O.T. aftermarket vehicle parts

[Garwood]

I see you have finally backed off your blanket all encompassing position that EOM repair parts are no good and not the same quality as assembly line parts, to a more realistic statement that they are not "necessarily the same." That is good, reasonable, and correct statement.

There is no way every replacement part is exactly the same as every assembly line part but manufacturers strive to ensure they are functionally equivalent. Even assembly line parts can change mid stream for many reasons like a supplier can no longer keep up. EOM auto companies have a huge investment in their brand name and would never purposefully sell defective parts. Every company however sometimes sells a lemon or two. Engineers make mistakes, suppliers don't meet specs, etc.

You don't comprehend the reads too swell do ya?

I don't think EOM means what you think it means. Could be "end of Message" or "Expenditure of Manpower"? Seems like the term you are looking for is OEM which stands for "original Equipment Manufacturer which, coincidentally, is what my business is.

I clearly stated that American vehicle manufacturers like Ford, GM and Stellantis don't care that much if the parts they sell are the same quality level parts used to build vehicles on the assembly line.

I was very specific and I'm not changing my claim. I make products that would not exist if the OEM parts were the same quality as those used on the assembly line. I don't need a keyboard genius explaining to me how this works. 10 years of my life developing and selling products to solve a deficiency in the market created by low quality OEM parts (specifically Ford parts BTW, but not hoses unfortunately) is enough for me.

Hopefully people with fully formed brains can take my statements into consideration and have a little less blind faith in overpriced dealer parts.

 

[MwTech Inc]

My fully formed brain tells me all automotive parts, OEM or aftermarket, are overpriced.....

 

[Freedommachine]

"Returns and warranty service is a PITA through rockauto for sure..."

Right - but it's worse after they ship a part and the shipper destroys it. Shipper says: delayed, damaged. Rockauto says: it's been shipped, not our problem. Classic case of mutual finger-pointing. Should I order a new set, or just give up.

Thankfully, I have not had to deal with that yet. Rockauto does half ass the packaging at times. I received a warranty replacement CV shaft (torn boot) the other day; they shipped it in a box 2x larger than the shaft's packaging and 'sealed' it with one piece of tape on each end .

 

[BoxcarPete]

Thankfully, I have not had to deal with that yet. Rockauto does half ass the packaging at times. I received a warranty replacement CV shaft (torn boot) the other day; they shipped it in a box 2x larger than the shaft's packaging and 'sealed' it with one piece of tape on each end .

Once again, not Rock Auto doing that. They plop a computer terminal in a bunch of warehousing distributors and part manufacturers across the country. Those independent business (who typically operate normal business as well) list what they are willing to sell the parts for, Rock automatically polls all the prices in all the places that say they have the part you want, and sells you the one with the lowest price after factoring shipping. You could send feedback to Rock about the bad packaging job, they might do something about the place that fulfilled the order if they get enough bad feedback regarding one of their partners.

 

[GregSY]

Once again, not Rock Auto doing that. They plop a computer terminal in a bunch of warehousing distributors and part manufacturers across the country.

Uh-uh. Rock Auto takes full blame....they are the ones who sold you the part. Getting it to you is 100% their responsibility. If their agent does a poor job, it's still their fault. That's the law, and it's common sense too.

 

[Superbowl]

I clearly stated that American vehicle manufacturers like Ford, GM and Stellantis don't care that much if the parts they sell are the same quality level parts used to build vehicles on the assembly line.

I was very specific and I'm not changing my claim.

People who make wild claims with zero data to back it up demonstrate to all reasonable readers that their opinions are not to be trusted. This will be my last response because it seems like I am debating a brick wall.

 

[BoxcarPete]

Uh-uh. Rock Auto takes full blame....they are the ones who sold you the part. Getting it to you is 100% their responsibility. If their agent does a poor job, it's still their fault. That's the law, and it's common sense too.

So you stopped reading before I got to the part where I mentioned to give feedback to Rock? Without the end customer saying anything, they probably have no idea that the business who fulfilled the order was sloppy about it. I'm not saying they aren't responsible for making sure the order is fulfilled, but I am saying that they have absolutely no direct involvement in doing it.

 

[gmach10]

Ok, garage gearheads, what is your favorite go to aftermarket auto part maker? For example steering components. I usually go hit up Advance auto or NAPA, but it seems like lately all the stuff has been junk, even Moog seems to have fallen a notch or two. When I am replacing ball joints, u joints, tie rod ends, I don't care about warranty on a junk part, I want a QUALITY part so I don't have to tear everything apart again. As much as I hate dealers, I'm almost tempted to go OEM and bite the bullet.

I hear what you're saying! Back in the day if we saw made in Mexico we knew the quality was poor. Now, that's the good stuff! Stay away from Auto Zones house brand, that shit is shit. I put a pair of brand new idler arms on my Astro van from them, out of the box they were sloppier than what I took off. Car Quest has good parts, NAPA has decent parts. Go to the busiest and most reputable repair shop in your area and see where they get their parts from. I second Rock Auto because they let you choose the level of quality you want. Shipping can get costly though. I bought a replacement outside mirror for my '03 Tahoe got a great deal on it but it wasn't the top quality line. Noticably lighter and as far as the power control goes all the fuctions are backwards. Up is down left is right. They probably got the polarity backwards. No big deal I'll live with it.

 

[gmach10]

I use Rock Auto partly because of price and ease of use and also because of the selection. It's useful being able to pick the manufacturer.

On critical parts I try to stay with OEM because a lot of the aftermarket stuff is just plain junk.

That said, quality on front end parts in general seems to be declining. Strut boots rarely last over 20K miles without tearing. I've had name brand ball joints fall apart after a year. Overall I seem to get about 60K miles out of a strut replacement before enough stuff breaks that I have to do it over. I tried KYB struts the last time after getting tired of replacing AC Delcos. It will be interesting to see how they did when I pull them apart in a couple weeks.

I did at least one warranty replacement with Rock Auto, it went OK. Don't forget to look for the 5% discount coupon online, it will at least offset some of the shipping charges.

I found that front hub assemblies don't last that long either. I properly torque them and make sure eveything is clean but after 5 years they get loose. I'm that guy who doesn't beat on my cars either. My '03 Tahoe 210,000 miles. My Astro van had 240,000 when we got rid of it. Rust is a huge problem in Chicago.

 

[EmGo]

I found that front hub assemblies don't last that long either.

I have a friend who still bitches about the time I asked him to hop out at the light and kick the front wheel around, help us make the turn. The whole world is getting to be soft

 

[jim rozen]

"So you stopped reading before I got to the part where I mentioned to give feedback to Rock?"

How to do that sir? My feedback: "I paid for parts I never got." Where does one put that statement where they listen? Is there some secret RockAuto feedack button I'm ignorant of?