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1. Guidelines on Purchasing Spare Parts in Sri Lanka By Maxwell Ranasinghe Managing Director M.M.Organisation, Sri Lanka Email: maxran1@yahoo.com

2. A survey conducted by a Research Team revealed that vehicle owners are not satisfied with the prices charged by dealers of spare parts and franchise agents. There are over three million vehicle owners in Sri Lanka and most of them are uncertain where to purchase spare parts.

3. There are four types of spare parts available in almost all the vehicle parts markets in the world, market-namely Genuine Parts, Original Parts Replacement Parts Duplicate Parts.

4. Genuine Parts- These are the parts presented to the market by vehicle manufacturers under their brand name. E.g. Toyota Motor Corporation who is the manufacturer of Toyota vehicles present parts to the market under “ Toyota Genuine Parts” Nissan Motor Corporation who is the manufacturer of Nissan vehicles present parts to the market under “ Nissan Genuine Parts “ Hyundia Motor Corporation who is the manufacturer of Hyundai vehicles present parts to the market under “Hyundai Genuine Parts” These “Genuine Parts” are imported and distributed by Franchised Agent as well as other motor spare parts dealers. Generally the premium prices are charged for these parts and these parts are considered the best.

5. Original Parts (OEM) Most parts presented to the market by vehicle manufacturers like Toyota Motor Corporation as 'Genuine' parts are not manufactured by vehicle manufacturers themselves. Many of them are manufactured by various motor car parts component manufacturers all over the world. They are called Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). They in addition to supplying parts to vehicle manufacturers, they supply parts in their own brand names to the market. E.g. Kayaba Corporation supply Genuine Shock absorbers to Toyota, in addition they present shockabsorbers under ‘KYB” to the market. Bando fan belts, Asco Clutch plates and Clutch Covers, Seiken brake parts etc are other OEM examples. These products are imported by their specific agents and other importers.

6. Replacement Parts: There are many motor spare parts manufacturers all over the world. Since many of them do not supply parts to vehicle manufacturers, they do not fall into the OEM category. However, it does not mean that they do not supply quality parts. Some manufacturers supply high quality parts and hold ISO 9000 and or QS 9000 quality standard certification. A few of the good quality Replacement Parts brand names could be listed as VIC filters, JFBK and 'Mintye' brake pads and shoes, 'CTR' and '555' suspension parts, 'Supergrip' fan belts, 'Takoma' gaskets and 'KCW' and Wurth wiper blades and specialty car products. Most of the time,these products are imported by their specific agents as well as by other importers. Comparatively Replacement Parts prices are lower than Genuine and OEM Parts.

7. Duplicate / fake parts: These parts can be defined as parts of low quality and made in imitation of a Genuine Part, OEM parts or of a High Quality Replacement Part. They are manufactured with the intention of deceiving customers. These parts have a very low life span and it should not be purchased at all. Since it is very difficult to distinguish the fake from the original, always ask a money back guarantee if the product fails before a reasonable period of time.

8. Prius Car parts. We can supply any Prius car part from Toyota Genuine Category. Since the technology is new and apparently there are certain restrictions of OEM suppliers, we find only Genuine Parts available for the vehicle. However, when the time passes and other manufacturers come to know about the technology, surely there would be replacement parts as well in the market.

9. We currently have filters, plugs, fan belts etc for the Prius and we can import and supply any part for the vehicle as we have direct access to major Toyota Parts Dealers all over the world. Usually it can be supplied within 14 days. Call us on 011 2424120 011 2441563 0778527879 Email:toyotammo@yahoo.com

10. How to get the best deal To maintain your vehicle at a lower cost, it is always better to buy a combination of Genuine, Original and Replacement Parts. Get advice from a qualified and independent mechanic. Good Luck and Happy Driving