Parts brands - OE Volvo, trusted aftermarket, and bad

[5underpressure]

front right lower engine mount came in, found them priced $15-$175 clicked on the GSP for $83

[FireFox31]

Rubber is a place where the cost cutting comes back to boil you over.

Volvo rubber seems to last 20 years plus and those turbo hoses are getting baked

Even Volvo brand hoses must be suspect these days, to the point where quality aftermarket like do88 may be better. I bought Volvo brand coolant hose 9470676 from FCP in 1/2024, listed as made in the Czech Republic. By 5/2024, the hose was hard and cracking at the connection nipples. A copy of this hose I bought in 9/2021 remains soft to this day. The two hoses clearly use different materials since the 2024 hose has no printing and the 2021 hose has green letters and paint marks. Yes, I can replace it using the FCP warranty but I'll probably get an identical bad one which will fail in a few months (the current product picture shows no printing on the hose). I've asked FCP if they'll let me use the warranty to replace this hose with the do88 kit, listed as made in Sweden, which costs less and includes two hoses.

Proactive replacement of old hoses may get you new ones which are of worse quality. Be careful.

[hausmeister]

I do follow a few youtube car channels, and parts quality is a topic that comes up, seems like there is a general problem with declining quality. From my own experience I have not bought many parts recently, what I did was fine so far.

do88.se stuff is good, very happy with the induction hoses. I used OE Volvo Coolant hoses, but that was a few years back.

[pfmet]

FCP is offering “clearance” prices on some Volvo stuff in the latest email received this am. I’m thinking of taking advantage of of few. The Nissens evaporator for $66. They also have the Rein for $100. (Not a clearance price). Any preferences in the group, past experiences with either one? I will get to that ac some day and if I have a part it may help to motivate. ATE semi metallic brake pads for $45, Shouldn’t pass them up. The Viacom branded 30680750 tranny mount for $26. See them on the trusted parts list for engine mounts. However they’re made in Chine and I dislike Chinese rubber passionately. The Febi Bilsteins are made in China as well. The genuine Volvos show no source however the concerns me less even though some Volvo branded parts are coming from China now. No real surprise since it’s Chinese owned. We hope the parts quality would endure however some current anecdotal evidence states otherwise. FCP also has the Corteco brand made in France. They’re also on the trusted list for engine mounts so for $39 their tranny mount seems the better deal. And again, any thoughts appreciated. Not like money is burning holes in my pockets but I could use each of the items in the near future show felt I should seek advice and shop. Thanks and happy wrenching. Peter

[hiroku]

I do follow a few youtube car channels, and parts quality is a topic that comes up, seems like there is a general problem with declining quality. From my own experience I have not bought many parts recently, what I did was fine so far.

do88.se stuff is good, very happy with the induction hoses. I used OE Volvo Coolant hoses, but that was a few years back.

Declining quality is a serious issue. When I had my 850, I worked in a reputable aftermarket parts company. We had access to the software detailing the suppliers of the parts we sold (we didn't make most of the stuff we sold, although we or companies we owned did make some of them).

In my first year at the company, prettty much all parts we carried for my car were OEM. Suspension parts were Lemförder. Bearings were INA. Electronics were Bosch. Even the water pump that came inside our box was Aisin and had the Volvo logo scratched off.

Restored my entire car with OEM parts enjoying our employee discount. Happy days.

By the end of my second year at the company, it was depressing to look at the supplier database. Bosch, Gates, Pierburg, Lemförder, all crossed out. The new suppliers were chinese names I had never heard about.

We had ridiculous warranty claims coming in, like one of our chinese oil filters instantly turning on the low oil pressure light on a customer car. Or a chinese timing belt tensioner bearing desintegrating and bending all valves. Lots of horror stories.

That was about 10 years ago.

I don't work there anymore.

[Ocelot]

I've got a question about ignition parts, specifically the rotor and cap. Here, in the Netherlands, they mainly sell two brands: Bosch and Beru. The price difference between these two brands is a bit... much in my opinion. There are suppliers that ask 108 euros for just the rotor, where as Beru prices range from 25-35 euros. I've called the people of one such supplier, a specialist in Volvo and Saab (R&D carparts), because they sell both brands. They claim that the Beru parts operate excellently and they haven't received any complaints about them. But as I'm searching through the many topics discussing this matter, I read a lot that boils down to: Bosch, and an alternative for Bosch is Bosch. In regards to the price difference I'm eager to try the Beru parts, but I'm also curious that what you guys have to say about it. Especially the people who've bought and tried the Beru parts.

[454cid]

I've got a question about ignition parts, specifically the rotor and cap. Here, in the Netherlands, they mainly sell two brands: Bosch and Beru. The price difference between these two brands is a bit... much in my opinion. There are suppliers that ask 108 euros for just the rotor, where as Beru prices range from 25-35 euros. I've called the people of one such supplier, a specialist in Volvo and Saab (R&D carparts), because they sell both brands. They claim that the Beru parts operate excellently and they haven't received any complaints about them. But as I'm searching through the many topics discussing this matter, I read a lot that boils down to: Bosch, and an alternative for Bosch is Bosch. In regards to the price difference I'm eager to try the Beru parts, but I'm also curious that what you guys have to say about it. Especially the people who've bought and tried the Beru parts.

I wasn't willing to pay Bosch prices, so I didn't. Our distributors are very simple, and I don't see any reason to pay those kinds of prices for molded plastic, and brass. Unfortunately, I don't remember exactly what brand I put on the car. I did go for the OE supplier plug wires, from FCP. They were inline pricewise with other options.

I'd buy the Beru.

[matthew1]

I agree ^

For that reason and also if the new one fails they're simple to change.

[abscate]

I've got a question about ignition parts, specifically the rotor and cap. Here, in the Netherlands, they mainly sell two brands: Bosch and Beru. The price difference between these two brands is a bit... much in my opinion. There are suppliers that ask 108 euros for just the rotor, where as Beru prices range from 25-35 euros. I've called the people of one such supplier, a specialist in Volvo and Saab (R&D carparts), because they sell both brands. They claim that the Beru parts operate excellently and they haven't received any complaints about them. But as I'm searching through the many topics discussing this matter, I read a lot that boils down to: Bosch, and an alternative for Bosch is Bosch. In regards to the price difference I'm eager to try the Beru parts, but I'm also curious that what you guys have to say about it. Especially the people who've bought and tried the Beru parts.

Buy BERU an report back to the Collective, here

[Ocelot]

I'll buy the Beru parts! And I'll report back here