Locate Those Elusive Units COLUMN BY NATHAN UNGER When I am hunting parts for hard-to-find units, I frequently get a negative response. However, here are some options. Check the Web | sites or catalogs of sup- pliers or OE manufacturers, even those whom you do not have an account with. Often your regular suppliers will deal with them. Ask if they can order it for you. If they can, then ask if it can be drop- shipped. That way you get it just as fast as if your original supplier had it in stock. Also, get them to prepay the freight on their account, and then bill you for it along with the parts invoice. This assumes that they get a better freight rate than you do. Also, make it a habit to collect and archive information (catalogs, supplier CDs, Web sites, etc.) so you can identify part numbers yourself, rather than depending on a desk clerk somewhere to figure out what you need. Here is an example of how I served a customer that others said they couldn’t help. I live on the west coast of Canada. A customer phoned me from Michigan and wondered if I had a rotor for an alternator out of a grey-market Toyota Landcruiser. I asked him to let me call him back. I phoned HC Cargo, having found the correct bill of materials and part numbers on their Web site. They didn’t have it in stock (nor did anyone else for that matter), but when I asked, they checked and said it was available in Denmark. They drop-shipped it to me directly from Denmark. This saved me money/time in the fol- lowing ways: ¢ HC Cargo has better freight arrange- ment for that than I do, so they pre- paid the freight and charged me at their rate. This also saved my book- keeper the extra paperwork of pay- ing the freight company separately, not to mention the otherwise higher freight cost to me. e They took care of all the import- ing/brokerage paperwork since they, and not their suppliers in Denmark, were billing me. ¢ Because it didn’t have to come to their warehouse in the USA first, it saved me the extra time, freight cost, and brokerage fees connected with shipping it from the U.S. to Canada once it arrived from Denmark. ¢ Being able to supply, and at a reduced freight cost, helps keep the cus- tomers coming. The customer paid me over the phone with his Visa number, so there was very little risk for me, and he didn’t have to send a check, nor pay a deposit. In conclusion, by getting your suppli- ers to phone around a bit, they will make a sale they would have otherwise lost, and you can get parts where others give up. It’s also a good thing to get set up with suppliers that deal with the various OE manufacturers, in case you can’t get aftermarket parts. Nathan Unger is owner of ASI Rebuilders, Abottsford, B.C., Canada.