A parts counter with a workshop behind it

What we do

Universal Service and Parts supplies auxiliary lighting, wiring, switchgear, sensors and workshop equipment for 4x4s, vans, light trucks and fleet vehicles. Alongside the counter we run an installation bay, where the same people who answer your questions do the fitting.

That arrangement is deliberate. A supplier who never installs anything has no reason to notice that a light ships with the wrong bracket, or that a harness is two metres short for the vehicle it is sold for. We find out the same week, because it is our technician standing on the ladder.

How we decide what to stock

Nothing reaches the catalogue until it has been through the bay at least once. We fit it, we measure what it actually does, and we note anything awkward about the installation. If a part fails early, arrives incomplete, or turns a one-hour job into a three-hour one, we stop stocking it. That is a slower way to build a catalogue and it is the reason ours is under a hundred lines rather than several thousand.

Why our numbers look smaller

Lumen figures on this site are measured at the lens on a unit that has been running long enough to reach its settled temperature. Much of the industry quotes the theoretical sum of what the diodes could produce at the instant they are switched on, which is a number no owner will ever see. The result is that a bar we list at 12 400 lm will sit next to one advertised at 30 000 lm elsewhere and out-perform it.

We understand this costs us sales to people comparing on figures alone. We would rather lose those than explain the discrepancy to somebody who has already paid.

Warranty

Everything we sell carries a 24-month warranty. If we installed it, the warranty covers the labour to remove and refit as well as the part itself. Fair wear, physical damage and modifications made after the fitting are excluded, which we think is the only exclusion list a customer should have to read.

Trade customers

Roughly half of what leaves the counter goes to other workshops, fleet operators and mobile mechanics. Our trade programme reflects that: tiered pricing based on annual spend, priority bay booking, and payment terms at the top tier. No joining fee and no minimum order.