I’m noticing durability of rebuilt parts dropping off lately. In the last month an Echlin HEI module died on me after just a year of light use. Then, on a different car, a powermaster starter motor nose, just snapped. Luckily it snapped in my mechanic’s _deiveway_. Couldn’t have picked a better failure spot!

This led to a discussion of what parts he trusts. As a local full time professional he said he doesn’t like Napa electrical parts, trusting AC Delco/Delphi, Standard or Borg Warner for stuff like HEI parts. He likes other Napa stuff, just not electrical.

I just ordered a Gates power steering high pressure hose for my convertible, but saw various other brands. I went with Gates just because I’m familiar their hoses, plus AC Delco wanted to sell me a 30” hose when I need more like 24”

I think we mostly know the score about offshore manufacturing, part number consolidation, and how our market ain’t that big, but who do you all trust these days for what parts?

 

Having been in the aftermarket parts business for many years I can only express my opinion and observations on the subject.
I worked for one of the larger companies in the NE. My opinion is this: Garbage in garbage out. All reman companies take what they are given and try to make a part as close to stock as possible. Many of these companies will take obviously degraded and suspect parts and try to do their best to bring them back to life but going the extra mile on their part is lacking at times.
Unless you are buying a 'NEW' part there is going to be some substandard pieces and it's really a crap shoot as to where it ends up. I've been in plenty of auto repair shops with NAPA, Autozone, Advanced Auto Parts and any other large chain you can think of with 'cores' laying around from all of them. Never once found where one particular dealer had substantially less cores than the other guy.
Unfortunately you get what you pay for. If you want the better part then buy the NEW one and not the REMAN. I'm not saying all remans are bad but it can be a crap shoot depending on who does their remans. I never lose sleep in buying a NEW part but you will pay the extra for it.
If it's a restoration part then I would encourage you to do your homework and find a vendor who will restore it to factory specs and look. You're going to pay for that also but it's probably well worth it in the end. There are a wealth of individuals and vendors on this site that do just that and are top notch.

 

I trust myself to rebuild parts correctly. My experience with reman parts from the big box auto parts stores has been spotty at best.

Waaaay back in the late 1970s I had a tour of an alternator rebuilder in Mass. I watched the assembly station where a worker was pressing new front bearings into the housing. About half of the bearings cocked and wouldn't go all the way in. The worker proceeded to pull out a three pound sledge and pound it the rest of the way in.

The shop owner couldn't understand why he had such a high return rate...

 

These days anything rebuilt from a big box parts store is suspect. I also buy new when I can, name brands always seem to be better quality. If you're restoring something I would do what Trip says, do your homework. All the special parts I've need restored are done by quality rebuilders, if there is an issue, they stand behind their work.

 

Sadly, that is not always the case. Two examples. I bought a brand new AC Delco alternator for my truck. It lasted about a month before the rear bearing failed and the shaft cocked in the alternator.

The second example is the heater control valve for my 84 Custom Cruiser. The Made-in-Mexico "white box" valves were consistently failing at about five weeks. I paid dearly to get a Delco valve from the dealership. When it finally arrived, I turned the box over to again see "Made in Mexico". I think that one lasted six whole weeks. Finally just changed to the plastic Chevy style valve in line in the hose and didn't look back.