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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003

OR

For the transition period from              to             

Commission file number 1-9511

THE COAST DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

(408) 782-6686

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports); and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES þ    NO ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. þ

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Securities Exchange Act Rule 12b-2). Yes ¨    No þ

The aggregate market value of the outstanding shares of common stock held by non-affiliates of Registrant as of June 30, 2003, which was determined on the basis of the closing price of Registrant’s shares on that date, was approximately $12,068,000.

As of March 12, 2004, a total of 4,548,098 shares of Registrant’s Common Stock were outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Except as otherwise stated therein, Part III of the Form 10-K is incorporated by reference from Registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement for its Annual Meeting which is expected to be filed on or before April 30, 2004.

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THE COAST DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, INC.

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2003

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FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements contained in this Report that are not historical facts or that discuss our expectations or beliefs regarding our future operations or future financial performance, or financial or other trends in our business, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”). Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Often, they include the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” or “may.” Forward-looking statements are based on current information and the expectations or beliefs expressed in those statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause our financial condition or operating results in the future to differ significantly from those set forth in those statements. Some of those risks and uncertainties are described in Part II of this Report in the Section entitled “MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS — Certain Factors That Could Affect Future Performance” and readers of this Report are urged to read the cautionary statements contained in that Section of this Report.

Due to these uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this Report, which speak only as of the date of this Annual Report. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

GENERAL

The Coast Distribution System, Inc. is, we believe, one of the largest wholesale suppliers of replacement parts, supplies and accessories for recreational vehicles (“RVs”), and boats in North America. We supply more than 25,000 products and serve more than 15,000 customers throughout the United States and Canada, from 13 regional distribution centers in the United States that are located in California, Texas, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Georgia, Florida and Wisconsin and 4 regional distribution centers in Canada located, respectively, in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Reference is made to Note H to the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company, contained elsewhere in this Report, for certain information regarding the respective operating results of the Company’s operations in the United States and Canada. Our customers are comprised primarily of RV and boat dealers and RV and boating parts supply stores and service centers (“After-Market Customers”), who resell the products they purchase from us, at retail, to consumers that own or use RVs and boats.

We have introduced into the marketplace a number of products that have been designed specifically for us by independent product design firms and are manufactured for us, generally on an exclusive basis, by a number of different independent manufacturers (which we will refer to in this report as “proprietary products”). The proprietary products are marketed by us under our own brand-names in competition with brand name products from traditional suppliers of RV and boating parts, supplies and accessories. We are able to obtain the proprietary products at prices that generally are below those we would have to pay for functionally equivalent brand name products. For additional information regarding our proprietary products, see the Section of this Part I of this Report entitled “PRODUCTS— Proprietary Products.”

In late 2000 we began the implementation of a new inventory management and deployment program. This program was designed to enable us to place fewer, but larger, orders with our suppliers and thereby consolidate product shipments and improve the responsiveness of service to our customers by, among other things, enabling us to fill a greater percentage of their orders from those of our warehouses closest to the location of the customer. During the implementation phase of this program, our operating costs did increase and service levels did suffer. However, this program enabled us, beginning in fiscal 2002, to increase our gross margins through vendor price concessions and freight reimbursements, to reduce our operating expenses and, at the same time, to improve the level and responsiveness of service that we are able to provide our customers. See “Business — Distribution” in this Part I, and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, of this Report.

We utilize a computer-based order entry and warehousing system which enables customers to transmit orders either telephonically or electronically to us, and enables us to prepare and invoice most orders within 24 hours of receipt. We also have established a national customer service center to enable customers to obtain product information

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and place orders by telephone using Company toll-free telephone numbers. We believe that the breadth of our product lines, the proprietary products we are able to offer to our customers, the computer integration of our operations, and our inventory management and deployment program distinguishes us from other distributors and suppliers of RV and boating parts, supplies and accessories with which we compete.

The Coast Distribution System, Inc. was incorporated in California in June 1977, and reincorporated in Delaware in April 1998. For convenience, we will refer to The Coast Distribution System in this Report as “we” or “us” or the “Company.”

THE PARTS, SUPPLIES AND ACCESSORIES AFTER-MARKETS

Many manufacturers of RV and boating replacement parts, supplies and accessories rely on independent distributors, such as the Company, to market and distribute their products or to augment their own product distribution operations. Distributors relieve manufacturers of a portion of the costs associated with distribution of their products while providing geographically dispersed selling, order processing and delivery capabilities. At the same time, distributors offer retailers access to a broad line of products and the convenience of rapid delivery of orders.

The market for RV parts, supplies and accessories distributed by the Company includes both RV dealers and RV supply stores and service centers. The products that we sell include optional equipment and accessories, such as trailer hitches, air conditioning units, water heaters and other accessories, and replacement and repair parts and maintenance supplies.

The market for boating parts, supplies and accessories is comprised primarily of independent boat dealers that sell boats and boating parts, supplies and accessories at retail. Independent boat dealers purchase primarily replacement parts, boating supplies and smaller accessories from the Company. See “Products” below.

PRODUCTS

General. We carry a full line of more than 15,000 recreational vehicle parts, supplies and accessories which we purchase from more than 500 manufacturers. RV products distributed by the Company include antennae, vents, electrical items, towing equipment and hitches, appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators, ranges and generators, LP gas equipment, portable toilets and plumbing parts, hardware and tools, specialized recreational vehicle housewares, chemicals and supplies, and various accessories, such as ladders, jacks, fans, load stabilizers, mirrors and compressors.

We carry a line of approximately 10,000 boating and marine products that we distribute. Those products include boat covers, stainless steel hardware, depth sounders, anchors, life jackets and other marine safety equipment and fishing equipment.

Proprietary Products. We have introduced into the RV and boating aftermarkets a number of proprietary products, which are manufactured specifically for us, generally on an exclusive basis, by a number of different independent manufacturers. The proprietary products, which are designed for us by independent professional product design firms or by the independent manufacturers that we have retained to manufacture the products for us, include trailer hitches, plastic wastewater tanks, vent lids and stabilizing jacks. We market these proprietary products under our own brand-names in competition with brand name products from traditional suppliers, which usually sell their products to a number of distributors and into other markets. However, some of our proprietary products currently lack the same name brand recognition as the competitive products manufactured by traditional suppliers, which may have a limiting effect on unit sales of and on the prices that we are able to charge for our proprietary products. It also means that the costs of marketing the proprietary products generally is greater than for brand-name products, which somewhat offsets the margin advantage we gain on sales of our proprietary products.

MARKETING, SALES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

Our Customers. Our customers include (i) RV dealers, which primarily purchase optional equipment and accessories for new recreational vehicles and replacement and repair parts for their service departments, (ii) independent RV supply stores and service centers that purchase parts, supplies and accessories for resale to owners of RVs and for their service centers, and (iii) independent boat dealers that purchase small accessories for new boats and replacement parts and boating supplies for resale to boat owners and operators. We are not dependent on any single customer for any material portion of our business and no single customer accounted for as much as 5% of our sales in 2003, 2002 or 2001.

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Our Customer Service Center and Computerized Order Entry and Warehousing System. We have designed and implemented a computer-based order entry and warehousing system which enables our customers to transmit orders electronically to our central computers and also enables us, subject to product availability, to prepare and invoice most customer orders within 24 hours of receipt.

We also operate a customer sales and service center through which our customers can obtain product information and place orders by telephone using our toll-free telephone numbers. With the exception of holidays, our customer sales and service center is operational for a total of 13 hours per day, Monday through Friday and is staffed by sales personnel who are trained to promote the sale of our products and to handle customer service issues. Currently, the number of customer calls handled by our national customer sales and service center, which can be accessed by virtually all of the Company’s customers in the United States and Canada, ranges from 2,000 to 6,000 per day and the customer service center has enabled us to improve customer service and at the same time reduce our selling expenses.

Orders transmitted from customers either electronically, or by telephone to the national customer sales and service center, are input into our IBM AS 400 computer and then are relayed to the regional distribution center selected by the customer, where the products are selected, packed and shipped. At the time the order is received, the customer is informed, either by electronic confirmation, or by the sales person handling the customer’s call at the customer service center, that the order has been accepted and whether any items are not currently in stock (that is, on “back-order”). In addition, we offer to participating customers a “split shipment program” by which a customer’s order for a product that is not available from the Company’s distribution center closest to the customer will be shipped to that customer from another of the Company’s distribution centers when that product is available at that back-up distribution center. One of the objectives of our new inventory management and deployment program is to improve our ability to fulfill customer orders from the distribution centers closest to the customer and thereby to improve the responsiveness, and reduce the costs, of service to the customer (see “Distribution” below).

DISTRIBUTION

General. Our regional distribution and warehouse centers in North America carry inventory of up to approximately 15,000 RV parts, supplies and accessories. In addition, our distribution centers stock, in varying quantities, up to approximately 10,000 boating and marine parts, supplies and accessories.

We rely primarily on independent freight companies to ship our products to our customers.

Inventory Management and Deployment Program. We have developed and implemented an inventory management and deployment program that is designed to enable us to place fewer, but larger, orders with our suppliers and thereby consolidate product shipments, and to provide greater flexibility to meet changing customer demands, with the overall objectives of improving service levels to our customers, improving our gross margins, and reducing freight costs and other costs of operations. The development and implementation of this program did cause some initial disruptions in our operations and increases in our costs. However, now that implementation of this program is complete, we believe that the program has enabled us to improve our service levels and produce greater efficiencies and costs savings in our operations. See “MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS” in Part II of this Report.

ARRANGEMENTS WITH MANUFACTURERS

General. The products we distribute are purchased from more than 500 different manufacturers. As is typical in the industry, in most instances we acquire those products on a purchase order basis and we have no guaranteed price or delivery agreements with manufacturers, including the manufacturers that produce proprietary products for us. As a result, short-term inventory shortages can occur. We sometimes choose to carry only a single manufacturer’s products for certain of the brand-name product lines that we sell, although comparable products usually are available from more than one source. In addition, we obtain each of our proprietary products from a single source manufacturer, although in most instances we own the tooling required for their manufacture.

Dependence on a single manufacturer for any product or line of related products, however, presents some risks, including the inability to readily obtain alternative product supply sources in the event that a single source supplier

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(i) encounters quality or other production problems, (ii) decides to enter into an exclusive supply arrangement or alliance with a competing distributor, or (iii) decides to vertically integrate its operations to include not only manufacturing, but also distribution, of its products. Termination of a single source supply relationship could adversely affect our sales and operating income, possibly to a significant extent.

None of the manufacturers or suppliers from which we obtain products accounted for more than 5% of our product purchases in 2003, 2002 or 2001, except Airxcel, Inc., which supplies us with our requirements for RV air conditioners, sold under the Coleman^® brand name, under a multi-year product supply agreement. In the years ended December 31, 2003, 2002, and 2001, the products supplied by Airxcel accounted for approximately 11%, 11% and 12%, respectively, of the Company’s net sales in those years.

Manufacturers generally warrant the products that we distribute, including our proprietary products, and allow us to return defective products, including those that have been returned to us by our customers. We do not independently warrant the products that we distribute, including the proprietary products that we sell.

COMPETITION

The Company faces significant competition. There are a number of national and regional distributors of RV and boating parts, supplies and accessories that compete with the Company. There also are mass merchandisers, catalog houses and national and regional retail chains specializing in the sale of RV or boating parts, supplies and accessories that purchase such products directly from manufacturers. The mass merchandisers and national and regional chains compete directly with the RV and boating supply stores and service centers that purchase products from us. This competition affects both the volume of our sales, and the prices we are able to charge for the products we sell, to RV and boating supply stores. Additionally, there is no assurance that changes in supply relationships or new alliances within the RV or boating products industry will not occur that would further increase competition. See “MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS – Certain Factors That Could Affect Future Performance” in Part II of this Report.

Like most of our competitors, we compete on the basis of the quality, speed and reliability of our service, the breadth of our product lines and price. We believe that we are highly competitive in each of those areas.

EMPLOYEES

At December 31, 2003, we had approximately 400 full-time employees, which includes employees in Canada. During the peak summer months, we also employ part-time workers at our regional distribution centers. None of our employees is represented by a labor union and we believe that we have good relations with our employees.

COMPANY WEBSITE

Our internet website address is wwwcoastdistribution.com. Our Annual Report to Stockholders, quarterly reports to stockholders for the first three quarters of each year, and the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are available on our website.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

We operate 13 regional distribution centers in 12 states in the United States, and 4 regional distribution centers, each located in a different Province, in Canada. All of the facilities at which those distribution centers are located are leased under triple net leases which require us to pay, in addition to rent, real property taxes, insurance and maintenance costs.

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The following table sets forth certain information regarding those facilities.

The Company’s executive offices are located in Morgan Hill, California, a suburb of San Jose, California where it leases 26,000 square feet of office space. The Company’s address is 350 Woodview Avenue, Morgan Hill, California 95037 and its telephone number at that location is (408) 782-6686.

The Company also leases 1,500 square feet of office space in Seattle, Washington and 2,000 square feet in Anchorage, Alaska where the Company maintains sales offices.

ITEM 3.    LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

The Company from time to time is named as a defendant, sometimes along with product manufacturers and others, in product liability and personal injury litigation. We believe that this type of litigation is incident to our operations, and since we have insurance, and in many instances also have obtained indemnification agreements from manufacturers, covering any potential liability, we believe that such litigation will not have a material adverse affect on our business, operating results, financial condition or cash flow.

ITEM 4.    SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

None.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF REGISTRANT

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Set forth below is certain information regarding the Company’s executive officers.

THOMAS R. MCGUIRE. Mr. McGuire is a founder of the Company and has been Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since the Company’s inception.

SANDRA A. KNELL. Mrs. Knell has been the Company’s Executive Vice President — Finance, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary since August 1985. From 1984 until she joined the Company, Mrs. Knell was an Audit Manager, and for the prior four years was a senior and staff accountant, with Grant Thornton LLP. Mrs. Knell is a Certified Public Accountant.

DAVID A. BERGER. Mr. Berger has served as Executive Vice President — Marketing since May 1988. From August 1986 to May 1988, Mr. Berger was Senior Vice President Purchasing of the Company. For the prior 14 years he held various management positions with C/P Products Corp., a distributor of recreational vehicle parts and accessories that was acquired by the Company in 1985.

DENNIS A. CASTAGNOLA. Mr. Castagnola was appointed to his current position of Executive Vice President —Sales in November 2000. From May 1994 through November 2000, he served as Senior Vice President — Proprietary Products, where he directed the Company’s proprietary products program. For the prior 19 years, he held various positions with the Company, including Vice President/Division Manager of the Company’s Portland, Oregon Distribution Center.

PART II

ITEM 5.    MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON STOCK AND RELATED SECURITY HOLDER MATTERS

The Company’s shares of common stock are listed and trade on the American Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “CRV.”

The following table sets forth for the calendar quarters indicated the range of the high and low sales prices per share of the Company’s common stock on the American Stock Exchange.

On March 11, 2004 the closing price per share of the Company’s common stock on the American Stock Exchange was $6.72 and there were approximately 900 holders of record of the Company’s common stock.

DIVIDEND POLICY

In March 2004, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a $0.06 per share cash dividend that is to be paid on April 23, 2004 to stockholders of record as of April 9, 2004. A cash dividend of $0.06 per share also was paid to the Company’s stockholders in April 2003. Whether or not dividends will be paid in the future will depend on a number of factors, the most important of which are the earnings we are able to generate, cash flow from operations and the cash requirements of our business. Additionally, the payment of dividends in the future will require the prior approval of the Company’s bank lender. Consequently, there is no assurance that we will pay dividends in the future.

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ITEM 6.    SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The selected consolidated operating data set forth below for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2003, 2002 and 2001, and the selected consolidated balance sheet data at December 31, 2003 and 2002, are derived from the Company’s audited financial statements included elsewhere in this Report and should be read in conjunction with those financial statements. The selected consolidated operating data for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2000 and 1999, and the selected consolidated balance sheet data at December 31, 2001, 2000 and 1999, are derived from audited financial statements which are not included in this Report.