Severe drop in parts quality

I have been working on my mother's Impala lately with cylinder 4 misfire which turned out to be a bad wire going to the injector. At 175k or so I did PCV and fitted line broke, as well as spark plugs. Found the purge valve line loose fitting so I ordered purge control valve and line. While getting electrical connector off it broke in my hand so I repaired it. While I had to remove intake for 3rd time I broke map sensor. I replaced both map and purge with aftermarket. Vehicle had no check engine lights after work was completed. Fast forward 2 months and lean code bank one so I found line for PCV was not fitting tightly enough so I put new line on. Checked fuel trim perfect now. 2 weeks later I get fuel trim imbalance bank 1 and bank 2. Found bank 2 02 sensor rich and bank 1 Normal but didn't want to throw an O2 sensor in yet so I pulled beauty cover off and there was a loud ticking from new purge valve. I just replace valve and electrical connector then test drove. Fuel trim is beautiful and 02 sensor is cycling as well. I did replace the purge valve with AC Delco however it had Bosch name on it. Parts are not only getting worse the vehicles are super sensitive to failures. When I retired almost 20 years ago you either had a shake or bad fuel mileage which showed something was wrong. This is 3rd part that has failed in a year.
 
For European applications, I tend to shy away from Febi-Bilstein of late as I'm noticing more and more of their parts are coming from China - especially for BMW applications - and they certainly fail prematurely. I haven't had any issues with Lemförder or TRW yet, but that doesn't mean to say it can't happen. Trucktec parts still seem alright, not the top of the line, but not the worst either. With that being said, I have noticed Textar brake pads to be noisier; nothing has changed in the installation but I reckon the composition has changed.
 
I had a problem with my 2001 Honda civic camshaft position sensor. Replaced it with an advanced auto. Car had the exact same problem as before. No improvement. The sensor was made in Mexico. I was desperate since I was away on vacation. Went to Napa and got a made in Taiwan sensor. That one worked and worked for years. Seems like aftermarket parts are a draw of the dice.
 
I love the China parts-banging posts. There must be a 1000 of them on Bitog. Invariably a lot of the posts say nothing about the price points of the items purchased.

I’m thinking the quality of the higher end products has improved in the last 10 years. Also, it’s not a secret that some GM OE parts with the GM hologram logo are manufactured in China.

Blanket statements on Chinese made products are a bit tiring. Also trying to say a part is better based solely on the country it’s made in, is an old man thing. However, I can’t take on everyone, so vent away!
 
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I love the China parts-banging posts. There must be a 1000 of them on Bitog. Invariably a lot of the posts say nothing about the price points of the items purchased.

I’m thinking the quality of the higher end products has improved in the last 10 years. Also, it’s not a secret that some GM OE parts with the GM hologram logo are manufactured in China.

Blanket statements on Chinese made products are a bit tiring. Also trying to say a part is better based solely on the country it’s made in, is an old man thing. However, I can’t take on everyone, so vent away!
The hard part is sifting through third shift or parts which fail QC and end up in the supply chain.
 
I love the China parts-banging posts. There must be a 1000 of them on Bitog. Invariably a lot of the posts say nothing about the price points of the items purchased.

I’m thinking the quality of the higher end products has improved in the last 10 years. Also, it’s not a secret that some GM OE parts with the GM hologram logo are manufactured in China.

Blanket statements on Chinese made products are a bit tiring. Also trying to say a part is better based solely on the country it’s made in, is an old man thing. However, I can’t take on everyone, so vent away!
China will produce any product you want at any quality level you want. Sadly, since corporatism has taken over in the West, moving production to China is a cost cutting measure and will inevitably affect the quality of the product you purchase at highly inflated prices. This does not mean we do not produce junk in the U.S. or Canada, of course we have more than our fair share. But this is ultimately a scam IMHO to produce a product at the lowest possible cost, not just with labor but raw materials as well, and make us believe it is quality because it is affiliated with a known brand we have come to trust through nostalgia or whatever else.

Some companies, like Makita, will have their own production facilities in China and the quality of their products manufactured there will mirror that of products produced in Japan. Others will simply find the lowest cost bidder to manufacture the cheapest possible product they can make a profit on and they make up the majority. Quality, brand recognition and reputation have taken a back seat to greedy corporations, whose religion is simply money.
 
China will produce any product you want at any quality level you want. Sadly, since corporatism has taken over in the West, moving production to China is a cost cutting measure and will inevitably affect the quality of the product you purchase at highly inflated prices. This does not mean we do not produce junk in the U.S. or Canada, of course we have more than our fair share. But this is ultimately a scam IMHO to produce a product at the lowest possible cost, not just with labor but raw materials as well, and make us believe it is quality because it is affiliated with a known brand we have come to trust through nostalgia or whatever else.

Some companies, like Makita, will have their own production facilities in China and the quality of their products manufactured there will mirror that of products produced in Japan. Others will simply find the lowest cost bidder to manufacture the cheapest possible product they can make a profit on and they make up the majority. Quality, brand recognition and reputation have taken a back seat to greedy corporations, whose religion is simply money.
Thank goodness we can still buy quality Craftsman tools. Oh, wait..
 
China will produce any product you want at any quality level you want. Sadly, since corporatism has taken over in the West, moving production to China is a cost cutting measure and will inevitably affect the quality of the product you purchase at highly inflated prices. This does not mean we do not produce junk in the U.S. or Canada, of course we have more than our fair share. But this is ultimately a scam IMHO to produce a product at the lowest possible cost, not just with labor but raw materials as well, and make us believe it is quality because it is affiliated with a known brand we have come to trust through nostalgia or whatever else.

Some companies, like Makita, will have their own production facilities in China and the quality of their products manufactured there will mirror that of products produced in Japan. Others will simply find the lowest cost bidder to manufacture the cheapest possible product they can make a profit on and they make up the majority. Quality, brand recognition and reputation have taken a back seat to greedy corporations, whose religion is simply money.
When big companies in Japan can take cost cutting measures and it wind up killing people; like in the Takata airbag scandal, it really is disturbing on many levels. Any company can go down on quality of parts if you have individuals in positions of authority that will put lives at risk and no one in house is keeping these things in check. Good cultures prevented these things from happening in the past. Today there is no regard to the end consumer and the higher ups all work out their plans while scratching each other’s backs.

Just reading through the oil filter threads since the pandemic to pre-pandemic, there is a clear change in quality of many well known brands. Purolater, Wix to name a couple and many once well respected go-to filters are being out-done by a company like Premium Guard made in Vietnam and other countries depending on the filter. It’s literally a crapshoot as to who will suffer quality due to obvious cost-cutting measures.

And, it’s not limited to these companies in this industry. I work for FedEx as a courier and don’t know if I will have a job in the next few months to a year. Yet, the stocks are at record high levels and the company is making record profits. They are basically ending their employee courier model (Air shipment) to a strictly all contracted model (Ground shipment) in a copy of Amazon. The family that created the company is out (the Smiths) in favor of Raj and his cohort. The family owners used to say the two parts of the delivery service would remain separate. Air travel focused on delivering next day and on time to the extent possible. Most couriers loving their routes and serving their customers. But now? Pure greed and giving all of the work to the ground contracted driver who mostly isn’t interested in getting a certain package to a higher paying customer on time. They don’t even wear a uniform and have been giving FedEx a bad name for years. But they are rewarded with more work and putting more reliable drivers (when it comes to taking care of customers) out of a job.

There is no loyalty to customers, workers etc because more money and favoring board members and shareholders benefit is put above any other ethical practice. It’s dishonest. “Yeah, we really appreciate you! Now how can we show that is not true in the most fundamental way?” That’s the approach. Who can you trust these days? So, I’m thankful for BITOG posting those oil filter C&Ps guys. Reports on quality of brands going down like Moog for example. You never know when a reliable product becomes a liability despite the history of a given brand.

.02
 
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Once a vehicle is out of production, even the "OEM" part can change.

I have had this - order a Denso or Hitachi sensor and it doesn't look like the one coming out - so go to the dealer and I get the same "updated" version. Did the same with a Mopar thermostat years ago. the $40 "Mopar" stat was not at all like came out, and in fact looked EXACTLY - down to the stamping marks - of the Stant one I had gotten from the parts store.

You might be lucky and get new old stock, or not.

Not saying to quit trying but "OEM" on out of production stuff is no guarantee either.
 
When big companies in Japan can take cost cutting measures and it wind up killing people; like in the Takata airbag scandal, it really is disturbing on many levels. Any company can go down on quality of parts if you have individuals in positions of authority that will put lives at risk and no one in house is keeping these things in check. Good cultures prevented these things from happening in the past. Today there is no regard to the end consumer and the higher ups all work out their plans while scratching each other’s backs.

Just reading through the oil filter threads since the pandemic to pre-pandemic, there is a clear change in quality of many well known brands. Purolater, Wix to name a couple and many once well respected go-to filters are being out-done by a company like Premium Guard made in Vietnam and other countries depending on the filter. It’s literally a crapshoot as to who will suffer quality due to obvious cost-cutting measures.

And, it’s not limited to these companies in this industry. I work for FedEx as a courier and don’t know if I will have a job in the next few months to a year. Yet, the stocks are at record high levels and the company is making record profits. They are basically ending their employee courier model (Air shipment) to a strictly all contracted model (Ground shipment) in a copy of Amazon. The family that created the company is out (the Smiths) in favor of Raj and his cohort. The family owners used to say the two parts of the delivery service would remain separate. Air travel focused on delivering next day and on time to the extent possible. Most couriers loving their routes and serving their customers. But now? Pure greed and giving all of the work to the ground contracted driver who mostly isn’t interested in getting a certain package to a higher paying customer on time. They don’t even wear a uniform and have been giving FedEx a bad name for years. But they are rewarded with more work and putting more reliable drivers (when it comes to taking care of customers) out of a job.

There is no loyalty to customers, workers etc because more money and favoring board members and shareholders benefit is put above any other ethical practice. It’s dishonest. “Yeah, we really appreciate you! Now how can we show that is not true in the most fundamental way?” That’s the approach. Who can you trust these days? So, I’m thankful for BITOG posting those oil filter C&Ps guys. Reports on quality of brands going down like Moog for example. You never know when a reliable product becomes a liability despite the history of a given brand.

.02

In many respects, I'm all for supporting local businesses where possible because you're not supporting a bunch of greedy nincompoops trying to rob you of every penny you have as a measure of their "success".

Every corporation has gone down the toilet in one way or another, brand loyalty means nothing anymore and that's not just with the automotive industry. I got back from a short trip to FL in mid June and United/Lufthansa somehow lost my luggage between Orlando and Frankfurt; it's been almost two weeks and they're still "searching" for it. Yet they have the audacity to ask if I just so happened to have an AirTag in it or if I have travel insurance. Am I supposed to make up for their incompetence? Is this the "German efficiency" that Lufthansa built a reputation upon? If this wasn't a government issued ticket under the "Fly America Act" with a United flight number on a Lufthansa flight, I wouldn't give them or their "partners" the light of day. But yeah, we can thank the lobbyists for that one. They can't even hold a candle to the likes of Qatar Airways.

Not to get political, but when you stop hiring on merit and instead, hire a bunch of incompetent fools and put them in positions where they do not belong, this is what you get. They are truly incompetent to recognize brand image and loyalty is far more important than a single year's profits; it takes decades to build a reputation and days to ruin it. Just look at Mercedes-Benz in the 70s and look at them today; who would have even thought one day you'd pay a premium for a Mercedes-Benz with a Renault drivetrain? It's the same thing with parts; I would not touch a Febi-Bilstein part with a ten foot pole, not because they're made in China, but because their "new" products are vastly inferior to their previous ones with the same price tag. They're not lowering their prices because they lowered their production costs.

Corporations need to wake the heck up and realize most consumers are not the suckers and imbeciles they think we are.
 
When big companies in Japan can take cost cutting measures and it wind up killing people; like in the Takata airbag scandal, it really is disturbing on many levels. Any company can go down on quality of parts if you have individuals in positions of authority that will put lives at risk and no one in house is keeping these things in check. Good cultures prevented these things from happening in the past. Today there is no regard to the end consumer and the higher ups all work out their plans while scratching each other’s backs.

Just reading through the oil filter threads since the pandemic to pre-pandemic, there is a clear change in quality of many well known brands. Purolater, Wix to name a couple and many once well respected go-to filters are being out-done by a company like Premium Guard made in Vietnam and other countries depending on the filter. It’s literally a crapshoot as to who will suffer quality due to obvious cost-cutting measures.

And, it’s not limited to these companies in this industry. I work for FedEx as a courier and don’t know if I will have a job in the next few months to a year. Yet, the stocks are at record high levels and the company is making record profits. They are basically ending their employee courier model (Air shipment) to a strictly all contracted model (Ground shipment) in a copy of Amazon. The family that created the company is out (the Smiths) in favor of Raj and his cohort. The family owners used to say the two parts of the delivery service would remain separate. Air travel focused on delivering next day and on time to the extent possible. Most couriers loving their routes and serving their customers. But now? Pure greed and giving all of the work to the ground contracted driver who mostly isn’t interested in getting a certain package to a higher paying customer on time. They don’t even wear a uniform and have been giving FedEx a bad name for years. But they are rewarded with more work and putting more reliable drivers (when it comes to taking care of customers) out of a job.

There is no loyalty to customers, workers etc because more money and favoring board members and shareholders benefit is put above any other ethical practice. It’s dishonest. “Yeah, we really appreciate you! Now how can we show that is not true in the most fundamental way?” That’s the approach. Who can you trust these days? So, I’m thankful for BITOG posting those oil filter C&Ps guys. Reports on quality of brands going down like Moog for example. You never know when a reliable product becomes a liability despite the history of a given brand.

.02

In many respects, I'm all for supporting local businesses where possible because you're not supporting a bunch of greedy nincompoops trying to rob you of every penny you have as a measure of their "success".

Every corporation has gone down the toilet in one way or another, brand loyalty means nothing anymore and that's not just with the automotive industry. I got back from a short trip to FL in mid June and United/Lufthansa somehow lost my luggage between Orlando and Frankfurt; it's been almost two weeks and they're still "searching" for it. Yet they have the audacity to ask if I just so happened to have an AirTag in it or if I have travel insurance. Am I supposed to make up for their incompetence? Is this the "German efficiency" that Lufthansa built a reputation upon? If this wasn't a government issued ticket under the "Fly America Act" with a United flight number on a Lufthansa flight, I wouldn't give them or their "partners" the light of day. But yeah, we can thank the lobbyists for that one. They can't even hold a candle to the likes of Qatar Airways.

Not to get political, but when you stop hiring on merit and instead, hire a bunch of incompetent fools and put them in positions where they do not belong, this is what you get. They are truly incompetent to recognize brand image and loyalty is far more important than a single year's profits; it takes decades to build a reputation and days to ruin it. Just look at Mercedes-Benz in the 70s and look at them today; who would have even thought one day you'd pay a premium for a Mercedes-Benz with a Renault drivetrain? It's the same thing with parts; I would not touch a Febi-Bilstein part with a ten foot pole, not because they're made in China, but because their "new" products are vastly inferior to their previous ones with the same price tag. They're not lowering their prices because they lowered their production costs.

Corporations need to wake the heck up and realize most consumers are not the suckers and imbeciles they think we are.
Not sure if you saw the recent "re-calibration" at Tractor Supply, but it shows that at least one segment of society is pushing back.

Not familiar with how it is in other parts of the world, but in Canada, government was very much the "Canary in the coalmine" for ideology and optics overriding competence and merit.
 
In many respects, I'm all for supporting local businesses where possible because you're not supporting a bunch of greedy nincompoops trying to rob you of every penny you have as a measure of their "success".

Every corporation has gone down the toilet in one way or another, brand loyalty means nothing anymore and that's not just with the automotive industry. I got back from a short trip to FL in mid June and United/Lufthansa somehow lost my luggage between Orlando and Frankfurt; it's been almost two weeks and they're still "searching" for it. Yet they have the audacity to ask if I just so happened to have an AirTag in it or if I have travel insurance. Am I supposed to make up for their incompetence? Is this the "German efficiency" that Lufthansa built a reputation upon? If this wasn't a government issued ticket under the "Fly America Act" with a United flight number on a Lufthansa flight, I wouldn't give them or their "partners" the light of day. But yeah, we can thank the lobbyists for that one. They can't even hold a candle to the likes of Qatar Airways.

Not to get political, but when you stop hiring on merit and instead, hire a bunch of incompetent fools and put them in positions where they do not belong, this is what you get. They are truly incompetent to recognize brand image and loyalty is far more important than a single year's profits; it takes decades to build a reputation and days to ruin it. Just look at Mercedes-Benz in the 70s and look at them today; who would have even thought one day you'd pay a premium for a Mercedes-Benz with a Renault drivetrain? It's the same thing with parts; I would not touch a Febi-Bilstein part with a ten foot pole, not because they're made in China, but because their "new" products are vastly inferior to their previous ones with the same price tag. They're not lowering their prices because they lowered their production costs.

Corporations need to wake the heck up and realize most consumers are not the suckers and imbeciles they think we are.
I fly them all - and have been using AirTags since they came out. I have gone to the hotel instead of being number 20 in-line to get the bad news. It is a reasonable question no matter how you described it. And you already got political with the mention of Qatar - and BTW I’m just days from flying to Doha on them … Easy to see they get help from natural gas money …
Then there is Emirates - both the plane builder and airline is subsidized …
 
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Not sure if you saw the recent "re-calibration" at Tractor Supply, but it shows that at least one segment of society is pushing back.

Not familiar with how it is in other parts of the world, but in Canada, government was very much the "Canary in the coalmine" for ideology and optics overriding competence and merit.
Yes, definitely have seen the drama unfold with Tractor Supply, and rightly so. A business transaction is a business transaction no matter which way you look at it; the very least you should be able to expect is to get what you pay for without the need for fanfare and unnecessary drama.

I fly them all - and have been using AirTags since they came out. I have gone to the hotel instead of being number 20 in-line to get the bad news. It is a reasonable question no matter how you described it. And you already got political with the mention of Qatar - and BTW I’m just days from flying to Doha on them … Easy to see they get help from natural gas money …
Then there is Emirates - both the plane builder and airline is subsidized …

Perhaps my expectations are a little too high, but when it comes to self funded travel, neither Qatar Airways (80% of the time) nor Etihad have let me down so far over the course of the past 18 years, even on flights with two stops. Government funded travel, on the other hand, is cringe worthy thanks to all the contracts and red tape around who gets taxpayer money. Emirates, I'm not a big fan of because of the arrogant snobs they have for ground staff in Dubai, much like Heathrow. But they're still heads and shoulders above most American and European airlines.

The last time I had lost luggage was in 2004 with KLM and even that was turned around in 48 hours; no AirTags involved. For two weeks to go by with zero progress is a new level of incompetence. In all fairness, I did get a notification on their app and a text message upon landing, so I did not have to wait in an endless line. I was also able to report it online, but that doesn't make it any less annoying. Having said that, I reckon it goes without saying that as we become more dependent on technology, the lazier and dumber we become.

That said, at the very least, Qatar knows how to put that natural gas money to good use, absolutely no shame in that, unlike some other Gulf countries whose aircraft I would not want to set foot on again. At least the money is being funnelled into subsidization with the end product in mind, as opposed to further enriching upper level management. Qatar's business class is the best I have experienced yet; can't say much about their new CEO, but Akbar Al Baker did them good.
 
Yes, definitely have seen the drama unfold with Tractor Supply, and rightly so. A business transaction is a business transaction no matter which way you look at it; the very least you should be able to expect is to get what you pay for without the need for fanfare and unnecessary drama.



Perhaps my expectations are a little too high, but when it comes to self funded travel, neither Qatar Airways (80% of the time) nor Etihad have let me down so far over the course of the past 18 years, even on flights with two stops. Government funded travel, on the other hand, is cringe worthy thanks to all the contracts and red tape around who gets taxpayer money. Emirates, I'm not a big fan of because of the arrogant snobs they have for ground staff in Dubai, much like Heathrow. But they're still heads and shoulders above most American and European airlines.

The last time I had lost luggage was in 2004 with KLM and even that was turned around in 48 hours; no AirTags involved. For two weeks to go by with zero progress is a new level of incompetence. In all fairness, I did get a notification on their app and a text message upon landing, so I did not have to wait in an endless line. I was also able to report it online, but that doesn't make it any less annoying. Having said that, I reckon it goes without saying that as we become more dependent on technology, the lazier and dumber we become.

That said, at the very least, Qatar knows how to put that natural gas money to good use, absolutely no shame in that, unlike some other Gulf countries whose aircraft I would not want to set foot on again. At least the money is being funnelled into subsidization with the end product in mind, as opposed to further enriching upper level management. Qatar's business class is the best I have experienced yet; can't say much about their new CEO, but Akbar Al Baker did them good.
Yeah, I like the Q-Suites - but so do the rich locals and their out of control brats up there … Cheers

IMG_3392.webp
 
The market is that of a dealer monopoly disguised as a competitive market.

Seems like manufacturers are in an economic bind and need sales of new cars...and failing that, OEM parts markups.
 
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