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Spares that spare your purse
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Name the parts; you will get them, of course, secondhand but at unbelievable prices. The only trouble you may have to take is to choose the right material, in good condition.
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ARE YOU looking for a secondhand diesel engine in good condition for your old Fiat or Ambassador car at a cheaper price? Then, visit the old spare parts market on the West Veli Street. Name the parts; you will get them, of course, secondhand but at unbelievable prices. The only trouble you may have to take is to choose the right material, in good condition.
"We have a whole lot of spare parts. Say, for instance, a petrol engine for the Fiat is available from Rs.3500, whereas the new one may cost around Rs.35000 to Rs.50000," said Selvaraj, a car dealer.
Usually parts, which are in good condition, are picked from the vehicles condemned by the owners. The reason for condemning the vehicle may vary from a defunct RC book to improper renewal of road tax, etc.
Most of the cars that are damaged in accidents usually come through insurance firms and some of condemned vehicles arrive here from the corporate giants and from the government offices. Besides, individual car owners also sell their cars in the old spare parts market if they find the car no longer useful.
"We cannot rely on cars purchased from private firms, Government offices and insurance companies as they remove the parts in good condition for their use and sell only the scrap," observed Sekar, another dealer.
"The prices of the cars, which come to us in damaged condition after having met with accidents through the insurance companies, will be fixed by the surveyor appointed by the company for this purpose. So, we cannot expect a windfall from those cars. Most of them are worth only for scrap. What we used to do is sell the scrap material to the blacksmiths, who recycle the iron to pipe and utilise it for other purposes," explained Selvam, a mechanic.
"But, sometimes luckily we get cars with parts in good condition. In that case, we make full use of it," he said.
Usually these people get those vehicles through the tenders. Most of the time, our rivals are workshop owners, who vie for the vehicles when they are found to be in good condition. Even if the cars are in 60 per cent working condition, they purchase, shape the vehicles in their workshops and sell them at good prices.
But what the customer may not get is the guarantee, as all these parts should be purchased at the risk of the customers. "It is their job to pick the right kind of spare parts for their vehicle. We never entertain returning of goods, once sold. Honestly speaking, too much reliance on these spare parts will put the customers in trouble. It is better to go for duplicate materials which are available aplenty in the market but at a slightly costlier rate than the spare parts purchased here,'' felt K R Rajendran, member of the Old Spare Parts Market Association.
The same rules apply for the lorry spare parts sale too. But the market is situated at Thilagar Thidal.
"We are facing frequent threats from the police as they keep us always on tenterhooks, as there is an apprehension that businessmen here purchase materials from the car lifters. But we never entertain any stolen materials. The families running the business are here for generations," says Ramanathan, a car broker.
"The market here handles spare parts for only Ambassador and Premier Padmini cars. If you want parts for any of the latest brands such as Maruti, the best place would be Chennai," he says.
But without proper knowledge, there is every possibility of you getting cheated. Hence, a knowledgeable mechanic should accompany you when you venture into such places.
T. SARAVANAN
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
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