Horners of Burnley is bypassing Fiat to source and supply parts direct to customers after launching a mail order scheme.

The dealer group, which launched the scheme earlier this year, has reported growing demand from consumers for genuine Fiat parts, in particular bodywork panels. Parts manager Steve Singleton said customers turned to Horners because of poor parts availability in the UK.

“Customers with older vehicles often struggle to source new parts and are reluctant to use substitutes that frequently prove inferior,” he said. “We took the matter in hand and started sourcing parts in the UK using the same database that is available to all Fiat dealers.”

If the part is unavailable in the UK, Horners contacts Fiat, which carries out a worldwide search for the item.