WITH the rising cost of fuel and vehicle tax, more and more motorists are looking to save costs in other areas when it comes to keeping their vehicle on the road.

One of these is sourcing basic parts themselves - but it can often be a major headache for even the most experienced motorist.

Luckily, help is at hand, thanks to the Southampton branch of Euro Car Parts (ECP) that can be found in Millbrook Road West, just on the city side of Millbrook Round-about, and is currently in its tenth year of trading.

Euro Car Parts is the largest supplier of vehicle parts in the UK and South-ampton is just one in a network of 60 branches that cater for both trade and public customers when it comes to providing original equipment (OE) quality parts at an affordable price - way below that of the main dealer.

It doesn't matter whether you're looking for a brake disc for a 2007-specification Ford Mondeo or a 1995 Rover 800, Euro Car Parts Southampton either has the part on the shelf or can get it within 24 hours, thanks to three daily deliveries from the cavernous ECP central warehouse in Wembley. ECP currently has parts for 97 per cent of all vehicles on the UK's roads.

Staff at the Southampton branch have more than 100 years of automotive experience between them and they have all the tools at their disposal to deal with any type of enquiry - no matter how simple or complicated. The ECP central computer system that is used for identifying parts, also has a number of EU languages built in to cater for customers from all walks of life.

With Southampton attracting a number of eastern European migrant workers, this is a vital tool when it comes to getting the right part for the vehicle. If there is a language barrier, the ECP sales person can simply pass the computer keyboard to the customer and they can type the name of the part they are looking for in their own language. This is then translated into English and the request is dealt with accordingly.

Branch manager Peter Grech explained: "We currently have 20,000 different part numbers on the shelf and are in the process of doubling the size of our stock by expanding our warehouse facilities.

"If we don't have the part on the shelf, our close proximity to HQ in Wembley means there is never long to wait for the next delivery and that's something that appeals to all of our customers."

ECP is so dedicated to making the process of identifying parts simple that the only vehicle information that it needs from the customer is the registration number.

Thanks to the hi-tech ECP computer system, this guarantees the correct part is identified every time - but staff are also happy to pop out to the car park and look under the bonnet for that little bit extra customer service.