Parts, dealer vs generic.

robj20 said:
Parts from Autodoc arrived faster than I expected. How have I only just found out about them.
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Personally not a fan of them (they also trade under several different names), they are great when things go well but can be a nightmare when things don't - especially if returning parts to Germany which will often be the case as customs seems to hate car parts, though you can pay the extra for extended return support it doesn't guarantee it is any smoother.

I would never buy expensive car parts from them personally but sometimes they are the only one with stock.
 
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Rroff said:
Personally not a fan of them (they also trade under several different names), they are great when things go well but can be a nightmare when things don't - especially if returning parts to Germany which will often be the case as customs seems to hate car parts, though you can pay the extra for extended return support it doesn't guarantee it is any smoother.

I would never buy expensive car parts from them personally but sometimes they are the only one with stock.
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What are the alternatives when Eurocarparts don't stock what you want?
 
Only issue i've had with Autodoc was ordering a rear caliper and they sent me the wrong side, to return it was going to be a faff so just bought the right one again and changed both in the end..
 
robj20 said:
Is there generally any benefit to go with dealer parts for things like a shock absorber mount.

£41 each
www.ebay.co.uk

Genuine Ford Mondeo Mk5 Rear Shock Absorber Suspension Top Mount 2014- 5278397 | eBay UK

Genuine Ford Mondeo Mk5 Rear Shock Absorber Top Mount Bracket 2014- 5278397. Spark / Glow Ignition. Brake Pad Sets. Drive Belt. Bracket - Shock Absorber. Fuel Mixture. You may have rights in certain circumstances toaccess, rectify, erase, block, restrict, object to or port your information.
www.ebay.co.uk

vs ebay generic £28 for two

I normally do euro car parts or Autodoc but they dont have these. Going to do the dampers at the same time using Sachs.
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20% off atm if you get the ford ones from ebay.

I wouldn't get the cheapest of the cheap from ebay, as long as it's a decent brand 3rd party is fine.
 
Generic can be low quality sometimes but it really varies, anything important then i try to get new from a dealer or used original from a breakers yard business.
 
How have I gone so long without a decent impact wrench even just taking the wheel off is so much easier. The top bolts on the shock would definitely have been a struggle by hand. All done in 30 minutes
 
Car manufacturers do not make parts. Brake discs, brake pads, suspension components etc.. are all sourced from manufacturers who make such parts. These manufacturers make those parts for more than one manufacturer and in most cases, any part that is used by luxry brands like Porsche or BMW - is used by other brands like ford.

In the world of car parts, there are a couple of different levels of what you can do to manage costs. In order

  • Branded part from the main dealer of your brand
  • The same part, but with a different sticker on it from another cheaper brand
  • The same part, from a 3rd party parts supplier, without the manufacturer's logo on it
  • A completely different part, produced to the same standard but just from a different manufacturer
  • cheap chinese knock off parts, not produced to the same quality, but probably fine. But do you want to take that chance ?

There's a whole community of people on social media whose main reason for their fame on social media is their knowledge of part catalogues and their ability to find the same part but cheaper elsewhere.

Should you only use the manufacturers branded part from your dealer ? Absolutely not - it's proven that they take £5 parts and sell them for £75 just because they have a porsche badge on or whatever. But that's not to say that every part on ebay claiming to be as good as the real thing is indeed as good and not some cheap Chinese knock off.

If we take that rear shock absorber you've posted, the cheap ebay has no markings on it whatsoever, no idea who made it. I personally wouldn't be trusting that for the sake of £56. But having said that - I bet you could still save some money by finding other 3rd party parts for cheaper. The screenshot of the ford OE part appears to have a sticker on it with some part numbers, and appears to be manufactured by Halter. I bet with some googling you'd find the same part for sale elsewhere cheaper, but just maybe without the ford motor co stamping on it.
 
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Fr0dders said:
Car manufacturers do not make parts. Brake discs, brake pads, suspension components etc.. are all sourced from manufacturers who make such parts. These manufacturers make those parts for more than one manufacturer and in most cases, any part that is used by luxry brands like Porsche or BMW - is used by other brands like ford.

In the world of car parts, there are a couple of different levels of what you can do to manage costs. In order

  • Branded part from the main dealer of your brand
  • The same part, but with a different sticker on it from another cheaper brand
  • The same part, from a 3rd party parts supplier, without the manufacturer's logo on it
  • A completely different part, produced to the same standard but just from a different manufacturer
  • cheap chinese knock off parts, not produced to the same quality, but probably fine. But do you want to take that chance ?

There's a whole community of people on social media whose main reason for their fame on social media is their knowledge of part catalogues and their ability to find the same part but cheaper elsewhere.

Should you only use the manufacturers branded part from your dealer ? Absolutely not - it's proven that they take £5 parts and sell them for £75 just because they have a porsche badge on or whatever. But that's not to say that every part on ebay claiming to be as good as the real thing is indeed as good and not some cheap Chinese knock off.
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I know that. Don't need a copy and paste you find on Google.

However some parts are so rare you are basically forced to source then via dealers. As an example the part I asked about you either have extremely cheap Chinese parts or the ones sourced via dealers, nothing in between. As in my industry your paying for assurance, so if there's any uncertainty the dealer part is a safe bet, though it costs more.

I bought Sachs shocks because I know about that brand so didn't need the assurance of sourcing from a dealer.
Same with discs and pads, safe bet that Brembo or Blueprint will be good enough.
 
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yup and given the choice between unbranded no name generic parts and the geneuine one - I'd go genuine all the time. I'd only consider alternatives if they're from a known brand or you're finding the same part but with different stickers on.

In answer to your original question "is there any difference between them" ? Yes - known quantity. The no name unbranded parts could be good, they could be cheap tat that will break in months. You just don't know and you're taking a gambled. A gamble you're not taking with ford genuine parts unless we're talking about stuff with known issues like the ford ecoboost wet belt stuff...
 
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TRW arms for BMW used to have the BMW logo ground off but now they moved to Malaysia and quite different. Brake disks are TRW but BMW oe ones made by TRW have a different finish and tighter run out tolerances

Have to go in eyes open sometime good aftermarket is ok. Others stick to OEM spec/supplier parts. Drop links I paid a lot more for OEM as aftermarket’s last a year or two before knocking.
 
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It really does depend. As already stated some branded parts are identical to the non-branded manufacturer ones.

As an example KTM sell tyre pressure monitor units for installation with the valve stem. They cost significantly more than the EXACT same part as produced by the original manufacturer.

Furthermore, what's the purpose of the part? What's the worst that could happen if it fails? Something cosmetic is largely inconsequential, a key component of the braking system will need some more assurances around part quality.

Branded parts are no guarantee of quality either. My vehicles have some aftermarket parts on because the OE stuff is trash....

I think someone summed it up nicely with "use your loaf" :D
 
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Sometimes OEM is cheaper. The cheapest rear anti roll bar bushes I could get were actually OEM ones sold by a Honda dealer off eBay!
 
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