Got to purchase a new front upper control arm

[antml55]

Should go for a genuine mercedes part or perhaps aftermarket are produced to the same quality Meyle or Febi.

Any thoughts please.

 

[Submariner1]

I would always use genuine MB. But ask for a discount .. at least 10%.
Many OEM parts are fine but some things can cause problems.

As labour is often a major % of the repair price, to me its not worth the risk by saving a few quid.

In your case it could possibly effect steering, roadholding, the ability to track it properly and braking?

 

[JBell]

If you for aftermarket use Lemforder (ECP sell them), they make them for MB

 

[Richard Moakes]

Should go for a genuine mercedes part or perhaps aftermarket are produced to the same quality Meyle or Febi.

Any thoughts please.

Avoid Meyle, I have had fitment and failure issues with Meyle parts.

Lemforder is the make of choice for suspension parts.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[antml55]

Thank you for all your replies.I usually like to purchase genuine parts even though they are sometime priced well over the top.

Purchased two outer bolts for the front anti roll bar £5 each.

The front upper track control arm..dealer price nearly £180..ECP Don't have Lemforder in stock but the rears are over £200..
Mister Auto Lemforder £145..Think i will order from Mister Auto as i have used them in the past.

Surprised to hear bad things about Meyle products,makes their 2 year warranty sound worthless.

 

[Richard Moakes]

500E / E500 Parts Manufacturer Quality List
Many folks wonder as to which brands (OEM and aftermarket) are good quality and are worthy of purchasing. Here is a listing (subject to change and modification over time) as to which vendors are "safe" to buy from and which ones have "caution" and "do not buy" flags.

This list is based on the experience and observation of 500Eboard members. This includes part materials quality, part fitment, part longevity once installed, etc.


Brands that are generally considered "safe":
Akebono (brake pads)
ATE (brake rotors, calipers, hoses, etc.)
Balo (brake rotors)
Bilstein (suspension and various parts)
Boge (some say should be in the "inconsistent" list)
Brembo (brake calipers and systems)
Bremi (M119 distributor caps & rotors)
Brose-Coburg (window regulators -- Magneti Marelli is ACCEPTABLE, but barely)
Bosch (electrical & ignition parts, pumps, motors, and other various parts)
Behr (radiators/cooling/HVAC system & other various parts)
Beru (ignition wires and parts)
Bosal (exhaust systems and catalytic converters)
Bruss (vacuum line, small rubber parts & seals)
CFW (an abbreviation for "Carl Freudenberg Weinheim") - W124/M119 grease/oil seals, W210 engine mounts
CIS Flowtech (rebuilt M117 fuel heads)
Cohline (vacuum connectors, brake lines, fuel lines)
Contitech (belts & rubber)
Denso (A/C compressors - new & rebuilt)
Eberspächer (exhaust and related components)
Elring Klinger (gaskets & seals)
FAG (bearings)
Fichtel-Sachs (fan clutches, now Horton)
Gemo (speedo cables, throttle cables, brake and hood cables)
Graf (water pumps)
Hengst (oil and air filters)
Hella (various parts)
Hirschmann (antenna parts & trim)
Horton (fan clutches, was Fichtel-Sachs)
INA (bearings)
IWIS (crank and cam chains)
Karlyn (ignition wires, spark plug boots, ignition parts ONLY!!! Anything else = junk.)
Laso (water pumps)
Löbro/GKN (axles)
Leistritz (exhaust and related components)
Lemfoerder (a ZF Group brand; suspension components. Starting to change factories outside of Europe as of 2016, may end up in the "inconsistent" section eventually.)
Mahle (oil and air filters)
Mann (oil and air filters)
Osram/Sylvania (bulbs of all types)
Pex (brake pad wear sensors)
Pierburg (vacuum switchover valves)
Porterfield (brake pads)
Programa (rebuilt climate control assemblies)
Reutter (coolant overflow caps)
Sachs (some say should be in the "inconsistent" list)
SGF (flex discs)
Sitronic (monovalves/duovalves/heater valves)
Stribel (relays)
Swag (timing chain tensioners & other mech parts)
Sylvania/Osram (bulbs of all types)
Textar / Pagid / Jurid (brake pads - dusty SOBs)
Timken (bearings)
VDO-Siemens (vacuum parts, switches, various parts)
Victor Reinz (gaskets & seals) - generally consider good
Wahler (thermostats)
Woco (vacuum connectors, ACC vacuum pods, rubber gaskets, rubber exhaust hangers)
Zimmermann (brake rotors)


The "sometimes OK but inconsistent" brands list includes:
ACM (fan clutch is 1/5 cost of new, no catastrpohic failures reported yet)
Corteco (rear SLS spheres, driveshaft rubber/pinion seals) <-- M119 Corteco engine mounts were Chinese junk!
CRP (Quality varies, may be Chinese parts)
Egelhof
Elaplast (radiator hoses)
EZ Ziegler (acquired by Trucktec in 2010, which isn't a good sign)
Febi (trending downward, mainly a re-boxer of others' parts)
Fischer & Plath (sealing rings, gaskets)
FTE (brake and clutch cylinders, hoses)
Hansa
Ina
KAE (not recommended)
Kostal
Lucas/Girling (OEM for many brake parts, should be OK)
Meyle (quality can vary by product line)
Nissens (radiators - not always 100% perfect fitment, and lack metal sleeve inside hose fittings)
Rein Automotive (a CRP company, some parts are made in China)
Ruville (some parts made in Taiwan, click here)
Santech (o-rings)
TRW (Note: TRW is the OEM for certain MB steering/suspension parts, but some TRW aftermarket parts have proven to be repackaged Febi junk!)
Ulo
Vaico (hoses, suspension bushings - some parts are made in China)
Vemo (various electrical & mechanical parts - M119 Vemo fan clutch not recommended)




The "NEVER BUY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES" brand list includes:
Anchor Products
APA Industries (parent company of ÜRO)
Beck-Arnley (reboxer, used to be decent years ago for domestic parts)
Begel Germany (more info here)
Dorman
DPH
FAE (coolant temp sensors, oil pressure sensors, etc - questionable status)
FEQ (First Equipment Quality, check out their awesome website)
Hagus
Hamburg Tech
Jahn
Karlyn (Ignition parts may be ok. Maybe.)
MTC (Mission Trading Company)
Meistersatz
Python (rebuilt M117 fuel heads)
R&S
Trucktec
ÜRO (pure garbage!)