There is little more frustrating than hearing your engine die as your driving or turning your ignition over and over again to no avail. Unfortunately, most people’s everyday lives are so hectic, there isn’t always time to perform the proper maintenance to keep vehicles running.
Overall, American drivers have what you could call a passing grade when it comes to car maintenance, but still only score a 76 out of 100 on the National Car Maintenance Index. To put this into perspective, a perfect score requires that all prescribed upkeep tasks are completed in a timely manner, defined as being finished either on time, or even more often than needed.
While putting in the effort to complete these maintenance tasks is utterly important, the quality of parts used can have just as substantial of an impact. Third party equipment may be cheaper, but they are not able to offer the confidence and reliability of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts.
Auto and repair shops used to make use of more third party equipment, but thanks to online purchases and shipping, OEM parts are far more accessible now than they once were. The method in which technicians select their preferred suppliers is overwhelmingly due to the availability of parts, even as compared to choosing between third party and genuine oem equipment. In fact this reason ranked number one in 12 of the 13 product categories that were surveyed.
The only problem entailed with buying OEM parts, is how expensive it is to purchase them directly from the manufacturer, which is why it is a distant fifth option for technicians sourcing parts. According to a 2014 Aftermarket Business World Technician Attitude Study, most often they buy from auto parts retailers, commonly through online outlets, followed by warehouse distributors, jobbers, and dealerships.
As long as OEM parts are openly available and at a reasonable price, most likely through online outlets, they will be the most sought after products for parts specialists and independent car enthusiasts working on custom projects alike.