Quote:
Originally Posted by m5james
I've bought crappy radiators (another cracked neck), waterpumps (counter guy insisted the plastic impellar is all they had) and a thermostat (3wk old replacement failed and seized shut 2hrs from my house) from the dealership before when I didn't have the time to wait for them in the mail when my 7 overheated on a jobsite. I find it hard to believe that BMW is buying them from anyone else but the same people. Distributors are everywhere, they goto the mom and pop shops along w/ the dealerships. Sometimes it just comes down to brand, not the retailer. BMW is trying to buy low and sell high, just like everyone else.
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I fully agree that you can get broken parts from any source. That isn't the same as counterfeit parts, though. Plastic impellors aren't a sign of counterfeit waterpumps, they were the original design (unless the box actually says 'impellar', which is a dead giveaway!) BMW dealers generally get their parts from the local BMW distributor (BMWNA in your case), it is part of their dealer agreement. Of course the parts cost more from the dealership, that is a given, but at least you know the distribution channel. For items like tires or wiper blades, no reason to use the dealer IMO. For items like oil filters and spark plugs (which are most often counterfeited due to the low barriers to entry for a small-scale manufacturer, and the high sales volumes possible) the price of failure is higher, so there is some reason to want to manage the risk. If you have a trusted supplier, and you know where they buy all of their parts, great. If not, the dealer will be safer than a 3rd party shop. Again, the dealer will cost more, it is a fact of life. If you choose to take a chance, you will very likely be OK, since there are still more authentic parts than fake ones, and you will save some money. That's cool. For some, it is the ultimate goal.
I don't agree that BMW is buying low and selling high like everyone else. I work for a dealer of engines and related parts (not BMW). We deal with fake parts regularly, often when a premature failure comes in as part of a parts warranty claim. If the parts come in a box labelled NKG, AC Declo, or Bosh, then it is easy to spot. I actually saw a picture of one labelled FROD once, and that was worth a laugh. Often, through, it isn't easy to spot and you have to cut oil filters open to count the pleats, etc. Anyone notice the photo of the two plugs at the start of this thread? One is apparently OEM and one is aftermarket, with the same part number. Notice that they have a different number of ribs on the porcelain insulator? Want to bet the manufacturer of the fake product can't count the number of ribs? Or, maybe it isn't fake and Bosch just decided that the non-OEM version didn't need as much insulation, so that they could product the same part cheaper for a different distribution channel.