OEM vs Aftermarket parts
 

HI All, new H2 owner here. Just curious on if there is any real difference in sticking with OEM replacement parts vs aftermarket - specifically - replacing Wheel hubs, pitman arms, break pads and rotors. If so what brands are better than others? I don't beat it up, no hard off road driving. I know these are common issues with these vehicles. Dealership of course is quoting OEM parts which are about double other aftermarket parts I have seen. So my question is, is it better to stick with OEM's or go aftermarket


Love the forum


2005 H2 - 80k

The key is to NEVER buy anything from a dealership. Markup is huge.

Price your AC Delco & GM parts online. I find that Rock Auto has the best prices on most stuff needed. Sometimes ebay can do better.

Avoid the Chinese, Taiwanese etc... knock off crap that comprise a big % of your "aftermarket" parts market.

X2 on everything Doc just said.
I use Rockauto.com all the time.

I always go with aftermarket parts for the same reason stated above. But sometimes, I have no choice but to go to dealership if I can't find from a parts shop. I usually get a good offer from a local online store- http://4wheelonline.com. I suggest that you search on the Internet for you to find the best deals on parts and accessories.

For brake parts I now use Centric for all of my vehicles, you can't beat their quality for the price. Bosch is now my go to brand for my Pontiac and H3 addiction if they make what I need. Otherwise, I stick with OEM Delco parts for anything else I need. For some reason or another*, my local Chevy dealer now lets me buy parts at wholesale.

(*I ordered 5 pizzas for their shop when they took my truck in for an urgent repair the next day instead of having to wait a week for an appointment.)

One word of advice, this applies to what I buy now and what I have purchased before. Be wary of "deals" on e-bay. You usually get what you pay for. If you pay cheap, you usually get cheap. Stick with known aftermarket dealers as are mentioned in replies above. I agree I have never found a GM dealer that doesn't mark up things out of sight.

There is some things that are okay to buy AM.
Somethings are not made buy the manufacture anyways.
Glass
Brakes
Tires
a lot electrical components
often even gauges are sublet-ted out to another manufacture and not done in house.

There are places you can get OE parts cheaper like.

New Original GM Parts and accessories at wholesale prices - Genuine GM Replacement Parts

OE is different than OEM.

OE is genuine GM, OEM is a part that came from a supplier that GM used. No guarantee it is as good as OE. OE equivalent gets a little more grey, but it is supposed to be as good or better than OE but it might come from a company that never supplied GM with any parts.

Obviously, some things are dealer or OE only and have no choice.

Generally, yes avoid Chinese parts, however, there are some good Chinese parts that are overseen by Domestic entities. Texstar is an example of a good Chinese brake manufacture.

I see Centrix come up an awful lot, but to be honest I never been that impressed with there stuff. There is better.

Rock is kind of like NOS. sometimes they have it sometimes not. Sometimes you don't get exactly what you ordered. For example I know someone who had ordered Moog parts and got 1 Moog and 1 Falcon part and then gave him a hard time about it. Clearly the Falcon part wasn't as good.

The dealer, if you find a good, is sometimes better because they at least know what they are talking about. I hate going into a generic auto parts store asking for something and the guy behind the counter gives you the deer in the headlights looks and you have to spend 5 mins explaining what the part even is.

That is generally the rule you get what you pay for, and in the end the 50% off deal isn't a deal after all. Sometimes it cost you more in the long run than it would have if you just ponied up the first time around.

I try to buy OEM parts if possible. If not then I buy the best quality Aftermarket part.
Sometimes the aftermarket parts are superior to the OEM because it's an upgrade.
The point is, yes, you get what you pay for but I refuse to pay Dealer Parts Window prices. There are many other options.

There are also the performance or upgrade parts that are as expensive as OEM parts Or more but are usually designed to out perform or built better than Original Parts. Plan ahead to upgrade things that fall short from the factory like brakes shocks and others.