OEM or aftermarket

just curious what you guys think. When do you use OEM or aftermarket. I use only GM plugs, wires and coils in the past, I feel that need to be GM on that.
For brakes, shocks, water pumps, alternators I've used aftermarket with out any issues on my cars.
Any dif between OEM brakes / rotors and aftermarket?

What do you guys do?

I also use OEM every chance I get except for shocks and a few suspension items. If it's under the hood, I install OEM. I have done both OEM and aftermarket on the brakes and I have concluded that I will pay the extra for OEM. LM

I go both ways, depending on the circumstances :eek:

I had a Porsche 944 for many years. When my radiator started to leak, a shop quoted me $800 to replace it. I'm not sure how much of that was for the part, but I'm guessing over $400 for an OEM radiator. I found an aftermarket radiator for $200 and installed it myself. I did that job at about 150K miles, I sold the car years later with 250K miles, and the radiator was fine. Aftermarket good :smile:

Same car, many years ago the brake rotors went bad (pulsing through the pedal when applying the brakes). I bought aftermarket pads and rotors from the same place I got the radiator. After about 20K miles, the pulsing starts again. I bought aftermarket rotors from another company, they quickly "warped" as well. So, I bit the bullet and bought OEM rotors the third time. I put them on the car before 200K miles, and when I sold the car they were fine. Aftermarket bad :nono:

So, I guess that doesn't really answer your question.

These days, I try to weigh various factors when deciding to buy OEM or not. For example, what's the difference in price? Do you know anything about the aftermarket supplier's reputation? What is their warranty?

Recently my Burb was leaking coolant from a valve that leads to/from the heater core. I just went to the dealer and bought the replacement part for about $40. Maybe I could have found it aftermarket for $30 or even $25, but for that money, why bother?

Recently my Burb needed a new muffler. I had a local guy weld in a slightly used Magnaflow muffler, and he made the tailpipe himself. He charged me $250 for the whole job :biggrin: I'm sure I would have paid at least that just for the OEM part. Had the dealer done the job, I'm sure it would have cost well over $500.