Hope me.

March 14, 2009 8:58 AM

Tell me where I can purchase a car door handle online.

I need a rear driver's side exterior door handle for a 1997 Hyundai Accent.

From what I can determine, Rock Auto is kind of like the Newegg of the car parts websites. Unfortunately, they don't have this handle.

When I type what I want into google, all of the top results are for a group of websites that are apparently operated by the same company: carpartswholesale.com, autopartswarehouse.com, etc.

They all have the part, but they also charge a "handling" fee that is extra from the shipping and greatly increases the apparent cost. The reviews I've been able to find are universally negative, and it appears there is a rather large chance that they would screw up my order, charge me a restocking fee to return it, etc. In other words, they feel like a scam.

Finally, on e-bay, there is one person who is selling a set of four, but again, I have major trust issues.

So, I guess what I'm asking is, can someone find me this handle online from a site they have successfully purchased from in the past?

posted by Number Used Once to Shopping (8 answers total)

Not sure where you are located, but you might try calling local salvage yards, where you find wrecked autos. You may find one locally, and it will likely be cheaper than a new one. Then you can deal person to person as well. Good luck!
posted by konig at 9:10 AM on March 14, 2009

Response by poster: Knoig, that's my last resort. The salvage yards around here would make me pull it myself, and it will be enough work for me to get my own door panel off, thankyouverymuch!

Good answer, though.
posted by Number Used Once at 9:13 AM on March 14, 2009

If it helps assuage your fear, I bought a Camry door handle on eBay a few years ago. It arrived promptly, as described, and cost 25% of what the dealership wanted. It seems like this might be what you're looking for, and with 99.7% positive feedback, it's not such a big risk. Alternately, you can certainly have a dealership order the part, but it will probably cost you A LOT more.
posted by emumimic at 9:23 AM on March 14, 2009

Think of a U-Pull-It yard as practice before working on your own car. I've done enough work inside doors including replacing some exterior door handles to know it can be awkward sometimes.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 9:43 AM on March 14, 2009

I'd consider the pulling it off your self a lesson. When my power window broke, I had to buy a new motor online (eBay) and ended up making some pretty stupid mistakes (cosmetic, also my door speaker makes a funny noise now because I broke the plastic clips that held it in place) that could have been avoided if I knew how to remove my door panel in the first place.

PayPal may be able to help you on eBay if you were scammed, and then you can sell the other three :)
posted by glenno86 at 9:47 AM on March 14, 2009

Definitely try a U-Pull-It place and eBay before anything else—especially before you have a dealer or repair place try to source handles. Also, know that once you get the door panel open, you may discover that more is broken than just the handle, which could potentially necessitate a bit more difficult search for parts.

[says she who ultimately ended up paying a dealer some exorbitant amount this fall to replace two door handles on a 1995 Lincoln Continental. Sigh.]
posted by limeonaire at 11:26 AM on March 14, 2009

You can search a whole lot of junkyards here.
posted by damn dirty ape at 12:31 PM on March 14, 2009

I bought a used door handle on eBay a few years ago. I had no problem with it and was much less expensive than anywhere else.
posted by zsazsa at 2:42 PM on March 14, 2009