Auto Service, Auto Repair, Mechanics in the Philippines
In the Philippines it is not easy to find auto parts shops, auto parts dealers, suppliers or junk yards to get parts for very old used cars. I was told by the Mitsubishi dealership in San Fernando, Pampanga that they can provide parts for cars up to 10 years old. If you have a car more than 10 years old you will probably need to find an auto repair shop. They can assist you in finding the replacement parts you need. |
| Front of Performance Plus Auto Repair Shop, on MacArthur Highway, before opening for the day. |
There are virtually no auto salvage yards or auto junk yards in the Philippines. I have never seen one. But, I recently read that there is a large auto junk yard in the Angeles City area. You will need to ask around to try to find out where it is located.
Seems most cars that are not worth fixing are sold by the part.
One must search online or know where to go to find a supply of parts. There are areas in each city where some business people make a business of acquiring parts and selling them. I am told there is a section in Quezon City where there are many parts dealers. It is necessary to take the old part and they will physically match a replacement part to it. For our Lancer the only parts readily available are from old or wrecked ones.
It will probably take an auto repair shop several days to locate used parts. As far as I know there is no computerized system for used auto parts. I have asked and been told that there is no city wide, province wide or nationwide computerized auto parts system.
You may order new "after market" parts from Japan. But that it will take quite a while to get delivery.
Also, one may always order "after market" parts from US parts companies. Albeit the shipping costs will probably be prohibitive. I have talked to owners of auto repair shops. They have told me that they have contacts in the USA who can ship a quantity of larger parts to them in small shipping containers (the kind that are carried by tractor trailer trucks).
It is possible to ship smaller parts in what are called "Balikbayan Boxes." These can be sent from California or from anyplace in the USA. Ship from California or from other places in the USA.
If one were attempting to do a total restoration of an old car, it could take 6 months or longer to find the parts needed through several Philippine web sites. But, then again, you may find just what you need much faster.
Find parts, cars and motorcyles for sale at the following sites:
Cars Now
Sulit
OLX
Use search terms like "parts for 1990 Toyota".
After 4 years of using public transportation I decided upon buying a car in the Philippines. We purchased an old car. The car needed a lot of work to get it back in safe driving condition. I was more or less forced into restoring it. Having seen several fully restored ones like it I felt it would be worth the time and effort.
Paid a "back yard mechanic" 3,500 pesos ( $83 US at an exchange rate of about 42 pesos per dollar) to fix a door lock and to replace the rocker arms, which he said were causing the sloppy steering. He fixed the lock (which fell apart within a month or so after he "fixed" it). The steering was still sloppy. Never saw any indication that the rocker arms had been replaced. He worked on cars and jeepneys in his front yard. Never went back to him and never got a refund of the excess payment I had made. Had decided that, just in case he was connected to some gang, it would be better not to pursue it. He knew where we lived.
A Good Auto Repair Shop in Angeles City, Philippines
Finally found a better place to have the car repaired. Located in the Balibago section of Angeles City is a place called Performance Plus Auto Repair Shop. |
| Auto restoration in the Philippines. Performance Plus Auto Repair, Angeles City, Philippines, open for business. |
Located at 21 MacArthur Highway, across the street and not far from the Land Transportation Office (LTO). Phone the land line 0458871362 at the shop or send email to the shop at: performanceplus2009 at gmail dot com or directly to the proprietor, Abel Lingat, at: abelplus at yahoo dot com (I write the email addresses like this to fool Web spiders which compile email addresses to send spam email). He is a great guy who speaks fluent American English as well as Tagalog.
I speak very little Tagalog, so, it is wonderful to find people who speak English well.
English and Tagalog are taught in public schools here in the Philippines. But, most people who have attended school speak English with a pretty heavy Filipino accent.
If you are looking for auto parts you might ask Performance Plus to get them for you.
I asked Abel and his team of mechanics to do repairs.
During about six visits to Performance Plus they did the following repairs.
They discovered that the part of the chassis the steering box was mounted to was rusted. The box was moving when the steering wheel was turned, thus causing the sloppy steering.
A portion on the chassis on the opposite side was also rusted. They welded both sections. Now the car steers well.
A portion of the chassis at the left rear suspension also needed new steel welded in.
The horn and the windshield wipers stopped working and they fixed the wiring for both.
They fixed the door locks.
About a month later the car would not start. It was the battery. I bought a new Motolite battery from a battery retailer in Magalang.
His shop is located on Angeles - Magalang Road right across the street from the Pure Gold grocery store. Motolite is reputed to be the best battery in the Philippines. I understand that Motolite will deliver a battery wherever you are in the Philippines! However, you will probably see Motolite dealer signs wherever you go in the Philippines. Also. I needed a new voltage regulator and had one installed by an auto parts store, not far from the Pure Gold grocery store.
Even with the new battery, after a few uses the car would not start.
Took it to Performance Plus again and, after diagnosing it, they rebuilt the starter, alternator and installed a new solenoid. Now it starts every time.
These repairs, including the loss of about 3,300 pesos given to the "back yard mechanic," totaled about 33,300 pesos (about $780 US at that time).
Since then we have had the front passenger seat re-installed by Performance Plus. Seems the two front seats were from a different model car and the passenger seat was not secured properly. It would not slide back and forth. It had been "secured" by one tight bolt and one loose one. I did not have the proper tools or knowledge to repair it myself.
How to get something fixed anywhere.
On one occasion we were driving to the mall when all of a sudden our gas pedal linkage snapped.
The driver behind me got out and with his and some other volunteers help we pushed the car off the street and down a little side street. There someone asked if we needed help. I said "yes" and he called a mechanic he knew. He arrived on a motorcycle. Accessed the problem and asked me to give him money to pay for the part and off he went. He returned shortly and fixed the linkage.
He did not ask for much for his labor. There are a lot of helpful people in the Philippines. So, if your car breaks down just ask some nearby locals to recommend a mechanic to you.
Some "Do It Yourself" Repairs I Did
Some restoration was easier and I did it myself. I re-covered the door panels. I removed the hard board headliner, removed the old vinyl cover and cut new vinyl to fit and glued it to the hard board after gluing some insulation to the hard board headliner. Looks pretty good. Also removed the interior door panels and removed the old vinyl covers and reupholstered them with 1/8 " foam beneath new black vinyl cover.
After a lot of looking I found a store that sold the foam and vinyl. The vinyl cost about 70 pesos per meter ( about $1.75 US.)
If you do not want to tackle replacing the headliner yourself you can ask Performance Plus to do it for you. Another option; there is an auto upholstery shop in Magalang, on Angeles Magalang Road. It is on the right side of the road if you are approaching from Marquee Mall area, before you get to downtown Magalang. Ask at one of the auto supply stores there for the exact location or ask at the Motolite battery store. It is a very small shop. They can do headliners, door panels, seat covers, etc. They are one of the headliner repair shops in the Philippines or actually one of the auto upholstery shops in the Philippines. Believe me, it is hard to find auto upholstery shops in Angeles City.
Oh, about a month later the headliner fabric came loose from the backing and hung down all over. So, much for doing it myself! Let a pro do it for you if you want it to last.
If anyone asks why we have such an old car I tell them "It is a classic and we are restoring it."
We see some very fine looking restorations of the very same Mitsubishi.
Do you have a car to sell? Advertise it on this blog. Hundreds of buyers will see it. See page where your car will be featured.
If you know of other good, reliable and reasonably priced auto repair shops in the Philippines please
share the information with other readers by making a comment below.
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This article will be expanded upon. Please check back to read more about auto repair shops, mechanics, repairing and restoring a car in the Philippines. Last updated Aug. 23, 2015.
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