Looking for Advice: Starting a Spare Parts Business

[KingHenry22]

Hi everyone,

I’m new here and wanted to introduce myself. My family has been in the agricultural parts trade abroad for over 30 years, and I’m now preparing to expand and open a small business focusing on tractor (and possibly truck) spare parts in the U.S, based in California. I want to make sure I start off on the right foot and actually stock parts that are most useful to folks in the field.

For those of you with more hands-on experience:

• Which tractor brands and models do you use most?
• What are the most common breakdowns or parts you find yourself replacing regularly?
• Are there certain brands of parts (OEM vs aftermarket) you find more reliable or better value?
• Any advice for someone new to the U.S. market when it comes to stocking or sourcing parts?

I’d really appreciate any insights you can share. My goal is to learn from the people who actually use these machines every day so I can better serve the community when I get up and running.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge!

 

[dougtrr2]

Do you plan on actually stocking the parts, or just being able to rapidly source them?

I am not an entrepreneur but I can't even fathom how you would be able to get something like this up and running. The capital required would be staggering.

Might be better to focus on two or three brands.

Good luck.

Doug in SW IA

 

[KIZILAYE]

Hello KingHenry,
I am not from USA but I am in spare parts business for a long time.
I tried same in the past for CE machineries but investing money and keeping stock are important.
If you want to do this business as an e-trade, then you should study on parts group by group.
Please check the quantities of the tractors in your region first and then you can do the same for USA and Canada first. Do it for last 30-40 years.
And then you should decide a product group first and you can start slowly and continue adding different product groups to your range.
I advice you to start with Electrical parts first and then engine parts and then you should study on the drive line.

 

[Sportsman762]

I was in the ag parts business for 10 or so years before I decided to change pastures. There is a significant capital investment required to enter the market if you expect to offer a large offering, and the margins are thin. Aftermarket in the US accounts for only 2-10% of sales with the remainder being OEM.

There is a wide verity of makes and models, with a low population of each model. This means there is less volume for parts than when manufactures made only 5 models and made them for a decade plus. As agriculture trends towards larger equipment and farming practices dictate less passes over the field the yearly hour count has steadily been decreasing. The decreasing hours result in less wear and less breakage. The average rowcrop tractor sees around 200 hours a year on average, whereas the average compact sees mid 20 hour a year on average.

Your questions indicate a limited knowledge of the Ag repair market, and this will limit your opportunities. I would choose a product line, and try to be the best at it before expanding to other areas. For example A&I started off with steering and front end parts, Atlantic Quality Parts in electrical, TISCO in ignition parts, SMA in tillage, and Herschel in tillage.

My family has been in the agricultural parts trade abroad for over 30 years,

What is your family's strongest product line in their current business? Can you adapt this to the US market?