Which Car Parts Interchange and How to Look Them Up

Short answer: Yes, many car parts are interchangeable, but never assume it from the badge or the model name. Parts interchange when the maker used the same part number on more than one vehicle. What decides that is the platform, the engine code, the model years and the electrical connectors. To look it up, use the OEM part number, a Hollander Interchange number, the search on Car-Part.com, a dealer parts catalogue, or the interchange system at the yard.

Last checked: September 29, 2026. The description of the Hollander Interchange is from hollanderinterchange.net. Search features are from car-part.com and pullapart.com. The VIN decoder is from vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov. Yard policies are from each yard's own website. This article replaces a 2025 version.

Which car parts are interchangeable?

This table describes how each type of part usually behaves. It is not a fitment list for any vehicle.

Part type	How often it interchanges	What decides the fit
Wheels	Often	Bolt pattern, centre bore, offset, brake clearance
Alternators and starters	Often, within an engine family	Engine code, amperage, mounting ears, plug shape
Engines	Within the same engine code	Engine code, model years, emissions equipment, sensors
Transmissions	Within the same engine and drive type	Transmission code, 2WD or 4WD, gear ratios, computer
Brake calipers and rotors	Often, within a platform	Platform, rotor diameter, brake package
Suspension arms and struts	Often, within a platform	Platform, drive type, suspension package
Doors, hoods and fenders	Within a body generation	Model years, body style, facelift changes
Headlights and tail lights	Within a generation, with exceptions	Facelift year, bulb type, connector
Seats and interior trim	Sometimes	Body style, airbags, power options, colour
Engine computers and modules	Rarely without programming	Exact part number, VIN coding, anti-theft system
Wiring harnesses	Rarely	Option list of the exact car

The pattern is simple. Mechanical parts follow the platform and the engine. Body parts follow the body generation. Anything with a plug follows the connector and the software. Our piece on sister cars that share a platform explains why two badges can hide the same car.

How do you look up which parts interchange?

Method	What it is	Cost to you
OEM part number	The number on the part or in the maker's catalogue. The same number means the same part	Free
Hollander Interchange number	The salvage trade's code for a group of parts that swap with each other	Free if you ask a yard. The database is sold to businesses
Car-Part.com search	A search of recyclers' stock by year, model, part and ZIP code	Free
Dealer parts catalogue	The maker's own parts site or a dealer's parts counter	Free to look up
The yard's own system	The interchange lookup at the counter or on the yard's website	Free at the yards named below

How do you use an OEM part number?

Read the number off the old part, or find it in the maker's catalogue by choosing your vehicle. Toyota and General Motors both run public parts sites, and any dealer's parts counter will look a number up. Then search for that number. If another vehicle lists the same number, the part is the same part.

Watch for superseded numbers. Makers replace a number with a newer one when they revise a part, and the catalogue shows the chain. To confirm what your car is, the federal VIN decoder run by NHTSA returns the model year, the engine and the plant from the VIN, free of charge.

What is a Hollander Interchange number?

Hollander has published its interchange for the salvage trade for decades. Its website says the data covers mechanical and body parts for domestic and foreign cars and light trucks from the 1920s to the present, with exact and non-exact matches and notes. Each group of matching parts has a standard Hollander Interchange number, and yards use that number to inventory and sell parts.

You do not need to buy it. The product is sold to recyclers and built into their yard management software, so the person at the counter already has it. Ask for the interchange on your part. Hollander Interchange explained goes through how to read the numbers.

How does the Car-Part.com search work?

Car-Part.com searches the stock of auto recyclers. You choose the year, the model and the part, enter a ZIP code, and sort the results by distance or price. It offers to take your VIN to cut down the questions about options. The site says it has provided part fitment and interchangeability since 2000.

The results are parts on the shelf at full-service yards, with a price and a phone number. That makes it a good check even if you plan to pull the part yourself: the donor years shown in the results tell you what to look for in the rows.

A demonstration of looking up parts in a printed Hollander manual, from the Tony's Car Care channel, published February 2023.

Can the junkyard look it up for you?

Many will, at no charge. Youngstown U-Pull-It in Ohio says free parts interchange is available at its customer service desk. Vince's U-Pull-It in New York says its computerized interchange is always available to everyone at no charge, and gives the example of a hood that stayed the same for three model years on two different vehicles. Pull-A-Part has a free interchange lookup on its website, and Pick-N-Pull San Antonio has a page called What Fits.

At a self-service yard the lookup gives you a list of donor vehicles. Check the yard's inventory for each one before you go, or run a parts search across yards.

How do you confirm the part before you pay?

Bring the old part, or clear photos of it with a ruler in the frame. Compare the mounting points, count the pins in every connector, and match the part number cast or printed on the housing. A list tells you where to look. The part in your hand tells you whether it fits.

For more depth, our parts interchange reference is organised by part, interchangeable auto parts by system covers each group, and how to find parts that fit your car walks through a search. When you have the list of donors, find a yard through junkyards near me.

Common questions

U-Pull-It.com is an independent directory. We are not affiliated with the businesses named here. Hours, fees, prices and ratings come from their websites and public listings and can change, so call before you go.