1. Anybody decide to upgrade something on your rig with aftermarket parts, and you were disappointed, wishing you would have stuck with OEM? What did you get, and why were you disappointed?

2. Anybody do the same but really loved the difference? What did you get, and why were you happy?

 

the only time i really buy anything from the dealer is when i need something that's either not available in the aftermarket, or something that has a very poor aftermarket part -- usually head gaskets(though i'm now sold on engnbldr's gasket, just as good as the dealer).

i think a lot of it is a placebo effect -- ignition parts for example. i've ran just about every kind of spark plug and wire combination imaginable over the years and i've never had a problem with it(well, except bosch platinum, but let's not go there). i bet you couldn't tell the difference in how my engines ran with autolite vs ngk plugs.

 

Aftermarket bumper and hood

 

I follow Kyle's remarks and a few of my own as well, Ive always preferd refurbished over The dealers parts, Refurbish are parts that have been rebuilt fixing what the dealer did wrong.
So unless it outright looks or feels bad I go for aftermarket over dealer anytime.

 

that is an interesting point -- if something is remanufactured, it could very well have gotten any flaws it had when new fixed. i guess most of us(me included) are always attracted to the "shiny and new" thing.

another thing to consider is that toyota doesn't manufacture the vast majority of their parts -- they farm that out to other companies, stamp their logo on the package and jack up the price! there have been cases of rock head gaskets(the ones engnbldr sells) ending up behind the parts counter at a few dealerships!

the trick here is to buy parts from a reputable supplier. for example, i'll never touch another schucks alternator after what happened a couple years ago. the original one in my '79 bit the dust, so i traded it in for a reman at schucks. ended up being dead(they tested it afterwards), they gave me a replacement one, i had them test it -- it was dead as well! the danged thing didn't even look like a toyota alternator, either. NAPA, while a bit more spendy sells much better quality electrical components.

 

A lot of times, the rebuilt parts are junk. Problem is, a lot of times they either arent repaired properly, or cheap parts are used in them.

Starters are one example of bad remanufacturing. I've heard of countless remanned starters having problems. OEM is the way to go on those.

I buy all dealer parts now that I work at the dealer

 

I've always thought of going OEM-plus or improving on the OEM as best as possible when the time comes. I'm not one to throw money away on upgrading when the part I'm replacing is still serviceable.

I've used this specifically with brakes. If I'm replacing the rotors, I'll go to a Powerslot for a marginal increase over the OEM rotor. Or doing a K&N drop-in filter when I replace the paper ones, etc.

Spark plugs, however, I've always gone with OEM.

 

I stick with aftermarket companies that have been proven to be good in the past and have some solid history. I do stick with OEM for the maintenance parts and definetly when it comes to seals and such and definetly stick with OEM when you replace axle seals. I experienced failure with aftermarket pieces on my '97 and seen a couple of other examples on other Toyota trucks.