How to Source Obsolete and Discontinued OEM Parts From Other Dealers

A customer needs one part. Your DMS shows it on backorder from the OEM, or flagged as discontinued. The repair stalls and the sale sits there.

That same part is probably on a shelf at another dealership right now. Marked obsolete. Gathering dust. Ready to ship to you, often at a better price than ordering straight from the OEM.

What counts as an obsolete auto part?

Obsolete parts are the ones that stopped moving. The special order nobody picked up. The overstock from a bulletin that came and went. The genuine OEM part for a model the manufacturer no longer supports.

Every parts department carries them. They pile up quietly and tie up real money. Frozen cash, shelf space, and a write-down waiting on the books. Parts obsolescence is one of the biggest hidden costs on a dealer’s balance sheet.

Here’s the part most managers overlook. What sits idle in one town is the exact fix a shop across the country needs today. That gap is where smart sourcing starts.

The slow way to track down hard-to-find OEM parts

When a part is backordered or discontinued, most departments work the phones. Call a few nearby stores. Check a parts locator. Post in a group. Wait.

Many parts locators kick in only after the OEM warehouse comes up empty, and then it turns into a manual hunt. You burn time you don’t have. Plenty of the time you still end up paying full retail or telling the customer it’ll be weeks.

A faster source: other dealers’ surplus OEM parts

There’s a quicker source sitting in plain sight. The surplus shelves of other franchised dealerships.

Across the country, dealers hold genuine OEM parts they will never sell. You need those parts. They want them gone. A dealer-to-dealer network connects the two sides, giving your team a faster way to find potential matches for the part you need.

That’s the buy side of PartsFisher, Total Dealer Solutions’ dealer-only marketplace for franchised dealerships to buy and sell OEM parts.

How sourcing works with PartsFisher

PartsFisher runs in the background on your special orders. When you place an order, it checks the network for a match on genuine OEM stock at another dealer. Find one, and you get the option to buy it at a discount off OEM pricing.

A few things make it easy to live with:

• Keep your current parts locator. PartsFisher runs right alongside it.
• It supports DMS-connected workflows, including CDK and DealerTrack integrations.
• You review each match and decide whether to buy. The selling dealer confirms and ships.
• Every deal runs through PartsFisher, including transaction and payment processing.

Why another dealer’s shelf beats a backorder

Buying from another dealer’s surplus does a few jobs at once. 

When a match is available, you can get the part faster, keep the repair moving, and avoid leaving the customer waiting on a warehouse backorder. Dealers sourcing this way see up to 60% potential savings off OEM pricing. The part is genuine OEM, straight from another franchise store. 

There’s a trust factor too. Every dealer in the network is a verified franchise store. No brokers, no consumers, no unknown third parties, just parts departments trading with each other. And every new dealer who joins adds more parts you can pull from.

The other half: turn your own obsolete parts into cash

Sourcing parts is only half of what a dealer network does. The same network lets you sell the obsolete and surplus parts already sitting on your shelves to dealers who need them. Dealers recover about 45% of the value of their obsolete parts by selling into the network.

Most parts departments run both sides at once. They buy the parts they’re short on and sell the ones they’re stuck with. If you want the seller’s playbook, read our guide on how to turn obsolete and surplus auto parts into cash.

See it work

See PartsFisher in action. Schedule a PartsFisher demo to see how your dealership can source discontinued OEM parts, buy at a better price when available, and turn obsolete inventory into working capital.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can a dealership find discontinued or obsolete OEM parts? 

With PartsFisher, dealerships can find discontinued or obsolete parts from other franchised dealerships. Plenty of genuine OEM parts sit idle on dealer shelves nationwide. A dealer-to-dealer network like PartsFisher matches what you need against that surplus and lets you buy it at a discount off OEM pricing, often faster than a backorder.

How do I get rid of obsolete parts inventory?

Sell it to another dealer who needs the part. That usually recovers the most, and dealers selling through PartsFisher recover about 45% of the value of their obsolete parts. You can also return parts to the manufacturer when the program allows, though restocking fees and time windows apply. Parts that sit past that point usually end up written off.

Is it safe to buy and sell parts with other dealers?

Yes. PartsFisher is a dealer-only marketplace. Every participant is a verified franchise dealer, with no brokers, consumers, or unknown third parties. Access runs through your DMS connection, and the TDS team can walk you through how it works during onboarding.

Are the parts genuine OEM? 

Yes. PartsFisher moves factory OEM parts between franchised dealerships. You get the same part number you’d order from the manufacturer, sourced from a dealer who already has it on the shelf.

Does PartsFisher replace my parts locator? 

No. It runs alongside whatever you use now. Your locator mostly fires when the OEM warehouse is empty. PartsFisher works your special orders in the background the whole time, as an extra channel.

How long does it take to get started? 

Setup is easy. The TDS team handles the integration and walks you through the timeline for your dealership, then PartsFisher runs on its own.