A couple of years ago, Decker, owner of the newly opened Wholesale Auto Parts in New Carlisle, was doing some welding work for Hilltop Auto Parts salvage yard on West National Road when he noticed owner Ken Gevedon fielding a lot of calls from people looking for elusive car parts.
So out of curiosity, Decker, who was in-between welding contracts, began looking for auto parts warehousers that might have these parts.
He took his findings to Gevedon and suggested they offer an order-and-pickup auto-parts service at Hilltop. Shortly afterward, they moved operations to downtown New Carlisle. In February, the partners agreed to have Decker take over the operations of the business, moving it to 100 N. Main St.
The store now offers an inventory of car parts as well as same-day order and pickup. The business supplies the parts for Hilltop and operates a website, www.nakedautoparts.com, as well.
“Since it opened in February, sales have doubled every month,” Decker said. Monthly sales have increased from around $1,000 that first month to around $20,000.
“We’re not booming yet, but we are growing,” he said.
Decker picked a good time to venture into the auto-parts business, said Dan Murdock, president of the Ohio Valley Automotive Aftermarket Association.
“Generally, when the economy is down, car parts business is really good,” Murdock said. “I’ve seen some recent statistics that show that not only is the age of the average car increasing, so is the mileage.”
Going from no inventory to investing in a full store’s worth was a scary step, Decker said. “But it’s been my experience that when somebody wants something, they want it now.”
Such was the case for New Carlisle resident Alan Bagford who stopped into the store looking for an adaptor for the brake line he was putting in the 1935 Chevy half-ton truck he’s restoring.
“I like to support local small businesses,” Bagford said. “And he said he can get me the parts that I need.”
As if on cue, Decker came out from the back of the store, part in hand. “We’re the only place in town that has this adaptor,” he said smiling.
Just as Bagford likes to support local businesses, Decker likes to support American companies. If an auto part is made in America it’s either on his shelf or can be ordered for same-day pickup.
About half of his customers ask specifically for American-made “because it’s just better quality,” he said. He also carries imports for customers who are looking for a part that is not made in the U.S. or prefer a less-expensive import part.
Thanks to Gevedon’s relationship with various warehousers, Decker said he is able to get parts that others can’t. On Tuesday, one of Decker’s competitors called to pick up a part he had ordered for them.
“I check out the other stores to see what they don’t have so I can fill that need,” he said. Crash parts, such as body panels, bumpers and door handles are a few examples of the non-typical parts he carries, as well as brass fitting for brakes, “which a lot of other stores don’t do much with.”
Now that he’s established in his new location, Decker is concentrating on spreading the word.
He’ll have a lot of help with that on Oct. 1, when the New Carlisle Heritage of Flight Festival holds its annual Classic Cruise-In right in front of Decker’s store.
“Oh yeah, I’m absolutely going to be handing out fliers there,” he said.
Store hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Business phone number is (937) 845-7373.
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