When it comes to needing new parts for your car, you’ll be presented with two options. Firstly, you could opt to go for aftermarket products from an independent garage, or alternatively, you could choose to have the parts sourced from a genuine Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
When your vehicle requires work doing to it or a new part being added, then you’ll obviously want to get it fixed as quickly and efficiently as possible so that you can safely be back out on the roads.
We have put this article together to discuss both options, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages, so that you can decide which method is the most effective when it comes to choosing where to source your parts from.
Aftermarket
When it comes to aftermarket parts, this generally means that they will not be sourced from the vehicle’s own manufacturer.
What has been regarded as probably being the biggest benefit with opting for aftermarket parts is that they generally tend to be cheaper over genuine parts.
That said, an article published on The Guardian which raised the findings of one study has suggested that it’s still worth shopping around for your parts. This is due to the research’s conclusions that when it comes to particular jobs such as routine servicing, ‘your main dealer may be just as competitive as the small local garage or fast-fit operation.’
Another advantage to aftermarket products could be that with many different companies offering an array of product alternatives, one can often find that there is a much greater selection of aftermarket parts to choose from.
Genuine OEM
Whilst the benefit with aftermarket products could be that you’re paying less for the parts, the biggest downfall associated with this option is just how reliable they actually are.
With genuine OEM parts, as these have been specifically designed and thoroughly tested with your vehicle in mind, this often means that the quality of genuine parts is much higher.
We spoke with VW Motor Parts, a genuine Volkswagen parts dealer who said that “genuine OEM parts have been manufactured to the highest quality, in which stricter standards are imposed in order to make sure that an exact fit and precise operation is maintained.”
Therefore, why compromise on your vehicle’s performance just to save a few pounds? With genuine parts, you’ll have the peace of mind that you’re using the correct replacement parts for your car.
Whilst aftermarket parts could mean that you have a wider range of products to choose from, this might not always be regarded as a good thing. With so many different brands and prices to consider, this could make securing the correct part rather tricky.
As highlighted in Auto Square’s blog,‘instead of trying to process the plethora of aftermarket options available, you’ve usually just got the one available type from the manufacturer.’
This could help to save you a lot of unnecessary time and hassle trying to locate the correct part, as well as giving you the peace of mind that the genuine part has been specifically designed for your car.
When it comes to choosing which route to follow in order to find the correct replacement part for your vehicle, the decision really is up to you. However, when it comes down to maintaining your car’s individual performance and safety, which is clearly the most important factor to consider, the assurance of quality from a manufacturer which you know and trust makes opting for genuine parts the more obvious choice.
