Quote:
Originally Posted by fintstone
OEM Toyota parts with the same part numbers are the same IMHO. Same dealers selling there as dealer network.
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I've seen lots of differences. If you get parts that are sourced through a dealer network, you're pretty much guaranteed that they are what they should be. Any other source, and you're on your own. You might get what you want, you might not. There are even counterfeit parts out there, in packaging that mimics legitimate parts. Hard to believe, but true. It's even in parts that you would think wouldn't have enough presence in the marketplace to be worth countefeiting. I sourced a evaporative emission purge control valve for my Audi S8 through a local shop, instead of a dealer. Some months later, they got a notice from Bosch that some of these parts have been counterfeited, and sure enough , mine was one of them. Externally, it was identical. Internally, it was different.
Caveat emptor.