Most Reliable Parts Source

RGS0907 · Aug 14, 2004

I've been into Mustangs for 20+ years & this year I've really gotten the bug again. Up until now, I was just keeping my car going with minimal repairs & ocassional rides but now I'm getting serious.

I remember when you used to be able to get parts at your local NAPA but now you need to order nearly everything over the phone or the web. I can't get anywhere looking at catelogs & the drones on the phones aren't much help. I'd really like to get everyone's opinion on which parts vendors have the most reliable parts. Is there a vendor (NPD, Glazier, Branda etc.) that you can count on to send the best that's available out there, highest quality & closest to looking like OEM? Thanks everyone.

65fastback2+2 · Aug 14, 2004

John's Mustang
American Pony
California Mustang

Ive bought from all those and all have been great to me.

thehueypilot · Aug 14, 2004

Their is no "best" place that I have found. Even the big players like NPD will substitute items at will. I have noticed that companies are now substituting NOS parts with "Made in China" or equal bad qaulity parts in the hopes that you will not notice and still pay the high price. The best method is to go to the swap meets where the big companies show a presence and look at the parts you want first hand. In the end you can always send it back and lose your shipping and handling fee.

RGS0907 · Aug 15, 2004

thehueypilot said:
Their is no "best" place that I have found. Even the big players like NPD will substitute items at will. I have noticed that companies are now substituting NOS parts with "Made in China" or equal bad qaulity parts in the hopes that you will not notice and still pay the high price. The best method is to go to the swap meets where the big companies show a presence and look at the parts you want first hand. In the end you can always send it back and lose your shipping and handling fee.

That's been my experience. I even had planned to order something from a company & when I asked, they said that they substituted the part (that was listed as a name brand on-line & in the catelog) with no reduction in price for the inferior part!

I was hoping to find one vendor that is reputable enough where in a pinch you can just order from them & trust that you'll get the best available. I guess that I was hoping for too much.

Ronstang · Aug 15, 2004

What kind of parts are you looking for? Certain things like suspension and a lot of the brake parts are still available thru places like AUtozone (yuck), O'Reilley, and other large chain auto parts stores. Since I drive my cars the original look of the part is not nearly as important as quality and reliability. If you want the exact look of original on ALL of your parts then the only way to guarantee that is to hand pick every part and spend lots of $$$$. I have also been in this hobby for 25 years and have noticed that parts availability is at an all time high but now more than every you have to know what you are buying and check everything. I keep old worn out parts around just for comparisons sake just in case I get the bug for the "correct" look. Luckily I redid the suspension on and a lot of the mechanicals on the Shelby when you could still get exact replacement parts quite easily so it is mostly correct.

fastcoupe68 · Aug 15, 2004

K.A.R. Mustang. Very good company, I have been dealing with them for years and they are just as straight up as you can get.

MustangPaul · Aug 15, 2004

Virginia Mustang. Been using them since 1983.

--P

PoliceInterceptor · Aug 15, 2004

I've always had great luck with NPD.

65 A Code · Aug 15, 2004

For the few things I have bought so far, online buys I have bought from california Mustang ( good shipping time and no hassals). Just ordered something from johns mustang, will see how that goes.

I have also bought stuff in person at mustangs unlimited in Atlanta, GA. Have had good experiance. But their shipping is way to high ( they wanted 20.00 dollars to ship a radiator support from Atlanta, Ga to Auburn, AL, that is only 1 hr 1/2 away. Ended up getting it from california mustang for 7.00 shipping and they are across the country. Go figure)

DarkBuddha · Aug 16, 2004

I've personally had excellent experience with NPD, Laurel Mountain Mustang, and Tony Branda. And with regard to:

thehueypilot said:
Their is no "best" place that I have found. Even the big players like NPD will substitute items at will. I have noticed that companies are now substituting NOS parts with "Made in China" or equal bad qaulity parts in the hopes that you will not notice and still pay the high price. The best method is to go to the swap meets where the big companies show a presence and look at the parts you want first hand. In the end you can always send it back and lose your shipping and handling fee.

To NPD's credit, I can say they've been pretty darn straight with me about when they're gonna substitute a part. In fact, on one of my orders, I called and specified that I wanted Scott Drake door handles, and the guy informed me that there was a "memo" on those particular handles indicating that the current batch they'd recieved were awful and that the current batch of import handles were much better. I was skeptical, but since we were gonna be in their area in the next couple weeks, I just waited so I could personally compare them. Well, they were exactly right... the quality of Scott Drake pieces was crap, including shoddy chrome, and the import parts were smoother and better chromed. I bought the imports.

Also, NPD has been quick to correct 2 incorrect orders they've sent, and have even gone out of their way to call me back after actually pulling a part from the shelf to verify it is what I wanted or not. They're thorough, organized, professional, and courteous, and I've always gotten good customer service. I can't say that about a lot of other places. Oh, and the free shipping thing has saved me well over $500 over the last 2 years.

Wow, now that I read this, I think they should be paying me for this bit...

65fastback2+2 · Aug 16, 2004

http://www.mustang1.com/

another good place, owner was a MCA gold judge, good guy

Mr_siv · Aug 16, 2004

I personaly love NPD, they've gone out of their way to help me a few times. I try to not order from anywhere else, since i know they're going to be straight with me every time. their return policy is excelent, they will pick up the shipping when you send stuff back. their prices are comparable or better than others aswell.

- Jason

65 A Code · Aug 18, 2004

65 A Code said:
Just ordered something from johns mustang, will see how that goes.
QUOTE]

Very good shipping time from Johns Mustang. Loved the Fan box my fender apron came in.

allcarfan · Aug 18, 2004

hands down....virginiaclassicmustang.com

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