I need to buy a replacement alternator for the truck in my signature. I have done some research and made a few phone calls. Here are my options:
1. There are no alternator/starter rebuilders or automotive electrical shops around here where I live, so paying to rebuild my old OE alternator is not an option.
2. Buying a new OE alternator is not an option. I am not spending $275.00 on a "new" OE Mopar alternator that probably comes from the same factory in China that spits out parts store rebuilt units. Neither one of the two Dodge dealers I called today had a new OE alternator in stock anyway and surprisingly, neither one had any clue as to when they could have one ordered in for me. One was slightly more helpful than the other, but they did not seem very interested in helping me so I thanked them for their time and hung up.
3. I have 3 options here locally:
Napa
Autozone
Advance
Carquest is not an option. Their price is ridiculously high, it was about $40.00 higher than the "new" Napa alternator that is made in China.
According to their respective web sites, AZ and AAP do not stock a new alternator for my truck and even if they did I would not buy it. It is probably made in China and I do not want to have a questionable quality alternator on my truck if I can help it. Both AZ and AAP reman's have the exact same part number and probably come from the exact same factory. I don't know whether it is in China or Mexico or whatever country.
I did find a post here about the Napa reman alternators, there was a Napa manager who said they (Napa) are having good success with the Napa Rayloc 3 year warranty reman alternators from BBB. They cost a few bucks more than the AZ and AAP reman's and there is no AAP-style online discount. Mine is about $179.00 if I can find it in stock at a Napa withing 15 or 20 miles of my house. The Napa website is a little hard to tell whether a selected store has it in stock or not, and I have not had time to call around.
I want a good alternator. I can't see spending $300.00 on an alternator for a 12 year old truck that has 151,000 miles on it, but at the same time I don't want to waste my money on cheap Chinese halfway-rebuilt junk. I have read most of the parts store reman's are only rebuilt to replace the parts that failed in the first place. In other words, I may get an alternator with new bearings but 150,000 miles on the diodes. No thanks. I don't want to get stranded some where due to a cheap alternator and I really don't want to have to R&R the darn thing every 6 months or maybe even less either.
As you can tell from this post, I have read a lot of online horror stories and bad reviews of auto parts chain store reman alternators. They say the BBB alternators at Napa are very good quality and have a very low failure rate. They are rebuilt in Mexico with lower-wage-earning employees. It says that right on the BBB website. I am curious whether anyone here has any real-world experience with these BBB alternators, good or bad. I feel like I am running out of options and I would appreciate any help.
Thanks.
1. There are no alternator/starter rebuilders or automotive electrical shops around here where I live, so paying to rebuild my old OE alternator is not an option.
2. Buying a new OE alternator is not an option. I am not spending $275.00 on a "new" OE Mopar alternator that probably comes from the same factory in China that spits out parts store rebuilt units. Neither one of the two Dodge dealers I called today had a new OE alternator in stock anyway and surprisingly, neither one had any clue as to when they could have one ordered in for me. One was slightly more helpful than the other, but they did not seem very interested in helping me so I thanked them for their time and hung up.
3. I have 3 options here locally:
Napa
Autozone
Advance
Carquest is not an option. Their price is ridiculously high, it was about $40.00 higher than the "new" Napa alternator that is made in China.
According to their respective web sites, AZ and AAP do not stock a new alternator for my truck and even if they did I would not buy it. It is probably made in China and I do not want to have a questionable quality alternator on my truck if I can help it. Both AZ and AAP reman's have the exact same part number and probably come from the exact same factory. I don't know whether it is in China or Mexico or whatever country.
I did find a post here about the Napa reman alternators, there was a Napa manager who said they (Napa) are having good success with the Napa Rayloc 3 year warranty reman alternators from BBB. They cost a few bucks more than the AZ and AAP reman's and there is no AAP-style online discount. Mine is about $179.00 if I can find it in stock at a Napa withing 15 or 20 miles of my house. The Napa website is a little hard to tell whether a selected store has it in stock or not, and I have not had time to call around.
I want a good alternator. I can't see spending $300.00 on an alternator for a 12 year old truck that has 151,000 miles on it, but at the same time I don't want to waste my money on cheap Chinese halfway-rebuilt junk. I have read most of the parts store reman's are only rebuilt to replace the parts that failed in the first place. In other words, I may get an alternator with new bearings but 150,000 miles on the diodes. No thanks. I don't want to get stranded some where due to a cheap alternator and I really don't want to have to R&R the darn thing every 6 months or maybe even less either.
As you can tell from this post, I have read a lot of online horror stories and bad reviews of auto parts chain store reman alternators. They say the BBB alternators at Napa are very good quality and have a very low failure rate. They are rebuilt in Mexico with lower-wage-earning employees. It says that right on the BBB website. I am curious whether anyone here has any real-world experience with these BBB alternators, good or bad. I feel like I am running out of options and I would appreciate any help.
Thanks.