Inventory and Parts
Our business has been built on quality maintenance and service. In routine service or a needed repair, that service or repair is only as good as the weakest part. Here is a crash course in Parts 101.
We maintain a huge inventory of parts to enable us to service your car in the fastest possible time. In our business, there are parts and there are PARTS. Since our reputation depends on both the labor we do in repairing your car, AND the parts we use, we have done our homework in finding good parts. Parts come from many sources. The manufacturer of your car also makes or supplies parts for it. In most cases, the parts that went into the manufacturing process of the car are the same parts you can get if you get parts from that same manufacturer's dealerships. (Ford parts at a Ford dealership.) Most of the parts used in the manufacturing of a car are made by the manufacturer or a wholly owned division of the manufacturer, though they do sublet some manufacturing to other companies when logical. For instance, General Motors has several parts divisions, one is Delco, which has several divisions under it, say for brake parts, electrical parts or air conditioning parts. Ford has Autolite; Chrysler has MoPar and so on.
There are also different categories of parts. OEM parts come from the manufacturer; OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. OEM parts are made to EXACTLY the specifications of the manufacturer, generally as specified when the part was ORIGINALLY designed for use in the vehicle manufacturing process, more often than not, in the same parts manufacturing run. (If a million cars are planned for production and a million heater control levers are needed for that many cars to be made, the run may be for 1.5 million control levers. The replacements are exactly the same part as was on the cars originally.) For instance if the part is for a Chevrolet, the part box, label or tag will usually say Genuine Chevrolet Parts. Using OEM parts generally assures you of good quality and parts that meet the original specifications and will fit and work as a replacement for the original part. That is a good thing... UNLESS the part has an inherent design flaw and has not been re-engineered. As an example, 1986 through 1992 Chrysler manufactured minivans that had electric windows, had window motors that continually failed. (We're not picking on Chrysler minivans. We could have used one of hundreds of such situations by ANY manufacturer. It happens all the time.) The motor was too weak for extended and continued use. The motor would fail after about 18 months of normal use; less time in heavy use. Chrysler did NOT re-engineer the motor and subsequently, if you purchased a Chrysler supplied replacement, it had the same flaws and would again, fail in the same manner. When we find it to be the best decision, we use OEM parts. Sometimes, it is the only choice; from time to time it may NOT be the best decision but is at least generally, a good one.
There are also genuine replacement parts from companies such as CarQuest, NAPA, Kragen and other similar organizations. These are generally referred to as second source parts and are often better than the originals. Those companies pay a fee to the OEM to have the right to make their own replacement version of certain parts. In consideration of the fee, they receive the original parts design information to use in their manufacturing process. Often, with the advantage of different engineers, time and having seen how the original parts design has worked and survived (or perhaps failed), the replacement parts company can redesign the part to actually be better than the original. Hence, the stipulation of these parts is that they meet or exceed the OEM specifications. It has been our finding that on car parts that have been in production for at least 2 years, the majority of time, CarQuest parts in particular have been as good, more often, better than OEM parts. On parts that have been in production for less than 2 years, second source companies may have not yet manufactured a replacement and OEM parts must be used. We try to use CarQuest parts for reliability whenever possible. The prices are about the same, perhaps a few dollars more or less expensive than OEM, depending on the part. We think that they are better.
There are also third party parts manufacturers and vendors. These companies make mostly generic replacements or generic parts. They may or may NOT have paid a fee for manufacturing rights and cannot say that the parts are genuine replacements that meet or exceed the manufacturer's specifications. Most often, they design the parts by "reverse engineering a part". (They dissect or disassemble a part to see how it is made.) The truth is, these parts may or may not meet the original specifications and may or may not fit as a replacement. For instance, a generic fuel filter may supposedly act as a replacement for 15 different original part fuel filters. Maybe it is as good as the original and maybe not; maybe it will fit in the allotted space but maybe not. It probably does filter fuel but may not do the job as well. They are generally much cheaper than the best parts but may cost you more in the long run. We try to avoid these if possible. If we see them in cars in our shop for service, and know that they present the potential for eminent problems, we suggest replacement with better parts. The decision is yours.
There are also remanufactured parts. In most cases these are much cheaper than new parts but may not be as good; as in the case of third party parts, they may cost you more in the long run than if you had used the best to start with. They have been rebuilt from old parts that have failed. Yes, they have been tested and meet certain criteria for quality but who sets that criteria and do you really want to rely on a part that has failed at least once and may fail again? We do not use remanufactured parts unless there is no other choice or unless the customer specifies them. Since we must stand behind the parts we use, we try to use only the best.
As is the case with most things in life, you generally get what you pay for. While using the best parts is no guarantee that you will have no further problems, using cheap ones IS usually a guarantee that you will. The best parts deserve the best possible installation and labor. That is what we do.
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