Vent: Had a customer last week who insisted on aftermarket parts for his 2020 F-150 repair, but the fit was trash

Last week in the shop, a guy brought in his 2020 F-150 with a smashed front end from a parking lot hit. He was super clear he wanted aftermarket parts to keep his cost down, quoting a price about $800 less than OEM. We ordered the parts, a bumper and a headlight assembly from a big aftermarket brand. When they showed up, the bumper needed serious massaging to even get close to lining up, and the headlight mounting points were off by maybe a quarter inch. It added like 3 extra hours of labor to make it look right. I've seen this debate for years: save money now with aftermarket, or pay more for OEM that just clicks into place. Some guys say the aftermarket quality has gotten way better, but my experience last month with a Honda Civic hood was just as bad. Where do you all stand on pushing back on aftermarket when you know it's gonna be a headache?

2 comments

2 Comments

luna5508d agoMost Upvoted

Ever notice how this happens with everything now, not just car parts? It's like the cheap version always ends up costing you more time or money in the long run, whether it's a phone charger or a cabinet from a flat pack store. People get sold on the lower price tag but don't see the hidden cost of making it work right. That extra labor you spent is the real price of those aftermarket parts, and the customer never factors that in. Makes you wonder if saving a few bucks upfront is ever worth the hassle.

wade1488d ago

True, but sometimes the cheap stuff works fine too lol.