In 1957 Rare Parts founder, Lyle Burgess operated a wheel alignment service and
soon realized how difficult it was to get the steering and suspension
parts that he needed. "I needed parts every time, not just most of the time."
He also felt that he was not the only shop around with this problem. It was a challenge
that Mr. Burgess could not pass up. His ultimate desire was to have every part, every time.
This desire drove him to create Rare Parts, Inc. In the late 1970's it became
apparent that the major suspension suppliers could not offer complete coverage,
for the older cars in particular. "Today it is impossible for any local jobber or warehouse /
distributor to stock a complete range of suspension parts for all cars". From this concept,
Rare Parts, Inc. was created in 1981.
The concept was simple, "Specialize in SUSPENSION PARTS, NOTHING ELSE!" Sell one piece at
a time as needed, to the wholesale trade. This greatly simplifies business for everybody,
eliminating the need to inventory slow moving or obsolete parts at the warehouse / distributor
and jobber level, while making sure repair shops can serve their customers quickly regardless
of the type of vehicle being repaired. |
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Rare Parts can deliver almost any suspension part fast, even overnight when needed. Of course, finding parts
was difficult, but when old inventory wasn't available, we began manufacturing suspension
components in-house. In 1984 Rare Parts was manufacturing 8 part numbers and in 2000 our
manufacturing grew to 800 part numbers. Today, Rare Parts has a full testing facility, conducting both
destructive and cycle testing. It is interesting to note that the quality of the parts we
produce greatly surpass OEM (Original Equipment Manufacture) quality standards. Rare Parts also features the largest
wholesale inventory of over 1,000,000 steering and suspension components of its kind in the U.S. and has
established a reputation around the globe, for the finest quality products and service.
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