About Us
My name is Randy Steele, and I am the founder of European Parts Specialists. My journey in supplying auto parts began all the way back in 1968. Needless to say, being an auto parts dealer is now in my blood after 56 years. I threw myself into the Mercedes-Benz parts business in 1973, and my passion and knowledge of that brand has grown deeper ever since. At the dealership level, that passion has been fostered through buying and selling Mercedes and BMW car parts. At the wholesale level, my enthusiasm for these parts was deepened through importing from Germany and dealing with brands like Bosch, Ate, Textar, Pagid and all of the OEM suppliers to Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
After years of experience in the industry, coupled with a desire to learn more and to do more for the customer who was as passionate as I was, I opened European Parts Specialists, or EPS, in 1981, selling to shops and DIYers. I wanted EPS to be a store for those who had a deep appreciation for their vintage European automobiles, built by someone who had that same appreciation. And it was that same zeal that moved me to write the first ever Mercedes-Benz and BMW parts catalog for the mail order in the same year that I started EPS. Being a customer myself, I knew what auto enthusiasts were shopping for, and I knew how they wanted to shop for it. That’s why since I started selling on eBay in 2000, EPS has consistently maintained a 100% satisfaction rating over the course of 22 years, because we try harder!
Our Inventory - Relics From the Past
EPS has purchased inventories from closed Mercedes and BMW shops and other inventories which have included many hard-to-find items. This has allowed us to accumulate an extensive inventory of items over the years that the average customer would not find in an average auto parts shop. Plus, our recent acquisition of the inventory from a closed wholesaler of over 50 years has drastically increased our supply of Genuine, OEM, and quality aftermarket parts.
New old stock (NOS) refers to old stock of merchandise that was never sold to a customer, but still new in original packaging. Rare and sometimes hard to find auto parts for older models that fall under this category mark the strength and pride of our parts inventory. An extension of NOS is another category that uniquely characterizes our collection: No longer available, or NLA. Many NOS parts may not be manufactured anymore and are thus classified as "NLA". Auto parts found with this classification may represent the only current source of their kind. EPS is proud to provide these rare and hard to find parts, striving to offer them at the highest quality and lowest prices. And we know that finding the right fit can be difficult when searching for relics from the past, which is why we make extraordinary efforts to provide the most accurate application data to ensure the perfect part for your vintage car.
The launch of our new web store, epsparts.com, is a small sampling of our inventory, less than 3%. When we put something on our website for sale, we have it, and a notification of an out-of-stock situation is extremely rare. If you do not find what you are looking for, this does not mean that we do not have it; it simply means that we may not have listed it yet. Please contact us to inquire about availability or even if you have a question about your car or a project. With over 50 years of parts experience, we are very happy to share our knowledge and expertise!