OEM Car Parts
When time comes to change a part to your car you have two options: most people go to the service of the dealership and get OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer parts, while other people decide to get aftermarket parts from an independent shop. In this article we are going to discuss about the advantages and disadvantages of OEM car parts. Let’s start with the good things about them.
These parts are made by the car’s manufacturer and match the parts that came with your car when it rolled off the assembly line. If you decide to get OEM parts you will not have any problems choosing what you need because if you go at the dealership and ask for a certain part, in most cases they will offer you one type so you don’t have to worry about the various level of quality between different products and brands. Taking into consideration that you will be offered one product, things should be very easy for you.
Another advantage of these parts and probably the most important one would have to be the greater assurance of quality. These parts were designed to work exactly like the ones you are replacing on your vehicle. It is what the car was produced with and will provide you the necessary piece of mind in its performance and familiarity.
Most of the car manufacturers nowadays back up these original parts with a one-year warranty, in some cases, even two. If you decide to fix your car at the dealer, they will most likely stand by their labor as well.
Now, let’s move on to the most important disadvantages of these original parts. First of all, these are certainly more expensive in comparison with aftermarket parts. For bodywork parts, OEM is usually 60% more expensive than aftermarket, according to PCI – Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. Also, there is more of a burden on service and parts to increase the profitability of the dealership, since the department of sales has been underperforming lately. However, the gap between the price tag of OEM and aftermarket parts will be closing in the future according to some automotive experts who believe that the dealers are trying to compete with the independent shops that sell these aftermarket parts.
Another disadvantage, although not very big is the necessity to buy the OEM car parts from the dealership. Although such parts can be purchased from online wholesalers, eBay as well as other sources, most of us decide to go to the dealership to buy what we need. This will definitely limit the number of options from which we can purchase what needs to be replaced on our vehicles. Car owners have the possibility of requesting original parts from the local mechanic but the downside is that it will most likely take longer to get the vehicle fixed because most of these parts will need to be ordered and it can take even a few weeks until they arrive.
Although we mentioned in the first part of the article that the quality of original parts is in most cases superior, this isn’t entirely true as some aftermarket parts can prove to be better than their OEM siblings. In some situations, although you will certainly pay more for these original parts, you will pay only for the name as these will not be always better than aftermarket parts. Sometimes, they could be of equal quality or even worse.
The question is when should you request these OEM parts? For collision repairs, it is highly recommended to get only OEM parts due to the reason that there are good chances that aftermarket parts will not fit perfectly. In addition, these aftermarket parts might not have proper crumple zones for crash safety. It is better to spend the extra money for the OEM parts as this isn’t an area where you should be saving cash – safety comes first, always.
If you have a leased car, you need to know more about the economical implications of aftermarket parts as these will decrease the value of the vehicle and by replacing OEM with aftermarket parts, it might cost you part or even all of your deposit. However, in 11 states and the District of Columbia, the insurance company is not obligated to tell you with what parts (OEM or aftermarket) your car will be repaired. In most of the situations, the company will prefer aftermarket parts as these are cheaper than OEM. If you insist on having OEM parts, these insurance companies will make you pay an additional fee. For this reason, it is advisable to check with your insurance provider before fixing the car so that you know what parts they will cover.
Deciding between OEM car parts and aftermarket can be a difficult thing to do. However, keep in mind that all of the aftermarket parts are not created equal in comparison with the original parts. This situation creates a new set of advantages and disadvantages. If you know more about aftermarket parts and the companies that produce them or if you happen to know a mechanic that can tell you which is better, you will save a lot of money by getting aftermarket parts.
On the contrary, if you don’t know anything about the parts and the companies that make them and if you want to have everything done in the dealership, it is best to buy OEM parts, but be ready for paying a little bit of extra money for your piece of mind. If you still don’t know what to choose, ask a couple of mechanics and they will point you into the right direction.
As said before, the gap between the prices of OEM and aftermarket parts is slowly but surely reducing and we hope that in the near future car manufacturers will be able to provide decent price tags for their original parts so that we will not have to start searching from the long list of available aftermarket car parts options.
Post tags: Tags: OEM Car Parts
