A parts manager runs the parts department as a business: inventory that turns, margin that holds, and a counter that keeps technicians working. Hire for stock discipline and vendor skills as much as for catalog knowledge. AutoHire lets you search by brand and certifications, including ASE parts specialist credentials, and read the real duties behind each profile.
Data as of October 20, 2026.
Parts Managers on AutoHire
No Public Profiles for Parts Manager Yet
No Parts Manager has chosen to be visible on this page right now. Search all talent to see who else fits, or post the job so Parts Managers can find you.
How to hire a Parts Manager on AutoHire
- 01
Describe the Department and the Customer Mix
State whether the department serves a franchise shop only or also wholesale accounts, how many counter people and drivers you have, and which system you order through. Use Brand Experience for the franchise. Say how the manager is paid: salary plus bonus on department gross, inventory performance or both.
- 02
Search by Keyword, Brand and Certification
Search parts manager, then try parts director and parts department manager. Set the radius in miles and add brand experience. The certifications filter lets you look for ASE parts credentials. P2 Automobile Parts Specialist suits car and light truck counters, and P1 Medium-Heavy Truck Parts Specialist suits truck stores. ASE asks for 2 years of parts counter experience before certifying someone.
- 03
Read for Inventory Language
A good profile will mention inventory control, ordering, returns and sales performance, not only counter service. Check the work history for department size, whether the person ran a wholesale program, and years with the brand. A counter lead and a true manager can look similar at first glance, so read the duties closely and open the resume once signed in.
- 04
Spark with the Numbers They Will Care About
Spark invites a candidate to an open job and sends them an app notification and email. Pair it with a message that names the franchise, the system, the customer mix and the pay basis. A parts manager will want to know about current stock health and whether there is obsolete inventory waiting for them.
Resources to help you hire
What a Parts Manager does
The parts department has two customers. Inside the building, the service shop wants the right part now, because a technician waiting is paid for nothing. Outside, retail walk-ins and wholesale accounts, usually independent repair shops, buy for price and speed. The manager has to set stocking, pricing and staffing so both are served and the department still makes a profit.
Inventory is the hard part. Stock orders, daily orders and special orders all pull from the same budget. Too little and the shop waits; too much and the money sits on a shelf as obsolete stock. The manager watches inventory turn, tracks parts with no sales for a long time, files returns where the manufacturer allows, and runs cycle counts so the books match the bins. Cores are another quiet drain: a core that is never returned is money lost.
Margin and relationships complete the job. Gross profit on parts depends on pricing by customer type, on warranty parts reimbursement rules and on wholesale discounts. The manager also lives in the manufacturer's ordering system and works with the service manager every morning on what is coming, what is late and what is stuck on special order.
A Typical Week
The day starts with the overnight delivery check-in and the stock order review, then a list of tomorrow's appointments to confirm needed parts are on the shelf. The counter is busiest early with technicians and wholesale buyers. Midday is vendor calls, special order follow-ups and sorting out returns and core credits. Mid-week there are cycle counts and a look at back-ordered items. At month-end there is a physical inventory review, obsolete stock decisions and reconciliation with the office.
What to look for in a Parts Manager
Inventory and Margin
- Stock turn language: can explain what they do when a part has not sold and when they send it back or discount it.
- A routine for obsolescence, such as a scheduled review of no-sale parts and manufacturer return windows.
- A pricing approach by customer type: retail, wholesale, warranty and internal.
- Core handling that goes beyond a pile in the corner, with tracking and a regular return schedule.
Credentials and Systems
- ASE P2 Automobile Parts Specialist or P1 Medium-Heavy Truck Parts Specialist. Certification lasts 5 years, with a shorter recertification test, so ask when it was last renewed.
- Experience with the manufacturer's parts ordering system and your DMS parts module.
- Manufacturer parts training, which matters for stocking programs and return rules.
- Brand experience with years, since stocking and return rules vary.
Profile Signals
- Progression from counter to manager with the same employer, or from a wholesale role.
- Duties that mention wholesale accounts, drivers and delivery, not only walk-in sales.
- Experience managing a team that includes counter staff and drivers.
- Mentions of an inventory clean-up or physical inventory improvement.
Interview questions for a Parts Manager
- Q1
How do you decide what to stock and what to special order?
A strong answerThey look at sales history and demand by part, not the manufacturer's suggestion alone. They stock what repeats, special order what is rare and expensive, and use the service department's upcoming appointments as a check.
- Q2
You inherit a shelf full of parts that have not sold in a long time. What do you do?
A strong answerThey run a no-sale report, check manufacturer return eligibility and deadlines, return what they can, discount or sell wholesale what they cannot and set a regular review so it does not build up again.
- Q3
How do you keep technicians from waiting on parts?
A strong answerThey review the next day's appointments for likely parts, check stock, order in advance and set up a clear process for rush orders. They talk with the service manager every morning.
- Q4
What do you do about cores?
A strong answerThey track every core charged and returned, set a schedule for shipping them, and chase credits. They can describe a case where unreturned cores were found and recovered.
- Q5
A wholesale customer wants a better price than your matrix gives. How do you respond?
A strong answerThey know the margin on the part, the volume of the account and the competitor's pricing. They are willing to adjust in measured steps for volume and walk away from a sale that loses money.
- Q6
A part arrived wrong and the car is on a lift. What happens next?
A strong answerThey find the fastest source: another dealer, a local supplier or a transfer, tell the service manager the new time and make sure the return of the wrong part is documented and credited.
- Q7
What does your cycle count routine look like?
A strong answerThey count by section on a schedule, investigate differences, correct bin locations and receiving errors, and use the results to find causes rather than just adjusting the books.
Red flags and hiring mistakes
Red Flags
- They talk only about customer service at the counter and never mention inventory or margin.
- They cannot describe the inventory turn practices at their last store.
- They have never run a physical inventory or a cycle count.
- Their last department showed repeated inventory shortages and they blame the staff.
- They have no experience with wholesale accounts, drivers or delivery in a store that depends on them.
- They claim an ASE parts certification that has lapsed and cannot say when it expired.
Common Mistakes
- Promoting the best counter person without checking for ordering, numbers and management skills.
- Setting a bonus on parts sales volume alone, which can encourage overstocking and deep discounts.
- Letting a new manager inherit unreviewed obsolete stock without a plan for it, then blaming them for the numbers.
- Ignoring the relationship with the service manager. Many parts problems are communication problems.
Pay and cost to hire
Parts manager pay is normally a salary or draw plus a bonus linked to department performance. The bonus may use gross profit, inventory measures such as turn and obsolescence, or the department's contribution to fixed operations. Write the measures down and how often they are paid, and state whether the plan changes if inventory is already out of shape on the day the manager starts.
BLS has no exact occupation for parts managers. Its Parts Salespersons category is the closest official match for counter roles, but it does not describe management, so no wage figure is shown for this guide. Compare candidates by department size, the brand and the plan.
Hiring costs include the time it takes a new manager to learn your ordering system and customers, and the inventory errors made in the meantime. An inventory problem found three months in is far more expensive than a longer search.
The first 90 days
Review the inventory with the outgoing manager or the controller: aging, no-sale parts, open special orders and unreturned cores. Meet the service manager and the major wholesale accounts. Keep pricing as it is until you know why it is set that way.
Start the stock order review and a weekly no-sale report. Do a cycle count on the busiest sections. Fix receiving errors and bin locations that cause missed parts.
Present a plan for obsolete stock, pricing by customer type and core returns. Agree targets for turn and gross with the fixed operations director, and review staffing at the counter.
Keeping a Parts Manager
- Give the manager authority over stocking and pricing within agreed limits, rather than overruling stock orders from above.
- Keep the bonus tied to measures the manager can control. A plan that punishes them for old stock they inherited will not hold them.
- Invest in the system and the space: good bin management, a working delivery vehicle, a functional counter.
- Pay for manufacturer training and ASE tests and renewal.
- Offer a path toward fixed operations director for those who want it.
Terms Parts Manager candidates use
- Inventory Turn
- How many times the stock is sold and replaced in a year. A low turn means money is sitting on shelves.
- Obsolete Stock
- Parts that have not sold for a long time and may be unsellable, returnable only if the manufacturer's rules allow.
- Special Order
- A part not kept in stock and ordered for a specific job or customer.
- Stock Order
- A regular replenishment order to bring inventory to its target levels.
- Core
- A used part, such as an alternator, that is returned for credit when a replacement is sold.
- Cycle Count
- A regular count of a section of inventory, compared against the system, to catch errors early.
- Matrix
- A pricing table that sets selling price by cost range and customer type.
Parts Manager: common questions
What does a parts manager do in a dealership?
They run the parts department: ordering, stocking, returns, pricing and serving the service shop plus retail and wholesale customers. Inventory and margin are the two main responsibilities.
Is a parts manager the same as a parts advisor?
No. A parts advisor works the counter. A parts manager runs the department, orders stock and answers for inventory and gross profit.
Does a parts manager need ASE certification?
No, but ASE offers P2 for automobile parts and P1 for medium-heavy truck parts, and both require 2 years of parts counter experience. Certification is valid for 5 years.
How much should a dealership expect to pay a parts manager?
Most plans are a salary or draw with a bonus on department results. Look at the plan, the department size and the brand, and write the measures down clearly.
Can a parts advisor become a parts manager?
Yes, and many managers began at the counter. The step requires ordering, inventory control and people management, so look for evidence of those and not just counter speed.
How can I check a parts manager's inventory skills?
Ask for specific past work: a no-sale clean-up, a physical inventory, a core recovery. Candidates who ran these can describe the steps and the result in detail.
What should I do about the inventory a new parts manager inherits?
Review it together in the first month and agree what is already a problem. Setting targets from day one without that review is unfair to the new manager.
Sources
- ASE: Parts Specialist tests P1 and P2 (data as of October 20, 2026)
- ASE: Work experience requirements (data as of October 20, 2026)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (data as of October 20, 2026)
Data as of October 20, 2026.
Find more talent
Need a Parts Manager?
Post the job, then search profiles, send a Spark or message the people who fit. Candidates apply straight to your listing.