I once considered buying a 1968 Volvo 1800. Not a very valuable or expensive car but rather rare. I was talked out of the purchase of the car because my father convinced me that parts would be absolutely impossible to find. In the past, many people avoided foreign cars because of the difficulty of acquiring foreign auto parts. No matter how reliable a foreign car was rumored to be, when the car broke down, and it inevitably would, you would have to empty your pockets for a part from some dealer who probably held a monopoly on that particular make. Before the gas crisis of the 1970s the foreign car market in America was divided between the Brits and the Germans. British cars were notorious for poor reliability, electrical problems and hard to find parts. It is understandable why the American public became skeptical of the foreign auto parts business.
After the gas crisis hit, and people began to realize the benefits of having small, efficient, and reliable Japanese and German cars, the market for foreign car parts changed. Because there were more Volkswagens, Hondas, Datsuns, and Toyotas on the road than ever before, foreign auto parts in turn responded to the demand. They began to become cheaper and more readily available.
Today virtually any foreign auto parts you need are readily available. There are a few exceptions to the rule though. Cars that are no longer made or imported to America such as the Yugo or the Daewoo may not be easy to find parts or mechanics for. Swedish cars such as Saabs and Volvos are also notoriously idiosyncratic and require specialized parts and specialized mechanics. While parts are also rare for exotics and super luxury cars like Lamborghinis and Bentleys, if you own one of these cars, I hope you do have to pay a lot to find the right part.
From the early 1980s on, cars like Hondas, Nissans, Toyotas, Mitsubishis, Volkswagens, Hyundais, Kias, Mercedes, BMWs, and others have had virtually any part available to them. Any Auto Zone or NAPA Auto Parts store probably carries the parts you need for any foreign car. You can find a lot of good auto parts for foreign cars online as well. Websites like partspalace.com and car-part.com can help you find and purchase just about any foreign car part you need. If a store like Auto Zone or website like partsplace.com does not have the part you need in stock, they will be able to order it for you and have it to you in about a week.
In addition to the foreign car parts needed to fix your foreign machine, there is also a booming new market in foreign car aftermarket parts. All across America , amateur street racers are customizing and racing overpowered Honda Civics and Mitsubishi Eclipses. If you are interested in super charging a Supra or putting flashy headlights on a Honda, you can easily find speed and vanity aftermarket parts for almost all of the most popular foreign cars.
By Alex Turman