This Website Wants Your Next Car Repair To Cost Just A Few Cents

I'm a big proponent of 3D printing, whether for entire motorcycles or inconvenient little automotive problems. But making your own parts at home isn't perfect, and one of the big struggles of trying to do so is just finding the part you need. Is it on Thingiverse? Printables? Yeggi? Rather than searching the whole Internet trying to find something that might work, a new site wants to be a singular repository for every 3D-printable car part imaginable. It's called 3DCarParts.org, and it's one of my new favorite sites. 

3DCarParts.org is simple: Users upload components, and mark what year, make, and model that part is for. It's not quite perfect — models don't seem to be cross-referenced for fit, so searching parts for a 1993 Miata won't pull up all the components that exist for the mechanically identical 1990 Miata — but it's already shaping up to be a fantastic repository of parts from tons of 3D model makers. Even better, the site has a killer app that nothing else in the space offers: Print-on-demand. 

See, some people still don't own a 3D printer of their own. So if one of those folks has, say, a 2002 Miata with a cracked window switch, they'd normally be out over $160 for an entire new OEM window switch assembly. With 3DCarParts.org, though, folks in need can have parts on the site printed for them and mailed out. This site doesn't just benefit the 3D printing enthusiasts in the car world, it benefits everyone willing to do a little bit of DIY. 

I love sites like this, that bring makers together without a concern for making money off the deal. Sure, the site is probably aiming to make enough off those print-to-order parts to pay for the server time, but those of us with our own home printers can download and print parts totally free — repairs cost only the few cents you'll spend in filament. This is how things should work in 2025, how those of us that can draw in three dimensions can help out everyone else without trying to get rich off the deal. Just doing what you can for your fellow car enthusiasts. Isn't that a nice thought?