A local entrepreneur is trying to change the way that we look at the automotive industry. A new app launching Sept. 1, named Parts Pass, will allow consumers to order name-brand parts for their cars directly through the app, instead of trying to find the right automotive shop or mechanic to order it for them.
Parts Pass is made for the average consumer who doesn’t have access to the same resources that mechanics do. Users can take a picture of their car and the app uses artificial intelligence to determine the make and model of the vehicle. Then, users can enter the item that they need and order parts from the app.
The creator of Parts Pass, Stan Mirzayev, said that he noticed uncomfortable conversations that customers would have about parts at their local automotive shop.
“It's very intimidating, right? You have to really know the lingo to go down to the parts house,” he said.
Focused on vehicle recognition, part search and delivery, the app will cut out the middle-man and sometimes frustrating interactions with mechanics.
The automotive industry is shifting, Mirzayev noted. Americans are holding on to their cars for longer periods of time before buying a new one.
“People are more willing to roll up their sleeves,” he said.
YouTube and the vast expanses of the internet have made it more accessible for people to make simple car repairs or oil changes at home. One of the app goals is to compile all the information that car owners need, from ordering parts to tutorials on installing them, in one place.
In the coming versions of Parts Pass, Mirzayev said they plan on adding an in-house garage and providing recall information on certain car parts.
Working in the mechanics industry for over two decades, Mirzayev said that he looks forward to the opportunity he has to educate people about their vehicles. He hopes that Parts Pass will continue to educate and ease people’s stress about their cars.
“If we can alleviate and help people in a sense, especially through software, then I've done my job,” Mirzayev said. “And that's what I continue to do at my repair shop. When people are struggling, when they're at their lowest low, we have an opportunity to say, ‘It's okay, let's get this done and I'll help you any way that I can.'"
Mirzayev migrated to the United States with his family from the former Soviet Union. From there, his father began working in the automotive industry and within a few years opened his own mechanic shop in Manhattan.
That’s where Mirzayev first began working in high school. Although he didn’t like the work at first, he grew to have a deep appreciation for it. He and his family relocated to Phoenix after 9/11 and that is where he and his father became partners at their repair shop.
An entrepreneur at heart, Parts Pass is Mirzayev’s next business leap in his goal to keep cars on the road a little longer.
The app will have its official public launch on Sep. 24 with a car show supporting St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. For more information, go to fundraising.stjude.org.
