In these times of immediacy, our purchase options have skyrocketed. If we talk about the online market, we can find everything, leaving behind the face-to-face purchase model. Now it is easy and possible to buy a German item, or buy a shirt from an event that took place in Canada.
One of the great advantages of this digital revolution with respect to our field, happens to have been able to forget the times in which locating a part implied walking through fields full of half-scrapped cars, wrench in hand. Now it is very easy to buy a spare part for your car from your living room, or on the bus.
However, what we are going to discuss today is a problem that this type of purchase entails, which, although it is extremely efficient and comfortable, can be a bit impersonal. And, to buy a spare part online, the first thing you have to be clear about is exactly the part you have to buy. To do this, we have several options, but the most effective will always be to provide the part reference number. Let's talk about it.
How to locate the part reference number
There are different options that we must take into account to locate the reference number of the part that we need for our vehicle:
Option 1: Go to the official workshop of your brand
Explain the case and request that they indicate the reference number of the part that you need to buy. This should always be your first option, because it is easy and safe. In the official workshops they have accurate information about the exact composition of your car.
Option 2: Locate the part inside your vehicle
The part you need to replace is printed with the reference number that will help you find the private label parts that can work in your vehicle, or any original spare part. This method is the fastest to obtain the information, but it is true that not everyone is suitable to do it since it usually requires disassembling part of the vehicle. You can also go to your trusted workshop to do this for you.
Option 3: Use the computer to identify the reference number
There are cutting programs and online templates that allow you to identify the part number so as not to make mistakes when buying our spare part. These programs are exhaustive analyzes of the vehicles; detailed x-rays of each tiny component. You can locate the number you need there. Read on to find out how.
How to use Exploded Software?
Locate your software
The first thing we will have to do is locate the appropriate software. There are many online tools that allow you to do this, but not all of them work according to which brands, or according to which years.
Some of the options are
- EPER
- STD
- ELSAWIN
- IT
- ETKA
The main thing is to find out what the right software is. In this case we help you by distributing your options by brands. Click on the links and remember that some of the sites require registration.
Locate your version
Older versions of the program do not contain exploded views of newer cars. Therefore, if your vehicle is relatively recent, you should make sure that the software you are going to use contains data for the year that may interest you. If your car is rather old, you can use the data from previous versions. They will be easier to locate and the information they contain will not change.
Register if requested
Many of these online programs require you to register on the web pages with a username and password. Others allow you to access general plans, but if you need specific data they will ask you for identification. They are free services, and it will take you a few minutes to complete the registration. Worth.
Locate your vehicle
After completing this step, the software will return the "x-ray" of the entire vehicle so that we can choose which part to navigate. You have two options to see the exploded view of your vehicle on the screen.
Option 1: Browse the site manually entering the characteristics of your car. Click on your brand, then on your model, on the year and refine until you reach the general map of the exploded view.
Option 2: Enter the chassis number of your car in the field designed for it. Remember that the official name of this code is the "VIN" number, Vehicle Identification Number, so locate those acronyms and write this number completely in the search engine.
This option is the most effective and fastest because it allows you to exactly locate your vehicle model to minimize the possibility of error. We must not forget that the VIN number is the equivalent of the DNI of our vehicle and no two cars have the same, so it is the most precise location that we can do. Once our vehicle has been located, it is very likely that the website itself will allow us to see the details of our vehicle in detail (version, year, extras...). It is important to save this information, taking a screenshot for example, to be able to consult it comfortably in the future, it is likely that we will need it for the next step, which is already the crucial one: locate the part that we need to buy
Find your piece
You will now see a general image or a list for you to indicate which part of the car you want to see exploded: seats, decorations, gearbox, engine start, ignition system, cooling, suspension, clutch...
Then you will have to perfect the location of the piece. For example, if you press the steering field, then you can select if what you need is in the steering wheel and box, in the hydraulic power steering system or in the power steering pump. And once you access the steering wheel section, you will be able to consult the exploded view directly.
Locate your reference
To access the necessary reference number, all you have to do is press the number that corresponds to the part. In most programs, the part you need will be marked on a list and all its details will appear there.
It is possible that, for the same piece, you have two numbers to press. This occurs when the piece is different for the left or right side.
Check the data
Well, we already have located the data.
In case your piece had two numbers next to it in the previous step, it will be in this window that you have to check if it corresponds to the right side or the left side.
For added security, it will be at this point that you will return to that screenshot you took when you entered your VIN. The version of your vehicle appears there, and that same number should appear in the list of data you captured. If it appears, there is no doubt!
Of course, do not be surprised if more than one version appears. It is common for the same part to be used for several versions of the vehicle.
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