EDIT: Props to RockAuto for having a warranty system in place that would have refunded my replacement part cost if I hadn't already scrapped the worn-out parts I bought from RA 18 months ago.
Original Post: I know the Mevotech brand are. Vehicle in question is 2010 Odyssey, originally equipped with aluminum front LCAs. OE ball joints were shot by about 140k, and I replaced with Mevotech at that time because Moog only showed steel replacements.
this weekend I replaced both LCAs at 196k because both ball joints were shot, and have been noisy/clunky for about 6 months. So yeah, the Mevotech parts lasted about 50k.
On Rock, it says the Movotech Supremes have a lifetime warranty. Did you try submitting for replacement?
I'm starting to think that all aftermarket (non-performance) parts are garbage.
I have never had good luck with anything that has rubber in it. Control arms. Bushings. Motor mounts. Etc.
John Welsh said:
On Rock, it says the Movotech Supremes have a lifetime warranty. Did you try submitting for replacement?
berkeley! No, I did not, and the scrap man has already picked up the old ones. I guess I have to dig through my records now...
I will concur that all aftermarket parts are crap.
OE's lasted 140k which is longer than most people keep cars. The aftermarkets lasted until 190k which is also longer than most people keep cars. It seems they don't build stuff to last they just build it to try to meet the "market demands."
Don't think so, I've used a few Mevotech parts before and they seem to be decent...but mostly on cars that have seen competition use and/or rough roads so those may not be the best conditions for getting a good idea of longevity.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
John Welsh said:
On Rock, it says the Movotech Supremes have a lifetime warranty. Did you try submitting for replacement?
berkeley! No, I did not, and the scrap man has already picked up the old ones. I guess I have to dig through my records now...
They'll probably stiff you on the warranty anyway. Probably site something like, "not installed by SAE certified mechanic."
https://www.rockauto.com/genImages/143/Mevotech-Warranty_EN-ES-FR.pdf
Holy crap, those Mevotech ball joints sucked worse than I thought! I installed them in December 2019. I guess my memory isn't as good as I remember it being.
I pretty much always take a pic of the new hotness and the odometer at time of service.
Mevotech warranty states:
The Warranty Term for a “Limited Lifetime Warranty” shall mean that Mevotech warrants that the Product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship (bolded by AngryCorvair) for the useful service life of the vehicle upon which the Product was originally installed during the original end-user purchaser’s ownership of the vehicle.
A part that wears out over the course of an 18-month / 25k-mile service life probably doesn't qualify as having a defect in materials and/or workmanship, but I'll give it a try.
Suspension parts are their own whole deal and most aftermarket stuff seems to be worse than OE, but of the aftermarket companies, the Germans seem to have their stuff down best (Lemforder, Meyle HD).
I have Mevotech Supremes on SWMBO's Kia Soul but our roads around here are basically awful pothole-riddled moon lander test tracks so I'm not expecting a whole lot out of them.
I have observed that the biggest difference between various aftermarket control arms seems to be the quality of the ball joints.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
I guess I have to dig through my records now...
If bought on Rock, and you have a log-in to the rock site then the site will give you details (receipt) of past purchases.
Damn, I should have started this thread before putting the worn-out Mevotech LCAs out for the scrap man (he comes through on Sunday evening because Monday is trash day). I just went through the RA warranty process and got to the point where it says "we are sorry for the inconvenience. It looks like you've ordered replacement part on order XXXXXXXXXX. Please print the return label and return defective part for refund." Or something very similar.
OE for replacement parts, high-quality for aftermarket performance parts.
IE, to correct the camber and suspension travel in the rear (on my previous BRZ), I'd buy SPL LCA's, but I wouldn't be touching Megan Racing.
ProDarwin said:
I'm starting to think that all aftermarket (non-performance) parts are garbage.
I'm pretty sure all aftermarket PERFORMANCE parts are garbage.
Glad I don't do that gig anymore. Under the gun to get work done as fast as possible but every thread needs chased, dimensions are just slightly off, outright manufacturing errors or running changes that require different components to suit, etc.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
ProDarwin said:
I'm starting to think that all aftermarket (non-performance) parts are garbage.
I'm pretty sure all aftermarket PERFORMANCE parts are garbage.
Glad I don't do that gig anymore. Under the gun to get work done as fast as possible but every thread needs chased, dimensions are just slightly off, outright manufacturing errors or running changes that require different components to suit, etc.
Performance seems to be a mixed bag. There are lots of manufacturers of performance parts that have great QC and do an excellent job. A certain Miata part vendor comes to mind. There are lots of E36 M3ty manufacturers that clone those parts poorly or design their own parts poorly AND have terrible QC.
In reply to ProDarwin :
I have never dealt with Certain Miata Vendor personally.
The only aftermarket anything I've worked with that didn't require fiddling and finagling was Magnusson. Their parts fit, perfectly, and if you need a different length bolt or a zip tie or anything, it comes with the kit. Zero hair loss involved!
as far as aftermarket arms are concerned, it is amazing how many are built to different dimensions than OE. Caster and camber all out of whack, and nothing you can really do if OE is unavailable, since it seems like there is one factory slapping ten different labels on.
The problem with aftermarket parts is that the price pressure is extreme. If you're shopping at Rock Auto, you have no way to tell what parts are decent and what ones are fuzzy photocopies, so you just pick up the cheapest ones - or maybe the cheapest from a manufacturer you recognize. So there's no value to the manufacturer to build one that's good for 100k instead of 50k.
As for the aftermarket performance market, a lot of people seem to want to learn the hard way that sometimes the least expensive way is not via the lowest priced parts. Customers seem to think that an appropriate price is about 3% higher than the price of raw materials, with free shipping. And if you're the vendor, you really need to stay on top of your manufacturers to make sure they're not cutting corners. We just had to fire a US-based manufacturer that has a very good reputation for another brand of car, but could not consistently put out quality product for us.
I hope to be doing the "remove all the clunks" shuffle with my Suzuki SX4's suspension (some from one rear corner, mostly from the front) later this year if I ever get settled somewhere with a garage and I am planning to try and source as much OE replacement parts as I can. I did some of this work around the 80k mile mark and around the 135k mark the noises started to become noticeable again. I took the car in to a shop I trust (as much as I can, anyway) and after a "noise diagnostic" and replacing one LCA I have about as much noise as I ever did. I don't really want to mention how much this cost.
This seems like the kind of thing that sends cheaper used cars off to the great south side buy here / pay here dealerships to be owned one last time before the junk yard. But I can't rationalize getting something in better shape right now.
Keith Tanner said:
The problem with aftermarket parts is that the price pressure is extreme. If you're shopping at Rock Auto, you have no way to tell what parts are decent and what ones are fuzzy photocopies, so you just pick up the cheapest ones - or maybe the cheapest from a manufacturer you recognize. So there's no value to the manufacturer to build one that's good for 100k instead of 50k.
That way of shopping RockAuto is the cheap skate way and not necessarily the smart way. When shopping for parts there I look at the various "name brands" available before comparing prices. Sidebar: "name brands" are not always the best quality but it can be an indicator.
The Mevotech brand is not familiar to me beyond seeing it on RA and I would avoid it for most applications. Moog I would buy without hesitation.
L5wolvesf said:
Keith Tanner said:
The problem with aftermarket parts is that the price pressure is extreme. If you're shopping at Rock Auto, you have no way to tell what parts are decent and what ones are fuzzy photocopies, so you just pick up the cheapest ones - or maybe the cheapest from a manufacturer you recognize. So there's no value to the manufacturer to build one that's good for 100k instead of 50k.
That way of shopping RockAuto is the cheap skate way and not necessarily the smart way. When shopping for parts there I look at the various "name brands" available before comparing prices. Sidebar: "name brands" are not always the best quality but it can be an indicator.
The Mevotech brand is not familiar to me beyond seeing it on RA and I would avoid it for most applications. Moog I would buy without hesitation.
The problem is that a large # of people shop the way Keith described, and that puts pressure on all the suppliers to produce a cheaper product, even if quality suffers.
In reply to L5wolvesf :
I've heard from multiple people here on GRM and elsewhere that Moog has seen a huge decline in quality over the past ~10 years themselves. It seems like nothing is truly safe except OE these days. Even BMW guys are losing their E36 M3 because Lemforder parts are showing up with "Made in China" on the box.
The prior posts touching on the "race to the bottom" are 100% accurate...
In reply to pointofdeparture :
Need to know who you are buying from, too. Auto parts suppliers rebox old inventory with their new suppliers' boxes all the time. The reps come in with a bunch of flattened parts boxes, open them up, rebox the competitors' stuff, and print a new label.
I only buy from ipd anymore for my Volvo. I know they won't have reboxed old inventory, and it was a very expensive trip to learn that you really, really need genuine Bosch ignition coils.
I will say that I am hugely unimpressed with the KYB "loaded GR2 struts" that I put on my old Civic 10k miles ago. The upper strut bearing are already clunking as bad as the OEM ones did at 160k miles over bumps. Only alternative were Monroe loaded struts, and I am not confident those would have been any better.
ProDarwin said:
L5wolvesf said:
Keith Tanner said:
The problem with aftermarket parts is that the price pressure is extreme. If you're shopping at Rock Auto, you have no way to tell what parts are decent and what ones are fuzzy photocopies, so you just pick up the cheapest ones - or maybe the cheapest from a manufacturer you recognize. So there's no value to the manufacturer to build one that's good for 100k instead of 50k.
That way of shopping RockAuto is the cheap skate way and not necessarily the smart way. When shopping for parts there I look at the various "name brands" available before comparing prices. Sidebar: "name brands" are not always the best quality but it can be an indicator.
The Mevotech brand is not familiar to me beyond seeing it on RA and I would avoid it for most applications. Moog I would buy without hesitation.
The problem is that a large # of people shop the way Keith described, and that puts pressure on all the suppliers to produce a cheaper product, even if quality suffers.
Sadly I have to agree with that.
pointofdeparture said:
In reply to L5wolvesf :
I've heard from multiple people here on GRM and elsewhere that Moog has seen a huge decline in quality over the past ~10 years themselves. It seems like nothing is truly safe except OE these days. Even BMW guys are losing their E36 M3 because Lemforder parts are showing up with "Made in China" on the box.
The prior posts touching on the "race to the bottom" are 100% accurate...
Moog was just an off the top of my head pick. It sucks that their quality may have gone down. But that raises a question. Is ALL Moog (or insert another historically quality brand) poorer quality - or - do they have a "premium" line that is actually "the good stuff"?
