dalspaugh

Just wondering if people had a preferred set of manufacturers for replacement parts.

Anyone notice a quality change when buying from Bosch vs. Beck/Arnley vs. FTE vs. Sachs vs. Vemo... the list goes on and on.

What have you had good luck with and what do you stay away from?

Thanks!

yodasfro

Brands to avoid are meyle FEQ URO beck/arnley do not make parts they just rebox crappy ones like meyle.

squidix9

Meyle is an OEM bend, but much of their production has moved to China and as such quality has gone downhill.

It depends on the part for the brand I use. I only use OEM oil filters from them dealer. No room for error. However I actually like NAPA gold and platinum air filters. Use them in the rally car even. Anything electrical is Bosch. Bearings are tough. Many times you don't know what you are going to get. And then so many are rebranded you can't tell. I do repairs on a lot of different vehicles. I am on good terms with the manager at my local Advance where I get a lot of parts. He will tell me what I am getting and what is rebranded and what they get a lot of returns on. There are very few suppliers out there. There is more rebranding than you'd believe.

yodasfro

Meyle is not an OEM supplier they are aftermarket garbage.

squidix9

I stand corrected. I was basing that on a conversation with a friend who is an Audi tech. The discussion was in regards to determining if control arms had been replaced on a C5 chassis. The arms on question had the rings on them and the Meyle brand.

dalspaugh

What are people's experiences/impressions on "A1 Cardone" and "centric"?? I'm looking at buying calipers. Thanks!

squidix9

Those are two of the major players in the caliper market. NAPA and Advance calipers are likely one or the other.

I do a lot of repairs on other than Audi and have had better luck with a Centric than Cardone. In any case never get the phenolic pistons in whatever you buy. A friend of mine used to work for NAPA and said they had almost a 100% failure rate which I can attest to. I don't buy anything from NAPA any more. Too much rework or waiting for special orders. Not good for customer relations.

dalspaugh

Thank you for the tips!