How are Meyle waterpumps? Febi I would avoid at all costs a lot electric parts are DOA.

I don't want to pay the highest price (OEM) knowing they rebox it. So I want to sit between too low and too high.

Critical components I will go OEM like the chain.

Whatever component you're looking to buy regardless of the brand find and read the reviews. That's where you'll find where it's manufactured and how it holds up over the long term. If you can't find customer reviews for a component or you're not sure where it's manufactured, make sure the seller has a no questions asked free return policy. And by all means contribute with your own reviews good or bad for whatever component you bought. Threads like this one come and go but customer reviews on the large E-commerce sites are up there for a very long time. They can make or break sales for an individual item.

Couldn't agree more, on the part by part basis. Have used URO for many little easy to change parts, (door striker for w123, washer fluid res plug for w124) to name a few. Would not consider for a front or rear crank seal or engine mount.

Some time back a fellow that had actually worked for URO at one time. . Posted his perspectives. There are many parts that to me personally. I have labeled just made to sell. Not to provide reasonable service. Some URO parts fall into this category of mine. URO is unfortunately not alone as a questionable supplier..

Thanks for the response. I read on other brands failure of Meyle pumps so I was a bit shocked then.

https://www.vwclub.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?t=210213

Must be a counterfeit I think.

Ok I have my Hella-Behr waterpump now just in and it's made in China.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...924/Rf1V5P.jpg

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...924/ofcIph.jpg

It looks beefier than the Meyle unit.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...921/8KIgDm.jpg

I created profile on this page just because of your post. hopefully you've been corrected since then, what the OEM is, if you still don't know, then google it.

if you can't, I'll summarize that for you. OEM (original equipment manufacturer) is NOT a brand. car dealers are selling car parts under OEM signs. but neither benz nor bavaria nor any other originally manufactured a single screw for their cars. instead they contracted the parts with various manufacturers and one OEM part could be manufactured by Sachs, another by Hella, others by Bosch and yet they will be still OEM. except that the OEM quality of the car part may have changed since it was first time built in to the car years ago and/or other car parts manufacturers may have surpassed the quality of the OEM part.

Chinese Water Pump
 

I forget where my water pump was made, it's been a long while (years) and many more miles than most and so far not a drop of leakage nor any bearing noise...

Some Chinese things are very good indeed ~ just like the Japanese things well into the 1970's some were awful, others were great and still giving good service decades later .

No, OEM is literally a brand name that someone came up with to make people think it was "original eguipment," which is what he was referring to.

Don't believe me?

https://www.oemautoparts.net/en

Hopefully you feel better having "corrected" someone on the internet though.

Which brand should I avoid at any costs? Meyle brand any good
 

What about Stark wheelbearing with 3 year warranty?

I had to get a Uro OVP relay, as the OE is NLA for my w124 2.5 diesel. It has been working well for now. The one that went out was the original.

Febi is "FEBI BILSTEIN" is German not Chinese. Its good quality stuff with a 2 year warranty.

Ridex is made in Germany. I have their calipers on the rear of my car and their discs on the front. I have their turbo on order.

Absolutely correct…

The automotive world uses the O.E.M. moniker in their dealings with many companies that also directly make parts for brands, it is true.

Hopefully by now you have found that there is ALSO a company that uses the letters AS THEIR BRAND NAME… and it is painfully obvious they do it to get unsuspecting parts shoppers to buy their cheap knockoff parts…

Don’t be one of those unsuspecting shoppers…

Verify what you are buying.

This is from an ad on eBay: x1 Febi Bilstein Radiator Cap 37600 Genuine replacement part for Car Made in CN

This part is a radiator cap and made in China. See the attached picture.

Also attached is Febi made in China motor mounts.

The last item has a Febi box marked made in Germany and the item had a Chinese bearing in it.

I prefer to order somethings on eBay in part because you can sometimes tell where they are made or ask the seller and sometimes the seller responds. On top of that you often save money.

So, you go to an online parts site and in the past, you bought say Febi brake pads and they were made in Germany. That does not mean that the next time your order the Febi brake pads they are still made in Germany, and you end up with Chinese Brake pads.