Showerthought: A customer's story about his old Ford pickup made me question the 'never use a parts store alternator' rule.

He told me he put a generic reman unit from the local chain store in his '96 F-150 six years ago, and it's still running strong with no issues. I've always insisted on OEM or high-end aftermarket for electrical parts, but his experience got me thinking. Have you ever had a cheap part outlast all expectations?

3 comments

3 Comments

nathan9011d ago

But how often does that actually happen? For every story like finley_gonzalez49's starter, there are ten guys stuck with a dead unit in a parking lot after six months. You just don't hear about those because it's expected.

finley_gonzalez491d ago

Got a reman starter for my old Civic from a big box store as a desperate fix. That was eight years and two owners ago, and my buddy who has it now says it still cranks every single time. Makes you wonder.

grantp1423h ago

Those outlier stories are the fun ones though. They prove the cheap part can sometimes outlive the car itself. It's the automotive version of a happy little accident.