Why Is My Mechanic Taking So Long to Get Parts?
The slowest part of any repair isn't the repair. You dropped your car off on Monday. It's Thursday. Your mechanic is a good operator. So why is it still sitting there?
The honest answer has almost nothing to do with your mechanic's skill. It has everything to do with a sourcing process that hasn't moved much in twenty years, even though everything else in a modern workshop has.
What is actually happening when a mechanic needs to get parts?
Picture a typical workshop morning. A car goes on the hoist, the technician pulls the fault, identifies the parts needed, and then... the job stops. Because now someone has to find the parts.
The old process looks like this:
- Ring Burson. Busy, on hold. Leave a message.
- Ring Repco. They have it but the price feels high. Call back later.
- Ring a specialist. No answer.
- Ring someone else. They have the part but can't deliver until tomorrow.
- Take the first confirmed price because the car has to move.
Five calls. Three voicemails. One bloke who never rang back. For one part.
That is not a failure of skill or effort. That is a broken process, and it is the reason why mechanics taking a long time to get parts is a complaint every workshop hears and every mechanic hates.
Why is the parts sourcing process still so slow in 2025?
A few things are genuinely working against it.
1. Supplier stock is fragmented
No single supplier carries everything. A mechanic often has to check three or four accounts to find one confirmed part. Each check takes time, especially when the supplier is busy and puts you on hold.
2. Callbacks are a real bottleneck
A lot of parts requests go to voicemail during a supplier's busy morning rush, right when the workshop needs the answer. The call comes back at noon. The job is already cold.
3. Hard-to-find parts are genuinely hard to find
Older vehicles, European makes, diesel-specific components, and low-volume parts simply don't sit on local shelves. Someone has to track them down, and that can mean calls to interstate suppliers or waiting on an import order. Technicians across the industry flag this as one of the most consistent frustrations in the trade.
4. The workshop is busy
A mechanic doing the parts hunt is a mechanic not on the tools. In a small workshop, that same person is also diagnosing the next car, talking to the customer at the counter, and managing two other jobs. Sourcing gets squeezed in between everything else.
What does the delay actually cost?
A car parked in a bay waiting on a part is a bay not generating revenue. The job is open, the customer is frustrated, and the workshop is carrying the overhead of a held job: storage, communication, the mental load of chasing it. Multiply that across a week of similar jobs and the real cost of slow sourcing becomes clear.
For the customer, it is a frustration. For the mechanic, it is the difference between a profitable day and a chaotic one.
The old way vs the new way: how mechanics source parts
| The old way | The new way |
|---|---|
| Ring suppliers one at a time | Post one request, multiple suppliers respond |
| Wait on callbacks | Prices come to you, in writing |
| Take the first confirmed price | Choose from competing quotes |
| Sticky note records | Digital trail, easy to reference for returns |
| Time spent: up to half a morning | Time spent: minutes per request |
Verdict: The old way works. It always has. But it is slow, it rewards whoever answers first rather than whoever has the best part at the best price, and it costs the workshop time that could be spent on the tools.
Can a workshop actually fix this, or is it just part of the job?
It is fixable, and the fix is simpler than most people assume. The problem is sequential searching: one supplier at a time, hoping someone picks up. The solution is parallel searching: post the request once and let suppliers respond.
That is the idea behind SparesIN, the auto-parts marketplace. A workshop posts the part it needs, and vetted local suppliers compete to fill it. The mechanic gets multiple confirmed prices and availability without lifting the phone once.
A few things worth knowing about how it works:
- It is not open to anyone with a spare part to sell. Suppliers are verified businesses, vouched for by real workshops. It is properly business-to-business, not a free-for-all.
- It does not change how a workshop pays or collects. Existing supplier accounts and payment terms stay intact. It just means cleaner records, which makes things like returns easier to manage.
- Mechanics never pay to use it. Here's how it works for workshops.
If you are running workshop software already, it is worth asking whether your system connects to sourcing. Meckly, the best workshop management software in the country, has SparesIN built in, so the parts request flows directly from the job card without switching between tools.
What about aftermarket parts, are they faster?
Often yes. Aftermarket suppliers typically hold broader local stock than OEM-only channels, especially for common servicing parts. That means faster availability on bread-and-butter jobs.
On warranty: under Australian Consumer Law, using non-genuine parts does not automatically void a manufacturer warranty. That is the general position of the law, though every situation is different, so check the specifics with your mechanic or a consumer rights adviser if it matters for your vehicle.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my mechanic taking so long to get parts?
In most cases it comes down to the sourcing process, not your mechanic dragging their feet. They are ringing multiple suppliers one at a time, waiting on callbacks, and checking stock manually. A single hard-to-find part can burn half a morning before anyone has confirmed availability.
Is it normal to wait days for car parts in Australia?
It depends on the part and the vehicle. Common wear items on popular local models are usually same-day or next-day. Older vehicles, European makes, or anything with low-volume parts can take several days if the supplier has to order from interstate or import. The bigger variable is often how fast the workshop can locate the right supplier, not how fast freight moves.
What parts take the longest to get?
Body panels, electronic modules, and parts for older or discontinued models are the usual culprits. Anything that has to come from an OEM-only channel or be sourced overseas can add weeks. Low-demand parts simply don't sit on local shelves.
Can a workshop speed up the parts process?
Yes, and the biggest lever is how they request parts. Workshops that post a parts request to multiple suppliers at once, rather than calling them one by one, typically get confirmed prices and availability far faster. Platforms designed for that workflow, like SparesIN, exist specifically for that reason.
Does using aftermarket parts make it faster?
Often yes. Aftermarket suppliers tend to carry broader local stock than OEM-only channels, so availability is better for common jobs. Under Australian Consumer Law the use of non-genuine parts does not automatically void a manufacturer warranty, but always clarify with your mechanic what is going into your vehicle and why.
Why do mechanics sometimes take the first price they find instead of shopping around?
Time pressure. When a car is on the hoist and a customer expects it by three, ringing four suppliers to find the best price feels like a luxury. Most mechanics take the first confirmed price because the alternative is holding the job up longer. Better sourcing tools reduce that trade-off.
The bottom line
Your mechanic is not slow. The process they are forced to work through is. Every workshop in the country is dealing with the same fragmented supplier landscape, the same hold music, the same callback that comes two hours too late.
The difference between a workshop that turns cars around fast and one that keeps you waiting is rarely skill. It is usually whether someone has fixed the sourcing process. The ones who have stopped ringing around and started letting suppliers come to them, those are the workshops that knock off on time.
That is the whole story.