What Happened To That Aftermarket Parts Company

[Kent R]

For a long time members have been discussing what happened to my favorite company and who bought them.
Here is a podcast from Modern Jeeper aka Metal Cloak. It is a good explanation for what is happening to the aftermarket parts stores in the US.
I had a run in with 4Wheel Parts last year and now I know what happened.

Start at 31:57 min.

The Death of Rubicon Express – #217 The ModernJeeper Show

Hello ModernJeepers welcome to Episode 217 of The ModernJeeper Show… They’re back! Corey & Jessy are back and, as they say, the gang is all here… happy days! Matson, Corey & Jessy talk cold showers, Jeep Beach, and CTI trends in 2023. Then they dive deep into the demise of...

modernjeeper.com

 

[zgfiredude]

Interesting and confusing at the same time!

 

[Sparksalot]

Interesting. I’ve seen it in other industries. Sometimes the individual company can survive and be pulled out of the equation. Sometimes not.

 

[Kent R]

Interesting and confusing at the same time!

Very confusing, makes you wonder about the aftermarket parts we get. I never knew that there was so much money in wheels

 

[Sparksalot]

Very confusing, makes you wonder about the aftermarket parts we get. I never knew that there was so much money in wheels

If you figure that the only modification most people do a vehicle is wheels then it makes sense. Especially if you consider volume of wheels versus a bumper or such.

 

[grubworm]

i know that down here you always see the $1500 hooptie mobile that has $15,000 rims/low profile tires on it. there are numerous places in town that only sell rims and even do their own financing. in the hood, whoever has the biggest rims is king...so yeah, its a HUGE market

 

[zgfiredude]

I heard (on the internet) that spoked wheels cure death wobble!

 

[Sparksalot]

I heard (on the internet) that spoked wheels cure death wobble!

 

[Anak]

Wheels are the biggest thing at SEMA. Years I went they had their own building. Which was a good thing. Allowed me to leave them out of the picture while looking for innovative products.

 

[MiamiC70]

I heard (on the internet) that spoked wheels cure death wobble!

I heard it was the fake bead locks.

 

[Red_Leaf_Overland]

I still don't understand the downfall of transamericain wholesale. I worked with the for nearly 10 years, then people started getting fired and koving on and brands started disolving .... a lot of the people I dealt with in the industry are now " pursuing other ventures".... unfortunately that umbrella company provided a lot of work for a lot of people.
A lot of the brands that trans had picked up over the years now suffer from this. I got to know a lot of people at Trans that are now out of the industry, and a lot of small businesses that relied on the wholesale division for a lot of years, and were shook by the quick demise. And a lot of businesses that didn't survive it.
Basically the buy out created a lot of issues with a lot of people I know lol.

 

[Anak]

Remember Super Shops? Their collapse rocked the industry, but the industry still survived. However, a lot of lives were messed up by that collapse.

There is a lesson in there about the dangers of big industry. The bigger they are, the more painful their mistakes.

Support your small companies.

 

[smritte]

Remember Super Shops?

Wow Super Shop. Forgot about them. They got pretty big out here.
One of my Co workers worked at the last one to be open.

 

[genocache]

I wonder if that is why I can't get rims from OKoffroad for my Land Rover anymore. I need 2 more......