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Banawe has been christened the auto parts capital of the Philippines mainly because you can almost find everything you want for your car there, ranging from mechanical to accessories. As far as where they came from, these shops either prey on cars that have been abandoned or thrown at the nearest junkyard.

There are over a 100 shops present there and depending on the model of your car, you are bound to have a hard time deciding where to buy. As far as pricing is concerned, they are far more cheaper than the standard casa shops which offer the same service and parts but perhaps 100% more expensive than what you can find by simply walking along the streets of Banawe.

One thing you should avoid however are the fixers who seem to offer assistance but are really there to score one over you. For example, if you arrive there with a broken tail light or a shattered window, expect them to swarm all over you. When they see this, it means potential earnings for them.

At times they can be irritating especially if you talk about more than one person offering to fix a certain part of your car. In fact, at times when you just pass by the streets, they will point at something in your car which does not really need anything fixed. That is how desperate some people there operate to earn a decent buck. Decent but surely questionable if you don’t know where they are getting the parts.

The parts they bring to you are really coming from the stores around. As far as pricing is concerned, they usually earn a certain percentage, sometimes 10%, of the total cost of that particular part. But what you may want to avoid is stolen parts being sold to you. If they want to earn big time, stealing is the best way to earn for these fixers.

In a manner of speaking, you too become an “accessory” to the crime when you buy it from them. Try to avoid them and go directly to the stores. At least you know they are parts worth buying.