Customer insisted I order the OEM bulb
- Thread starter bdcardinal
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I literally laughed out loud when I read the first post. Hilarious!
BTW, I purchase OEM bulbs from Honda for my Accord and my Silverado - they're the same part (Philips HB4 - low beams) and they're only $6 or $7 each, which puts them cheaper than anywhere else that I can find locally.
BTW, I purchase OEM bulbs from Honda for my Accord and my Silverado - they're the same part (Philips HB4 - low beams) and they're only $6 or $7 each, which puts them cheaper than anywhere else that I can find locally.
I'm surprised the guy didn't upgrade to an e-code headlight for MUCH better light output.
That's pretty funny.
I went to the Mazda dealer for an air filter for the old MX-6 because the Mazda filters for my Mazda3 are much nicer than anything I've seen aftermarket. When he brought it out, it was obviously a Fram in a Mazda bag. It was only $2 more than an actual Fram, so no big deal; I bought it. The parts department there has been good to me anyway.
I went to the Mazda dealer for an air filter for the old MX-6 because the Mazda filters for my Mazda3 are much nicer than anything I've seen aftermarket. When he brought it out, it was obviously a Fram in a Mazda bag. It was only $2 more than an actual Fram, so no big deal; I bought it. The parts department there has been good to me anyway.
Well, bdcardinal and others making fun of this humorous situation....you are bringing bad karma upon yourselves the next time you decide to buy a "will fit" part instead of OE! You WILL pay the price.
While this particular story is indeed funny, I have found over the past few years that one has to put in some effort when deciding when OE/brand name parts should be used or not. Sometimes that "will fit" part ends up biting you in the back end. And,in today's China syndrome, it is getting increasingly hard to tell if the brand name part is not just a relabeled white box part.
bdcardinal assisted me (pm) in determining that a "special" Kohler generator Oe Motorcraft plug at $15 was actually a common Motorcraft $2 plug. But, when I went to replace a coolant hose on this Ford engine powered generator with a generic, it didn't fit and the expensive Kohler supplied part was a better choice.
My point....choosing a "will fit" part vs. OE/brand name will vary by each situation and now a days there are no guarantees with either choice.
While this particular story is indeed funny, I have found over the past few years that one has to put in some effort when deciding when OE/brand name parts should be used or not. Sometimes that "will fit" part ends up biting you in the back end. And,in today's China syndrome, it is getting increasingly hard to tell if the brand name part is not just a relabeled white box part.
bdcardinal assisted me (pm) in determining that a "special" Kohler generator Oe Motorcraft plug at $15 was actually a common Motorcraft $2 plug. But, when I went to replace a coolant hose on this Ford engine powered generator with a generic, it didn't fit and the expensive Kohler supplied part was a better choice.
My point....choosing a "will fit" part vs. OE/brand name will vary by each situation and now a days there are no guarantees with either choice.
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
All special orders are prepaid. I even offered when the guy asked me on the phone to call the O'Reileys down the street and tell them it was cool to give him our shop discount. I swear its hard to help people. Worst part was this came in today and due to Mazda's substandard parts distribution system, the order was placed Friday, and their warehouse is in Irvine, CA. The Ford warehouse in Rancho Cucamunga gets the stuff to us overnight.
As a fellow parts guy (but with outdoor power equipment and power tools), I can feel your pain. I do my best, but some customers are just "challenging." One of the biggest problems I have is just getting people to identify what they want to buy parts for.
I have always been very happy with Ford's parts distribution. I can place an order online with my local Ford dealer, which then goes to another Ford dealer who has the part in stock, and I usually have it in just a couple days. I can't complain at all about that.
All special orders are prepaid. I even offered when the guy asked me on the phone to call the O'Reileys down the street and tell them it was cool to give him our shop discount. I swear its hard to help people. Worst part was this came in today and due to Mazda's substandard parts distribution system, the order was placed Friday, and their warehouse is in Irvine, CA. The Ford warehouse in Rancho Cucamunga gets the stuff to us overnight.
As a fellow parts guy (but with outdoor power equipment and power tools), I can feel your pain. I do my best, but some customers are just "challenging." One of the biggest problems I have is just getting people to identify what they want to buy parts for.
I have always been very happy with Ford's parts distribution. I can place an order online with my local Ford dealer, which then goes to another Ford dealer who has the part in stock, and I usually have it in just a couple days. I can't complain at all about that.
Originally Posted By: Trav
Quote:
They got a chuckle out of the Mazda bag saying "Made in Japan" but the actual part saying "W Germany".
That part had to be at least 21 years old. How old is this Mazda?
Before 1949 and after 1990 it would just be marked "Germany".
Nice if you can find modern style tools with W Germany on them though,they were great quality.
It would have been even better if the bag said "Made in occupied Japan" and the parts said "W Germany"!
Quote:
They got a chuckle out of the Mazda bag saying "Made in Japan" but the actual part saying "W Germany".
That part had to be at least 21 years old. How old is this Mazda?
Before 1949 and after 1990 it would just be marked "Germany".
Nice if you can find modern style tools with W Germany on them though,they were great quality.
It would have been even better if the bag said "Made in occupied Japan" and the parts said "W Germany"!
The BBS part was for a 90-91ish Miata with the factory BBS wheels. Very clean car, and I think they were the original owner.
Ford's parts distribution network is great, I cant say enough about how good it is. Parts from the Brownstown PDC take 4-5 business days, but we have to throw the first one out because of time zone issues. Still not bad for the distance at all. Occasionally stuff comes in pulled wrong, but people are only human. One humorous thing was a 2008 GT500 motor we ordered came standing on the flywheel with a crushed oil pan. You have to have a weird sense of humor seeing an engine like that being reduced to a $15,000 paper weight.
Ford's parts distribution network is great, I cant say enough about how good it is. Parts from the Brownstown PDC take 4-5 business days, but we have to throw the first one out because of time zone issues. Still not bad for the distance at all. Occasionally stuff comes in pulled wrong, but people are only human. One humorous thing was a 2008 GT500 motor we ordered came standing on the flywheel with a crushed oil pan. You have to have a weird sense of humor seeing an engine like that being reduced to a $15,000 paper weight.
Originally Posted By: doitmyself
My point....choosing a "will fit" part vs. OE/brand name will vary by each situation and now a days there are no guarantees with either choice.
The bulb thing I knew from prior experience with Mazda bulbs. The H7's come in Mazda boxes, but we got some I think 9004's, maybe 9007's that were literally Phillips boxes with a Mazda sticker.
A lot of Mazda spark plugs come in red Motorcraft boxes with a Mazda sticker over the Ford part number. I will usually pull both for a customer and ask if the sticker is worth the extra $2 a plug.
My point....choosing a "will fit" part vs. OE/brand name will vary by each situation and now a days there are no guarantees with either choice.
The bulb thing I knew from prior experience with Mazda bulbs. The H7's come in Mazda boxes, but we got some I think 9004's, maybe 9007's that were literally Phillips boxes with a Mazda sticker.
A lot of Mazda spark plugs come in red Motorcraft boxes with a Mazda sticker over the Ford part number. I will usually pull both for a customer and ask if the sticker is worth the extra $2 a plug.
I saw so many people get headlamp bulbs at Honda when I worked there. The funny part was that Honda does source German-made Philips and Osram bulbs as OEM replacement, while the factory bulb was a Sylvania.
I had to order a $220 fuel line for my neighbor's Explorer that his friend managed to mangle and his mom is paying to wrap things off. I got the part overnight, it came from Ford's Manteca, CA warehouse. Ford used to have a warehouse in Richmond, CA which is 20 minutes from me.
Toyota has been really good about getting special ordered parts quickly, their local warehouse is in San Ramon - unless it has to come from LA which takes 2-3 days. I had to order some Lexus-specific rotor screws and it took a day longer because of that fact.
I had to order a $220 fuel line for my neighbor's Explorer that his friend managed to mangle and his mom is paying to wrap things off. I got the part overnight, it came from Ford's Manteca, CA warehouse. Ford used to have a warehouse in Richmond, CA which is 20 minutes from me.
Toyota has been really good about getting special ordered parts quickly, their local warehouse is in San Ramon - unless it has to come from LA which takes 2-3 days. I had to order some Lexus-specific rotor screws and it took a day longer because of that fact.
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Originally Posted By: MonumentOiler
Originally Posted By: ffracer
I have to laugh as my brother in law got a headlight bulb from the Toyota dealer (Made in Japan!) for his Highlander and it was $36. Not installed.
I mentioned he could get TWO Sylvania/GE/Philips at Kmart for $9! A 9007.
Unlike Mazda there is a difference with TOYOTA bulbs. In my Camry the headlight bulb went out after ~10 years. So I got a Walmart replacement set. Both of those failed in around a year. I'm back to OEM (they did cost close to $20 each).
On my Land Cruiser I'm at 13 years and 170k with original bulbs.
Actually, there is a bit of truth to this.
I talked to Daniel Stern (of Daniel Stern Lighting), and he told me that basically there are 3 tiers of automotive bulbs.
The best bulbs go to the manufacturers' assembly lines. The OE's that come in your vehicle are the best of the bunch.
The next tier are the manufacturer replacement bulbs.
Finally, the rest that basically meet spec but barely at best, end up in the replacement packs at the store.
I was looking for a very specific bulb spec, and he sent me to a GM dealer to pick it up (GM was the company that made the spec). So far, no problems.
Originally Posted By: ffracer
I have to laugh as my brother in law got a headlight bulb from the Toyota dealer (Made in Japan!) for his Highlander and it was $36. Not installed.
I mentioned he could get TWO Sylvania/GE/Philips at Kmart for $9! A 9007.
Unlike Mazda there is a difference with TOYOTA bulbs. In my Camry the headlight bulb went out after ~10 years. So I got a Walmart replacement set. Both of those failed in around a year. I'm back to OEM (they did cost close to $20 each).
On my Land Cruiser I'm at 13 years and 170k with original bulbs.
Actually, there is a bit of truth to this.
I talked to Daniel Stern (of Daniel Stern Lighting), and he told me that basically there are 3 tiers of automotive bulbs.
The best bulbs go to the manufacturers' assembly lines. The OE's that come in your vehicle are the best of the bunch.
The next tier are the manufacturer replacement bulbs.
Finally, the rest that basically meet spec but barely at best, end up in the replacement packs at the store.
I was looking for a very specific bulb spec, and he sent me to a GM dealer to pick it up (GM was the company that made the spec). So far, no problems.
Actually OSRAM and Sylvania have been one in the same for about the past 20 years or so.. OSRAM is the owner and parent company...Everything sold in the USA is branded Sylvania, while in the RoW it's branded OSRAM.
Remember that the "wall" had just come down in Germany just a year before so it is not surprising that W. Germany was printed on that part.
Remember that the "wall" had just come down in Germany just a year before so it is not surprising that W. Germany was printed on that part.
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