pattern parts versus landrover parts

Is there such a gulf on quality between these as the price suggests? I cant get my head around why you would pay up to a 1000% more for a land rover part if the pattern part gives you more than a tenths life.Im talking easily serviceable parts here not major labour cost items.

You get what you pay for, depends how much you like replacing the same part every 8-10 weeks etc? If you buy oem stuff but not in Land Rover box then you are winning.

As said it depends on the part, try searching the part number and then putting a 'g' on the end, I think lr direct give you a choice of manufacturers on their website

Bottom arm for my range rover,£25 pattern £140 land rover.Ball joint pattern £5 land rover £26.Ive used loads of pattern parts over the years for every car I've owned,brakes,suspension and never had an issue.

Example aftermarket window regs lasted 9 mths landy genuine stillngoing strong after 4 years 3 times the price but should last another 10 years easy.
Same as water pump etc, ive learnt the cheap way doesn't work.

I think it depends on whose pattern parts they are. Britpart own-brand items might only be 75p but don't fit and are made of toffee. Some of them are OK, like their springs, but many are not. Where a choice exists I tend to go for something with a recognisably famous name on it but not as expensive as the genuine Land Rover item.

eddiecos said:

Is there such a gulf on quality between these as the price suggests? I cant get my head around why you would pay up to a 1000% more for a land rover part if the pattern part gives you more than a tenths life.Im talking easily serviceable parts here not major labour cost items.

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I agree with that analysis most of the time. It's the price difference that tips it. A good example is the difference in price between a Lucas light switch and the aftermarket alternative. Some suppliers are simply charging a gratuitous mark up on original parts just for the sake of it not because they are better.

My water pump bearing failed in just 40k miles that was factory fitted so genuine we assume, so replaced with an OEM replacement.
I wouldn't use patten parts at all if I found there was one available, only OEM
Any replacement part which you don't wish to go there again, i.e. oil seals should, in my opinion, be genuine.

People forget that genuine does not necessarily mean best. It means cheapest that could be got away with during production.

Certainly I regard britpart wheel bearings as consumables, like diesel.

I find bearmach gear isnt a bad trade off between price and quality but they are the lowest I go. I avoid Britpart like the plague but sometimes one sneaks under the radar. I recently purchased a radiator that was clearly shown as a Bearmach product but arrived direct from Britpart. Three radiators later and the usual frustration from the retailer I finally got a refund but retailers just wont put Britpart on their advertising because they know its junk.
As for paying for genuine gear. I wish I could afford it.

eddiecos said:

Is there such a gulf on quality between these as the price suggests? I cant get my head around why you would pay up to a 1000% more for a land rover part if the pattern part gives you more than a tenths life.Im talking easily serviceable parts here not major labour cost items.

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Worst one to date was a Britpart headlight switch. First run............Lasted just over 20 minutes before burning out. Easily replaceable but not very cost effective at that rate.
I have a Britpart park switch for my wipers next to me. I cant bring myself to fit it even though my wipers dont self park and havnt done for six months since I burnt the old one out sodding around with the wiring.
orses for corses.

Bobsticle said:

Worst one to date was a Britpart headlight switch. First run............Lasted just over 20 minutes before burning out. Easily replaceable but not very cost effective at that rate.
I have a Britpart park switch for my wipers next to me. I cant bring myself to fit it even though my wipers dont self park and havnt done for six months since I burnt the old one out sodding around with the wiring.
orses for corses.

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Int the wiper park thingy on the wiper motor itself ?

Dippypud said:

Int the wiper park thingy on the wiper motor itself ?

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Yep. its a nylon clip on box that accepts the spade connectors from the brushes. On the back of it there is a small plunger type switch activated by the rotor inside. The replacement I have looks and feels like a ten year old made it out of plasticine.

Bobsticle said:

Yep. its a nylon clip on box that accepts the spade connectors from the brushes. On the back of it there is a small plunger type switch activated by the rotor inside. The replacement I have looks and feels like a ten year old made it out of plasticine.

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10yr old plasticine anorl ...lol

discool said:

My water pump bearing failed in just 40k miles that was factory fitted so genuine we assume, so replaced with an OEM replacement.
I wouldn't use patten parts at all if I found there was one available, only OEM
Any replacement part which you don't wish to go there again, i.e. oil seals should, in my opinion, be genuine.

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Yet you just said the OEM part failed prematurely.... so not really sure what your are endorsing here.

Blindly paying out for OEM labelled parts is somewhat folly IMO.

Seffy said:

People forget that genuine does not necessarily mean best. It means cheapest that could be got away with during production.

Certainly I regard britpart wheel bearings as consumables, like diesel.

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I don't buy that at all, if you were a car manufacturer and your cars sold for 40k + would you be building them out of lego?
I use genuine or OEM, the difference in quality is very obvious.

JaguarLR have moved much of their parts manufacturing to India. Coincidentally the quality of rubber in their components has dropped considerably.
If a part you need has any rubber components then put LR on the scale under Britpart.

Poor dealerships have their rules to follow and use JLR parts but are having them fail repeatedly.

If you think about it rubber is probably the primary failure point of a vehicle.

nobber said:

I don't buy that at all, if you were a car manufacturer and your cars sold for 40k + would you be building them out of lego?
I use genuine or OEM, the difference in quality is very obvious.

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Agree. When it comes to service items I keep looking throughout the year and buy if I see a decent price.

Manufacturing is a small cost of vehicle production. They are being squeezed from every angle to develop technologies at the cost of billions per year. This is why most cars share platforms, often with rival companies cars and why Ford, BMW and Volvo have been using Peugeot engines in their cars for 10 years.

All is not as it seems.

I bought two steering swivels a couple years ago. One was Britpart special the other came in a cardboard box wrapped in oiled brown paper, it had a manufacturing note from LR dated 1973. The original has a grease nipple, the other didn't. Both are still doing fine.