Several years ago I had the tie rods replaced under warranty at a highly respected north Dallas MB dealer.
One of the rods appeared very nice, just like the OEM.
The other was rusty, cheap, and the boots were already cracking.
The reply was that they carried both the OEM and the cheap junk, and let the customers decide which they wanted to pay for!!!!!!!!
They apologized for putting the junk rod on a warranty claim, and replaced it with an OEM unit.

No problems since; all the parts I have bought there appear to be OEM quality, as far as I can tell. Certainly the prices are OEM-level!!!

DG