Aftermarket sales hit $35 billion in U.S.

Over the last five years, the aftermarket industry has seen a steady 18 percent increase in sales and now the people that supply everything from high-performance carbs to those annoying LED windshield washer squirters rake in over $35 billion annually.

The sales segments are broken down into three categories. The first is appearance and accessories, which make up a large portion of the industry, followed by tires, wheels and suspension equipment and then racing and high-performance equipment, bring up the rear.

Overall, this increase in sales is due to a few specific factors, the largest of which is a higher rate of car owners in the U.S. population. This, coupled with both the over-60 crowd supposedly having more disposable income and, of course, the tuner market contributing to the boom.

It's a good time to be in the business, now all we have to do is come up with the next big aftermarket craze.
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ATLFALCONFAN - 9/28/2006 12:26:01 PM

+1 Boost

Are you making money off of the sales, if not then why do you care?

bigslick83 - 9/28/2006 4:09:31 PM

+1 Boost

at my dealership, since im new i only make $100-$200 per car i sell, depending on how many i sell for the month, no matter if its new or used, or what the profit is. ill get another 150 if its a customer i brought in on my own(w/o advertising expenses). now if i sell any aftermarket parts (which are greatly inflated from our cost but still on par with others) i get 50% of the profit. so i push aftermarket products as best as i can. last week i sold a program pacifica w/o a dvd player, and had them put an after market one in there. it was about $400 cheaper than the one with the dvd and it got me about another $200.

BavarianMotorrad - 9/28/2006 5:08:08 PM

+1 Boost

I think I saw you on a 'King of cars' episode bigslick83!

bigslick83 - 9/28/2006 5:11:37 PM

+1 Boost

lmao sorry not in the vegas area, but you may have seen me on AMW or COPS. j/k

bigslick83 - 9/29/2006 10:50:26 AM

+1 Boost

um, i think the only difference is, is that someone with a m5 is gonna have full coverage auto-insurance. so when they get in an anccedent at least they (and others involved) are not screwed. while you may put $10k under the hood of your 1995 prelude, you can only afford to cary state minumum liabilty if that at all. and then your lucky if your 150 shot of boost doesnt explode and kill every1!
and just because you go aftermarket, doesnt mean your car has to loose all sense of class. 5ft wings, gaudy paint, and those stupid decals that come with every aftermarket part you buy dont look good on most cars.
i sold the rolls grill, simulated convirtable top, Limitied wheels, and 2 head rest dvd players last weekend on a 300C. it just rolled out of here with everything done and it looks SWEET!!!! thats about $4,500 in after market parts right there. if you put that on your pos ricer you would have prob doubled the cars value right? and it wouldn't have sounded like a swarm of pissed off hornets.