Moog vs. NAPA vs. OEM

In reply to Jerry From LA :

How does one look up OE suppliers? 

Carbon said:

Then I guess you all have your answers lol. 

If I had all the answers I would not come to sites like this to learn stuff.

It’s obviously a topic I have strong opinions about and as noted earlier it’s how I make a living.

Not saying I’m right or wrong in this particular instance but I get frustrated when people paint all aftermarket parts with the same brush. I’ll step off the soap box now.

tldr: Choosing parts is hard and internet folk have opinions...we cool?

Great discussion! I typically use a mix of OEM and aftermarket parts, depending on the application.

For example, I just did the timing belt, water pump, radiator, and thermostat on our Odyssey. Read up on all the forums. Used the Asin kit for the timing belt kit and water pump, Denso (OEM supplier) for the radiator, and OEM Honda for a bunch of other stuff (coolant expansion tank, non-reusable bolts, etc). The replacement motor mount was an aftermarket one, if I had realized what a pain it would be to change, I would have gone OEM.

When it comes to an LCA, I'd go OEM or OEM supplier. I order all my OEM Toyota and Honda parts from Conicelli (http://www.partznet.com).

z31maniac said:

ddavidv said:

Just to be clear, I'm using ball joints as an example that there is no universal one-is-better-than-the-other rule.

To be fair, you used one of the cheap Jeep's as an example. That vehicle was garbage with 4 miles on the odometer. 

Please post what vehicles you own so I can insult them properly.

That 'garbage' mall rated Jeep was my wife's transportation for about six years. It replaced a Subaru Forester that had it's share of issues over a similar time span. In roughly 90,000 miles it took one sway bar end link, one crank position sensor, all four wheel bearings, a radio and a power window switch. The 2.4 engine never leaked nor took a drop of any fluid.

In contrast the Forester took head gaskets, all four wheel bearings, needed the clock repaired and had a ceaseless, unsolvable check engine light code. The oil consumption was highly variable for no discernible reason.

The Jeep cost only 2/3 of what a similar Subaru Forester went for at the time. For the price it was at least as reliable as the Subaru, wasn't hateful to drive and performed about the same in the snow while providing similar fuel mileage.

Both were purchased at around the 100,000 mile mark so weren't new cars. I was as skeptical as anyone buying a Chrysler product but proper advance research revealed very few problems with them aside from ball joints (which were replaced with MOOG right before I bought it).

ddavidv said:

z31maniac said:

ddavidv said:

Just to be clear, I'm using ball joints as an example that there is no universal one-is-better-than-the-other rule.

To be fair, you used one of the cheap Jeep's as an example. That vehicle was garbage with 4 miles on the odometer. 

Please post what vehicles you own so I can insult them properly.

That 'garbage' mall rated Jeep was my wife's transportation for about six years. It replaced a Subaru Forester that had it's share of issues over a similar time span. In roughly 90,000 miles it took one sway bar end link, one crank position sensor, all four wheel bearings, a radio and a power window switch. The 2.4 engine never leaked nor took a drop of any fluid.

In contrast the Forester took head gaskets, all four wheel bearings, needed the clock repaired and had a ceaseless, unsolvable check engine light code. The oil consumption was highly variable for no discernible reason.

The Jeep cost only 2/3 of what a similar Subaru Forester went for at the time. For the price it was at least as reliable as the Subaru, wasn't hateful to drive and performed about the same in the snow while providing similar fuel mileage.

Both were purchased at around the 100,000 mile mark so weren't new cars. I was as skeptical as anyone buying a Chrysler product but proper advance research revealed very few problems with them aside from ball joints (which were replaced with MOOG right before I bought it).

I'm glad you had a good experience with yours. I had two different friends that bought them new. And they were constantly being nickel-and-dimed. One of them towed two sport bikes to Daytona on a lightweight trailer and got something abysmal like 8 mpg on the highway. 

I have a '13 135i. Insult away! 

1SlowVW said!  I get frustrated when people paint all aftermarket parts with the same brush. 

I get frustrated when people wrongly assume they're getting OEM parts when they buy service parts from the dealer . I have a friend who buys service parts (OES, not OEM) for Honda . They're often different from the supplier who made the parts for the assembly line.  And they're often the same supplier who sells them at your local auto parts store . 

But what do I know.  Thirty years in aftermarket and OE parts.  People who shop at RockAuto.com and read bobistheoilguy.com are smarter...

ddavidv said:

Just to be clear, I'm using ball joints as an example that there is no universal one-is-better-than-the-other rule.

I've used MOOG ball joints on our chumpcar and have lasted over 100 hours of racing. I've conversely used MOOG sway arm bushings on a street Civic Si that last 10k miles. 

With that being said, sometimes OEM is the most safe route, especially when it comes to Toyotas (or find who supplies Toyota with the part) 

Kramer said:

1SlowVW said!  I get frustrated when people paint all aftermarket parts with the same brush. 

I get frustrated when people wrongly assume they're getting OEM parts when they buy service parts from the dealer . I have a friend who buys service parts (OES, not OEM) for Honda . They're often different from the supplier who made the parts for the assembly line.  And they're often the same supplier who sells them at your local auto parts store . 

Bingo bango Kramer gets it!

Kramer said:

1SlowVW said!  I get frustrated when people paint all aftermarket parts with the same brush. 

I get frustrated when people wrongly assume they're getting OEM parts when they buy service parts from the dealer . I have a friend who buys service parts (OES, not OEM) for Honda . 

Misrepresentation might be a little too strong of a word to use here...but I know many oe dealers sell aftermarket parts. I fully agree that it’s also super frustrating when they don’t inform the customer.

30 years has me beat by double, most people don’t stay in one industry that long any more.

Appleseed said:

In reply to Jerry From LA :

How does one look up OE suppliers? 

In the case of the Camry water pump, the manufacturer name was cast into the housing.  Same goes for clutches I've replaced, ball joints, etc.  Also, user forums may give you some insight as to the original supplier.  I learned about Lemforder ball joints for my SAABs from other area enthusiasts.  There's always a guru around if the other methods fail.

Napa tie rod ends were better than oem on the ZX2.