July 31, 2025
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Stephen Ebersole
Written by Stephen Ebersole, Founder of Autoficial
When searching for the best performance parts to complete your build and meet your performance goals you need to know you are finding the absolute best part. Whether you want more horses, better handling, or just a nice turbo whistle, you must find that exact part that will satisfy all criteria. You start your search and find hundreds of vendors and thousands of products.
In this guide, I will break down how to choose the right performance parts and avoid the common pitfalls so you can build faster and smarter.
First, let’s go over the most common mistakes made by car owners:
- Parts do not fit their car.
- Performance does not meet expectations.
- They overpay for parts that could have been price-matched.
- Return policies or warranties are unclear and not understood until it is too late.
At Autoficial, we have experienced these issues firsthand. That is why we created a tool to compare vendors by more than just their prices. We also wanted to focus on what matters after the purchase.
Step 1: Know Your Build Goals
Before clicking “Add to Cart,” think:
- Am I building for speed, daily driving, or off-road?
- Do I want plug-and-play mods, or am I ready to custom-tune?
- Am I upgrading one component or building in phases?
A lot of purchases are because the part “looks cool” or “I think my car would be so much faster with this”. These questions will narrow down your searches and help avoid mistakes like overbuilding or dissatisfaction with your vehicle goals.
Step 2: Always Filter by Fitment
This is pretty self explanatory and you would be surprised how many people do not check if the modification fits. They go straight to the reviews, get pumped up, order it only to find they can’t figure out how to install the part even if they knew it would be hard. A lot of time is spent trying to find a solution. If you can’t, you’re stuck.
Step 3: Compare Vendor Policies, Not Just Prices
Here are the top seven most important things to look for in an online vendor before ordering a modification:
- Free Shipping – Is shipping included in the price or added later?
- Average Ship Time – How quickly will I get the part? Are delays common?
- Return Policy – Can I return the part easily if it doesn’t work out?
- Guaranteed Fit – Does the vendor guarantee the part fits my car?
- Upgrade Advice – Can I get help or guidance from their team?
- Warranty – What happens if the part fails?
- Price Match – Will they match lower prices elsewhere?
You can view these policies for our top 10 aftermarket vendors on our vendor comparison table.
Final Step: Research and Reviews
Just read the reviews on the part, please. You never know what you might find, read them for the part and the vendor. Watch real-world installs on YouTube or other forums. Do not fall for “universal fit” unless you are positive that you know what you are doing.
Concluding Thoughts:
Building your dream car into a beast should not feel like a gamble. You should have complete control of the process from start to finish. By understanding how you want the car to perform and comparing the policies, you can upgrade quicker and more confidently, avoiding the headaches.