Christmas shopping for car guys made easy

By Botchi Santos December 14,2016
Many hard-to-find parts are on stock.

Many hard-to-find parts are on stock.

Parts Pro delivers to any part of the country. Payment can be cash upon delivery, assuring customers of getting the right product that they ordered.

Parts Pro delivers to any part of the country. Payment can be cash upon delivery, assuring customers of getting the right product that they ordered.

It’s that time of the year again, and everyone is out shopping for gifts. For car guys, our cars are very much a member of the family. It brings us to and from places safely and reliably. Hence we have an affinity for our own personal cars.

I always tell people that a car is typically the second most expensive purchase one will ever make in their life, hence the car is oftentimes both a rational and emotional choice. It is also a life goal for many.

Cars are a sign of one’s freedom to travel anytime, anywhere. Thus, cars are a great source of pride, regardless of what it is.

With this in mind, we look for treats for our cars.

For the younger ones, spending the Christmas bonus on a new set of wheels, fancy bucket seats, or perhaps a suspension more oriented towards sporty canyon carving or track driving is at the top of the list.

For the more genteel and mature drivers, a proper car-cover, or some high-quality cleaning chemicals might be in order as the Christmas holidays give us the time to breath, relax and indulge in spending time working on our cars.

But given that Christmas equals intense and crazy traffic jams, looming deadlines at school, work, numerous parties, reunions and events, we tend to have less and less time to pick something for our cars.

The solution? Take to the Internet.

The Internet, particularly social media, has really triggered a boom in helping one find best-priced parts and information about our beloved cars.

Even those hitherto rare and unobtainable parts can now be found online.

However, ordering both locally and especially abroad can be daunting and difficult.

Admittedly, there are a whole lot of scammers and unscrupulous merchants selling products that are in far less decent condition than what we are normally led to believe, if they even send out your order.

Parts pro products on stock

Parts pro products on stock

On Facebook alone, I am a member of numerous Facebook groups that deal in buying and selling of various automotive parts.

But oftentimes, the seller will require you to go to his shop or location, or deposit the payment to his or her bank account before the item is actually shipped to your address.

Oftentimes, the shipping/logistics/freight company will be delayed, or damage, or worse, lose your item, and the seller will not give any form of warranty or insurance over it.

Believe me, it has happened to me, not just with car parts, but toys, clothes and other small items.

Thankfully, there’s Parts Pro (www.partspro.ph). I stumbled upon this by accident, as it seemed to be a popular go-to choice for one of the car club Facebook pages I regularly peruse.

Feedback from the members has been very positive and encouraging, so I decided to give it a try.

Parts Pro is the Philippines’ first truly online automotive shopping website.

There’s an inquiry section where you give your car details or the particular products you are interested in.

It helps also that Parts Pro is a real existing legal entity, with a fixed physical location in Quezon City, with full contact details.

The sales team responds quickly to queries, and they are also active on social media, allowing them to connect with clients faster.

This is all the reassurance one needs when buying online. Ultimately, you know you are not going to get scammed.

They ship nationwide as well. A small menu generates a shipping quote when you enter the delivery address, and is added to the final tally when you check out your shopping cart.

I ordered a car cover for my Toyota Supra from Parts Pro, and they had the specs and sizes available online so it made the process of picking out stuff faster and easier.

Dedicated and trained Parts Pro people prepare and pack orders for shipment upon confirmation of stock availability.

Dedicated and trained Parts Pro people prepare and pack orders for shipment upon confirmation of stock availability.

Parts Pro promises delivery within a few days upon confirmation of order and availability of inventory.

Right now, you have two payment options: cash upon delivery, or deposit through Parts Pro’s bank account.

When I asked for a credit card payment facility, the tech support by the name of Raffy who responded told me they are still working on it, and will hopefully have it online soon. This should make the online experience truly effortless.

But I like the cash payment upon delivery option because it gives you and me, the consumer and buyer, reassurance that Parts Pro is committed to their clients, and we as customers take no financial risks because we don’t pay until we physically receive the item/s we ordered.

You can also create an account with Parts Pro so both you and Parts Pro can record and trace your transactions and preferences.

You can also buy gifts for other people and have Parts Pro deliver it directly to your friends’ addresses, making the experience an even greater and bigger surprise for your car friends.

The product range available at Parts Pro is already expansive, and the company says they plan to add more reputable brands and products to their inventory soon.

Parts Pro also says they won’t add bogus or fake stuff, or questionable products in their inventory because they pride themselves in being real car guys that know what works and what doesn’t.

More importantly, they know stuff that can damage your car and their reputation as well. They claim that they use and test practically all of the products they have prior to putting it on their inventory and selling it to the general public.

To give you an idea, Parts Pro sells products such as PIAA lighting equipment and wipers, Sonax car care products, Recaro aftermarket seats, BBS performance wheels, car covers from a variety of brands, Motul oils and lubricants, CTEK car battery chargers, Dynamics coil-over suspensions plus engine trim parts, and Works Bell brake pads from Japan.

Parts Pro people monitoring the ordering system

Parts Pro people monitoring the ordering system

That’s quite a lot already and there’s so much more brands and products available that you can practically buy everything you need from Parts Pro.

In a rush or bind for car-related gifts? Need a credible and reliable source for all things automotive related but don’t want to be scammed? Look no further; check out Parts Pro.

Aside from their website, they are also on Instagram and Facebook, so look for them there too.

You can have your gifts delivered to your friends.

You can have your gifts delivered to your friends.

If you prefer to actually talk to someone in person, their address is 91 Congressional Avenue, Brgy. Bahay Toro, Project 8, Quezon City.

You can call them at (0977) 804-4295 or 2632664. Keep checking Parts Pro as they update their product list and increase their offerings.

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