Some ideas come from careful market research. Others from venture capital pitches and growth projections. hank was born from something far more humble: two weeks spent hunting for a seat buckle.

The Car That Started It All

Meet my daily driver: a 1989 Nissan Patrol K260. It's a beast of a vehicle - built like a tank, runs forever, and has character that modern SUVs can only dream of. It's also nearly impossible to find parts for.

The 260 series has a peculiar history. It was manufactured in Spain by Nissan Motor Ibérica as a facelifted version of the Japanese-made 160 series - the two models actually overlapped in production. You can spot it by the rectangular headlamps. These vehicles were exported throughout Europe and even to Australia, with Spanish production continuing into the late 1990s.

Here's where things get interesting - and frustrating.

The Parts Catalog That Doesn't Exist

The 160 series? It has a digital parts catalog. The Y60? Also has a digital parts catalog. The 260 - my car's series, the Spanish facelift sitting right in between?

Microfilm only.

A parts catalog exists - but only on microfilm. And those microfilms are now traded for serious money among collectors and specialists. Legend has it that when Nissan compiled their digital archives, they simply... forgot the 260. Whether that's true or just a convenient excuse, the result is the same: finding parts for this vehicle requires detective work, phone calls, and a lot of luck.

Many parts are shared with the 160 and Y60 - but many are not. Without accessible documentation, you're often guessing which components are interchangeable and which are 260-specific. And when you do find a potential match, there's no easy way to verify it without physically comparing parts.

When the Scrapyards Ask YOU for Parts

I live in Spain, where these vehicles were built. The desguaces (scrapyards) there know these cars well. But here's the thing that really opened my eyes:

The scrapyards started asking ME to let THEM know if I ever find parts for sale.

Think about that. Professional parts dealers, with warehouses full of inventory, are so desperate for K260 components that they're asking random customers to source parts for them. The demand is there. The supply exists somewhere. But connecting the two? That's the problem.

Two Weeks for a Seat Buckle

This is a rear seat buckle. It's not a high-value part. Few scrapyards are going to photograph it, list it online, and wait for a buyer. It might be sitting in a car in some scrapyard that hasn't been touched in a year - waiting for you, but nobody bothered to take it out or list it.

I needed one. The buckle in my Patrol had stopped latching - it failed the technical inspection because of it and wouldn't pass again until it was fixed.

My search took two weeks.

I called scrapyards. I sent WhatsApp messages. I wrote emails. I tried the "reverse search" services that exist - you know, those forms where you submit what you need and allegedly someone contacts you if they have it. I never heard back from any of them.

The first part that arrived was wrong - front seat buckle, different mounting. The second attempt? Also wrong - right vehicle, wrong model year, incompatible connector. The third time, I found a complete seat with a damaged buckle, salvaged the working internals, and used them to repair my broken one.

Two weeks. Dozens of contacts. Three wrong parts. One Frankenstein repair.

For a seat buckle.

The Moment of Clarity

Sitting there with my repaired buckle, a low value part that cost me hours of my life, I had a realization:

I can't be the only one dealing with this.

There are thousands of people across Europe searching for parts that scrapyards have sitting on shelves but haven't listed anywhere. There are sellers with exactly what buyers need, but no efficient way to connect the two. The existing "reverse search" options are either hyper-local (tied to specific scrapyard associations), unresponsive, or both.

What if there was a platform where you could:

1. Post exactly what you need - with photos, vehicle details, and specifications
2. Reach sellers across all of Europe - not just one local association
3. Actually get responses - from sellers who are actively looking for opportunities
4. Compare offers - instead of accepting the first (potentially wrong) part that comes along

That's when hank was born.

The Reverse Marketplace Concept

Traditional parts marketplaces put all the work on buyers. You search, you browse, you hope that someone has listed the exact part you need with the right keywords and accurate photos. For common parts on popular vehicles, this works fine. For a K260 seat buckle? You're out of luck.

hank flips the script. Instead of searching for parts, you post what you need. Sellers - professional scrapyards, parts specialists, and automotive recyclers - browse these requests and respond with offers. The parts find you, not the other way around.

For low-value, rarely-listed items like seat buckles? This is a game-changer. No scrapyard is going to photograph and list every buckle, mirror clip, and trim piece. But when someone posts a specific request? They can check their inventory and respond in minutes.

For rare vehicles like the K260? Even better. Sellers who specialize in Spanish Patrols, or who happen to have one in their yard, can find your request and make an offer. You're no longer limited to whoever happened to list their inventory online.

Building for the Community

hank isn't just a platform - it's built by someone who actually needs it. Every feature, every design decision, comes from real frustration with how difficult it is to find parts for vehicles outside the mainstream.

The custom lists feature? That came from wishing scrapyards could automatically know when someone needs K260 parts. The offer comparison system? From receiving wrong parts and wishing I could have reviewed multiple options before committing. The European-wide reach? Because the part I need might be sitting in Estonia while I'm calling scrapyards in Spain.

We've kept hank completely free for both buyers and sellers. No listing fees, no commissions, no hidden costs. The automotive community has enough barriers - we're not adding more.

Your Part Is Out There

Whether you're restoring a classic, maintaining a rare vehicle, or just trying to find that one specific component that no one seems to stock - your part is out there somewhere. It might be on a shelf in Spain, in a warehouse in Poland, or in a yard in the Netherlands.

The challenge isn't supply. It's connection.

hank is that connection. Post what you need, let sellers across Europe see your request, and let the parts come to you.

No more two-week hunts. No more calling dozens of scrapyards. No more hoping that "reverse search" services will eventually respond.

Just post your request and wait for offers.

Create your first part request - because nobody should spend two weeks finding a seat buckle.

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Happy hanking!

Robert - hank team