all the collabs... Thanks for giving me the opportunity to answer this question

Thank again to Paul from ShopDAP for dropping some insight. I really wish there was a better answer than "it all depends". But there is no cut and dry on here.

Your videos have legit saved me thousands of dollars! Thanks Shopdap and the Awesome Humble Mechanic!

also sometimes u have no choice when parts start to become discontinued

Thank you, Paul and Charles for spending your time for reply me in a 12 minutes video. I really thought that I will not receive any answer :))

Ive watched this twice now and dont regret it or going OEM with my Toyota Tacoma. Thx!

Parts that were engine/ electrical I went with OEM Motorcraft, got the parts number then searched online. Junkyard helped as well, walked in with simple tools and grab some sensors. Dash didn't have a factory tach, grabbed one that did. Swapped the odometer to keep my mileage

I can attest to the importance of getting the right part. When the thrust bearing on my clutch first failed 5 years ago, the whole unit was swapped for a Valeo, which is a well known quality brand and is even the clutch OEM for other engine variants. The damn thing rattled juddered like crazy every time I'd set off until finally the self adjust system gave up the ghost (with half the disc in good nick!!!) and it was replaced with an LUK one, LUK being the OEM to that specific variant. That was all the clutch trouble gone there and then!

Excellent topic. Buyer beware, live and learn.

I just bought a chinese wiring harness for my MKIV jetta. The part was 9 bucks vs 60 for OEM. I can't decide who is more greedy... VW for charging 60 bucks for something that probably costs less than 2 bucks to manufacture... or the chinese for charging what WOULD BE a fair price and then cutting corners on quality.

I bought a set of aftermarker fog lights for my new car a year ago and they looked cheap as all heck when i got them except for the glass lenses they had, but i expected the light bulbs to burn out pretty quick and i thought the wiring might not last or something but honestly this kit has worked well and its all holding up pretty well. Im surprised they worked as good as they have and still do.

You guys are spot on, very good info. Another good tip is educate yourself 1st.Then buy.

One point that I don't believe I heard mentioned is that among known failure parts, OEMs also often update those parts to ensure better reliability, not just the aftermarket.

Good show, appreciate the insight!

DAP is awesome. For most of the stuff they sell, they have DIY videos so you can install the product yourself.

i started doing auto work in the early 90s (during high school) and ive found that it is a mixed bag. i DO feel you really get what you pay for, though. if at all possible, i try to use OE brands in my vws, like bosch and FAG, because those parts have already lasted my car through 30 years of toodling around. as far as performance parts, do not go cheap! save up your pennies and get something quality! this is especially true if you want to track or show your car. both in looks and performance, the good parts WILL make a difference

Whelp, another Excellent and informative video! Thank You! 👌🏽👍🏽

I have worked in manufacturing just about my hole life and I have seen QC. issues in all, it all depends on the QC HEAD and what customers will accept and not accept. It's difficult to say really what parts will pass muster and witch ones won't. I worked for a Off Highway Brake manufacture and things where good until they started buying castings from overseas and the quality went to hell I mean big time porocity in steel housings that always leaked because some of these brakes where oil filled and had to hold a certain amount of pressure so many rejected parts. So with that said great video Charles and keep those videos coming.PEACE

Great video guys! I appreciate it 🙂👍

Always a tough topic, handled well by this video. In addition to the vital part question; I will sometime ask my trusted mechanic or parts guy what they have experienced in come backs or fitment - because they have handled a greater number and we have an honest rapport.

trial and error..case and point got a brake/cruise cut out switch for a 2010 Express 1500 van from NAPA..cruise inop...got one from Advance (BWD) no brake lights..got one from GM everything works..over time you have to learn what to use aftermarket and what to use factory oem. Thanks for the vid! In the end make sure that your customer is taken care of!!!!

Well if you have a popular DIY car, you can ask on that specific car forum what experiences people had with certain parts, and make your final decision after that.

At my budget, the only new parts I get are aftermarket. OEM replacement parts without exception come from the salvage yard. I really do wish I had more of a choice in this:(

I know the Michelin XC LT4 is one of the big box tires for trucks/SUV's. They are good, but you're right, they aren't the expensive LTX MT2 that are popular among truck folks for ride quality and control. Also as a tech, who doesn't buy the part, the difficulty of the repair justifies the higher quality part. I'm not trying to remove the whole dash of that F-150 to re-replace that BS heater core. I guess that is covered in the video, but I already typed it.

Very insightful comments Charles and Paul made. Ugh, for body panels: I've had horrible fitment issues repairing the radiator carrier with an aftermarket part. Saved money, but paid for it in wrench-and-curse time. Pro-tip: Learn from other people's experiences. Just about every car has a forum/community online, if you're wrenching on your own vehicle, do your due diligence and research your repair before you do the repair. People will mention they have poor fitment for aftermarket parts if they experience it themselves. Sure, most all of us will avoid publically admitting our failures, but when your car community is large enough, and the car has been around long enough, this sort of information is given up because people like to help, and people like to vent about bad experiences! For more critical parts (engine, suspension, electrical) you'll find the OE manufacturer names to look for, like how VW/Audi have Bosch, Lemfoerder, Meyle, Mann, INA, FAG, etc. There are the few one off parts where aftermarket is superior, and like Charles mentioned, you're paying *more* than you would for OE parts, because you're replacing out for a failure prone factory style part. Small parts run, improved materials: higher price.

I deal with a body Man that repairs and prices according to your wishes. My last Fender bender , needed The following parts: left Fender, hood , left light, front bumper, radiator, and various Trim piecem. Cost $3400 doing hood, Fender , & light oem, rest aftermarket. All aftermarket was $2700. I did The oem way. Result.....3 years later....everything looks like new! The bodyman was The key here......he knows his parts and Suppliers. Jim,

Great video guys, thanks. I agree with you as far as what part is it, how vital is it. I always buy OEM thermostats for example, more expensive but cheap ones can cost a lot if they go wrong. The other thing to consider is that often, especially with older cars, OEM parts are no longer available, in South Africa most agents only keep parts for about 10 years after production of a model ends. All in all I stick with buy the best you can afford based on what you can get, if the aftermarket part costs 10x less than OE, you're probably better off not buying it. Even made in China stuff can be good, it ultimately comes down to how much the company having the parts made are willing to pay- the Chinese will make the part whether you're spending 10 bucks or 100 bucks per unit- quality will be way different though!

Happy father's day Charles. in my personal experience the O.E is better than aftermarket. but some some aftermarket stuff works and fits quite well. however I've had O.E stuff fail right out the box. but sometimes O.E can be so expensive so the aftermarket is the way to go for some budget minded customers..intetesting topic. no definite answer..

This is a great topic. I've had to face this decision many times. Another factor is how old the car is. Anything under 5 yrs I would want to take best care of it. Cars over 10 yrs, well that's a diff story. Over 10 yrs old, you gotta think of its resale value and that would depend on if its a project car or a daily driver. OEM reconditioned is another option if the car is old and you don't want to pay OEM prices.

I drive a 22 year old 4x4 truck as my daily driver and frequently take it out in the bush or on the beach and thrash it around, things are always breaking on it and I’m always fixing it, i find that the difference between the cheep Chinese aftermarket stuff and the OEM is the longevity of the part, since I know my truck will die soon I always buy the cheapest part and they always have fitted for me I did my tyres rod ends about 12 months ago using the cheapest ones I could find, and have been thrashing my truck around in the bush and mud, the cheap parts have held up fine so far

But what if you have a Dodge and it has fitment and quality issues from the factory?

Very valid points Charles & Paul presented. It would be a good idea to establish a useful glossary to parts, which I often explain to people, this is how I interpret them: GENUINE (those with the automaker logo), OEM (as the name implies, without automaker logo), Aftermarket (alternative parts manufacturer with a recognizable brand, performance parts, modifications), Duplicates (cheap, questionable quality parts). I personally put least attention to origin of body panels as long as they fit well, coz they are only "static parts". I was preparing to replace my brake pads, I knew the factory installed pads are TRW, so I bought OEM TRW - I was shocked to see the factory installed Genuine TRW brake pads cracked up & separating from the metal plate... replaced all 4 corners with OEM TRW & those are messing up my rims with brake dust, so with such disappointments, no more TRW pads ever! A nice surprise for me is that I have a Duplicate A/C condenser (Taiwan?) installed in my car (30% price of the Genuine) and during the past 2 years of Dubai weather no issues what so ever. You guys didn't talk about head lights and tail lights specifically - what people are not aware about is that the light dispersion is very critical, having a poor quality reflector is a safety hazard, so I'd stick to Genuine only. Some headlights have leveling feature, where Duplicates like DEPO, etc will not have such features... There is also the topic of tires - use the same as factory installed or change to something else? ;) (long discussion needed)

This was very interesting. I learnt this the hard way, replacing ball joints over and over with cheap ones. Until I went for companies that make parts fo new cars.

The short answer is ask a mechanic you trust, or ask in that model's web forum, what results others have had. Whether it be repair or modification, when talking about buying parts, someone has usually come before you and done it already. Having written that, besides body panels there are very few parts where you can't get an aftermarket part that's as good as OEM, for the same price or less, and yes as mentioned in the video that often means the same manufacturer made it, and your cost savings is from just skipping one or two layers of middleman markup.

Sometimes you can't beat oem. Other times, they're flawed and cheap as cheap can get. Compare a stock 1999-04 mustang shifter to an mgw shifter. MGW is miles ahead. Compare a motorcraft IAC to a spectre and well, spectre loses lol.

Never seen these "club" Michelin tires that Paul speaks of. It's pretty hard to get anything of subpar quality at Costco.

Like plastic oem water pump to aftermarket metal water pump for the mkiv Jetta... it's matter of doing research.

Another consideration to me is whether I was happy with the OEM part before it failed. If something is a known problem and the OE hasn't resolved the issue, I'm probably not paying the price premium to get another flawed OEM part. But if the OEM part lasted 200K miles with no issues and just happened to wear out or fail from age or some type of damage, I will likely replace it with another OEM part if I can afford to. Also, remember that used OEM parts for things that don't normally wear out or fail like body panels is always a good option if it's in good condition and the price is right.

when you do the wookie build series can you please go over tdc and tips and tricks when you lose timing markings and ect, since nobody has really even done a in-depth view on this and teaching these solutions

Oil filters and fuel filters on the higher performance cars like the TDI's are one area we see filters like Man etc as oem supplied just in another box.

Great topic, this! I recently replaced the timing belt and hardware on my 2012 Focus. I bought a Gates kit on eBay. I noted that the OEM parts I removed were a Gates belt, INA tensioner/idler and an unmarked water pump. In the Gates kit: Gates belt, INA tensioner/idler and an unmarked, but slightly different looking, water pump. Does anyone know who makes these water pumps for Gates' kits? Thanks.

Somethings to remember, parts even OEM have different manufacturers. Can be from Mexico, South America, and different Asian countries. One manufacturer makes a series and later the contract is let out to another company from a different country. Always with the idea of saving money. 30 years ago we liked to say after market was worse than the manufacturer brand when most of the time they did come from the same factory. Nowadays, it can be a crapshoot for parts. Many dealers use aftermarket parts from the local auto parts store and don't always say where it comes from. They don't hide the fact but they don't say where they got the parts. Truthfully most customers don't care. They want their car fixed at a low price. As to aftermarket body panels, fitting has been a problem for at least 40 years. Yes they use thinner materials, but also the stamping dies are wore out by the time an aftermarket company buys them. That is why most body shops try to use as much of the original material as possible and only as much of the aftermarket panel as necessary. Some places are now selling guaranteed OEM fit body panels. As I said it can be a crapshoot for quality.

oh crap! I have a b5.5 Passat and was just about to buy an aftermarket cv axle ... not anymore haha, Thanks!

That suspension brand he's referring to is MOOG. MOOG used to be quality and about 10 years ago their quality really took a dive

I own a '93 vehicle and most OEM parts are ridiculously expensive for it, and very hard to find. When it comes to audio components, always aftermarket for me.

I had an insurance claim on my car when a big ass bird flew into the side of it on the interstate. They replaced the passenger door glass with a 3rd party part and everything seemed OK. However, the auto-up feature on the Lexus would lift the window all the way up then immediately lowered the window to half down, as if its sensor thought there was something blocking it from going all the way up. The shop then had to replace it with a genuine Lexus part and then it worked fine.

Great show. Paul was excellent. Happy Daddy's Day.

Good video, should have talked about reman parts too. I bought a reman starter from Audi and the same part failed in 6 months

Personally, some OEM parts are better but some aftermarket parts are better. Since I'm a Ford guy, I'll use, say, a 2014 Ford Mustang GT. You can buy an OEM intake manifold from the 2012-2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302 that's designed to work to it's fullest potential with the stock engine (aside from other OEM Boss 302 parts such as cylidner heads and camshafts). For aftermarket, they seem to be designed best when paired with the same brand or other aftermarket parts. An Eibach lowering spring kit will work best with a set of Eibach shocks. With a Ford OEM lowering spring, it will most likely work best with another Ford OEM shock or even stock. That's just my thought though.

When it comes to sensors, I wouldn't use anything other than Delco or Delphi (I'm a GM guy), same for fuel pumps. I used an Airtex pump before and that thing crapped out in a year in my '00 Blazer, stuck a Delphi one in and it's been at least 6 years now with no issues. Definitely don't go cheap on parts that'll leave you stranded if they fail, the cost of a tow will eat up any potential savings of using the cheap part.

What do you think about aftermarket parts manufacturer that produces OEM stock parts? For example, Febi Bilstein making bushings or Eibach making stock springs or something similar in that manner. IMO I would go for that option because it is usually cheaper and "proven" good. But always, it just depends, ARP can make a rod bolt fail.

i start fixing my cars on my own got tools love it is rockauto good for parts or buy from honda and jeep ?

I could not agree more. I rather get the OEM part or at least aftermarket from a name brand like Bosh.

from my experience some high end stuff fails and some cheap stuff lasts forever its all about luck thats why its important to learn to fix things yourself i mean these days with the info on the internet and youtube i cant believe there are still ppl out there that dont even know how to check oil

How about MK2 VW body parts, like bumper covers? I am not seeing any indication of whether the rear bumper cover is on line I find are factory or aftermarket. Do they fit differently or have poor quality if aftermarket?

Very well said but there is one brand I can think of thats bad out the box and that would be dorman parts. Also what also happens for aftermarket parts is perceived quality as some wont install the part correctly and has parts failure. I prefer oe for anything electrical on a car but for other stuff I use proven stuff that works and provides as good of quality as a oe part. In most cases the parts only a few bucks cheaper as you do typically pay more for higher quality

I have a 2002 accord as my toy, not daily driven. I grabbed the megan ez 2 coilover kit for it instead of the oem and i am not riding with altered ride height when i do drive it. Similar to oem parts cost and i can adjust stiffness,height,damper and much lighter than the heavy oem shocks and struts

For German cars suspension parts Lemforder is the best way to go same as oem, Other parts Bilstein,Bosch,Pieburg,Hella,Vemo,brembo,Ate,skf,elring and a few others including oem in all these years i have had no problem with them and they feel and look a lot better than competition but if you plan to sell it then go for Delphi, and lower here in Eu at least

What I do....Find out who the OEM part manufacturer is for your car. Example: Exedy makes OEM clutches for Acura TSX. Then buy directly from the part manufacturer. Save a lot of money.

Whoa! Was that a Veyron he was standing in front of?! Oh wait, it was just a Golf with a painted body panel. Almost had me fooled :p

He said it perfect "if your going to not keep it long term then go and save money and if your planning on keeping it long term then pay more" hey I have a question how long can a modern vw last b4 you should get rid of it example my 2013 tiguan 93k miles. I love the tiguans but so hard last year alone had to replace the water pump (plastic wtf), timing chain and now the turbo do to that stupid cheap valve that connects to the waste gate actuator and I'm thinking about how much longer I should keep it and thoughts????

what about brake rotar and pads would OEM better or going for bosch is as equivalent to OEM

Hello. I wanted to find out whether I can replace complete shock absorber of a Kia with that of a different car brand?

All parts are subject to my Slogan N.E.W stands for Never Ever Works. (at least not on the first part) . I would say 40 percent of the vehicles I go out to diagnose at repair shops are burnt by new failed parts. No matter who makes it or distributed it, the item will still be subject to the fact that there is no longer any quality control.

I usually buy OEM whenever possible, especially if fitment is crucial, like a bracket etc... It also depends on how hard it is to get to the part I'm replacing.

Ford Mustang S197 owner here. I always stick with aftermarket parts, since the OEM Motorcrap is not famous for reliability. Otherwise, I won't be looking for replacement. If a part wears out sooner than it supposes to be. It means the part is not very good. Why would you want another one?

I've never had luck with aftermarket axles on German cars. The FEQ axles stay away! I have had those literally fall out of the transmission a couple of days after the customer drove away. This was on a BMW.

If you pay more to get something better quality and performs better than OEM specs then go for it. Brakes and oil filters are great examples if you get premium name brand parts.

It's unfortunate it's become such a crapshoot. At the part store I was given a choice between a beck arnley air filter or a Mann with The Mann being more expensive. The beck arnley was just a reboxed Mann filter. Identical! I needed a new timing cover for a Toyota. List price at lordco was over 500 bucks. Parts guy said hold on let me see if I can do better.. managed to get it down to $250. That's a bit of a markup

did not realize that the costco michelin tires were not as good as michelin elsewhere I was gonna spring for some michelins from them for our car glad I didn't

As an insurance adjuster would take umbrage w/ your assertion that aftermarket body parts are not up to snuff. It really depends on the quality and reputation of the manufacturer. Especially if the parts are certified by an independent 3rd party for insurance use, those may need some minor work but i have seen OE stuff need to be tweeked too. It comes down to price, you get what you pay for but most of the time especially when dealing w/ insurance cert aftermarket parts OE just isnt worth it. Great vid though

Bosch EVAP purge valves sold at the VW dealer are Made in China. There's a lot of other parts coming down the pike that are also MIC.

I would say some Aluminum or metal aftermarket engine oil pans exceed the quality of the plastic OEM oil pans on some Volkswagens. There is an aftermarket finned aluminum oil pan that looks cool and keeps the engine oil cooler; but with it comes the steep $300ish price tag.

For most cars I don't give a damn, but amusingly when it comes to VAG it seems to matter a lot. It doesn't have to come from the dealer, but I do prefer the correct OE part in every case so far.

Hi, i have a 2010 Civic EX, i need to purchase wheel bearings for it. Does it make a difference OEM vs aftermarket. Is there a specific company that i can use that makes good bearings? Thanks

You generally get what you pay for, and that goes for lifespan of the part, as well as functionality.

The aftermarket parts i believe end up being similar on cost to oem parts. The aftermarket parts that meet or exceed oem standards, not those cheap aftermarket items.

I am looking for an acceptable aftermarket Audi A3 bumper cover X 2. Any recommendations?

What about motor mounts? Just ordered some westar Transmission and motor mounts

I only get aftermarket parts if genuine ones aren't available anymore.Genuine parts can be cheap you just have to look for good deals.

I think it's quite difficult even for the 'enthusiast' to find out who the original parts manufacturers are. This is complicated by the fact that VW change companies. For example, in my petrol car the spark plugs were NGK so I assumed on the diesel it would be NGK too only to find out Beru supplied the original glow plugs. Most people would happily pay less for original parts costing less, minus the branding, but we don't have access to the information. I'm thinking whether these companies are under any regulations not to disclose that they supplied the parts to VW?? There needs to be more transparency and companies who do supply VW need to say 'we supply such and such part for this model of car'.

Most of the time you get what you pay for. If you want to avoid headaches just bite the bullet and buy the OEM parts.

What is the consensus here on NAPA aftermarket parts?

Always buy the cheapest part that will work. I had a Moog upper ball joint fair after 3 months and the cheapest part lasted 5 years, the life of the vehicle. brake parts likewise, soft pads are gentler on the rotors. I got burned on not using the cheapest softest pads because of a sticking caliper which also ruined the a rotor. -this was the first time a caliper seized on me.

I had a starter it lasted a hundred and fifty thousand miles on my car since then I've had three starters each one of them lasted maybe a year maybe two or three thousand miles and then had to be replaced life time warranty and this doesn't matter because they know you'll probably never bring it back and they don't care so I'm asking is it better to buy the dealer starter

Costco tires are for sale are for the most part top quality. Any reputable tire company won't sell a piece not junk under their own name.

2 quotes i follow You get what you pay for do it right or do it twice I have a mk5 2.5 jetta grills and such is china made and works fine I replace bolts with oem ones I agree get oem body parts and head lights and taillights are hit or miss with aftermarket aftermarket suspension: the more you pay the better the product is, when replace oem failed stuff i usually go for OE copies and they work just fine so far anything involving engine thats not performance i always go oem sometimes a aftermarket solution is better, example: 2.5 vacuum pumps and the big websites like ecstuning, urotuning, dap, etc usually dont sell crappy parts so if your unsure just buy off them

The dealer markups must be 50%, in retail that is pretty standard. I have not done extensive research, but with other OEMs it is not too hard to find online sellers, usually a dealership, offering 25-30% off full retail. Does any VW parts source offer this discount?

Toyota charges an arm and a leg for a crankshaft pulley for my 2006 Toyota Tacoma. Any suggestions? factory or quality equivalent

Brakes: love OEM pads...always fit right and last long. Calipers: aftermarket usually as good as OEM cuz if reman, they are OEM. O2 sensors...what he said. Mufflers: OEM way too much $ for what you get.

I've seen that a lot of shops actually buy parts from Autozone as they come with a lifetime warranty. CV axles for instance is one of them. These are critical parts. I don't blame them as I do the same on my car with Dorman, TYC, Beck Arnley... however none of the shops beside the dealer will put OEM parts in order to make you believe you are getting a good deal. CV axle from Honda for a Mazda 6 is $350 vs $60 for third party.... that doesn't include labor. I guess it comes down to if you have the money or not. If you do, buy the OEM, if not go with the aftermarket.

feel like DAP is talking about Moog with the "particular" aftermarket suspension company

I have an old BMW (2006 Z4 3.0si), BMW wanted €605 for an alternator, the Bosch part was €415. The original part with the BMW sticker had the exact same Bosch part number stamped underneath. At time of posting that represents over $200 difference for the exact same part. I live in France, they call them 'voleurs', and do not mention their $225 per hour labour rates (sorry ...labor) or you will get a 4 page rant.

Much of the reason that after market OE replacement parts exist is due to the insurance market. Cheaper to fix.

Is VAG an OEM part looking at a wiring kit from them for 2018 Audi Q3 Quattro

I have bought rotors for my 2006 scion xa and had some problems with them. I first got them at a scion dealer which cost me 2 times the aftermarket ones. They only come with a 1 year warranty . Then I got the life time ones from autozone after the ones from the oem failed 1.5 years later. I got the ones with a lifetime warranty and it has been 3 years and now they're beginning to squeal . So I am going to yank them off this week and see if it is the rotor or my break pads which are lifetime also

Thanks Charles and Paul. What are your thoughts on refurbished OEM wheels? Would like to upgrade to 18 or 19s and would like to stay OEM. Thanks. Doing some work on my VW and following both of you carefully.

I have a question. What about when a vehicle comes with say 3 different options from the factory are they interchangeable?. For example my wife's 2010 Eos 2.0t comes with a denso ac compressor but they can also be equipped with sanden or zexel compressors from my understanding. Basicly I'm asking if I would be able to use a $280 sanden instead of replacing with a $500 denso or would there be non compatibility issues or would other parts need replacing?

For many things OEM vs aftermarket doesnt matter too much, but like he said, many body parts arent that great. Also alot of new companies are buying the cheapest shit from china, and rebadging them, like dorman. I bought two brand new aftermarket master cylinders one dorman, and one centric, and both failed and leaked. Most of the stuff I got from dorman also was shit too. Cardone is iffy. Some aftermarket brands though have better warranties, and depending on what it is, and price, I would go with it.

The ZF group are the biggest deliver of VAG group original parts