[kjseager]

Hi all...

I gave a brand new Rav 4 a little love tap a few days ago, but my ‘18 suffered a few bumps and bruises as a result.

I need a tail light... and I see a large price difference b/w aftermarket and OEM parts. That’s no surprise, but it brings up the questions...

Does anyone have a direct experience comparing the two?

Do you figure the parts are both likely made at the same factories, for both OEM and third party?

Anyone have any stories or experiences to convey that would be compelling reasons to head in either direction?

Thanks for any insights you may have!

 

[Wrascal]

For a simple tail light (a piece of plastic) I'd go with the cheapest readily available one.

 

[kjseager]

Thank you...

This piece is not so simple. It’s multiple layers of plastic, interwoven.

It’s the whole assembly that is needed.

Thankfully, the bulbs seemed to have been spared.

 

[sirwired]

The quality of aftermarket body parts varies widely. I guess if you want to try aftermarket, order from a place with a good return policy, preferably with free return shipping.

As a random side-note, if you ever want to replace a headlight (vs. a taillight), that's a bad place to cheap out; it takes quite a lot of precision to properly make a headlight, and that precision is hard to achieve via reverse-engineering.

 

[mr_bots]

If it's the new body style Rav, it's probably not too likely a second manufacturer is making the assembly so quickly; however, if it was reversed would you want a potentially inferior product on your brand new vehicle? I know I'd be pushing for the more expensive OEM part.

 

[kjseager]

I really don’t want inferior parts on my vehicle, which I have babied from the start… Almost perfect condition.

That being said, I am still not convinced that the aftermarket parts are not manufactured in the same exact plans that the OEM ones are. Does anyone know this to be true or not true?

 

[williamsji]

I really don’t want inferior parts on my vehicle, which I have babied from the start… Almost perfect condition.

That being said, I am still not convinced that the aftermarket parts are not manufactured in the same exact plans that the OEM ones are. Does anyone know this to be true or not true?

I do think that it is more and more common that parts are made and sourced from the same production lines as OEM parts are. Economies of scale and profit margin pressures pretty much drive big companies supplying the auto makers to go this path rather then setup different lines. This is certainly true with the glass for vehicles now days, and I would expect to see the same pattern with molded plastic components. Metal panels and parts.... harder to tell.

That said..... you need to do a bit of research and actually understand who the part maker is, and if they are an OEM supplier to the maker of your vehicle. If not.. then I would be a lot more hesitant to go with an aftermarket part. I certainly would steer clear of any refurbished part suppliers.

 

[K-Dog7469]

I have been doing collision repair for more than thirty years.
As mentioned the quality of AM parts can vary widely. Ranging from completely terrible, to that's not too bad, I can make it work. It is a very rare event when I am completely satisfied with an AM part.
If you do go AM seek out a part that is "CAPA Certified". It doesn't mean much but it is something. Personally, I would always go OEM.

 

[sicnarf]

Majestic Honda in Rhode Island use to give a 25% discount on parts ordered online and shipped. I have bought a bunch over the years and have been very pleased with their service I haven't needed to buy any in the last 2-3 years.