Requesting a car part no catalogue lists

Before you send a request, a second search with other means is worth it. Search by the OE number instead of the name; the search box also finds numbers dealers have entered. Try the number in both spellings, with and without spaces — dealers enter it differently. And remove the year or model from the filter: some dealers enter less than you would expect, and their item only shows up without that restriction.

If there is still nothing, “Can't find the part? Send a request” in the parts search leads to the form. Make, model and category are carried over where you selected them, and your search term starts off the description. The request is non-binding and needs no account. If you send it while signed in, you find it again later under “Part requests”; otherwise offers arrive by email only.

What the request is not: a promise. It reaches dealers who stock parts for your make, and each decides whether and when to reply. One offer may come, several or none. So do not book a workshop appointment before an offer is in.

Make, model, a description, your country and your email address are required. Optional but often decisive are the year, category, VIN and OE number. The VIN is the single most reliable detail: with it, a dealer with access to manufacturer data can determine your car's exact specification — engine, brakes, equipment — hidden behind a model name. It is in the vehicle registration document.

Who sees your request depends on the make: parts dealers with at least one catalogue item that fits it, and dealers who stock universal parts. They see your car including the VIN and OE number where given, the description and the country — not your name and not your email address. Those stay with Carvexia until you reply to an offer yourself.

That gives you a rule for the description: no phone number, no address, nothing you would not show every dealer of that make. The text goes out exactly as you write it.

The best source of information is often already to hand: the part being replaced. Many parts carry a number, stamped, cast or on a label. It may be the vehicle manufacturer's OE number or a supplier's article number. Both help: the OE number goes in its own field, the other in the description, noting where it came from.

If the part is still fitted, invoices from earlier repairs help, provided they list part numbers. If the number is illegible, guessing by appearance does not help — then the route is via the VIN, with the dealer or at a brand garage's parts counter.

The form does not take photos. Take them anyway before you send the request: the part from all sides, the number legible, connectors and mounting points, with a tape measure for scale. If a dealer asks for more with their offer, send them as a reply to their email. That does reveal your email address to them — it is the point where the anonymous request becomes a conversation.

The description is the field the dealer actually reads. It decides whether they make an offer or skip the request because they would have to ask first. These details make it understandable without a follow-up question:

A description that works: “Right-hand door mirror in the direction of travel, power folding, with indicator, paint code below, housing painted or unpainted, new or used.” A description that triggers questions: “Mirror broken, need a replacement.” The difference costs you two minutes and often decides whether anyone replies at all.

If you need several parts that belong together, request them together — discs and pads for one axle, for example. Parts from different areas of the car belong in separate requests, because they often concern different dealers and each can only answer for what they stock.

An offer arrives by email. It consists of a message from the dealer, optionally a price, shown as the dealer's price, and sometimes a link to an item in their catalogue. With a link, you order through the item page: the order goes to the dealer, payment is by card through Stripe Checkout, and the dealer is your contracting party. Without a link you agree directly, and payment and shipping are between the two of you, not through Carvexia.

Do not compare the amount alone. Ask about whatever the offer leaves out:

Once you have found the part — through an offer or elsewhere — close the request. Every email with an offer contains a link for that which works without an account. If you sent the request while signed in, you can also close it under “Part requests”, even if no offer has come yet. After that no dealer can send an offer, dealers without an offer no longer see the request, and those who already replied see it as closed. Offers you have received remain available to you.

That is more than courtesy. Dealers put time into a reply, and a request left open long after the part has been fitted costs them work for nothing.

And if no offer comes: send a broader request rather than repeating the same one. Leave condition and origin open, add the OE number if it was missing, or ask at a brand garage's parts counter with the VIN whether the part is still available at all. For rare parts, breakers specialising in the make and owners' clubs are often a better address than a general catalogue.