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Where to buy Genuine Honda parts online
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Disclaimer: None of the sites or dealers listed at the bottom are in any way evaluated or approved by me. I list them in alphabetical order, have no idea what they're like to deal with, and have no idea how competitive their pricing is.

American Honda and Honda Canada will only sell OEM parts to authorized Honda/Acura dealers. Those are the kind of operations that buy new cars from Honda for resale to you, and which also service Hondas and Acuras. These authorized dealers must have storefront operations and must maintain a certain level of new-car sales in order to be able to retain their franchises.

In Canada, and I'd guess in the US as well, Honda and Acura dealers are contractually prohibited by Honda from selling each other's parts. You cannot walk in to a Honda dealership and ask for an oil filter for an Integra. But if you know the part number (or the parts man does), and it's the same between the two brands, then you're OK.

Update December 2005: The paragraph above is not completely correct any more. I've been informed that at least some dealers have access to the other nameplate's parts databases, so they can look up parts for you. Ask your dealer.

If you come across any "online parts" seller that is NOT an authorized North American Honda/Acura dealer, beware! They may be bringing in parts from overseas. These parts may be OEM, but not for your market, or they may be Chinese counterfeits masquerading as OEM. They may also be buying large quantities of legitimate OEM parts from authorized dealers -- at a big discount -- and simply taking a bit less of a markup on them when they sell to you.

Some dealerships act as jobbers, selling aftermarket parts as well as OEM, so be careful what you're getting quotes on. Having said that, some of these "aftermarket" parts are identical to OEM, but sold under the brands of the producers rather than under the Honda brand. For example, bearings might come from NOK, oil seals from Ishino, brakes from Nissin or Akebono. Of course, if you're not going to buy Honda-branded OEM, you'd have to be savvy enough to know which are the same parts and which are not...

The full-retail markup on OEM retail parts sales appears to be something on the order of 66% to 100% (If you have evidence that this figure is wrong, please contact me). If you walk in off the street, you pay full-retail. If you're a regular retail buyer at the same dealership, you may get 10% off full-retail. If you're a licensed auto repair facility, you may get closer to 20%-25% off full-retail.

NOTE: This does NOT mean you can walk into a dealership and demand that you be sold that $600 radiator for $300 because you think their regular markup is ridiculous. For the average retail buyer, or even low-volume garage, you pay what they say the price is, as is done in most retail transactions.

Anyway, in the grand scheme of retail, 66% to 100% is less than that charged for some other things. Jewelery, for instance, can carry a markup of over 500%. Womens' clothing is routinely marked up over 200%. And what about that big-name music CD you bought for $14? It costs them less than $2 to put the CD, shrink-wrapped, on the shelf in the store. That's a 600% markup.

Part of the reason for high markups is the need to offset investment losses due to low turnover. High-volume parts tend to be cheaper, low-volume parts dearer. An example: The door weatherstripping for the '91 Integra. Both driver and passenger sides are identical except for handedness, but the driver's side is half the price of the passenger side. People tend to replace the driver's side quite a bit more often than the passenger side.

Full-retail prices can also vary between dealerships in different areas, sometimes substantially. Dealers have also been known to increase retail prices to well above Honda's own Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP).

Some dealerships are willing to make Web-based retail sales at lower than full-retail prices. Whether this is because they get better prices by making volume purchases from Honda or are simply marking it up less, I don't know, but they are what people call the "online parts stores".

Before you buy from these "online" places, phone around to various dealerships in your area with the part number or part description, and get prices. You may find that a local dealership is competitive once shipping is factored into the online price.

More very interesting detail on Honda and general auto parts pricing is here.

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Anyway, here's a short list of sellers.
If you find any more, please let me know so I can list them here.

The first listing in each pair is the dealer's name, location, and official Web site.
The second is that same dealer's on-line presence.

Acura

Acura Carland, Duluth, GA http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org Bell Acura, Phoenix, AZ http://www.oemacuraparts.com/ Delray Acura, Delray Beach, FL http://www.acuraoemparts.com Sunnyside Acura, Nashua, NH http://www.sunnysideacura.com/parts.cfm (no more online parts lists; must phone submit form online)

Honda

Bill Kay Honda, Bourbonnais, IL http://www.bkhondaparts.com/ College Hills Honda, Wooster OH http://www.collegehillshondaparts.com/ Eskridge Honda, Oklahoma City, OK http://myhondapartsstore.com/ Fair Honda, Danbury, CT https://secure.webmakerx.net/Parts-OrderForm.aspx?hostname=www.hondaofdanbury.com (no more online parts lists; must phone submit form online) Herson's Honda, Rockville MD http://www.thehondapartsstore.com Majestic Honda, Lincoln, RI http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/ Manchester Honda, Manchester, CT http://www.manhonda.com/ Saccucci Lincoln Mercury Honda, Middletown, RI http://www.hondapartsdeals.com San Leandro Honda, San Leandro, CA http://www.slhonda.com Showcase Honda, Phoenix, AZ http://www.hondapartsunlimited.com/ South Bay Honda, Los Gatos, CA http://www.hondapartscheap.com/southbay/jsp/home.jsp

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The place below,
The Parts Bin
http://catalog.thepartsbin.com/
claims to sell OEM Honda parts as well as aftermarket, but appears not to be associated with an authorized dealer. I called them and spoke to a sales rep (sounded quite young), who said he was not aware of any association with any authorized Honda dealer. They're probably getting their parts from various authorized dealers at high-volume discounts, or from companies like WorldPac.

More details on that are here.

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Last updated Apr 28/08