Genuine OEM Car Parts or Aftermarket Parts? Which Should You Buy?

When it comes to carrying out repairs and routine maintenance on your car, you’ve generally a few options – either you bite the bullet and pay the cost to have a mechanic or local garage do the work or you purchase the parts yourself and give it a go DIY style! For many, they simply don’t want the hassle and to go to the effort of doing the repairs themselves, however in many cases, jobs are easy and straightforward so long as you take your time and, in doing so, a small fortune can be saved. Garages and mechanics are charging more and more and, as such, once you’ve learned how to do a job you’ll find yourself needing to use their services less and less.

Of course, there’s two main options when it comes to buying car parts, however, OEM parts and aftermarket parts and if you’re new to DIY mechanics, which do you choose? We all know that genuine OEM parts are usually a little more expensive however is the cost justified and worth it? We caught up with UK Honda parts specialists, Cox Motor Parts to help answer your questions!

OEM vs. Aftermarket

Genuine ‘OEM’ car parts are those supplied directly by the car manufacturer and, as such, are those regarded as the very best which money can buy. Yes, you’ll pay a little more for buying OEM parts however they’re what’s recommended from the manufacturer and that which is guaranteed not to compromise the performance of your vehicle.

As far as many are concerned, if you’re going to replace a part, you need to ensure what you’re replacing it with is at least as good as the original and the only way to do that is by buying genuine parts. On the other hand, you’ll find that with genuine parts it’s easier to find exactly what you’re looking for and the pre-sales support is on hand from the main dealers.

Aftermarket parts, on the other hand, cover everything else and all parts which aren’t supplied or recommended by the vehicle manufacturer themselves. These include any you buy from ‘big name’ auto retailers as well as any you buy on eBay or the like (unless they’re marked as genuine or OEM). Of course, the attraction from many is that they’re easily available and often cheaper than genuine parts, however they’re not guaranteed to retain the performance of your car.

Which to Go For?

At the end of the day, as far as we’re concerned, your best bet is to go with genuine OEM parts each and every time. Yes, they may cost a little more but they’ll also generally last longer meaning the upfront cost saving of aftermarket parts is evened out. Add to that the fact that genuine parts won’t compromise on the performance of your vehicle and we’re confident you’ve got your answer!

The cost is worth every extra penny, however when you shop online you’ll find some great prices and, in many instances, will find you’re only paying marginally extra than you would heading to your local auto retailer and buying aftermarket parts.