11
I think the whole 'always use OEM parts' thing is overblown
Been fixing washers and dryers out of my garage for about 5 years now. Started off buying only factory parts because everyone in the forums said aftermarket stuff will fail in 6 months. But I had a customer in Bakersfield who couldn't wait 2 weeks for a OEM dryer belt, so I grabbed a $8 universal one from the local supply house. That was 3 years ago and that belt is still running fine on her machine. I've probably put in 40+ aftermarket parts since then and maybe 2 failed early. Meanwhile I'm seeing OEM control boards die after 2 years on brand new Samsung units. Anyone else finding the quality gap between OEM and aftermarket is way smaller than it used to be?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
hayden7092d ago
It's the same thing with car oil filters. People swear you have to get the dealer brand or Fram or whatever, but I've run a $3 store brand filter for 8,000 miles in my old truck and it came off looking just as clean as the name brand one. This whole thing reminds me of how people used to say generic store brand food tasted terrible, and now half the time it's made in the same factory as the expensive stuff. Seems like the real scam is convincing everyone their machine is a delicate princess that can only eat one specific brand of replacement part. The aftermarket stuff has gotten way better while the OEM stuff just keeps getting more expensive and not any more reliable.
8
dianas502d ago
Remembered my buddy Mike had a similar experience with his dishwasher. He bought a used Whirlpool off Craigslist and the pump went out six months later. The OEM part was $120 and a two week wait, so he grabbed a $35 generic pump off Amazon. That $35 pump outlasted his dishwasher - he sold the whole machine five years later and the replacement pump was still going strong. Exactly what @hayden709 said about the aftermarket catching up, sometimes it's the same components just without the fancy box.
4