My Rant About Aftermarket Parts

Why is there Always and I mean Always something about every aftermarket part that just isn't right. I have accounts with several aftermarket suppliers and have bought parts off steiner, shoup, ebay, sloans, and every other place that you can think of, but aftermarket parts just make me so mad sometimes. A lot of the time, aftermarkets are the only parts available so you must use them.

For instance, the side console grill guard on later 4020s etc, the aftermarket ones look absolutely identical to the deere one, until you measure the distance between the bolt holes. It's off by about a half a bolt hole. Why in the hell do the people that crank these out go find the darn bolt pattern and make it right. So frustrating. I end up having to drill out the metal on my console to make it fit; when the deere version bolts right in.

Another good one are the jd radiator caps with the rubber cover from Steiner. Until recently, the bottom of the cap was simply glued to the metal dome. After about an hour of driving the tractor, the whole darn cap would twist apart :x . Now they spot weld the two together, but why would you ever depend on some glue to hold a radiator cap together. Makes no sense.

I could go on and on, but I have learned to not just send my aftermarket parts to paint and expect them to fit because there is always something out of wack. I always size/modify/fit all the parts before I break the machine down to paint. It's sad because you can grab an original JD side panel out of the corncrib and you know it will fit. But the aftermarket, you have to drill, cut, bend, etc, to make it work. Anyone else frustrated?
 
yup, i hear ya. we see a lot here at the body shop with ins companys using them. we pre fit everything before it goes to paint shop, just because of that.
 
I have always wondered how much the ins co saves with the cheap parts + labor/mods to make fit? Of course I guess the shop just eats that cost!
 
Dad bought a hood emblem from dennis carpenter for his 641. The emblem costs $50-60 and was hot glued together. It fell a part after setting outside in the sun for 2hrs.
he also bought a new tack. The light bulb fell out and got stuck in the spring after running for only 20 minutes.
 

You have to. There is no way around it. I just wish these companies would spend a little more time getting the right before they mass produce them.
 
(quoted from post at 17:07:26 12/12/13) So why do you keep buying them? The definition of Insanity is keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

The OP told you why. It is because OEM is NLA.
 
I am in the tractor parts business and know exactly what you are saying. It's common ground among all the aftermarket suppliers - Tisco / A&I / Sparex - etc.. I have had customers complain and return aftermarket parts that would / will not fit. This issue has been discussed with other dealers who have run into these same situations. We all have come to agree on one thing: you get what you pay for !!
 
In that case he should be glad he can get anything
close to what he needs.Half a loaf is better than none any time.Most likely original replacement parts aren't being made because people would buy the cheapies anyway instead of paying the real cost of quality parts.
 
our fault, we wanted cheap parts, we got exactly that, over the big pond,wong fu pulles out his metric tape measure and makes a part that looks like the example or drawing, the fact that mm is not the same as inches, is lost in the translation
 
(quoted from post at 07:10:46 12/13/13) our fault, we wanted cheap parts, we got exactly that, over the big pond,wong fu pulles out his metric tape measure and makes a part that looks like the example or drawing, the fact that mm is not the same as inches, is lost in the translation

No, we did not ask for cheap parts. The ONLY reason that business got sent over-seas was because of the investors who wanted a bigger return on their investments. The end user, you and me, had nothing to do with it.
 
Just accepting pi$$ poor quality is not much of an answer is it? I would rather hear someone complain than just sit and accept it.
 
No it isn't. And to say we asked for it because we are cheap is an insult. I agree with above also. Companies make even more profit by outsourcing overseas and the end user that supports them gets screwed. Most times you don't even get the choice of where your part comes from. If you hold out for a usa made part, you are typically sol.
 
Well you know what you're getting before you buy so the choice is no parts or parts that aren't perfect.Either buy it and make it work or do without no sense in crying about it.
 
(quoted from post at 18:42:38 12/13/13) Well you know what you're getting before you buy so the choice is no parts or parts that aren't perfect.Either buy it and make it work or do without no sense in crying about it.

I disagree. I bought some side screens once from a supplier. They looked okay in the photographs but once the package showed up, they were made from really thin metal and the paint was already flaking off from rubbing inside the cardboard box. Tell me how I was supposed to know they were gonna be that poorly made. I don't see how you can fault the buyer in all of these cases.
 
Well I have to say I agree with you BUT I also see the flip side of the coin. In the U.S.A. there are so many laws on the book and insurance reasons parts cant be made to fit perfectly. Patten laws for example make it hard to make parts fit perfect.

Here is an example, Lets just say you start making and selling grill guard for the 4020 and it fits like a glove, I mean perfect. You have taken the time to make sure that it fits lets say 100 different 4020 so you can say its an exact fit. You sell 1000 of them and make $40 each profit. Now Mother Deere finds out what you are doing and says OH NO YOU DONT! They slap a big law suite on you and covers you up in legal costs and shuts you down. In the end the judge tells you if did not make a perfect copy of Deeres part you would not have had these problems and wouldn't be broke now. This is why aftermarket parts don't fit perfect, They have to be made just enough off to keep them out of trouble and still be able to make and sell parts.

It aint right but that's just the way it is now a days. I myself have to use aftermarket parts to make it and get by because I am not a BTO with deep pockets. If you want perfect fitting parts buy OEM parts and be done with it.

I really do get tired of people trashing aftermarket parts "That they AINT good enough". They can not be made the same as OEM for legal reasons that's why they have to be made off a little. I am sure that they get plenty of calls from guys just like you complaining about the fit every day, And the funny thing is they can not do anything about it but take it because its the only way that they can make the part and sell it.

So you can spend the big bucks and buy OEM and get the perfect fit, Or buy aftermarket a lot cheeper and make it work and be done with it. Its up to you! Bandit
 
(quoted from post at 06:39:18 12/14/13) Well I have to say I agree with you BUT I also see the flip side of the coin. In the U.S.A. there are so many laws on the book and insurance reasons parts cant be made to fit perfectly. Patten laws for example make it hard to make parts fit perfect.

Here is an example, Lets just say you start making and selling grill guard for the 4020 and it fits like a glove, I mean perfect. You have taken the time to make sure that it fits lets say 100 different 4020 so you can say its an exact fit. You sell 1000 of them and make $40 each profit. Now Mother Deere finds out what you are doing and says OH NO YOU DONT! They slap a big law suite on you and covers you up in legal costs and shuts you down. In the end the judge tells you if did not make a perfect copy of Deeres part you would not have had these problems and wouldn't be broke now. This is why aftermarket parts don't fit perfect, They have to be made just enough off to keep them out of trouble and still be able to make and sell parts.

It aint right but that's just the way it is now a days. I myself have to use aftermarket parts to make it and get by because I am not a BTO with deep pockets. If you want perfect fitting parts buy OEM parts and be done with it.

I really do get tired of people trashing aftermarket parts "That they AINT good enough". They can not be made the same as OEM for legal reasons that's why they have to be made off a little. I am sure that they get plenty of calls from guys just like you complaining about the fit every day, And the funny thing is they can not do anything about it but take it because its the only way that they can make the part and sell it.

So you can spend the big bucks and buy OEM and get the perfect fit, Or buy aftermarket a lot cheeper and make it work and be done with it. Its up to you! Bandit


I never really thought of it from that angle. But patent laws do run out. I believe the period is 7 years. You have 7 years to market your idea without anyone making an identical copy of it. After that period expires there is no protection. Any company can manufacture it. With that said, I don't see the validity of your arguement that parts makers must make their parts different in some matter to avoid getting into trouble with the oem. Most of the parts we buy are restoration parts for tractors that are 40 or 50 years old. I doubt on a 40 year old NLA part whos patent ran out in 1970; if deere really cares whether the bolt hole pattern is the same as theirs was or not. Afterall, Deere is one of the worst ones when it comes to borrowing/stealing/profiting from ideas of others.
 
True, However all they have to do is make one small change at the end of the patent and they can extend it another 7 or 14 years. The other thing is would you want to go up aginst a company as big as Deere that can tie you up for years and years in the courts just to make a point to you. That's why all the aftermarket parts company have to make changes even if its holes drilled off center. The devil is in the details. Bandit
 
Well, I wasn't even going to get into this until this morning when I plowed the drive with Ferguson that I had just put a "new" TSC temp guage on yesterday. Thought it would be a good test to see how it worked. Well you guessed it. Oh it wasn't that it registered wrong or slow or any of them "good" faults, no it never budged. This, after carefully routing the capillary tube out of harms way and even protecting it in plastic wiring conduit and doing a real neat install. No, I didn't try it out in hot water first. I'd like to think of myself as being somewhat of a positive thinker when it come to new parts. Unfortunately I can't just "alter" this and make it work. It was the last in a loooong to do list on this tractor/snow blade and I was feeling pretty good about that ....well not so much now. I absolutely HATE doing things twice. For two cents I'd just get an electric one with sender unit and forget this old capillary tube crap.
 
BTDT! I went through 4 SW temp gauges before I got one that worked, These came from a big truck parts dealer that sells a lot of parts. I will agree that there are aftermarket parts that are better than OEM and some that are just junk! Its a crap shoot buying them. Its kinda like this, To say the aftermarket industry is all bad and junk stuff is wrong.

Just think about how many aftermarket parts you really use without thinking about it. How many of you out there have gone to NAPA or other parts places when the starter or water pump goes out of the tractor? Do you go to the dealer to buy ALL the oils and filters for your equipment and trusty old pick up? Did you buy that tune up for the Oliver 88 from AGCO? When the back rims on the old 4020 went bad did you go to JD to get factory replacements? I could go on and on. If you don't buy it from the dealer then it aftermarket, Plain and simple.

So before you bad mouth aftermarket parts and call them all junk just think about All the parts and stuff you buy that you use every day that did not come from the OEM dealer. They all make good and they all make bad. Just something to think about. Bandit
 
Made in china,the land of almost right! Dennis carpenter used
to advertise that his rubber parts for old ford cars were made
in house on the original dies and tooling. I bought a cowl vent
seal from them for my 41 coupe and it was too long. I called
and complained and they told me they just got a new
shipment. He went out in the warehouse and measured them
and they were all bad. That's when he told me they only
packaged some of their parts. Didn't make all of em.
 
It is a fact that patents and copyrights do eventually run out, but the period of time is in question.
Depending on whether the item is copyrighted or patented has a bearing on the lenght of time that it is protected. Patents generally do run out after 7 years, but can be renewed by the owner of the patent - but there are limits on renewals as well.
Copyrights are another matter. Copyrights on branding can be perpetual. Aftermarket parts that too closely resemble originals could be considered in violation of branding copyright if there are elements of branding included in the part. Even so, copyrights generally last for 20 years or more.

The main difference as I see it between patents and copyrights:
A patent is to protect an innovation from being copied by unauthorized means.
A copyright protects branding and intellectual property from unauthorized copying.
 
aftermarket parts not made in the USA but sold here don't have any problems with patten laws. harbor freight sells knock-off Honda motors and Honda parts fit perfectly. enough said.
 

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