Aftermarket Versus Manufacturer Car Parts

Edmunds.com

Aftermarket Versus Manufacturer Car Parts

Are a manufacturer's car parts better than aftermarket auto parts, or just more expensive? Here are some pros and cons to strike a balance between quality and cost.

Read the full story here

sukhdeeps

These car upgrades are insane! How much do you think their auto insurancewent up after getting them?

diablotokill

most would use aftermarket parts for performance show or regular driving

oem such as older cars are for all original car show.. the further away from all original you go the less points you get ...

example had a limited ed firebird in a show it was considered 80% original since it had a aftermarket starter in it for that we got third in the competition.

the Pontiac guys knew what we had so we got first in the 4 Pontiac that were there though.

its all in what you want to do with your car.

good informative article on pricing though.

my oem carb is $500 to a after market which is about $120

diablotokill

most insurance companies don't care whats under the hood unless they see a SS label of a suped up racer outside the office. if they see a racer they will jack up the price.

so if you have an s10 with a 454 and it looks like a work truck.. nobody said a thing to me about it.

derrekb

All replacement parts post assembly line are aftermarket parts. The only parts which are truly oem - original equipment manufacturer are those parts that are attached to the vehicle as it rolls off the assemble line.

Now that we have established what an aftermarket part is, it is important to mention that both the oe aftermarket parts and generic aftermarket parts are made in the very same manufactureres in Asia.

What is truly at stake here is that the oe's are doing everything they can do drive customers back to their serivce and repair shops.

audrey16

This is a very interesting article. Last month my K&N cold air intake malfunctioned. It took my a while to find an aftermarket part but in the end I saved up some money

noels662002_

I agree with lots of what you say in "THEORY" but its simply not always true in Westchester NY & Greenwich CT, an Audi & Lexus Dealership have been using Autozone Parts for years I know the Service Managers in 2 of these Garages for over 20 years and would trust them with my kids, they reckon between 75%--85% aren't OEM, now he's the kicker except for a few 70's show Cars & Trucks which they own, they also shop at Autozone and would bet that the Autozone Parts are at minimum the equal of the OEM Parts.They both swear that any part in the $150 range you may need is 10 times better at Autozone.
I don't work in the field I change my own oil/blown bulbs thats the extent of my experience, but like I said I "REALLY TRUST" THESE GUYS
Happy motoring and hopefully you won't need to find any of this foe quiet a while

edredsled

I would further separate OEM from Genuine. They are the same part from the same manufacturer (a supplier to the car manufacturer). The only difference is the sales channel and price.

So for example....

A BMW Shock absorber is not MADE by BMW. BMW buys it from a company like Sachs, who is the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) in this case.

Sachs makes a shock absorber for a particular BMW, which BMW buys from Sachs to use when they build the car. In that case is it a Genuine part, and when you go to the BMW dealership to replace that shock you can buy another Genuine part from BMW.

** OR ** You can buy the same shock from someone who sells Sachs shocks (like FCPEuro.com) and pay less then the Genuine / Dealer price AND get the same part.

In the case OEM is the same quality as Genuine, but for a lower price.

gumpyman

Not always so! The OEM part does not have to be made to the same specifications as the genuine part nor does it have to meet the same QC and inspection standards as the Genuine part. Usually the parts are the same, but sometimes the OEM will change the part for the OEM market and make it to a lesser quality, but still use the same OEM part number. I have had this experience with Lucas and Czech built parts being different from the genuine Mercedes parts - even though they can claim to be OEM.

rscott_22

I recently had this dilemma with my BMW and ended up going with oem parts for 2 reasons. First, they have a full manufacturer warranty, and second the oem parts were actually very comparable in price (some were less expensive) than the aftermarket equivalents. I think it depends on where you source your parts from. My local dealer wanted an arm and a leg for the parts, but I found a reputable shop online (https://www.bmwdiscountparts.com) and purchased through them.