Lou Apples Makes Auto Part Sourcing Its Spring Priority

As spring sets in, Lou Appel's Auto Spares has a message for Johannesburg drivers hunting a scarce second hand part: the quickest way to track one down is simply to ask for it by name. Operating out of Selby and carrying the Lou Appel name in some shape for more than ninety years, the business is steering motorists, independent workshops and DIY mechanics towards its online part request service, just as the warmer season brings its familiar surge in repairs, restorations and pre holiday servicing.

On the South African calendar, September tends to be when a backlog of deferred jobs finally gets scheduled. Vehicles that scraped through winter on a worn engine, a rattling gearbox or a split bumper find their way back onto the ramps, and once the quote for brand new original parts lands, plenty of owners start hunting for a used substitute. Filling exactly that gap is what a long established second hand spares yard does, and it explains why Lou Appel's has designed its site around one straightforward request form instead of a sprawling parts catalogue.

How the part request service works

Six details are all the request page needs: first name and surname, a cell number, an email address, the make and model of the vehicle, its year, and the exact part or parts being sought. After the form goes through, the business rings the customer back. No commitment comes with the enquiry, and there is no requirement to know a part number beforehand, which helps owners who can explain the fault but not name the component. Anyone preferring to talk to someone right away can phone the yard on 011 493 8260 or use the site's WhatsApp option, staffed by an agent ready to help.

What makes the callback approach a good fit here is that stock is always in motion. Vehicles come in, get stripped, and their serviceable components land on the shelves, so the stock in the second week of September differs from the first. Logging a request with the make, model and year lets the team match it against what is on hand right now, not against a list that was correct a month back. It also gives an answer to a customer who is away from the city, or who simply cannot reach Selby while the doors are open.

Stripped vehicles, tested components

The yard itself is what sits behind that request form. At the Scrap Yard, whole vehicles are dismantled carefully so the components worth saving remain in usable shape, and it counts itself among the most established operations of its type in Johannesburg. Engines, gearboxes, body panels, electrical parts and a long list of smaller items all come off the vehicles passing through, and the inventory shifts as fresh stock arrives.

Every component is checked and tested before it goes up for sale. Customers have two choices: visit Booysens Road in Selby to view what is on the floor, or send vehicle details via the site and have availability and pricing confirmed ahead of the trip. Being able to inspect and handle a part before purchase is a big draw of a real yard over a faceless listing, especially for someone restoring an older car or keeping a work vehicle running to a tight budget.

The engine room

Engines are handled as their own line of the business. Local and imported second hand petrol and diesel units, together with gearboxes, fill the Engines for sale section, arranged by manufacturer so a buyer can jump straight to the marque they want. That list holds more than thirty makes, alphabetically from Alfa Romeo down to Volvo, and the stock figure beside each brand paints an honest picture of depth. Volkswagen, Audi, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Opel, Kia, BMW and Mercedes all show substantial counts, mirroring what genuinely passes through a Johannesburg yard rather than what a catalogue would like to claim.

Coverage spans naturally aspirated and turbocharged units alike, for newer vehicles and older ones, with reconditioned and low mileage options sitting next to standard second hand stock. Anyone weighing used Engines against a rebuild or a new unit is generally asking three questions: will it fit, has it been checked, and what is the price. Lou Appel's says its engines are carefully inspected and tested for quality, performance and dependability, and that its pricing stays competitive without letting the standard of what leaves the yard slip.

Who the yard serves

Roughly three groups make up the customer base. Independent workshops and mechanics want a dependable supply of second hand components so a repair quote stays within what the owner will pay. Private owners tend to arrive after one particular item, frequently a body panel following a bump or an electrical part that has given out on a car too old for the dealer network to still stock. Then come the restorers and enthusiasts, chasing parts for vehicles that lost support years ago, and they gain the most from a yard that has spent decades building up stock.

The makes on offer span most of what travels South African roads. Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Opel, BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Audi and Renault are all represented, so the bulk of Gauteng's passenger and light commercial fleet is covered. That range is what makes one enquiry worth sending instead of ringing around, since a single request reaches a business already dealing with most of the common makes.

A third generation business

For a spares yard, the company's story is unusually well recorded. Around ninety years ago Lou Appel, son of a blacksmith named Max, founded it, trading at the start as Lou Appel's Motor Graveyard. Lou stayed at the helm until he died in February 1982, and in January 1983 his son Raymond stepped in, establishing Lou Appel's Auto Spares TVL (PTY) Ltd. In 2014 Raymond handed the business to his own son, taking it into a third generation. That degree of continuity is something few businesses in the sector can claim, and it is partly why the yard is happy to invite people to view stock in person.

The business does not only sell parts, it also buys damaged cars, which is where much of its incoming stock begins. A vehicle no longer worth repairing after a crash still carries plenty of value in its components, and sending it through a yard that strips it properly keeps those components in use rather than scrapping the lot.

Trading hours and getting hold of the yard

Trading runs Monday to Thursday from 08:00 to 17:00, Friday from 08:00 to 16:30, and Saturday from 08:30 to 12:30. Sundays are closed, and the business asks customers to call about public holidays. Outside those hours, the website form and the WhatsApp option stay open for anyone wanting to lodge a request in the evening and receive the callback the following working day. Full details of the stock, the engine listings and the part request form are on the Lou Appel's Auto Spares website at https://louappels.co.za/.

About Lou Appel's Auto Spares

Based in Selby, Johannesburg, Lou Appel's Auto Spares is a used auto spares business that supplies second hand car parts, engines, gearboxes, body panels and electrical components for most makes and models. Now in its third generation, it has carried the Lou Appel name in some form for over ninety years. The business strips vehicles at its own Booysens Road yard, inspects and tests components before selling them, buys damaged cars, and accepts part enquiries by phone, by WhatsApp and through an online request form.