Guides
Guides for the Motor Trade
Practical, plainly written guides on identifying and sourcing vehicle parts — for garages, bodyshops, restoration specialists and automotive professionals. Written by REMCAM Automotive Ltd from the questions trade customers actually ask.
All guides
Updated · 10 min read
How to Find Car Parts by VIN or Registration Number
How to find the right car parts from a VIN or UK registration: what each identifier reveals, where the VIN is, why photos help and what to send a specialist.
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Updated · 9 min read
Genuine, OEM, OES and Aftermarket Parts: What's the Difference?
Genuine, OEM, OES and aftermarket car parts explained for the UK trade: who makes each, how to tell them apart, warranty and insurer expectations, NLA options.
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How we write our guides
Our guides are written by REMCAM Automotive Ltd — the organisation, not an invented expert — from the day-to-day work of identifying and sourcing parts for trade customers. We explain what we know from that work and we cite public sources for the rest.
- Facts about VINs, registration documents and vehicle records are sourced from GOV.UK and DVLA pages and linked in each guide.
- We do not publish statistics without a source. If we cannot source a figure, we leave it out.
- Manufacturer names are used only to identify vehicles. We are an independent sourcing specialist and are not affiliated with, approved by or an authorised agent of any manufacturer.
- Guides carry a “last updated” date and are reviewed when regulations, programmes or our own service change.
- There is no sponsored content. Guides link to our own services where they are relevant, and say so.
If a guide is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will correct it. For the services the guides describe, see parts sourcing and manufacturer repair methods.
Can't find the part? Let us find it.
Send us the registration, VIN or part number and we'll search our sourcing network.