Doing occasional tune ups and taking car of your car is nothing new. You will always need to maintain your car even if its old or brand new, with oil changes and checking the engine. So it would be better for you financially to choose good quality second hand parts.
Getting used car parts is like looking around for a second hand car. You should look for the parts in the same places you would normally to get a second hand car. You can look for the parts in the classified ads, check different shops that would sell the parts or the easier way would be to go and surf on the internet. It would save you time and effort.
There was time when these parts could only be found at the dealerships and mechanic stores. Now searching for used parts isnt thats hard as long as you remember a few things. You should know exactly what you need, what part goes with your car etc.Once you know what part you need you can figure out how much you are willing to pay for the part. Some parts don’t have to be the original. There are parts that can be bought at surplus or a compatible part from another car make and model enabling can be used making a person save money for other things.
Once you get all the information you need you can check out either local shops or dealers. You can also go check out junk yards, because a lot of parts there can be used again. Or searching the internet where you could also order the parts and it would be delivered.
So dont make excuses about fixing something on your car, the faster you do it the better the outcome. Dont wait till its too late.