OEM manufacturers

[television]

Do we really want to go round in circles Mark? bottom line is there are negatives and positives in both mb and other suppliers and if allowed this thread will last for ever

There is nothing wrong with the thread and a lot learnt from it, members can choose the route that they take

 

[Frontstep]

I use MB parts but some are so overpriced or have failed (again) that I look elswhere.
Then there are some that I find better, non MB brake pads for instance.

 

[carloss]

There is nothing wrong with the thread and a lot learnt from it, members can choose the route that they take

Exactly Malcolm that IS my point however when people come on the forum to ask about which is best WHY is one persons opinion better than another??

 

[syncropaddy]

Remember that part that's just failed you have to replace was a "Mercedes quality" part when the car was assembled in the factory!

Now now you should know better than that! That part thats just failed could be a cheap Chinese piece of rubbish as well. How are you to know! That part thats just failed could be a part that was bought from a motor factor and the purchaser was told it was OEM quality ......

 

[grober]

Now now you should know better than that! That part thats just failed could be a cheap Chinese piece of rubbish as well. How are you to know! That part thats just failed could be a part that was bought from a motor factor and the purchaser was told it was OEM quality ......

Very true but if that's the case it must have been used to replace a factory fit Mercedes part before that? - and the more you apply this scenario the shorter the life of that "super quality" original factory fit Mercedes part becomes Unless of course someone removed the Mercedes factory fit original part ----which as some would have us believe would have lasted 1,000 years and deliberately substituted an inferior part? - but why one might ask, would anyone do that? Really the point I was trying to make is that Mercedes Factory fit parts do fail sometimes that's all. They are not perfect .

Joking apart :Oops:the point you make, that with older cars especially, its not wise to assume any of the car parts are original is a very valid one and one which frequently catches owners out on the forum

 

[television]

Exactly Malcolm that IS my point however when people come on the forum to ask about which is best WHY is one persons opinion better than another??

That just is not true,,, I for one have only ever said "I use XXX" and the vultures all come on to have a knocking session, as this is a patch that the forum is going through.

Now I am not going to trawl through every thread on this thread to check, but I cannot recall a post where what you say is true.

Funny really, I remember the EBC red post, where all I said was "I use EBC red and find them very good" All hell let loose with some of the silliest replies that I have ever seen, yet strangely when I said the same thing 1 year ago the OP came back and said

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showpost.php?p=580292&postcount=63
And many more post like this some years back
So again nought like folk

 

[S.Speed]

I have seen someone here comment to the opposite, where an oem had no issues replacing a supplied brake disk, but MB refused as they did not fit the disk.

Hi Mark..
That someone was me..
I bought genuine MB front discs from Blackpool MB and within 2 months they were warped. I know ALL manufacturing processes are NEVER 100% perfect and there will be the odd item that fails..
That isn't my point.. My point was the way I was treated and the way they DID NOT HONOUR the warranty just because I had the audacity to fit them and not pay the £100+ per hour for them to fit them.
As I said to the parts guy at the time "There is zero advantage to me to come here for brake parts in future"
I went to ECP and got Textar discs and Textar E pads for both front and rear.
They were on my previous C class for 24,000 miles till I sold it.
They pads did NOT squeak or rattle and the Discs did NOT WARP.
I asked ECP what their policy was regarding faulty brake discs and customers fitting themselves.
They said keep the receipt and produce it if you have a problem and we will replace.
My brother had some faulty Brembo discs on his Citroen. The discs were bought from a motor factors called "Motorcare". He took the discs back along with the receipt and they sent the discs to be examined by Brembo.
Meanwhile he replaced the discs with another set.
1 week later his credit card was reimbursed for the faulty discs.
If a "lowly car accessory shop can trust Jo public with replacing parts then why cant "superior" Mercedes ?

 

[teddycatkin]

this may or may not be a good idea BUT as we often seem to have the subject come up as to whether or not to buy from dealers or from other sources byy buying OEM parts, I wondered if it would be an idea if we could have a list of who makes what for MB, like radiators are made by Behr and by Valeo and so on.

Just a thought. add to it if you feel its a good idea

The answer is in the question "Dealers" ? Dealers do not maufacture anything-they "sell" products -be it a whole vehicle or a part --some parts are only available via dealers i.e. trim or specific parts of the marque stocked.
Service parts made by suppliers who supplied the original parts when the vehicle was built (O.E.M.) can be bought anywhere they are being sold ?
The current 25% discount for members from E.C.P. make them the 1st place to look for parts and offer the best deals on parts a lot of which are O.E.M.to Mercedes and other makes of cars too.

 

[st4]

I've enjoyed reading this thread. Pros and cons of OE parts.

Personally, I tend to use an indie to service my car so leave the decision to him as what's suitable and not suitable for the car.

These guys handle cars and parts day on and out so take their word on what's good or not.

 

[syncropaddy]

I've enjoyed reading this thread. Pros and cons of OE parts.

Personally, I tend to use an indie to service my car so leave the decision to him as what's suitable and not suitable for the car.

These guys handle cars and parts day on and out so take their word on what's good or not.

Its a good thread and I found it useful but fortunately or unfortunately depending on your point of view, I know a good bit about cars and I choose the parts that go on my MB's. There are indies and there are indies if you know what I mean. I only know two and both of them will always ask me if I want MB or OEM. For me its MB all the way and particularly if its brakes and steering.

But thats just me.

 

[WDB124066]

i.e there is not a department within the Automotive industry who is checking the quality of the products being supplied to make sure that they fall within safe standards or are Matching quality as per the distributor or Manufacturers comments.

So I could go to China, import in let say Water pumps re-brand these once there back in the UK & say that they are matching quality to those supplied by Merc Benz, Who is going to check, who is going to spend the money to check, answer no one.

This is one of the main reasons why I buy Genuine, MB have their own people in the factories making sure their parts are being manufactured to their specs. This is the crux of the matter no OEM would choose to manufacture to a higher MB spec for AM parts, also the supply chain for AM parts is not as secure as MB's



[/QUOTE]

.... there are many out there would think that Mercedes Benz manufacture ever part fitted to their car, even though many parts are marked with the manufacturers name Bosch TRW & so on, these people you can not change their thinking, even after they are shown the parts with Bosch logo's etc.

[/QUOTE]

I think legally MB is the manufacturer - yes??

It doesn't matter who they subcontract bits out to to make for them, MB are the manufacturer, they take responsibility.

 

[turbopete]

with older cars especially, its not wise to assume any of the car parts are original is a very valid one and one which frequently catches owners out on the forum

I know every part that has been replaced on my car pretty much. it was bought in the preston area originally and was subject to a finance reposession where, when it was auctioned off, it was bought by Jim Walton (toyota) in penrith. by this time the car was 11 months old and had covered 7k miles.

As dad will not entertain an auto (as long as he is able to drive a manual) this car had a manual gearbox. it sat in the showroom at the dealers and dad kept going in to try to negotiate a deal he was happy with. 12 months later, it finally left their showroom where it had taken pride of place and at 23 months old, with 7k miles on the clock, it found its way into dads garage in november 2003. (it was registered in december 2001)

the car was serviced by Jim Walton prior to it being collected by us. in its time it has had numerous tyres and brake discs/pads (obviously) and the usual service items (filters etc) it also had an injector replaced at sub 30k miles, a rattle repaired in the NSF door (MB warranty) and a replacement heated rear screen (MB warranty). i
t has also had 1 lower front suspension ball joint replaced (needed for MOT and I was unavailable to do it) both rear and the OSF suspension springs replaced and the NSF i think has broken.
it was involved in a very minor knock requiring a new bonnet and front bumper. I really hope no one ever has to use SG PETCH bodyshop as there were TWELVE fixings of various sorts missing from the front bumper, they didnt align the headlights, fit the intercooler back properly or connect the pipes properly at the time (i dont want to go into a rant about it here!)
it has also had new anti roll bar bushes on the rear, the EGR mod fitted and now a new intercooler. I also replaced its first bulb last week and had to weld the exhaust up earlier this year.

I may be quite rare knowing a car of this age so well without having owned it from new, but to me, the fact i know its history and ive done virtually every job its ever had done, means an awful lot, IMO.

sorry if ive bored anyone with this, but im probably one of the few people with a car of this age that can be almost certain about which components are original!!!

 

[whitenemesis]

I visited my dealer yesterday and whilst looking around the showroom came across a display board comparing genuine MB spares to non-MB spares. Things like air, oil and fuel filters, starter motors and brake pads. There were physical parts attached to the display and next to them lots of blurb highlighting the differences. Even though on quite a few of the parts it was quite obvious the manufacturer was the same (i.e. Bosch) the part was subtly different. The text explained how non MB parts were not to the same material spec, not supplied in the same protective packaging (i.e. oil filters without dust caps).
Brake pads came in for the most criticism.
Now I'm sure the dealer would have chosen examples that most clearly demonstrate the differences but it was interesting all the same

 

[television]

I visited my dealer yesterday and whilst looking around the showroom came across a display board comparing genuine MB spares to non-MB spares. Things like air, oil and fuel filters, starter motors and brake pads. There were physical parts attached to the display and next to them lots of blurb highlighting the differences. Even though on quite a few of the parts it was quite obvious the manufacturer was the same (i.e. Bosch) the part was subtly different. The text explained how non MB parts were not to the same material spec, not supplied in the same protective packaging (i.e. oil filters without dust caps).
Brake pads came in for the most criticism.
Now I'm sure the dealer would have chosen examples that most clearly demonstrate the differences but it was interesting all the same

You could do that in any trade to boost your own ego and points, the funny thing is if you go to a trade show you will find many stands including Bosch that have all the cheap copies on display.

We do have the CE markings and that is good, sadly never as good as the old BS415 that we had in the electrical trade where all critical components had to pass a test or any product that did not meet BS415 could not be sold in the UK. I still have all the BS415 testing apparatus. Sadly it all went when the CE came along.

At least myself and many of us are not so easily taken in from displays of this nature. As been said many times on here it does depend on what the part is for. We do know that mercedes oil filters and air filters are very good

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

I visited my dealer yesterday and whilst looking around the showroom came across a display board comparing genuine MB spares to non-MB spares. Things like air, oil and fuel filters, starter motors and brake pads. There were physical parts attached to the display and next to them lots of blurb highlighting the differences. Even though on quite a few of the parts it was quite obvious the manufacturer was the same (i.e. Bosch) the part was subtly different. The text explained how non MB parts were not to the same material spec, not supplied in the same protective packaging (i.e. oil filters without dust caps).
Brake pads came in for the most criticism.
Now I'm sure the dealer would have chosen examples that most clearly demonstrate the differences but it was interesting all the same

Dealer propaganda that I am afraid.

I have seen the similar stand and took a few filters apart and yes they are different, but I would never use OEM filters anyway only MB. But Leomforder suspension components and pagid brakes are identical and Zimmermann discs are the same component.

Besides that is selected. What they wouldnt show you is a Bosch or Pierberg MAf which is exactly the same all bar the MB part number or how about a JPAT electro plate with the MB part number and that is just 2 examples and I could list many more.

 

[WG M-B]

Dealer propaganda that I am afraid.

I have seen the similar stand and took a few filters apart and yes they are different, but I would never use OEM filters anyway only MB. But Leomforder suspension components and pagid brakes are identical and Zimmermann discs are the same component.

Besides that is selected. What they wouldnt show you is a Bosch or Pierberg MAf which is exactly the same all bar the MB part number or how about a JPAT electro plate with the MB part number and that is just 2 examples and I could list many more.

Steve I agree with almost everything you say but not this fella!!!! Lemforder are the same and so are pagid.
Only if you are getting what you think you are. It's a lottery going down this road IMHO. I have had terrible experiences!
So called lemforder lower swivel joints for 211's rusting after a matter of months. So called pagid pads squeaking like a freaking mouse after a few hundred miles. I will admit it's not all the time but it is a lottery.
Bosch fuel filters where the pipe connections are always the wrong diameter. It's not the oe parts that are the problem. But you have to ask yourself where do they come from? As for Zimmerman discs we used to fit them. After three sets coming back warped in a couple of months we have no faith
I HAVE NEVER HAD AN ISSUE WITH A GENUINE PART
Except one fuel pump. Hundreds of thousands of pounds spent and one manufacturing defect!
Now surely that must say something?
In a world where we can copy pretty much anything it's a lottery.
We do fit oe parts still. We have to in order to be competitive. But we are very cautious.

 

[WDB124066]

"Dealer propaganda that I am afraid."

I certainly wouldn't be so quick to say that, been in the industry too long to know what goes on.

As above in #116 if you go this route be very careful and selective what you buy as "OEM"

I can get Genuine Parts for the same if not less that 'OEM" parts now for my Youngtimer cars. There is now not even a price advantage for using "OEM" or others, why would you use them?

 

[HaydnM]

But as above, you have to know what you are buying, is Bosch the O.E.S supplier for this fuel Filter.

The fuel filter could be supplied by Mahle O.E.S not Bosch, so you have to look at the markings on your old part, if you do not know what you are looking for then you may possibly fall into the above problems.

Are you sure the supplier of the Bosch Fuel filter supplied you the correct application for your car, I daubt very much that both Bosch & Mann+Hummel would be selling a filter in the aftermarket with the incorrect pipe size !

Bosch & Mann+Hummel have a joint agreement, Bosch supply fuel Filters to Mann+Hummel, Mann+Hummel supply air & Oil filters to Bosch.

It is a mine field, but as long as you know what you are buying it is possible to purchase 100% the same components from the same manufacturers that supply MB.

If you do not know what to look for & your in any daubt, then you have the choice to buy Genuine MB.

 

[HaydnM]

[/QUOTE]

I think legally MB is the manufacturer - yes??

It doesn't matter who they subcontract bits out to to make for them, MB are the manufacturer, they take responsibility.[/QUOTE]

No legally MB is not the manufacturer, they are a Car manufacturer, if they supply spare parts they are legally responsible for the parts they supply.

So in other words MB are legally responsible for the parts they supply in Merc Benz packing, which are delivered from their warehouses through their own dealer network.

Otherwise if we take your statement to hart, Merc Benz are legally responsible for every part that is the same that is available in aftermarket & you know that is not the case.

Example, If Mann+Hummel are the o.e.s supplier for the Oil filter for 320cdi, they are not going to cover any warranty on a Mann+Hummel version & the only difference being between the two is the outside card board box & the fact the MB has a Star printed after the Mann+Hummel part number & the O.E number on the filter.

 

[WDB124066]

No mate I think you have taken my comment out of context a little. MB make the cars and every part on it when new. My question was isn't MB legally responsible for the new car and all the parts on it; and not the list of suppliers.