Going For Parts



Going For Parts

A drive axle in one of the big dump trucks twisted in two. Ordering and waiting for a new one from the States might take up to a month to get. Kiki thought he knew where one might be in Port au Prince. Travis assigned me to go along to get better acquainted with the parts supply chain. He also sent Jean along as an interpreter. So the three of us departed base at 9 in the morning hoping to return by early afternoon.

The ride into Port au Prince was not too bad. Late afternoon going in seemed easy enough. Once in town, though, conditions deteriorated. Ah, but that is another story. Our first stop was in the downtown sector at a parts house. I can’t actually say, ‘house’,as it was really just gated alley opening up to the main thoroughfare. Kiki pulled up to the curb, got out and started talking in French to the group of men standing outside the alley. One of them nodded, went to the back of the truck and removed the two pieces of the broken axle. He placed in on the sidewalk where 8 to 10 men made a circle around it and started open discussions.



Collective bargaining

I didn’t pick up on the content till later, but the jist was that no one had ever seen such a big axle and did anyone know why it was so big. After ten minutes of discussion (much like the Ents in Lord of the Rings) they decided that they had never seen one like that before and didn’t know what to do about it.

Next stop was pretty much the same. Same ritual, too. I wonder if they were casting some voodoo spell on it so it would reconnect to itself. No, guess not. The next four stops were pretty similar. Since the axle was off of a 2004 truck it was not going to be something to find in the parts yards.

One item of note was how unique the car parts industry is in Haiti. One vendor had his little shop on the curb with nothing but racks of radiator hoses. No inventory, just hoses. Another vendor next door might have only fan belts ... thousands piled on the sidewalk ready for you pick out.



Typical vendor booth

Across the street was carb and fuel parts; all used, all in boxes or open piles on the ground.  Tire shops were the same way; piles of tires strewn in haphazard order ready for sale.  Another with taillights, one with batteries, one with seats, and the beat goes on.  Real stores are small cubicles or shortened shipping containers with doors cut into them that swing open and have their wares attached to the backsides of the doors.  A small counter is inside with inventory behind the desk. 



Typical auto parts store ... nicer one.

The key to finding parts in Haiti is knowing who has the parts you need and for what car.  Then just take yours in and match it up.  I can understand why this junkyard flea market is a part of their culture; new parts are three to four times higher than in the states and they usually have to be ordered.  So why put a new part on a car ready to fall apart when a used one can serve the same purpose….at least for a couple of weeks…..

Oil supply house