6 Places You Can Find Discontinued Car Parts

Owning a vintage or classic car can be a fulfilling and educational experience. Some people enjoy buying antique vehicles in immaculate condition to add to custom collections or to cruise to car shows on the weekend. Others are all about the transformative experience of restoring a classic car. But whether you purchase a fully-built and perfectly restored vintage vehicle or one that requires hundreds of hours of painstaking repair work to bring it back to life, one thing remains true: owning a classic or otherwise discontinued vehicle comes with its fair share of challenges. One of the most significant of those challenges comes in the form of parts. More specifically, the issue is that it's often incredibly difficult to locate and acquire replacement parts for vehicles that are no longer in production. In fact, failing to consider the availability of replacement parts and components is one of the top mistakes people make when buying a classic car.

Fortunately, there are some options when it comes to finding discontinued car parts. First of all, it's worth mentioning that, sometimes, you'll have no choice but to accept replica parts. There may be vehicles that are simply too old or too obscure. In these cases, you may have to settle for a well-made replica part. Various machine, fabrication, and engine building shops may be able to help you source replica or custom components. That said, for vehicles that aren't overly rare, there are several places where you can find parts. From standard options like RockAuto and eBay to online marketplaces and even dealerships, here are six places you can find discontinued car parts.

Many people in the car world are familiar with RockAuto. But even those with no interest in vehicles may recognize the name, thanks to the company's catchy TV commercial jingle. RockAuto is an online auto parts vendor based in Madison, Wisconsin. The company is family-owned and has been around since 1999. RockAuto's goal is to make car parts available and affordable for everyone and provide easy-to-access information about auto parts to the general public. The company offers transparent pricing and operates exclusively online to keep prices and overhead low.

RockAuto is a well-known source of quality and affordable parts, including budget-level aftermarket components, performance parts, and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) components. The company sells parts for virtually every make you can imagine, ranging from standard and popular brands like Honda, Ford, Audi, and Ram, as well as more obscure or higher-dollar makes like Alfa Romeo, Bizzarrini, Falcon Knight, and DeLorean. RockAuto does not have the most advanced website, but it's fairly intuitive and easy to navigate. You can find parts for basically every car you can think of, but RockAuto isn't a wizard, and you won't be able to find every component for every vehicle ever made. That said, the site is an excellent starting point. RockAuto is highly-respected in the world of gearheads, and, thanks to its extremely competitive prices and reliable shipping, it's one of the places you should absolutely check before moving on to the next option.

Another solid source of difficult-to-find car parts is Kirchhayn, a family-owned salvage and recycling yard based in Fredonia, Wisconsin. While the company serves its local communities in person, it also provides remote services, and Kirchhayn will ship obscure and discontinued parts around the country. The business provides an online catalog where you can search for parts for vehicles dating back to 1956. However, you can also search for your car using its VIN or year and model information. Furthermore, if Kirchhayn doesn't have the part you're looking for in its catalog, the company will work with you to track it down.

Kirchhayn supplies everything from engines and transmissions to brake components, fuel systems, axles, and much more. You can even sell your old car to Kirchhayn! The company's mission is to provide quality used OEM parts at affordable prices, and it supplies components for vehicle manufacturers ranging from Audi to Cadillac and Ford to Honda. Kirchhayn employs a dedicated customer service team to help you find your rare parts, answer any questions you may have about the company or component compatibility and fitment, and stay up-to-date with order information. The company is open six days a week and provides a 90-day warranty on every used part it sells to provide you with peace of mind.

Car-Part is a database of salvage yards and auto recycling centers and a great place to check for discontinued car parts. The company provides a database of more than 120-million different auto parts and multiple ways of searching for the components you require. Not only that, but Car-Part provides a live chat option that allows you to connect instantly with a recycler to find the part you need. That means that even if you can't find the component you're looking for in Car-Part's database, the business will work with you to track down the part. The company has been around since 1998 and allows users to search through a catalog of millions of parts from various recyclers around the country.

Car-Part allows you to search for parts by make and model, part name, and region. The company also provides you with the ability to search for parts by image if you're not sure of the name. You can find links for local recyclers around the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The company is partnered with CarPartPro, which offers more than 15,000 supply chain locations with delivery, as well as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts, aftermarket components, and remanufactured items. The Car-Part website is available in English, Spanish, and Polish, and you can find the company on various social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

eBay is a classic name when it comes to buying antiques and other rare or hard-to-find items online. The online marketplace is extremely popular among automotive enthusiasts, and it can be a wonderful place to find rare or discontinued parts. Often, you can find sellers who specialize in the types of vehicles you're interested in, and you can read ratings and reviews left by previous customers before spending any money.

eBay is an online marketplace like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. However, in contrast to those sites, eBay is much more regulated, which can contribute to a safer online shopping experience. While searching for products on eBay, you can read seller reviews and ratings, meaning you can avoid vendors with bad reputations and focus only on those that other customers have vouched for as reliable and honest. Furthermore, eBay provides a few protections for buyers, including a money-back guarantee if items don't arrive as described. Craigslist, on the other hand, does not provide much protection for buyers, and the site does not offer seller ratings or reviews. eBay sellers tend to operate dedicated stores, and many individuals sell items on eBay as their primary income source, motivating them to provide exceptional and honest service to avoid poor reviews.

While eBay can be a great source of discontinued car parts, it does come with a few risks. Because many eBay stores are run by regular people, items may not always be labeled correctly. It's for this reason that eBay may be a better option for experienced gearheads who know what they're looking for than car novices. Finally, as is the case with all online shopping, there are some things you need to know before buying auto parts on eBay.

If you've already checked the previous places on this list to no avail, it's time to start exploring a few other options. Online marketplaces can be a solid source of rare items. We've already covered eBay, and we briefly touched on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. We mentioned that places like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace aren't as well-regulated as eBay, but that doesn't mean these sites aren't worth checking — you just need to make sure you take a few precautions.

Both Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are solid sources when it comes to finding used items. Craigslist has been around for decades and is a well-known site for buying and selling things like used cars, musical instruments, and furniture, as well as for advertising events, posting job openings, and even forging romantic relationships. The site is also known for occasional scams. Facebook Marketplace, on the other hand, has only been around since 2016. It's a branch of the popular social media platform Facebook and is designed to help people from within a local community buy and sell used items.

Craigslist is a great place to look for used parts across the country and even internationally, while Facebook Marketplace is more ideal for finding parts in your local area. And while both sites can be solid sources of discontinued car parts, you'll need to practice some safe shopping tips. One of the most important things you can do is request additional pictures and videos from the seller. Also, you should agree to meet in a well-lit, populated area. Never hand over money without inspecting the item. It may also be a wise and safe idea to bring a knowledgeable friend along with you.

If you've exhausted the previous places covered here and still haven't been able to find the part you need, don't lose hope yet — you might still be able to get your hands on that rare component. One other place that might be worth checking is your local dealership. While dealerships typically focus on newer vehicles, they still continue to perform maintenance and repairs on older, discontinued cars. That means that dealerships frequently have access to parts for vehicles no longer in production.

However, it's worth noting that even though dealerships often maintain an inventory of discontinued parts, they may only do so for vehicles that were recently discontinued. That means you may be able to find parts for your Nissan Maxima, which Nissan stopped building after the 2023 model year, but you may struggle to find parts for an extremely old or vintage vehicle like a Ford Model T. That said, it only takes a few minutes to contact your local dealership's parts department. It's worth reaching out, even if they don't have the part you need. And who knows, you may find exactly the part you're looking for or the technician who answers the phone may even know of a better place for you to check.