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I have been seen some very low priced steering and chassis parts being
offered in the Automotive Aftermarket and also on E Bay
I have been seen
some very low priced steering and chassis parts being offered in the Automotive
Aftermarket and also on E Bay lately. I have also been getting a lot of e
Mails asking why our prices are so much lower than the Dealer or your Local
Parts Store and also why there are people out there selling the same part with
even lower prices than us. Unfortunately, even the feedback score of a vendor
(including ours) is not really a good measure of the quality of the merchandise
they offer. What happens to that really cheap pair of ball joints or tie rods
you bought 2 or 3 months after you installed them and left feedback? So I
wanted to bring the quality issue out in the open. I know if you're not in the
industry and just need some parts to fix your car, the various range of prices
for Auto Parts from the Dealer to your Local Auto Parts Store all the way here
to e Bay, can make you very frustrated and confused as a customer. How can a
pair of Ball Joints that cost $90.00 at the dealer be available for $25.00 ???
Before you buy absolutely the lowest price auto part that you found, please take
a moment and read on.
The
fact is, there are 4 different grades of steering and chassis parts out in the
market today.
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Second, there is a “first line” name brand, chassis part that I would say is
along the same lines (in terms of price and quality) as the OE. These are
available through automotive parts stores like us and are comparable and in
some cases better (improved) than the original but they are also very
expensive. A name brand pair of ball joints for example can cost as much as
3-4 times of what we mostly sell in our e bay auctions BUT they will NOT last
3-4 times as much. Just like when you're buying any big name product, a big
part of the price you're paying is for their high cost of advertising and
marketing. Also what I'm seeing more and more lately on the boxes of these
"supposed to be made in the USA" parts is the fact that they are being
imported from such countries as Korea, Spain, Turkey etc. So these big names
have started to cut down their costs considerably while their selling price
remains high. We do by the way, also carry all the chassis and steering parts
we have listed, in a MOOG and SPICER brands. We do not actively list
them in our auctions because we feel they are overpriced. However, if you need
a price quote, please e mail us.
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Third, there is a "economy" chassis part (what we
sell in our e Bay auctions ) that gives the best compromise between
quality and price. This line is imported or manufactured by reputable
warehouses and distributed through big name part stores and also smaller
stores like us. Boxed under a private brand, they are subjected to quality
control and are warrantied. This is the best selling line for most parts
stores in North America and is a very high quality part at an excellent
price. The particular brand we carry is called "Chassis 1" and is distributed
here in Toronto by a very reputable warehouse that also sells the same brand
to a few big "Franchise Part Stores" (I'm not supposed to mention any names so
I won't). We have been selling this line for the last 6 years at both of our
stores without any problems.
- Finally, there
is the "third line". These are the factory rejected "white box" parts. These
parts look and install fine but have actually failed the tolerance
checks at the factory. They are still useable for a while (although not
recommended) and are available at an even cheaper price through liquidators.
The real test will come a month or two down the road when that "new" ball
joint you bought needs replacing again. Not only will you have to buy a new
part but you will have to do all the work (or pay for it) of installing it
again. We have been offered such parts at incredible savings over what
we normally carry. There are ball joints and tie rod ends being offered to us
simply by the weight in steel. We can but we will NOT
carry such cheap merchandise.
I hope
this sheds some light on the mystery of price differences out there and that it
will help you decide where your parts should come from.
Sincerely...
Ara at Maximum_Suspension
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