Nina Barton wrote:
>
> What's the difference between OEM and aftermarket? If you're still
> learning, and possibly unsure of what is a good quality part, what do you
> look for? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance, Nina
Nina-
An OEM part is one that was packaged for sale by the original
manufacturer of the vehicle, i.e. British Leyland. What you may not
realize is that the OEM part is in many cases manufactured by an outside
source. When that outside source begins to sell it's parts, in it's
packaging, you are still getting the same part that came on the car.
You are not, however, paying the OEM manufacuturers markup, so the cost
is normally considerably less. Most LBC parts are no longer available
from the OEM source. Original type parts (i.e. Lucas Electric, or S.U.
carbs) available from Moss, etc. are considered aftermarket.
Reproductions are usually parts that have either gotten very expensive,
or are no longer available on an OEM or aftermarket basis. An example
of this is tailight lenses for an MGB, which are still available from
Lucas, or for much less in a reproduction. As has been discussed
already, quality of reproduction parts vary greatly. I suppose that if
you have money to burn, you can't really go wrong with OEM/aftermarket
parts.
Best Regards,
Chris Delling
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