February 23, 2024
When I do not practice what I preach, I get a mouth full of soapy water! I preach to my customers, 'the cheapest part is not always the best option.' My story starts with my wash machine at home needing a new drain pump. I decided this was a job I could handle. I looked for the part online and found severl with a major difference in pricing and availablity. Anywhere from $19.00 to $85.00, WOW! From the picture they all looked the same and I could have the $19.00 pump the next day! So when the pump arrived, I checked it out and it looked the same on the outside. When I installed the pump, only one bolt hole did not line up correctly..ok..no big deal right? Now, the moment of truth. Let's try out the new pump. The first run went ok. I could hear the pump was noisy but it worked! Oh no.... on the second run, the pump was making noise but not pumping! I pulled the hose out of the drain pipe and could hear the pump making noises but not draining. So the little kid in me thinks, 'Lets blow in the drain hose and see what happens!" I am sure you can guess the rest of the story.. The mucky soap water came out like a fire hose into my mouth. Yep, I saved lots of money on the cheapest part and the only problem is that I have to blow into the drain hose to get it to work sometimes. Alright, I learned my lesson. The cheapest part is not always the best.. but why?? One reason is quality control. When a big corporation such as, General Motors or Whirlpool buys parts, they have a quality standard. Quality requirement might be batch testing e.g failure rate per 100,000 parts less than maybe 1%. This requires the manufacture to use certain internal parts and exact assembly requirements to meet the quality standard of the company. Higher reliability and higher cost. If another customer asked to buy the part and their rquirement is low cost only, then no problem. Lower price and lower reliability. Less expensive internal parts and lower manufacture times are used; such as precision alignment of bolt holes/tolerances. So how do we know the difference? Experience and reputation. It's not the manufactures fault, they are just filling the order. When a big corporation orders parts, e.g Whirlpool or a big name part supplier like World Pac, MOOG ect... They have a reputation to uphold. They have been in business for many years taking good care of their customers. Also, some part suppliers may even have higher standards than the original company. MOOG automotive suspension parts usually have a high quality standard. Upgrades are required when the engineers see an improvement. It takes experience to know who sells and/or distributes the best parts and also who will stand behind their part. When you see an Amazon fulfillment center or 'fulfilled by' check the name. XYMTHZ probably does not have the same standards as MOOG Automotive. Also, do not be afraid to ask at your local part store, "Who is the supplier or manufacture of the part?" If the name does not sound familiar, buyer beware!!! For those that want to pursue the job themselves, discount auto part stores may also have better quality parts but you have to ask for them. -Mark Dirsa
