more readily available as your local supplier has it in stock. The likelihood of failure isn’t a significant point of difference, but if it does fail the impact is serious. This alone makes the new part look more attractive. Added to that is the 24 month guarantee, which in this case, may be enough to prefer a new part. This decision might become easier if we used a weighted score to show the impact of each question. Let’s add a scale of 1-3 point in favour of each option. In the weighted example we can see the impact of our own ratings for each option. By our own evaluation it seems clear that a combination of factors that matter to us mean we prefer the new part in this instance. You may decide there are other, more important factors, and you may rate things differently. Either way, it is good to have a means by which to decide. Most likely this will become more intuitive over time. Where to get Truck Parts To help you form partnerships that add value to your operation, here are a number of new and used parts suppliers. Have a look at their website. Call them or even visit them and see who you relate to and have confidence in. New & OEM Parts TRT – Tidd Ross Todd For truck parts, trailer parts, heavy transport service and repair, trailers and low loaders, crane sales and service, TRT will keep you moving. TRT is a privately-owned, family business, specialising in the design, manufacturing, and engineering of large specialty trailers, truck and trailer parts, truck and trailer mechanical service and repair, crane sales and service, trailer sales and heavy transport and equipment design and manufacture. TRT are the distributors for Manitowoc and Kobelco Crawler Cranes, and have the longest operating Grove crane dealership in the world. Hamilton Head Office48 Maui Street, Pukete Industrial Estate, HamiltonPhone: 07 849 4839Email: trt@trt.co.nz TRT Auckland59 Ash Road WiriPhone: 09 262 0683Email: aklparts@trt.co.nz TRT Christchurch6 Brydone Road, Hornby SouthPhone: 03 741 2261Email: ccparts@trt.co.nz United Truck Parts We specialise in Japanese parts and are NZ’s largest supplier of new Japanese Truck and Bus Parts both original and aftermarket. 0800 268 611 Auckland4 Marphona Cre Takanini, AucklandPhone: 09 268 6115Email: sales@unitedtrucks.co.nz CHRISTCHURCHUnit 8 – 4 Distribution lane, SockburnPhone: 03 366 9438 Multispares Truck Parts Auckland 9 Vestey Drive, Mt Wellington, Auckland 1060Phone: 0800 404 100Phone: 09 270 0715Email: ak@multispares.co.nz Hamilton1388 Arthur Porter Drive, Te Rapa NZPhone: 0800 404 100Phone: 07 850 0850Email: hm@multispares.co.nz Wellington48-56 Seaview Road, Lower Hutt, WellingtonPhone: 0800 404 100Phone: 04 576 2060Email: wn@multispares.co.nz Christchurch48-56 Seaview Road, Lower Hutt, WellingtonPhone: 0800 404 100Phone: 04 576 2060Email: wn@multispares.co.nz DunedinUnit 3, 14 Teviot Street, Andersons Bay 9012Phone: 0800 404 100Phone: 03 455 9700Email: dn@multispares.co.nz Truck Stops KEEPING TRUCKS MOVING with Outstanding, On-Time Parts & Service Support. 0800 802 273 Whangarei7-9 Union East Street PO Box 863 Whangarei 0140 North Shore12 Cowley Place Rosedale Auckland 0632 Auckland CentralCnr Great South Road & Vestey Drive Mt. Wellington PO Box 22117 Otahuhu Auckland South2 Tacoma Road, Wiri PO Box 97325 Manukau 2241 Auckland VolvoAlliance Truck & Bus Services 7-9 Langley Road, Wiri PO Box 76 326 Manukau City 2241 Hamilton12 Quentin Drive Hamilton Lake Hamilton 3204 Mt Maunganui1 Portside Drive Mount Maunganui PO Box 4229 Tauranga 3116 Mt Maunganui Volvo56 Hull Road Mt Maunganui PO Box 5307 Tauranga 3150 RotoruaCnr Vaughan & Marino Roads, Te Ngae PO Box 7208 Rotorua 3042 GisborneTotal Parts & Service Ltd 34 Banks Street, Awapuni PO Box 2240 Gisborne 4010 TaupoNapier-Taupo Highway 5 PO Box 1245 Taupo 3351 New PlymouthMcCurdy Trucks 72 Connett Road, Bell Block New Plymouth 4373 PO Box 3243 New Plymouth 4341 Napier45 Ford Road, Onekawa PO Box 3320 Napier 4142 WhanganuiEmmetts Truck Services 357 Heads Road, Castlecliff Whanganui 4500 Palmerston North15 Malden Street Private Bag 11027 Manawatu Mail Centre Palmerston North 4442 Palmerston North VolvoEmmetts Truck Services 799 Tremaine Avenue, Roslyn Palmerston North 4410 Wellington21 Barnes Street Lower Hutt PO Box 30470 Wellington 5040 Nelson2 Packham Crescent, Nayland PO Box 2132, Stoke Nelson 7041 Blenheim13 Liverpool Street, RD4 Riverlands Industrial Estate Blenheim 7274 Christchurch38 Waterloo Road, Sockburn PO Box 11104 Christchurch 8443 Christchurch Volvo15 Parkhouse Road, Wigram PO Box 16096, Hornby Christchurch 8441 QueenstownQueenstown Commercial Vehicle Services Ltd BP CoachPark 131 Gorge Road PO Box 963 Queenstown 9300 Cromwell147 McNulty Road Cromwell 9310 Dunedin89 Otaki Street PO Box 2186 South Dunedin 9044 InvercargillCnr Bond & Spey Streets West Invercargill PO Box 473 Invercargill 9840 Used Parts and Truck Dismantlers Vernon & Vasey NZ’S LARGEST DISMANTLER & IMPORTER OF TRUCK PARTS New and aftermarket body parts, automotive lamps and automotive accessories All engines are tested on Dyno Machines to ensure they meet industry standards The largest range of new and used Japanese & European truck parts 0800 878 257 Upper North Island: sales@vernonandvazey.co.nzLower North Island: sales@haulagetruckparts.co.nzSouth Island: salessi@vernonandvazey.co.nz Pukekohe 18-24 Crosbie Rd, Pukekohe 2120Phone: 9 237 1138Email: sales@vernonandvazey.co.nz Palmerston North – Vernon & Vazey Truck Parts / Haulage Truck Parts 55A Malden StPalmerston North 4414Phone: 6 354 2478Email: sales@haulagetruckparts.co.nz Christchurch 2 Racecourse Rd, SockburnChristchurch 8023Phone: 3 343 1631Email: salessi@vernonandvazey.co.nz LorryLand 0800 23 23 33 For Truck Parts Phone:BRAD 027 643 3462JOE 027 643 3464OFFICE 067 624 796 Taranaki 19 Rugby Road, Tariki 4388 Cavanagh Truck Spares Limited We specialise in the wrecking and dismantling of American, European and Japanese Trucks. Heavy to Light Commercial. SALES ENQUIRIES:Bill: 0274 963 957Craig: 0274 963 951Email: cavtruck@gmail.com Bay of Plenty 10 Landscape Road, Te Puke Auckland Truck Parts YOUR NEW, USED & AFTERMARKET REPLACEMENT ISUZU TRUCK PARTS SUPPLIER. We carry a vast range of parts from engines, gearboxes, diffs, starters, alternators, flywheels, cabs, panel parts, trim parts, lamps, mirrors, tyres, rims etc. We also source from Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia for our customers regularly. Phone: (09) 267 8071Email: aucklandtruckparts@xtra.co.nzAddress: 23 Holmes Rd Manurewa, Auckland 2102 Skilton Truck Parts Specialising In New And Used Japanese Truck Parts And Mechanical Repairs 0800 SKILTON (754696) Phone: 09 294 8900Email: skiltontruckparts@gmail.com87 Creek Street, Drury
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