[Captain Slow]

The question everyone always asks - Should you buy non-OE Auto Parts?

Being a kind of DIY guy my car and bike very-very rarely goes into the workshop for any kind of repair or maintenance. As we all know good quality spares (and a good reliable mechanic) (I WILL NEVER TRUST THE ONLINE CHAIN OF MECHANICS AND REPAIR APPS) can keep your car/bike running like new for a very very long time!

Getting good quality parts is not always easy.

OE car parts are tried tested and their quality is always good.

PROS of OE car parts.
1) Tested.
2) Proven Quality.
3) Better life.
4) 100% Compactibility guaranteed.
5) Peace of Mind.
6) Saves you time and money (read more)

CONS of OE car parts.
1) Sometimes Can be hard to find (Honda, VW, Toyota ETC don't like to sell parts over the counter)
2) Long wait times for some rare parts.
3) Expensive (sometimes 2x - 3x the price of a non-OE PART.

Non-OE parts are easy to find and cheap.

PROS of non-OE car parts.
1) Easy to find.
2) Much-Much cheaper than OE Parts.

CONS of non-OE car parts.
1) Poor Quality.
2) Untested.
3) unreliable.
4) Doesn't last too long.
5) Compactibility is not always guaranteed.

Ever heard of the saying penny wise pound foolish? Well buying NON-OE parts is exactly doing this!
My Personal experience with NON-OE Auto pasts has not been good at all and often Its come back to bite me on my behind! Costing you time (which according to me is more valuable than a few Rs 100/1000 for the parts)

Example 1 - Suspension Parts Ford
The Original inner, outer tie rods and stabilizer links lasted until about 65-70K KM! The first time these went bad they were replaced by a brand called Rane (these things lasted for another 10 - 15K KM and once again at 88K KM we replaced them with a brand called Monroe - During this time it was observed that the front struts were weak and needed a change soon.
Fast forward to 2022 now that we are back to using the cars during a routine check @ 98K KM, It was found that the inner, outer tie rods and stabilizer links are bust yet again!

The Ford OE link rod costs about 1,000 for each side! while the other brands sell them for about Rs600-800 a pair.

First time - Rane Brand
Second Time - Monroe

Gear Box Mount - Ford

OE Mounted lasted until 70K KM -
Noticed a broken mount during inspection - Replaced with a no-brand local mount -

During 88K - Gearbox mount kaput again -
Replaced with a brand called technix -

Inspection at 98K - Gearbox mount goes kaput again

Having brunt my hands with non-OE auto parts 2 times over this time I did not want to take any risk and waste my time with junk parts - Every part we ordered was OE from Ford - (Except for some interior clips.)

Following parts were replaced -
FORD OE Front Struts.
FORD OE inner and outer Tie rods.
FORD OE stabilizer link set.
FORD OE Gearbox mount.

Twice bitten! The third time we played it right!

Next example -
Maruti -
Maruti parts are quite easy to source and really don't cost that much. (YES-YES I KNOW SOME OF YOU WILL ASK me - WHY DID YOU BUY NON-OE MARUTI PARTS ??)
This will be another episode where I was Penny wise and pound foolish! haha : (

I will not get into all the details about this, just one incident will be enough to tell you all how bad non-OE auto parts are -

Lower arms -
One of the sites to buy car parts had a big sale and here is where I noticed a pair for lower arms for 1/2 the price of the OE ones (Maruti Original ones), thinking that this is a good deal I ordered the parts. (The site delivering the parts was perfect in their order and delivery) OTR branded lower arms.

When the Lower arms arrived I was in for a rude shock - the parts seemed of very-very poor quality! You may ask how do I know? ah well, I have a pair of OE lower arms (FROM MARUTI) for comparison.
Below is a comparison of the two -

The MGP Lower arm is heavy and made very very well,
The lower arm bush quality, ball joint and ball joint boot quality, fit and finish on the MGP part is 100% better than the local part.
In terms of weight - the MGP part is a good 600-800 grams heavier. (Each lower arm)

Very curious to see how well these NON-OE is lower arms are made I removed the rubber boot for the ball joint.
This is what I saw.


In terms of weight - the MGP part is a good 800-900 grams heavier.


The Lower arm bush quality on the MGP is much much better - The bush on the NON-OE part looks like it won't last very long.


MGP rubber Bush.


OTR rubber bush.




Fellow Bhpians and readers - You may think that buying NON-OE parts is good and you will save a lot of money but think about the time/effort and labour costs in replacing these parts? The time your car spends in the garage. Is it really worth it? I mean the end of the day you may save Rs-/ 2000-3000 for now but you will have to replace these parts again very-very soon which would mean 2x-3x the labour costs!

The OE engine mounts on our Maruti lasted for over 18 years, the car did more than a lakh km, finally changed it because they were old and parts were cheap.

If you plan to keep your car/bike with you for a long time and really like to keep it in the best condition possible my Hubble suggestion to everyone - As much as possible please use only OE Auto parts on your car/bike it might cost you a bit more but this cost is justified.

Disclaimer -
All Parts were purchased by me.
I'm not affiliated with any online parts store/auto part brand.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[GTO]

Great thread .

My answer = it depends. Will buy OE parts for my cars 95% of the time, but with some exceptions. Example, with my C220, some aftermarket parts (e.g. engine mounts, dampers) lasted about double of what the factory parts did. Manufacturers do a lot of cost cutting at the time of assembly. For my Jeep, an aftermarket large custom-built radiator solved the overheating problem in a way that the factory radiator just couldn't. I will also go non-OE if I'm looking at a superior suspension for my car (example, my erstwhile 8th-gen Civic).

But of course, these examples are rare. 95% of the time, I will buy OE parts only. And remember, it is also important WHO you buy your parts from (too many fakes in the market). I prefer the dealer or a reputable shop like Shetty Motors in Bombay.

I hold my cars for 10 years minimum and top quality parts + labour are crucial to keeping them in top shape.

[shancz]

Voted for OE parts, reasons already listed in the OP.

Non OE parts only if they offer something better than OE.
Examples :
- I found the Monroe rear shock absorbers to have slightly better damping than OE MSIL ones on the wagonR (2016) but not night and day.

- EBC sintered brake pads fulfil both scenarios. A friend used them on his D390 as an expensive upgrade while used them on his N1000 as a cheaper option with slightly lower performance.

So the answer really is Depends

[kosjam]

It always depends on the part, if it has to do anything with the reliability of the vehicle or its overall safety, then it is always better to go with an OE part, unless it is a superior part compared to the OEM.

But anything which does not void your warranty by not going the OEM route is a safe bet going non OE. Easiest examples are brake pads, headlamps, air filters, oil/oil filters from reputed non OE brands and belts. The list is obviously not exhaustive. In some cases, even suspension components (i changed the monoshock on my motorbike with a non OEM supplier) are cheaper while offering same levels of quality. But the only issue is your undertanding of these parts and ability to carry out atleast a basic check of the quality before the part is installed.

It is best carried out on a case by case basis

[Sidjohri]

I'm all for OE parts no matter what. The only exception to look elsewhere would be non-availability of OE spares or significantly long waiting times. Durability, compatibility, good fit and peace of mind for me are far more important than (possibly) higher costs that I might have to shell out for original equipment.

[jeeva]

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

Lower arms -
One of the sites to buy car parts had a big sale and here is where I noticed a pair for lower arms for 1/2 the price of the OE ones (Maruti Original ones), thinking that this is a good deal I ordered the parts. (The site delivering the parts was perfect in their order and delivery) OTR branded lower arms.

Specifically about lower arms, most of the OEM bushes/ball joints are sold separately. All you would need is a decent hydraulic press to insert the bushes. On an average a lower arm (one side) costs about 4k, whereas the bushes might cost 1/4th of the price. Obviously, if the lower arm itself is damaged, you ought to replace it, but most of the time, its the bushes and the ball joints that need replacement. The applies for drive shafts as well.

[Rocketscience]

It depends on which part we are talking about and the knowledge of our mechanic/online sources, to clarify, parts like wiper blades and horns for example can safely be bought aftermarket/non OEM, infact in many examples they should be bought from the outside, someone the other day mentioned shelling out ₹8000 for Creta's horns from the dealership which is frankly daylight robbery, a good pair of Hella horns would have given similar sound and performance/reliability while costing less than a fraction this also brings me to the second reason,
In some of the cases, with the knowledge of mechanics or online sources one can learn that the exact same (not similar but same) parts are available for much cheaper outside the dealerships, the reason is simple, car manufacturers don't manufacture each and every single part themselves but use outside vendors for many of them, those outside vendors can then sell that exact same part for much less outside without the car manufacturer premium in between (the difference can be night and day and very significant if you climb the ladder and talk of higher end German brands), I faintly remember the examples for same in this forum as well wherein someone got the exact same AC compressor I guess for 30% the cost from outside for a VAG car, needless to say one needs to be very careful going down this road as there are fakes and many people to misguide and cheat you.

Then the last is good quality aftermarket replacement parts by reputable brands (like in the case of horns and wiper blades I mentioned earlier but also for many other parts) which once again can perform about as good while costing much less and ofcourse there are better than OEM quality parts by high performance brands which can even be more expensive but better than OEM parts.

So you see it is not that black and white as buying OEM only or buying outside only, while buying OEM parts is a safe bet if you are looking for peace of mind, long term ownership and reliability, you can get about as good an experience in some cases outside for much less money too.

[sunikkat]

Well we cannot classify Non OE parts being cheap as in few cases they are premium than OE.
So for me during warranty, as much as possible OE parts. Outside of warranty non OE premium brands and get it fitted with a good FNG. Now for suspension and brake upgrades I went with non OE premium brands like Bilstein, Brembo etc. which costed much more than OE and is performing much better too.
And for ABS sensor change again non OE as I could source it in a day (compared to 3 to 4 days for OE) and the FNG just changed one sensor while OE was asking for a change of sensor and wheel bearing which would have costed more.

So key to Non OE is getting genuine parts and a good FNG for fitting.

[Kosfactor]

For most Indian brands and in this case I'll include Hyundai as well - You get several grade of parts, at least 3 grades. You need to choose according to your application.

Someone who bought an M800 for 20K will not worry much about OEM vs MGP, the usage of the vehicle will be very sparse and the cheapest fix to make it road worthy would do just fine. Having had old Maruti vehicles , I am well aware of this. Some parts are no longer available in MGP and you have to rely on aftermarket suppliers to fill the gap. The mechanic's integrity and customer's willingness to pay for doing the job properly is key.

While driving my vehicle home after a 1L kms service at the ASC, I couldn't help wonder that it felt just like the day I brought it home. Same roads , same traffic and same old Silk Board now with added metro mess.

Use OEM parts & technicians for as long as you can.

[Akshay6988]

Though I have not yet needed to replace any parts on my car, I've changed n parts on my scooters. For critical components - wheels, suspension, brakes I go with OEM parts as I trust it more. Non trivial components - cosmetic and such I go with non OEM components

[scorpian]

OE all the way.

For my sx4, i had options of various lower arms, went for MGP Swift ones, they are heavy and well made.
For all O rings etc always went for MGP, expensive such as injection pump single O ring costs 790/- outside its available for 12 rupees, see the difference in savings,but guess what OE ring will last you at least 1lakh kilometres.

Coolant always bought from MGP store, i find other coolants to be more diluted. Dont think its worth taking a risk with the cooling system.

Rear Shocks, again went for OE, could have got aftermarket for cheaper but went for peace of mind.Oil filter always OE.

Diesel filter i buy from outside but get the same brand of sofima original for much much lesser. This also i had a look at the OE and the aftermarket and could find absolutely no difference.

Injection pump is the only thing that i got overhauled at company specified diesel workshop who did a fantastic job, this i went with the pump myself as maruti was insisting on only replacement.

I think paying a little extra is worth the peace of mind.

[starke]

What a coincidence to start this thread the same day

Just a few days ago I changed my Terrano's front rotor and pads with a non-OE part suggested by my FNG. The savings was nearly half the cost of what ASC offered and since my mechanic was confident about it, I gave it a go.

The brake started pulsating right after the rotor/pad combo was changed and the mechanic told me to let the brake bed in it will go away.

Drove around 150 kms and yesterday I knew that It won't go away as the new rotor might have a wrap manufacturing defect.

Fortunately, my FNG and the part supplier is on good terms and agreed to replace, but this time with a Bosch rotor (Nissan ASC does not sell parts outside) and hope it will do fine.

So my take on this topic, go for OE for critical parts like Brakes, Engine components etc and even if you want to save some bucks on non-OE, get some reputed brands

[Leoshashi]

Depends, mantra for me in short is, I'll go for the best quality possible. I often go to Non-OE or Aftermarket brands in 2 scenarios:

1. When Non OE spare is from the same vendor and is significantly cheaper than OE. For example, My M800s Alternator in Denso costs ~Rs. 5000 while the exact same thing in MGP, made by Denso, costs well above Rs. 10k. Subros charges Rs. 8k for AC compressor while the same thing with MGP tag costs above Rs. 15k. However the catch here is, quality should be the same or better. I wouldn't touch a Lumax branded Rs. 300 headlamp for my 800, but instead go with MGP which costs around Rs. 650 per lamp, which is made by Lumax, but is of far superior quality which can be seen if compared back to back.

2. When Non OE spare is better than OE: Again taking an example of M800, wiper motor supplied in MGP is by Mitsuba Electric which has known issues as shared by mechanics. I'll prefer aftermarket Denso here(Denso was their vendor in early 2000s, but now it's no longer in supply in MGP) which is expensive, but well worth the premium. Similarly, I'll happily try Non OE options like Gabriel, Monroe, Motherson etc when they are available for boot door struts for my XL6 because the stock MGP(Vendor Suspa Liftline) is just about average.

A lot also depends on the reputation of the vendor. I wouldn't touch an unknown brand no matter how cheap it is. The spare has to be from a reputed vendor if I'm exploring aftermarket.

Regards,
Shashi

[Chhanda Das]

I am kind of in the middle and hence, I did not vote on the poll. We always decide between OE parts and non-OE parts on a case-by-case basis.

We used to own Hindustan Motors' cars but we never had the opportunity to visit their workshops. Instead, we used to mostly service our cars by ourselves with whatever was available locally at the time. This was in a non-descript place in the North-East of India nearly 2 decades ago and the car was already 2 decades old at the time. So the options were very limited to largely one brand Lucas/Lucas-TVS. Sometimes we have even had to make our own parts by ourselves for our cars

Coming to the present times, the engine oil filter in my first-generation pre-facelifted 1.6 petrol Creta AT is manufactured for Hyundai by both Mann Hummel (imported from South Korea and slightly more expensive) as well as by Inzi Controls India Ltd. (cheaper due to local manufacturing) with no known difference in quality. Now those exact same engine oil filters are available at aftermarket shops at slightly cheaper rates. Now, how do I know that the ones sold at aftermarket shops are the exact same as the ones sold at Hyundai Authorized Service Centres (ASCs) ? This is because they are manufactured by the exact same manufacturers and have the exact same part numbers and/or SKUs as the ones sold at Hyundai ASCs with no discernible difference in quality. The only difference is that the ones sold at aftermarket shops do not have the Hyundai logo on them. Other brands too make this engine oil filter but I prefer to stick to the OEM manufacturer without paying Hyundai (broker/middleman) charges for the same. It is the exact same situation for me with regards to consumables like brake fluid, coolant, etc.

On the other hand, let us take the brake pad situation under consideration. The ones sold at Hyundai ASCs for my car are actually made by Bosch which are rebadged as Hyundai original parts and then sold. I can easily procure them from good aftermarket brick-and-mortar shops or online stores as Bosch parts at slightly reduced prices. However, I would very much prefer to take the complete aftermarket route because other brands like Brembo, etc make vastly superior brake pads for my car. Similarly, we do not like the Hyundai branded wiper fluid and prefer to get the one made by ProKlear.

However, there is also the fact that the market is flooded with counterfeit products. So we have to be very careful about what we buy for our cars and who we buy it from to reduce the chances of our cars getting affected as much as possible. Then there are other factors like availability, etc which can affect the decision making process as well