I completely agree with you! It's getting to the point that if you hear the company was bought out by some "Private Equity/Capital group" you would automatically not even think of buying their products. All they care about is making enough $$$ to stuff their pockets and run. And then they have the arrogance to say "don't buy Chinese made goods".. ya ok, I'd rather some already wealthy corporate raider get more wealthy while I'm stuck with a dead part! Sorry.. that's not logical at all. I have bought no-name Chinese made parts on ebay, power steering pump is one of them, working well! The "american-made" ones were really just old parts painted in mexico, nothing repaired. for 4x the price!
LoL, ask me how much O'Reilly brand alternators suck. Go ahead - AMA!
- Thread starter Oro_O
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It's too bad that Warren Buffet (or someone similar) does not invest in a company or companies that say remanufactures alternators and starters, insists that they be remanufactured to a higher quality than they are being remanufactured to today. Insist that the components that are to be replaced be replaced with superior quality parts even if they cost a nickel a unit more. Pay the line workers a fair wage and then offer a decent warranty for the remanufactured items and charge a fair price so that the company survives and thrives. Oh yeah, and make darn sure that those with MBAs are kept away from all of the decision making processes so as not to cheapen anything. No need to try and make every bearing drip blood! Of course the company would need to operate exclusively in the United States.
Geico(though, it’s cut-rate insurance), Fruit of the Loom, Duracell, Benjamin Moore and Lubrizol are bringing in the revenue for Berkshire Hathaway. Carl Icahn is running the show at Driv(Champion, Fel-Pro, Wagner/Ferodo/Jurid, Moog, Walker) and Moog ain’t what they used to be - I’ll install Moog any day of the week over Mevotech though. And now there’s First Brands(Fram/Champion Labs, Carter, Trico, Centric and I believe Raybestos as well).
Now I know why Walker's quality was insanely bad in the last couple years (used to be great). The welds were so bad the flange didn't even seal on the b-pipe/mid-pipe and muffler for the Civic. Luckily I got a replacement (older stock) that was decent but I've already moved on from that bad quality. Oh it wasn't just one that was bad either went through a couple. and then Trico was making some awesome wiper blades that worked for the Civic then they changed the frame design causing streaking (lack of pressure). Went back to Honda and found their price was almost the same ($0.80 difference) as aftermarket! No streaking..
Thanks @nthach for posting this! I'll know who to stay away from.
Hey @chemman the problem with your post is that it's 100% common sense and logical! Those businesses didn't learn common sense.. lol. I completely agree that running a business requires profit margins to stay in business but you don't have to cheapen it up to such a point that the product doesn't even work properly. Great post!
This should be the rules for all businesses!I was going to say Exide is the same boat, their battery quality took a huge dive when a VC firm took over; that’s why Interstate started to go back to Clarios for product.
Heck, go back further, when GM spun off Delco Remy; a Gordon Gecko type split off everything the weirdest way; Johnson Controls ended up with the plant infrastructure if I remember right, and the “product” I think ended up with Delphi except the aftermarket products.
Heck, go back further, when GM spun off Delco Remy; a Gordon Gecko type split off everything the weirdest way; Johnson Controls ended up with the plant infrastructure if I remember right, and the “product” I think ended up with Delphi except the aftermarket products.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
I’ve not had good luck with any parts stores alternators not just one particular brand but all of them. Been there and done that. Me and my dad found a rebuilder locally. What sucks is when at work a customer won’t wait for a genuine alternator and you put a parts store one on and it gets towed back in because it went bad again. The agony of having to do it over again sucks plus the feeling you get when you see the vehicle you worked on coming back on a tow truck. I replaced an alternator with one from Advance (because it was the only thing available for Lexus that Sunday) for my dads friends daughter and it failed same day. Now the guy doesn’t let me touch any of his vehicles because he is convinced I done something wrong. That was 3 years ago. Spent 7 hours of my time doing it and didn’t get a dime for it then get blamed it’s my fault it went bad. That’s why I don’t fool with auto parts store alternators anymore and get my personal ones rebuilt when they fail. It doesn’t matter what parts store I won’t use their alternators or starters unless it was an emergency.
Any alternator that doesn't last at least 15 years and 200,000 miles is nothing more than an electrical form of GODLESS COMMUNISM!
Here me out...
Capitalism is supposed to be about offering the best product at a fair price.
These alternators are all about offering the worst product at a cheap price.
What financial system prospers from this behavior? GODLESS COMMUNISM!
Other than chocolate, vodka and Kalashnikovs, communist products have about as much real world success as I did with girls in junior high school. And let me tell you. I needed all three to land a babe back then.
Seriously though. If I ever wanted to keep a vehicle to Mileage Impossible levels, I would stock up on a OEM alternator at the junkyard once my car is around five to seven years old. Buy one factory alternator for around $100 to $150 and you'll always have the OEM equivalent for as long as you own it.
And to prove my point, here's an alternator for a 2018 Ford Ecosport with 42k miles. Cost just $40.
Here me out...
Capitalism is supposed to be about offering the best product at a fair price.
These alternators are all about offering the worst product at a cheap price.
What financial system prospers from this behavior? GODLESS COMMUNISM!
Other than chocolate, vodka and Kalashnikovs, communist products have about as much real world success as I did with girls in junior high school. And let me tell you. I needed all three to land a babe back then.
Seriously though. If I ever wanted to keep a vehicle to Mileage Impossible levels, I would stock up on a OEM alternator at the junkyard once my car is around five to seven years old. Buy one factory alternator for around $100 to $150 and you'll always have the OEM equivalent for as long as you own it.
And to prove my point, here's an alternator for a 2018 Ford Ecosport with 42k miles. Cost just $40.
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Parts store rebuilt alternators were bad in the 80's as well. It's always been all about doing the least amount / cheapest fix possible and sending it out with no QC checks.
After changing it 3 times the astronomical price of the OE isn't looking so bad is it.....
I've had good luck with the Duralast "Gold" or whatever their top-end line is called. Oe alternator on my parents '16 Traverse failed around 60k, put in one of the top tier AutoZone alternators and it's still working fine at 140k.
I needed an alternator for my Civic and almost bought their valucraft one, but luckily for me they were out of stock and bumped me up to the gold for no extra charge
still no issues with that one either.
Our old parts manager used to work at O'Reilly and she said they constantly warrantied starters and alternators. The last p/s pump I bought there looked like the "rebuilder" didn't even knock the dirt off before spray painting it, boss told me just put it in and of course it whined like crazy
I needed an alternator for my Civic and almost bought their valucraft one, but luckily for me they were out of stock and bumped me up to the gold for no extra charge
still no issues with that one either.Our old parts manager used to work at O'Reilly and she said they constantly warrantied starters and alternators. The last p/s pump I bought there looked like the "rebuilder" didn't even knock the dirt off before spray painting it, boss told me just put it in and of course it whined like crazy
Who would have thought any house brand anything from O'Reilly or Advanced Auto Parts or Auto Zone would be good?
Is alternator supposed to be this lousy? I have 2 cars at 270k and they are still original (Toyota and Acura). You guys made it sound like you should replace alt like a timing belt.
Original alternators are like magic. After that, it's all downhill.
The Duralast Gold alternator in my fiancé's 94 Cavalier just had an issue after six months and 6,000 miles. It was only charging at around 12.15 volts and was setting the battery light on. Unfortunately, it's going to take a week to get the new one. These are brand new lifetime warranty alternators. I usually have decent luck with their Gold series.
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- Mar 20, 2023
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NAPA > Advance > O'Reilly > AutoZone
At least that's the order I usually shop in for parts.
At least that's the order I usually shop in for parts.
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2023
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- 144
Definitely can't say that as a blanket statement. Just depends on the part. I can tell you for a fact I had 3 separate NC Miata AutoZone clutch masters go out on my personal vehicle and the one NAPA I put in afterwards survived many future track days. Shop I worked at would only ever buy OEM, NAPA, or Advance after many instances of shoddy parts from O'Reilly and AutoZone. Again, this is just what I do from personal experience with parts from the big 4 parts stores. Just my opinion.All four of which are most likely the same thing in different color boxes
