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Re: OEM and aftermarket

To: mgs@Autox.Team.Net
Subject: Re: OEM and aftermarket
From: Kelvin Dodd <kdodd@West.net>
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 17:10:47 -0800
CAUTION.  Long Post Warning.


Ok. Folks.  My two bits.
       Background.  I sell British and Taiwanese parts eight hours a 
day.  Ok, that pegs me.

       The descriptions I work with.

  O.E.M.  Original Equipment Manufacture

       Built to the original design specs by a manufacturer who was an 
original supplier to the factory.  These parts must be equivalent to 
those that are, or were supplied by dealer networks both visually and 
materially.

Aftermarket

       Built to equal, or exceed original design specs.  These may be of 
a more modern design, different materials etc.  Quality should be 
equivalent to OEM or better.  These parts may be visually different from 
OEM.   

Reproduction

       These are parts produced on limited run tooling.  Usually 
supplied because OEM parts and tooling are no longer available.  Quality 
can swing wildly from batch to batch.  "Soft" tooling tends to wear out 
quickly. Quality control and delivery timing are very difficult due to 
cottage industry quantities.

       Please note, there are no definitions in the market.  These are 
the definitions I use.

Applications.

Ok the nitty gritty.

        A lot of the people who originally made the stuff for BMC and BL 
are still around and many still have tooling.  In most cases they 
produce quality products and stick their own name on the box.  Example. 
Lucas, AE/Clevite, Girling, Adwest, Quinton Hazell, FAI  etc.  Now the 
down side, in many cases the tooling is worn and replacement costs are 
prohibitive.  A lot of the tooling is patched back together each time a 
production run is made.  The name is there but the accuracy may not be. 
 Also production is done in batches, which is why MGB 5 main oil pumps 
were difficult to get for a while.  The good news is that modern CAD/CAM 
technology is making limited production runs more feasible.  AE just set 
up a whole new factory devoted to limited batch runs of classic car 
pistons.
       More down side.  Companies that used to supply OE quality parts 
contract out production to low bid suppliers.  Here is where you see 
Lucas boxed, substandard parts.  Unipart used to supply top line OE type 
parts, now quality can vary.  The problem is that the purchasers are 
used to the historical quality and do not react quickly to the change.
       
       The market is changing every day.  The best way to make sure you 
get good value for money and good parts is to develop a rapport with a 
company that buys parts every day.  They will have a feel for the market 
and also have a good relationship with their suppliers.  If there is a 
problem, they can return parts and source from alternate vendors.  For 
this service you will pay.  Don't be a butt and play price shopper.  You 
either want quality or you want cheap.  You cannot have both.  But also 
do not get taken.  Your prices should be within 10-15% of mail order.  
If they are not, your supplier is either not getting a good deal or you 
are being had.  If a price seems out of line, expect a reason.  It may 
be a higher quality part or it may be difficult to find.  Above all be 
patient.  Most of the people who are still in the business are honest 
and sincere.  But typically overworked and under appreciated.  The bad 
eggs went out of business when times got tough.  They are now selling 
religious tracts door to door. 

Ok, enough of a parts rant.

I hope this was of some use to LBC newbies.  Any questions about 
specifics please feel free to e-mail me directly

Kelvin.   



James Howard wrote:
> 
> On Fri, 28 Feb 1997, Christopher M. Delling wrote:
> 
> > I certainly agree that a Weber carb is an aftermarket part.  However, I
> > also believe that buying, say, a Lucas coil from Moss is also considered
> > an aftermarket part.  This is due to the fact that the original
> > manufacturer, i.e. British Leyland, is not the source for the part.
> > Many OEM suppliers sell the same part that they sell to the manufacturer
> > through "aftermarket retailers".
> 
> But BL did not manufacture the coil - Lucas did, and BL stuck their label
> on it.  Thus, Lucas is the OEM part, and the BL part would have been the
> Genuine item.


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