Part numbers and specifics

To order the right parts you need to know some basic specifics of your vehicle. Most parts websites and stores ask for your chassis (VIN) numbers. This number identifies certain characteristics of the vehicle, being it a certain timeframe for the specific build, engine, gearbox, or axle composition. A VIN says a lot, but not everything. It’s helpful to know what year the vehicle was built, what the destination market was (for our Defender it’s ROW-spec), and what previous rebuilds have been carried out.

For Land Rovers there are several parts websites out there, fully listing what parts are applicable for what year of build, engine type, etc. This makes ordering parts a breeze 95% of the time. A quick Google search also often shows the correct parts numbers.

These are the parts we carry for our overland Defender, which is a ROW-spec TD5 build with a 300tdi engine.

A nice overview of the parts can be found at LRworkshop

High-quality parts

Continuing on the spare parts specifics, it is important to keep an eye on quality. If generalizing the aftermarket sector, brands like Toyota offer mostly expensive but high-quality parts. The Land Rover spare parts market, however, is huge, and with that, you can find a variety of brands, prices, and qualities. Prices can range from € 10 to € 250 for the same part, and the quality varies with it.

Don’t be tempted to choose the cheapest option, but find some good middle ground. It doesn’t have to be the original Land Rover brand, as that’s also just a name on the box, but be mindful of what you choose. Good practice is to try and find what brand Land Rover is using, and buy that brand directly (OEM). Although there are so many high-quality brands out there, that often there’s plenty to choose from.

If you are not sure what to choose, there are always companies making that choice for you. Euro4x4parts for example, often lists original parts, OEM (original quality), and high-quality aftermarket spares. The latter often is a reliable spare found in the middle to upper segment, for a fair price.

Where to buy spare parts

If your vehicle breaks down having parts shipped can become a costly affair. Whilst shipping costs within Europe are still relatively affordable, sending something outside of Europe becomes very costly and somewhat risky depending on the destination country.

We found that Africa has been discovered by Land Rover, but is being run by Toyota these days. The comforts of that brand, combined with the parts network, have outgunned Land Rover over the years. For Toyota owners, having that parts network is ideal, as you’ll most likely find the parts you need in every major city. For other brands, however, it can be a bit of a struggle. Although in general we never had huge problems sourcing parts, we are happy that we brought certain spare parts along.

So, where can you buy your spares?

Where to buy spares back home

When still at home (let’s say The Netherlands, or Europe in general) you have quite a few reliable options to order the right parts. You get to choose between local/physical stores, webshops in your country, international webshops, and as a sub-division of that, webshops based in the vehicle’s country of origin. Below we’ll list the pros and cons of each.

A physical local store

• You will receive your parts immediately (no shipping delay)
• Possibility to compare parts (if removed from the vehicle)
• Easy to inquire for information on parts
• Communication in your language
• Often more expensive (importation, transportation, warehousing, store overhead, additional markup)

Webshops – home-based

• Quick delivery
• Easy and relatively cheap to return if incorrect
• Online communication in your own language
• Often more expensive

Webshops – international

• Oftentimes more competitive pricing
• Depending on the store a bigger selection of parts brands (level of quality)
• Relatively quick delivery if staying in the EU for example
• If staying in the customs union (EU, etc.) no additional import fees apply

Example for 4×4 brands: Euro4x4parts

Webshops – country of origin (UK for Land Rovers)

• Mostly cheaper, as there’s a lot of competition
• Oftentimes a large selection of brands
• We noticed that importing from the UK to Europe is still relatively quick (a few days)
• Import fees might apply

Example for Land Rover: LRdirect

Where to buy spares on an overlanding trip

Once you’ve left the comfortable grounds of home, finding the right parts can be tricky. Depending on your vehicle brand parts can be incredibly hard to find, or every town might stock all you need (parts for Toyotas in Africa for example).

On the road you have two options; order it from back home (the information above) and send it to your current location, or find a local shop that sells what you need.

Local parts dealers

Buying your parts locally is the easiest and surefire way to get everything you need. Being able to compare parts, check the quality, and negotiate a price is great. Over the years we noticed that local prices in Europe are relatively similar, whereas prices for parts in Africa really fluctuate depending on the country. In South Africa and Namibia for example, parts for our Defender were almost similarly priced as in Europe, whereas in Mozambique or Gabon, they were extremely expensive or hard to get.

If you are looking for parts, your best bet oftentimes is the capital city, and if you’re not close a large provincial city might be your second best option. For Land Rovers in Africa, it also helps to be in a country that was a former colony of England, resulting in a higher density of left-over Landies from the era.

Although extremely hard to figure out for some parts, if you can’t find anything specific for your vehicle, you might resort to alternatives designated for other brands. We ran a generic serpentine belt for a year, instead of buying one specifically packaged for our Land Rover. So if you’re in need of something and there are no brand-specific parts dealers around, just start hunting and compare parts on the local markets.

Sending parts in

Of course, there’s always the option of sending spare parts in. You get to choose where to order it, giving you the option to choose quality, pricing, delivery times, and possibly get some advice while you’re at it. Sending them over to your location is just a matter of finding the right store and courier.

Globally DHL has proven to be a reliable partner for sending and receiving parcels across continents. Although (very) expensive sometimes, they are quick and packages mostly stay internally in their channels. Importation, customs, and fees are often handled online via official payment systems (although not always). Sending packages through general mail works as well. It is often a lot cheaper, but you might lose trackability for a while, you might have to pay import fees at a pickup point, and it’s most likely going to take longer.

How we get our spares

The information above reflects our experiences from the past decade. Below we will sum up where we get our parts, depending on the situation.

We buy spare parts locally, when:

• time is an issue.
• parts are heavy, resulting in high transport/importation fees.
• the broken or worn part impacts safety or drivability.

We buy spare parts online, when:

• it’s a large collection of parts, and we can bundle them in a package.
• someone is visiting us and can bring us a parcel.

We’ve used a range of online stores, with varying experience. Sometimes it’s great, but sometimes they’re lacking service when it comes to advice or the provided information. If you’re not sure what quality to order, Euro4x4Parts offers original parts, as well as high-quality aftermarket parts. They are making the selection for you, so you don’t have to worry.

Conclusion

We hope that the information above helps you to make informed decisions when it comes to ordering parts. Maybe the biggest takeaway is that parts are available to everyone, not just the local mechanic who services your vehicle. You can be in control of pricing and quality, and you can choose what businesses to support.

Where to order parts, and when, all depends on your wishes and needs. We are happy to help if you want our input, so feel free to send us a message here or on Instagram.