Hi,

Many of the aftermarket suppliers appear to sell parts that are nowhere near OE quality. That goes for the aftermarket makers that also have OE contracts. Years ago we used to say, never buy gaskets or anything with rubber from a motor factor.
Over the past few months we have replaced several balljoints and bushes that we had only replaced one or two years previously. The original items having lasted sometimes up to 10yrs/over 100,000 miles. Many non OE exhausts and catalysts are junk, even from the well known brands
I get annoyed when the independent parts distribution organisations bang on about how their parts are equivalent to OE quality. I wish they were. We are certainly using more dealer parts.I don't like to, but I can't stand the hassle of parts not being spot-on out of the box.
Even companies like Robert Bosch for example, in many cases their ign lead sets aren't remotely as good as OE.
I know that the there is a price issue, that many old cars aren't worth repairing unless more cost-effective spares are available. However, we are seeing more and more quite late model vehicles, especially given the labour rates of franchised dealers.
One well known factor in the Thames Valley is advertising water pumps of 'certified OE quality' Last Dec. I asked their sales rep. for a copy of the 'certificate', nix so far.

tw