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Remanufactured Parts Getting Worse?

R

ronclark

Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Location
Vancouver, wa
Is it just me, are remanufactured parts getting worse?

I seem to get more and more DOA remanufactured parts from the box store as of late.
my latest run-in is my rear left caliper is dragging the outer pad, order a caliper waited and had I chance to install it today, and guess what? The caliper is leaking somewhere at the two halves are bolted together, Now I have to wait for a replacement to be ordered.
 
Yes

Running joke around here is that Napa remans are pulled from our scrap barrel and painted black before being reboxed. I've done the same job up to 4 times before, even once going back to the original part because it intermittently worked.
 
Look around you and ask yourself, what is getting worse and what is getting better. :uh:
 
This is actually why I've been keeping cores for a few years now. So that I have parts for rebuilding. I've read here multiple times of the box store alternators and I've experienced poor rebuilding on steering racks. So, it's hit or miss and you just have to find the good part if the first one or so is crap. Thankfully we do have a good parts pipeline both new and used is pretty good for what 30 year old cars we have.
 
Its always a toss up. Bad brake booster, bad master cylinder out the box. Bad relays. I just got a new master cylinder from advanced seems to be doing its job. I did try to buy a reman but I'd have to wait 3-4 days. Some parts are good, others not so much.
 
If we are taking Volvo parts I don't ever buy reman. Anything that breaks on my fleet either gets fixed, swapped with a spare or is addressed with a wanted thread. You can buy a reman "016" MAF, starter, alternator, ect from Napa available same day but I'd rather just go straight to storage/the JY

In the shop that's not a feasible business model, so we make do with the bullshit
 
dl242gt said:
This is actually why I've been keeping cores for a few years now. So that I have parts for rebuilding. I've read here multiple times of the box store alternators and I've experienced poor rebuilding on steering racks. So, it's hit or miss and you just have to find the good part if the first one or so is crap. Thankfully we do have a good parts pipeline both new and used is pretty good for what 30 year old cars we have.
Click to expand...
With no place to work atm, it's hard to rebuild my own stuff. when I had the room to work, I would rebuild my calipers. I used to get my alternators and starter rebuilt by a local guy. He's not out of business and I have to found anyone else.
 
James M said:
If we are taking Volvo parts I don't ever buy reman. Anything that breaks on my fleet either gets fixed, swapped with a spare or is addressed with a wanted thread. You can buy a reman "016" MAF, starter, alternator, ect from Napa available same day but I'd rather just go straight to storage/the JY

In the shop that's not a feasible business model, so we make do with the bullshit
Click to expand...
Not everyone had access to junkyard parts. While there are plenty of parts, it's not easy to get them to people when they basically want them free. I rebuild lots of parts but not always the best option for me.
 
I've rebuilt alternators several times. Never had to do a starter as the old style ones very rarely failed. The newer style starters have been good so far with the rebuilt ones I've bought. But when I needed one for my 93 wagon I had a good used original on the shelf.

Never tried calipers and steering racks but I feel giving it a try is in the future. :werd:
 
white855T said:
Not everyone had access to junkyard parts. While there are plenty of parts, it's not easy to get them to people when they basically want them free. I rebuild lots of parts but not always the best option for me.
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Just move to the last bastion of rwd redblock clunkers :e-shrug:
 
On different note, I restored my 1961 MG MIDGET during the pandemic. No part was left untouched. The new clutch release bearing lasted 15 min. Had to pull the motor and not scratch anything. Found a NOS one it's been fine since.
 
I had the same experience with rebuilding a caliper but when i bled it properly the problem reduced... needless to say this bus becoming an ongoing experiment
 
We used to have 2 local, independent parts store chains where I grew up: Robbin's and Sanel's. We had a NAPA too, but that was too rich for my blood. No Pep Boys, Auto Zone, O'Reilly's, etc. They didn't have store brand anything, it was only brand name (aftermarket) stuff. Time marched on and they got bought out. They still exist, but Sanel's stores all belong to NAPA now, and Robbins is I don't know what. When I walk into my local Autozone (to buy car wash chemicals), I don't recognize any of the brands they carry or push. Back in the day, when I was a wee parts delivery guy, the shops we sold to liked certain brands: Raybestos, Wagner, ACDelco, Beck/Arnley, etc.

Probably the margins on those aren't strong enough for corporate bean counters. In their minds, it's better to do 300% markup and have a 40% failure rate (lifetime warranty!) than 100% markup and 2% failure rate.

We're all guilty of buying the cheapest whatever we're shopping for because we just need to use it once, or "it doesn't matter"...until it does, and you don't really have options. Like Harland said above, Volvo Classic has expanded a lot, and if the manufacturer is willing to take a chance, we need to dangle the carrot and buy this stuff, when we can, even if you can get it cheaper on Amazon. Jeff Bezos doesn't give a shit about you or your hobby.

I could go on, but it's the same rant I usually have. You've gotta vote with your money.
 
I'd rather wait 9 days for FCP free shipping than use crap from the parts store. 2nd choice is reputable brands from RockAuto. I will only buy reman if it's from the original supplier (like the alternator for my Toyota was reman'd by Denso). Everything I've gotten from a parts store in the last decade has either been unusable or failed within a year. I have given up.
 
shoestring said:
We used to have 2 local, independent parts store chains where I grew up: Robbin's and Sanel's. We had a NAPA too, but that was too rich for my blood. No Pep Boys, Auto Zone, O'Reilly's, etc. They didn't have store brand anything, it was only brand name (aftermarket) stuff. Time marched on and they got bought out. They still exist, but Sanel's stores all belong to NAPA now, and Robbins is I don't know what. When I walk into my local Autozone (to buy car wash chemicals), I don't recognize any of the brands they carry or push. Back in the day, when I was a wee parts delivery guy, the shops we sold to liked certain brands: Raybestos, Wagner, ACDelco, Beck/Arnley, etc.

Probably the margins on those aren't strong enough for corporate bean counters. In their minds, it's better to do 300% markup and have a 40% failure rate (lifetime warranty!) than 100% markup and 2% failure rate.

We're all guilty of buying the cheapest whatever we're shopping for because we just need to use it once, or "it doesn't matter"...until it does, and you don't really have options. Like Harland said above, Volvo Classic has expanded a lot, and if the manufacturer is willing to take a chance, we need to dangle the carrot and buy this stuff, when we can, even if you can get it cheaper on Amazon. Jeff Bezos doesn't give a shit about you or your hobby.

I could go on, but it's the same rant I usually have. You've gotta vote with your money.
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Not to go too left field, but...

The failure rate is feature, not a fault, if you control the majority of the market(s). When all the trash piles up from all the shitty products you make, you can get into the waste processing/thrift industrial complex/sub-Saharan electronics recycling industry and get your nut again on the back end.

If 5 different part boxes have all the same part in them, how does the consumer vote with their dollar? Do brands commission parts or do the manufacturers commission the brands? You can vote with your money, but you have to have money to vote. If someone reproduced OEM strut mounts, who would have the means to justify the purchase?
 
When all the trash piles up from all the shitty products you make, you can get into the waste processing/thrift industrial complex/sub-Saharan electronics recycling industry and get your nut again on the back end.
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Recycling / waste processing generally is not very profitable especially for mechanical components. There's a reason it gets done in 3rd world countries at poverty wages.

That said there's definitely an element of greed in quality cuts, but I think it's the manufacturers thinking things like...

"How little can we spend on this and still keep warranty returns rare?"
"It's fine if the quality is low, we're the only supplier so they'll just buy another replacement from us."
"If I spend $$$ repairing the production line / doing additional testing / purchasing higher quality plastic for this ancient specialty part, will I ever make my investment back?"

If someone reproduced OEM strut mounts, who would have the means to justify the purchase?
Click to expand...

Enthusiasts and hobbyists who own the car because they have the budget and want to keep it on the road, not just trying to limp along a $1000 daily. Note that some people sell "improved" parts and make some money, so the market is there...

I think we will see the price of replacement parts gradually increase over the coming years as the number of daily driven RWD cars continues to decline. Smaller market means less economy of scale and more production costs passed on to the customer. Some parts may become entirely unavailable.

But as the price of parts increases, I would expect quality parts to appear here and there though with things like the reproduction steering racks - if you have a dedicated enthusiast community with demand for quality parts, the budget to pay for the higher manufacturing costs, and your competition is charging premium prices for crap, manufacturing and selling something decent starts to make business sense again.
 
white855T said:
Its always a toss up. Bad brake booster, bad master cylinder out the box. Bad relays. I just got a new master cylinder from advanced seems to be doing its job. I did try to buy a reman but I'd have to wait 3-4 days. Some parts are good, others not so much.
Click to expand...
I got a bad brake booster from VP, unfortunately past their return window as I had it on the shelf for a long time before installing. $200 vaporized
 
white855T said:
Not everyone had access to junkyard parts. While there are plenty of parts, it's not easy to get them to people when they basically want them free. I rebuild lots of parts but not always the best option for me.
Click to expand...
most people outside of the US of A don't have junkyards full of volvos...no junkyards exist in Colombia. People dig through your trash for anything of value in these countries including paper
 
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