Ariznoza _98
Even the counterfeit boxes look almost exactly alike from cheena.
It takes a real expert to tell the differences.
YouTube it sometimes, if you are bored .


Scott Douglas
Yes, for right now that's the answer.
Honda pads last way, way longer than the NAPA or any store-bought stuff locally.

If I still owned a shop, I don't know what I would do .

My 94 RAV4 had 170k on it when I replaced the (failed) factory struts. Loaded KYB's in front. They made it 80k miles and I went with Monroe Quick Struts as they "defected" the KYB's out.

Moog is nothing special anymore.

BMW electric water pumps - I tried Advance once. Never again. ECS Tuning (PP owners) had OEM. For the mid-teens 3 series E-whatever 4cylinder twin turbo oil cooler I went with BMW. WTF they need plastic parts to save six pounds is beyond me. Plastic parts and insulation blankets. Not that it's horrible but there is a learning curve for every job you do on one of these.

LKQ is a used parts house with a big facility near me. I have been using them a lot to get used factory parts. They record the mileage for most parts they sell.

I gots me Moog Ball Joints on my truck and Moog metal swaybar endlinks on the Vette- the stock endlinks failed at 16K Miles.

rjp

I can tell by the smell, that the parts wont be working well .
I posted about this a few years back . I bought an OE Honda timing kit for my personal Acura TL on ebay .'
When I opened the package, the boxes looked like that chineese/ amazon cardboard, and had a funny smell . I didnt think much of it . I drove that car probably 10k miles, then sold it to a friends kid . The "Honda " water pump locked up atless than 15000 miles, derailed the timing belt, and das ist kaput. . Bent a bunch of valves .
The only right thing to do was buy the car back from them as they were friends and this was easier than stirring the pot . I ate the motor repair . Never again .

Yep. Tons of stuff (but not everything) is made in China these days. It's possible to get "decent" quality stuff out of China. I think it depends upon how rigorously the company manages QC.

Agreed, I am highly unlikely to buy any auto part from eBay. I'm mostly unlikely to buy any autopart from Amazon. (I've purchased Mann filters for the Boxster and gotten stuff made in Austria). I did purchase a pack of the clips that hold the door panel to the door. It was something like $8 for 20 of them because they fit Porsche, Audi, VW, and they seem to look and work fine. And if one fails, I'm not going to die in a fiery crash.

For Porsche parts, depending upon the part, I usually look at PP first, then go to the discount Porsche dealer in Sarasota, FL that sells parts online.

If you're buying anything from a FLAPs, if they have multiple levels of warranty, get the item with the best warranty. It's likely to be the best that they've got.

When I do brake jobs, I always buy Zimmerman rotors, made in Germany, for the Volvo’s, Audi TT and Porsche. Lemforder for drop links, ball joints. I usually buy from FCP euro for price and lifetime warranty. E euro parts is also a good source.

I just replaced the spark plugs on my jeep wrangler. Went to the auto parts store and asked for for AC Delco spark plugs thinking they would be made in the US. I got home looked at the box and saw “made in China.” Oh well.

It probably won't be that long before I need to do the brakes on my boxster. Looking on Pelican, I see there's at least half a dozen different brands with prices ranging from ~$60-70 up to at least $350. Most are drilled, many are "coated", and there are even a few that are slotted instead of drilled. What's really weird is that there are some that are a different price for right and left side.

If I had the choice between made in China or made in Japan, I'd take Japanese stuff every time.

The parts are identical until you closely inspect them.

Inferior ccp quality becomes obvious when electronics are xray and others are examined under microscope.

right, metalurgy, manufacturing, QC, etc....

And they aren't all identical.

The AC blower went out in the wife's Subaru Outback. I could order a Subaru part for $200 or a "it'll fit 10 different cars" from the FLAPs. The one that we got bolted right in, but was built differently than the original, and is noisier than the original because it's not made as well from the same quality of metal, quality manufacture, etc.... It works, but I'd be happy to trash it and buy a Subaru part if it was up to me.

I stick to stock ac/delco
I did buy Powerstop brake pads for my Z06 2 years ago. They’ve been fine.
The dealer wanted $750 just for rear pads.

For my VW, I find a large difference in OEM part prices from one dealer to the next when shopping at a dealer and online. I have bought OEM parts from a dealer in VW boxes on line for quite a bit less than the local dealer quotes.

A lot of the parts we've been buying for our German cars for years from the traditional companies (Lemforder, Bosch, Febi, etc) may be headquartered in Europe so when you look at the website (even here) it appears to be a European made part.

When the part arrives the box has printed on it: "Made in China". On a couple of occasions I've had crap Chinese Lemforder and Febi parts and had to return them. Simply examining the item in your hands you could see/feel the low quality or flaws in the part.

I watch South Main Auto on YouTube and Eric swears by oem for sensors or anything electronic. His rants on bad aftermarket parts are pretty funny

I just sold my Bmw E46, but anything critical I always bought Bmw parts…

I think brake pads are one area where most OEM parts aren’t the best. I have used Powerstop carbon ceramic on multiple cars, they stop better than stock and create a LOT less dust.

ABS sensors on a W204 are one of the few areas where a quality German made aftermarket part bit me. Replacing with OEM fixed the issue. Lesson learned.

A930Rocket
We Cummins owners have also learned to buy OEM sensors too!.
Amazon and flaps just don't work.
Or, not for very long.
Over on the truck forums, people have spent a lot of time and money trying to fix the rather simple VP44 system with flaps sensors.
Up to the point of even selling the truck!
There was just no fixing it for them because they had just replaced that, that, and that. Then, start installing new VP44, injectors and on and on.
So I agree, as for me? Yes, OEM !
It is not with the risk or hassles.

There are few things worse than doing a job twice because your brand new part failed.

Agreed!
When OEM wheel bearings fail @200k plus miles, and the new crap fails at 20K, this gets rather boring and time consuming.
But, thankfully, most of us have figured it out!
In days gone past, we would grimace at going to the stealer.
Nowadays we just wince....LOL
It hurts, but not as bad as the repetitive discipline!