Auto Ricambi is a good example of what happens when someone’s passion becomes their profession. In this case, it was Csaba’s and Ramzi’s passion for FIATs – FIAT 124 Spiders, to be exact – that started Auto Ricambi’s successful niche classic FIAT Spider mail-order business. To get the full story, we need to go back to 2009, when it all started in Csaba’s garage.
Csaba and Ramzi had been friends and fellow FIAT enthusiasts for decades before forming Auto Ricambi, and it seemed only natural that they combined their resources and talents to create a company that would provide FIAT owners with reasonably priced, hard to find replacement parts. In those early days, they were the only employees, the two working hard to stock the best parts on the market and fulfill orders quickly and efficiently. By 2010, the business had rapidly grown to the point they required additional space, which they found in their first warehouse facility. Centrally located only a few minutes from DFW International Airport, they chose Colleyville, Texas – which helped reduce shipping times and costs. In the following years, the friends continued to realize substantial growth, affirming without doubt that the decision to turn passion into profession was the right path to take.
Colleyville proved to be a great home for Auto Ricambi, and as the business continued to thrive, the need for even more expansion became increasingly real. Hiring additional staff to help with orders and shipping was the most pressing matter. In 2014, AJ was brought in to assist and manage shipping logistics with the help of Mike. More recently, AJ, who was responsible for implementing a new barcode-based inventory management system and redesigning the entire warehouse layout, became an owner.
Shortly after that, when Auto Ricambi bought the FIAT portion of International Auto Parts, Frank, the former sales manager of IAP, joined the team to handle the ever-increasing customer volume. Frank brought a shared passion and vast knowledge of FIAT 124 Spiders to the growing team, plus decades of extensive customer service experience. Over the years, Auto Ricambi acquired other respected FIAT parts businesses and inventories that were either retiring or shutting down – including Allison’s Automotive, DiFatta Brothers, Rayce Inc, Caribou Imports and Overseas Motors.
A special dedication is required to make selling FIAT parts online a profitable endeavor, and the team knew they were on to something good. As growth continued, it became evident that a new mobile-friendly website with the support of added marketing efforts should be the next step. This led to Brett being recruited to join AR’s growing team of FIAT experts. Brett’s FIAT enthusiasm and automotive experience worked well to round out the team and manage the expanding focus, including the recently introduced 2017 FIAT 124 Spider. Brett used his 26 years of advertising agency experience to extend Auto Ricambi’s reach from a classic car-only business to one that now served owners of new FIATs as well.
These days, Auto Ricambi houses North America’s largest inventory of parts for both classic and new FIAT Spiders, which are in stock and ready to ship to owners around the globe. In addition, we have expanded our inventory to include parts support for new FIAT 500 models, 2012 and up, the latest move that further establishes a bright future for our niche efforts selling quality FIAT parts online.
A few years ago Danny & Tyler joined the AR team to help with special new item projects and fulfillment. Danny’s unique tech skills are helping bring the quality and availability of parts to a new level. Tyler’s mechanical abilities and hard-working dedication are invaluable. They work together closely to make sure daily operations run smoothly.
The Auto Ricambi team has never been stronger, and business has never been better. Experiencing continued growth year after year prompted the need for more warehouse space. In 2019, Csaba and Ramzi decided to purchase the adjacent warehouse, which more than tripled the current warehouse space. At the end of 2023, they purchased a third warehouse raising the total available space to nearly 19,000 square feet.
What excites the staff at Auto Ricambi is that when one gets to do something they really love for a living, it does not seem like work. This is where that ‘passion to profession’ idea is played out every day…
Since the Auto Ricambi staff owns a total of twenty-two roadworthy FIATs, and we have extensive experience working on them, it made sense to start making how-to YouTube videos. This is an extra service we offer to make working on cars easier for our customers – and besides, it’s just fun!
As Auto Ricambi looks forward, we are making efforts to bring even more items to our customers, items which have not been available for decades. While the market trends are moving upward for the classic FIAT 124 Spider, our prices are staying affordable. Now is the best time ever to restore a classic FIAT 124 Spider and we are here to help and want to be part of your story.
Follow Auto Ricambi:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ3XnXl62zOoaET1M8Vg9UA
https://www.facebook.com/fiat.autoricambi
https://www.instagram.com/autoricambi_us/
