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#11
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I once bought some Rein radiator hoses from RM European. Rein makes these hoses for BMW, including casting the BWM Roundel in the plastic fittings on the end. You can buy them from your BMW dealer, perhaps mistakenly believing they are actually manufactured by BMW. In my case, Rein must have made too many, and then needed to sell them (through RM European) as Rein-branded products. So they ground/shaved/sanded off the BMW Roundel and sold them for 1/4 the cost of Genuine BMW parts. As long as it was done carefully, I don't think the process of removing that BMW brand reduced the effectiveness of the part. Similarly, I don't see any loss in part quality by using Lemfoerder (OES) vs. Genuine BMW for suspension parts. The only reduction is in the $$ leaving my wallet. From my experience, trying to be wise, but not overly afraid of using aftermarket parts, the things that concern me most are: 1. outright counterfeits - such as spark plugs, ignition coils, things that are not obviously deficient at first, but might be 2. non-load-bearing materials such as rubber - o-rings, bushings, etc. The problem with these is that it seems to be so easy to make something that looks as good as genuine, but will melt or deterioriate quickly. Plastic too - I've seen how some plastics hold up for decades vs. how plastic parts in Chinese no-brand window regulators crack after a few years. And I can see how filters fit into this as well - easy to make a fake that appears to work well enough. 3. and another factor in whether I'm willing to pay up to reduce risk is how deeply buried, or how critical the part is. E.g., a failing spark plug can seriously damage your engine. Cheap suspension parts that fail prematurely can take several hours to DIY replace, and maybe require professional alignment. I agree on the guesses above about what was probably wrong with the aftermarket filters discussed in the video (tolerances, cheap filter material), I just wish the guy had done some analysis, tests, or even shared his theories about the root causes. I like figuring out solutions to fix my cars, but I also like figuring out exactly what failed, so I'll cut things open, etc. to inspect when I can. Partly for curiosity, and partly to figure out how to prevent it from happening again.
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2001 X5 3.0i, 203k miles, AT, owned since 2014 |
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#12
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To manufacture a product there's material, labor, burden, design, process and quality control. Some aftermarket parts could be as good or even better. Labor cost is a big variable that could result in a product that is better in all aspects and still be less expensive but that is not usually the case. And, we seldom have any way of knowing why it cost less or what the minimum requirements of design are necessary to result in equal or better quality. I think the best practice is to stick to OE or OEM parts that are involved in critical functions or their failure can result in much more expensive repairs. There are some exceptions where there are enough longterm successes with an aftermarket part that they are well known as viable or better choices but are few and far between. Usually someone here brings it to our attention.
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X5 4.6 2002 Black Sap, Black interior. 2013 X5M Melbourne Red, Bamboo interior Dallas |
#13
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The only aftermarket stuff I will use on any car is non-drivetrain like a hood strut or rubber bump stop.
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