Posted On: March 19, 2007, 5:23 pm CDT

Posted By: Mjolnir

Shut up Ralph.
So not to tax your reading ability, here are the cliff notes:
1. Many aftermarket parts are not as robust as OEM.
2. Some are.
3. You should be an active participant in the repair process.
4. I have years of experience repairing cars, and I'm speaking from the heart.
5. Not all parts are the same, and OEM parts of (usually, not always) higher quality.

I think it's different than generic vs. name brand drugs, but since I have no experience in the drug industry I could be wrong.

I'm guessing you don't have a lot of experience installing either body or mechanical parts.

A body shop can install an inferior part and make it look good. You won't know the difference until it starts rusting, bends/dimples under light pressure, or the paint starts cracking from excessive flexing.

That's not taking into account used or poor quality parts being billed as new or high quality.

Using one tailight on your wife's van as an example is asinine.

I'm drawing on 6 years experience turning a wrench for a living, and that experience says that not all parts are created equal.

I put my money where my mouth is and use OEM parts on my personal vehicles, particularly body parts.

I'm glad your taillight works fine, but please don't punish other policy holders based on that one example.