Ever bought oe parts kits off E bay ?

[fastfredracing]

I get people asking me about this stuff all the time. The prices seem too good to be true. Up till recently , I have had no experience with any of it .
I just bought a $600.00 Acura Tl with a bad motor, Before I put the new motor in, I figured Id experiment , and purchased what was listed as a complete OE Honda timing kit .
The packaging and labels looked legit , but the boxes, looked , and smelled very Harbor Freight to me . The tensioner , looked nothing like the last OE one I used, and the pulleys that came with the kit had more play in them right out of the wrapper, than the ones I removed with 150k on them . Something just seemed off with the water pump fitment also .
I probably saved $100 over purchasing oe from the dealer, and maybe $50 cheaper than buying a decent quality aftermarket kit. I used to use the aftermarket kits all the time, but in the last year, I have had 2 comebacks , where the hydraulic tensioner that came in the kit failed, so I quit using them all together, and have only been using oem stuff since. They were both on Honda cars
What do you think? China knock offs ? Ive got a few hundred miles on the stuff so far with no troubles, .Im curious to see how well it all holds up .

[biosurfer1]

My experience is 95% of ebay "OE" stuff is fake crap. There is so much of it, it's hard to pick out the real stuff unless there is lots of feedback, and with bots these days, even the feedback is often fake.

[RedBaron]

They are knockoff parts. I have a 3rd gen TL and i’ve read similar things. I do not think the parts last long either. Get the aisin kit next time, they are the oem supplier and its not that much money.

[chapo]

There are dealers online selling real OE parts. I buy from Tasca Ford online and its good stuff, longtime dealer. ChePer than my local dealer

[Tobra]

Better off spending more on parts and doing it once. Like the man says, lots of dealerships have on line store that is cheaper. Have gotten stuff for the Miata like that.

Fleabay es no bueno

[cabmandone]

Bought a Subaru timing belt and water pump kit off of ebay.

[beepbeep]

Bought a water pump, roller and cam belt kit from Ebay. Water pump failed within two years, prompting me to do it all again.

I bought a bunch of other things. It is hit and miss. Regard anything coming from China (or looped through UK as a proxy) as counterfeit junk that might or might not work.

LED bulbs rated 6W that were 0.5W. Spool guns that do not work. Lab power supply that oscillates etc.

[javadog]

Never have, never will. Chinese junk.

No thanks.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by javadog

Never have, never will. Chinese junk.

No thanks.

This. I don't care if is free, I don't want Chinese junk parts. My time and safety are more valuable than that.

[beepbeep]

But I bought lot's of OE parts from German Ebay and it usually works just fine. Couple of times our Swedish post office lost the packages but they have sent the replacement ASAP. So as long as it is not Chinese, it works.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

eBay used to be good but it’s been taken over by Chinese junk peddlers. You can occasionally still find some good stuff on there but you have to filter carefully, pay particular attention to country of origin (if they even list it and often they don’t - deliberately) and employ a healthy amount of skepticism.

I did recently get a couple of factory original pieces for my 1200GS but it took some digging around to filter out all the knock off garbage.

Their “feedback” system (which used to be a cornerstone of their model) is completely worthless now. I don’t even bother with it.

[sugarwood]

What did you pay for the Ebay stuff?

I got an Aisin (Japan) Timing Belt Kit on Amazon for about $200.
Going fine 3 years later.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EEYT2E/

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

What did you pay for the Ebay stuff?

I got an Aisin (Japan) Timing Belt Kit on Amazon for about $200.
Going fine 3 years later.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EEYT2E/

I believe it was around $130.00

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

I get people asking me about this stuff all the time. The prices seem too good to be true. Up till recently , I have had no experience with any of it .
I just bought a $600.00 Acura Tl with a bad motor, Before I put the new motor in, I figured Id experiment , and purchased what was listed as a complete OE Honda timing kit .
The packaging and labels looked legit , but the boxes, looked , and smelled very Harbor Freight to me . The tensioner , looked nothing like the last OE one I used, and the pulleys that came with the kit had more play in them right out of the wrapper, than the ones I removed with 150k on them . Something just seemed off with the water pump fitment also .
I probably saved $100 over purchasing oe from the dealer, and maybe $50 cheaper than buying a decent quality aftermarket kit. I used to use the aftermarket kits all the time, but in the last year, I have had 2 comebacks , where the hydraulic tensioner that came in the kit failed, so I quit using them all together, and have only been using oem stuff since. They were both on Honda cars
What do you think? China knock offs ? Ive got a few hundred miles on the stuff so far with no troubles, .Im curious to see how well it all holds up .

I've ordered OE / known good quality aftermarket only to get an imitation Chinese knock-off.

Most blatant was a TYC mirror for a 454SS chev truck- supposed to be metal, Ebay listing had PN for TYC, advertised as TYC, the whole bit.

Got a no-name box with unrelated PN with that style mirror, allright- in plastic.

WHen I called them to complain they said it must've been 'mispackaged'-

--mispackaged with the wrong PN on the side of the box?


The Chinese do that with a lot of auto parts and electronics or describe something as "New" and in the description state the item is used.

See here- look closely at this listing

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blu-ray-Disc-Drive-Replacement-Lite-On-DG-6M1S-Original-B150-Laser-For-Xbox-One/293247995024?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

[wdfifteen]

It depends on what you get. I bought a taillight unit for my Tundra from eBay. Supposed to be OEM, but I was naturally suspicious. But it was a taillight lens so not much labor involved if it crapped out. The replacement was identical to the old one. I believe it really is OEM, at $100 less than dealer price and considerably less than Autozone.

I don't think I would buy engine, brake, or transmission parts or anything that involved a lot of labor to R&R from eBay.

[javadog]

Afterburn 549 sez: "I was going through wheel bearings by the dozen using genuine stuff from a couple of Honda online venders."

Just out of curiosity, were these vendors actual Honda dealers? I'd be concerned if actual Honda dealers were selling counterfeit crap through their online stores.

Got any names, so I can make sure that I avoid them?

[1990C4S]

For parts that protect my engine (timing belts, water pump, tensioner, oil filter) I never cheap out. Same for parts that are a pain in the ass to change, like a wheel bearing. Same for suspension bits...bushings, drop links, ball joints, etc.

And that leaves...not much to buy from questionable sources.

I've bought knock off shifter boots, window switches, and fan control relays. Not much else (knowingly).

I did buy some PrimeChoice Chinese brakes and rotors that were too cheap to believe, and they were actually very good.

And I would be pissed off if a mechanic did that to me without asking. If he asked I would tell him to fix it right.

[speeder]

I’ve all but completely stopped using eBay and I used to buy everything there. Had great luck w genuine Ford parts in factory packaging, etc. I’ve switched to using Amazon or actual dealer counters, plus my long time, trusted parts shop.

If nothing else, because of shipping time and cost. Nearly everything I buy on Amazon has free shipping and if you need to return it, (for any reason), it’s completely painless and easy. Stuff shows up on my doorstep so fast that it’s almost spooky. I bought a new Hibachi grill on eBay in June, (last purchase), it took over two weeks to arrive. On Amazon, it would have been the next day.

For a Honda timing belt kit, I’d either use dealer or known quality Japanese aftermarket, OEM supplier, etc. I’ve found it easy to establish face-to-face relationships w dealer parts counters and get discounts in this day and age, they know that they are competing w the internet everyday. You just need to go about it respectfully, etc. As a shop, should be a piece of cake.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

For parts that protect my engine (timing belts, water pump, tensioner, oil filter) I never cheap out. Same for parts that are a pain in the ass to change, like a wheel bearing. Same for suspension bits...bushings, drop links, ball joints, etc.

And that leaves...not much to buy from questionable sources.

I've bought knock off shifter boots, window switches, and fan control relays. Not much else (knowingly).

I did buy some PrimeChoice Chinese brakes and rotors that were too cheap to believe, and they were actually very good.

And I would be pissed off if a mechanic did that to me without asking. If he asked I would tell him to fix it right.

Wise words. There are very few things on a vehicle that do not matter or are not safety related, at least indirectly. I prefer to buy quality parts cheap but will pay whatever it takes to do the job correctly.

[Tobra]

I can tell you for certain, you do not want to try an aftermarket starter on a Honda, get it from the dealer.