Jobber parts helping to ruin the big guys?

[bookman232]

For many years I ran an a garage repair and parts business.
I sold brake pads made in Spain by an American company,who hid their identity by using a Local company as distributor.
Corporate business is ruthless and they do not care a jot about anyone other than the bottom line.
I had an Esso site and they tried slowley screwed me down with corporate nonsense evn though I was the top site more more more.
The anecdote to this is Jobber parts as you so loosely put it keeps 100s of lower paid people in work and sfter 50years in the trade I would not buy a main dealer part
when a good quality alternative is available

[lejoueurdepipeau]

If it wasn't for enthusiasts reproducing the necessary parts there would be far fewer 2CVs in existence as Citroen decided to refuse to acknowledge the car for many years - now they are all enthusiastic about it again after wanting their "cut" from the 60th birthday publicity in 2008! Of course many of the cars are still going strong and refused to die....

[TiasTreasures]

The anecdote to this is Jobber parts as you so loosely put it keeps 100s of lower paid people in work and sfter 50years in the trade I would not buy a main dealer part when a good quality alternative is available

There is a problem for someone like me who knows nothing about mechanical devices. If a replacement part is not OEM, how can I tell if it's safe? I realize many generic parts are just as good and made to the manufacturer's specifications, but I also have heard quite a bit about parts made in China and other countries that are definitely inferior.

I drove a 1988 Jeep Wrangler for many years, and parts were still available from the manufacturer in 2006, the last time I had work done before I parted with it. Maybe that's not true for all autos, but I'm going to continue to be cautious.

[baconsdozen]

It's often hard to tell if a part is a genuine one as fitted to the vehicle when new or a copy.
The problem of passing off stuff as being something that it is not isn't confined to the car industry.I ordered in a batch of 'Made in England' spanners some while back and some arrived in boxes with Chinese characters all over them.
You have to be carefull though,I remember seeing some cheap oil filters in a wharehouse they were missing tghe non return valve in the base which meant dry starts for engines that had been stood any length of time.The genuine factory approved article had such a valve.You can buy a lot of cheap filters for the price of a crank grind and new shells.

[leapingcat]

Remember that the car manufactures don't make the components themselves but buy them in from equally reputable companies. When I had Saabs, I could buy the electrical components from the local Bosch distributor at half the price that the identical components (same manufacturer and part no) cost at the Saab dealer. There are poor quality Chinese rip-offs which should be avoided like the plague especially if safety-related, but there are also genuine bargains to be had, you just have to know what's what.

[westlondoncarparts]

The direct phonetic translation into English of the Kanji (chinese) characters used to write the name Toyota in Japan is Toyoda. For some reason the Japanese Toyoda Motor Company decided to name themselves as Toyota in English. It might be connected with the fact that the letter ‘t’ in English is pronounced halfway between a ‘t’ and a ‘d’ in Japanese but I cannot be sure of that. However, Toyoda and Toyota are the same company, founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937.

There should not be a problem buying after market parts if they are manufactured by a reputable components manufacturer. Sometimes it is the case that the same components company manufactures both the parts for the car brand which are sold as OEM and also manufactures after market parts for the same vehicles. Most car manufacturers sub contract the manufacture of car parts to third parties.

After market parts made by reputable components manufacturers have a generally good track record on safety. However, some might not always last as long as top quality OEM parts.

There are also low quality parts available which have been made in the Far East and there could be safety and length of life issues with some of these.

The immediate problems that have faced the North American car industry recently have been linked to the credit crisis and the drying up of loan finance to buy vehicles. Behind that, however, are longer term issues which have been facing the North American car industry for some time and which the corporate managements have not addressed – bloated corporate bureaucracies, uncompetitive manufacturing processes, being behind the competition in developing environmentally friendlier vehicles, assuming that cheap petrol would be around for a long time, and so on. Rather than go for protectionism, it would be much better to get some decent management in who can turn these companies around and get them competitive in the market place again The high prices charged for OEM items reflect in part the costs of having to hold comprehensive stocks of millions of different car parts for car ranges which is an expense that most after market components manufacturers do not have as they tend to produce regular service items only. However, the high OEM parts prices are also a reflection of the general lack of efficiency and competitive practices in some of the large NA manufacturers. There are also issues of potential pricing opportunism when the honouring of car manufacturers' warranties for new cars is dependent upon OEM parts only being fitted. Making it illegal to produce after market parts would just help the car companies to get away with being inefficient and would enable them potentially to push prices up. The bottom line for the North American car manufacturers is that if the Japanese and others can beat them at their own game, they need to change – not be protected.

[baconsdozen]

As a side issue....
It used to be the case that manufacturers had to guarantee the parts availability for vehicles for a set number of years after they had stopped being made.This I believe was dropped some years ago.
I think Mercedes,VW and maybe Volvo probably provide parts for obsolete models the longest although some classic cars are served well in some areas,it being possible to reshell some for instance.
There are also a few oddities like vehicles,long obsolete in their original country of manufacture being made again (sometimes in a modified form) in other countries.The beetle I believe carried on for some years in brazil and the India produces the Royal Enfield motorcycle and the Hindustan (an old model Morris).

[sonnytimes]

bookman #11.
you are right.If the makers brought theirs invented priced down to an affordable level we might buy them.
tia #13.
if you don't know yourself ask someone who does like bookman.

[tjsprinting]

many years ago I needed a cam belt for my Mitsubishi van, I purchased an after market belt from a reputable manufacturer, cost £21.00, on the box it gave a list of the vehicles it would fit. Now whilst having the compulsory cuppa whilst contemplating the task ahead of me fitting the darn thing, I was reading through the list- ah same one as for the cortina mk 4. Now a few weeks earlier I had actually fitted one on my car and the cost had been a lot less! so I rang the motor factors for a quote for the Cortina cambelt, yep £6. So headed off down the road, returned the 'mitsubishi' cam belt had a refund and then purchased the Cortina one- chap gave me the same box back!!! when I asked why the price difference he told me it was because I had asked for one for a commercial vehicle those always carried a heafty price because it was figured a tradesperson would pay extra so as not to loose time off the road. Since then I have saved ££££££s on parts for mitzis and citroens by checking component numbers for various bits and pieces needed.

[bluebedouin]

many years ago I needed a cam belt for my Mitsubishi van, I purchased an after market belt from a reputable manufacturer, cost £21.00, on the box it gave a list of the vehicles it would fit. Now whilst having the compulsory cuppa whilst contemplating the task ahead of me fitting the darn thing, I was reading through the list- ah same one as for the cortina mk 4. Now a few weeks earlier I had actually fitted one on my car and the cost had been a lot less! so I rang the motor factors for a quote for the Cortina cambelt, yep £6. So headed off down the road, returned the 'mitsubishi' cam belt had a refund and then purchased the Cortina one- chap gave me the same box back!!! when I asked why the price difference he told me it was because I had asked for one for a commercial vehicle those always carried a heafty price because it was figured a tradesperson would pay extra so as not to loose time off the road. Since then I have saved ££££££s on parts for mitzis and citroens by checking component numbers for various bits and pieces needed.

A number of Reliant parts fit Bedford cf's too,at half the price!