OEM or Aftermarket Spares: What's Your Choice?

[Akash1886]

Team,

As all of us own cars and bikes and love them with our heart and soul, lets share our views on usage of OEM or Aftermarket spares for our rides.

We all know, at the end of the day car is a machine and needs to be maintained as per need. So, to keep them in good shape, should we always buy OEM or even good quality, reliable after market spares are good too?

Reason I ask you all is that at times the spares are not readily available with ASC but can be secured from after market. Hence, do you all feel After market spares are at-par with OEM spares?

Second reason is the price, no-doubt that quality comes at a price but do you feel auto-brands in India charge a much higher premium on spares than after-market?

Lastly, A small question, do you buy the spares yourself prior to getting your car repaired at an FNG? Do you make sure of the quality of after-market spares?

I am sure many of you may have replaced some spares with a aftermarket alternative so please share your views on that too.

Lets get your views about the usage of spares i.e OEM or After-market.

Regards

Akash.

PS: The thread is not about after-market car accessories. It is specifically for mechanical/ technical spares of cars and bikes.

 

[samkolkata]

I always use OEMs although they charge a premium it comes with a peace of mind. In some cases you can also get to know the manufacturer and other details of the spares (as the automobile manufacturers don't produce them they also outsource them) and can search them.

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

I prefer the otherway, Aftermarket ones.Reasons-
1.Staff who does accesories from OEM stores are contract based.They keep on changing.At Local accesories shop technicians may change and may not be highly qualified,but the one who owns the shop recognises us instantly,that itself makes us happy.
2.Pricey products in OEM. At Local shops mostly all are branded items,and they give you huge tip on items.
eg- Sony Xav-68 BT in my car showroom,its price is 19500
My accesories point dealer quoted 18500
3.More options available in Accesories store.
Brands like Sony ,Pioneer are the only options in Showroom,while in accesories shop they can get you the required brand,within 2 days time.
The shop i consult have almost all brands.

 

[samkolkata]

All your points holds to be true in case of accesories. But the thread is about mechanical/ technical spares i guess. In case of accesories i would also preffer local accesory shop for all the postives you have mentioned.

 

[drive enthusiast]

Definitely OEM even it is going to fix at FNG, reason peace of mind that part has been replaced with a genuine one. Just suppose you are going to change timing belt and used a aftermarket one, which is obviously lower priced and comparatively quality would be on sake.
And all of a sudden it fails/splits. The damage it is going to do engine and to your pocket would be a jaw dropping.
Saving few bucks and using a lower quality product is definitely injustice to our ride.

 

[Akash1886]

Buddies,

On this front, For small spares like tail lamp bulbs / indicator bulbs and spark plugs I buy from a good FNG since they can't do much in duplication of them. Now, In case, a tail light assembly is needing a replacement then for sure I will get that replaced from ASC since FNG quality is not that good as the plastic fades away in due course.

Regards

Akash

 

[alfa alfa]

For me if it is Accessories such as lights,music systems,reverse parking sensors etc. I go with Aftermarket but when it comes to spare parts such as clutch, bearings etc I go with OEM.

 

[Mr.Boss]

For me it depends on several conditions, I go for
OE Spare:
- When the vehicle is under OE warranty
- When the Insurance is used
- When the Genuine / Quality parts is not available outside A.S.S
- When the price difference is nil / negligible
After Market spare:
- Few electrical stuffs (Battery, bulb, horn, etc)
- Standard parts (Filters, bulbs, brake friction materials,, etc)
- Genuine / Quality parts at cheaper price

It's not that all after market parts are inferior in quality. One should know the source to get a better product at right price and the rest depends on our luck.

 

[Akash1886]

Buddies, Here is the list of some car parts that are easily counterfeited in the open market. As its a comparison between OEM spare Vs After market spare and the reliability and quality being important aspects hence, from the below list, if you are buying any spare from open market then be extra-cautious since at times its very difficult to tell the difference between OEM and Counterfeit spare of open market.

​

Google

Regards

Akash

 

[bhaveshce]

I usually prefer OEM parts. If the part is related to safety then I would not think twice before going with OEM parts. But for accessories I do research the market and then go with the good quality product with good reviews. There is always a risk of fake product in box of original product. It is really very difficult to identify the counterfeit parts. So for peace of mind I would prefer OEM parts.

 

[chevrolet]

How to get oem spares from asc/company, without giving our car for service. I want to service my car in a outside garage.

 

[Akash1886]

How to get oem spares from asc/company, without giving our car for service. I want to service my car in a outside garage.

Buddy, you yourself can't buy the spares in bulk from ASC and get your car serviced outside as ASC won't give them. However, the FNG from which you intend to get your car serviced should have good "links" in spares and accessory department of the OEM ASC. He can source the spares for you from there but be alert as the FNG may charge you bit higher than real price of OEM spares sighting "commission" charges.

Regards

Akash

 

[swadesh]

It depends, sometimes i use aftermarket and sometimes OEM. Couple of times I've found that Aftermarket Suppliers are same as a Previous OEM, whose contract got terminated due to some reasons, other than Quality. For any high value items, above 500-1000, I prefer to go with OEM, and lesser value - Aftermarket.

 

[pravin1987]

for critical engine components, i always to stick to OEM. Non critical things I fancy after market spares

 

[abhijit_net]

BOSCH is better than OEM parts.