OK so it is not really a conspiracy because the companies are not doing anything illegal, but they are stealing our money. Any of you auto mechanics out there know most of the places to get parts for a decent price. Places like Advance Autoparts, Autozone, or Napa. All of these places do offer a great variety of parts for almost every vehicle, but there is a catch. Most of the parts are rebuilt and the ones that aren't are not built that well. Whenever they have a core charge on an item and you have to return the bad part to get the money, someday you could see that same part again. For example, brake drums; you buy some "new" ones from Advance Autoparts and slap them on. Then you return your old ones and get some money back. Now those old parts get shipped out companies that only rebuild core parts. Which means they could even get outsourced again to some other company. What I am getting at is do you think that the average Joe trying to make his quota cares about safety when rebuilding these. Some might get less treatment than others and that one part could be dangerous if it fails.
I have actually had this happen to me. My clutch master cylinder went bad and needed replacement. So I went to the closest parts store and purchased a rebuilt one, put it on, and thought everything was all better. The following day driving on the highway, my newly purchased master cylinder blew out resulting in a near accident. So what if this was my brake cylinder? I think that it could have been a lot worse.
So what do you do? I would suggest buying those special parts straight from the dealership. This means that they are more dependable and they will last much longer. Sure they are a bit more expensive but is your safety worth it? Smaller parts that are almost meant to be rebuilt such as alternators, are just right to buy from these other companies.
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5 comments:
I wonder, is it stated somewhere obvious that the parts sold at Advance and Pep Boys and the like are using refurbished parts? What's the percentage in reused equiptment? How do you know this happens? Is it just under-the-table discussion or is it ackowledged by the industry? If it's acknowledged, are there places you can go to find true new parts?
I have to agree with your post although I disagree at the same time. I knew that alot of the parts were refurbished but I believe that you have the option on several parts of buying new or refubished parts at a cheaper rate. I have not bought a single part from the dealership and I hope that I never have too. I would try everything else before I resulted to buying from the dealer. They are just too expensive for me. I for one like buying things that are sensitive from NAPA because most of there parts are of a heigher quality than autozone or advance.
Hey Stud,
When it comes to referbishing parts, the Automotive Society of Excellence requires that all reman parts meet industry standards. When it comes to hydralic and electrical parts there is no way to determine when a failure will occur. If you notice, you will not get a warranty when you buy these parts.
Ya they tell you that they are refurbished, and for most parts this is fine. I wouldn't go out and buy an alternator from Toyota because the only thing that really goes bad on an alternator is the coiling.
True blood, they aren't just cranking out parts for money, but if I were to get my clutch line parts from the dealership I severely doubt that it would have gone bad after about 30 depressions.
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